Naiwei Chen, Ho-Chyuan Chen and Shih-Yu Lin
Prior research mostly focuses on the effect of over-education on happiness, whereas the effect of under-education on happiness has received minimal attention. In addition, no…
Abstract
Purpose
Prior research mostly focuses on the effect of over-education on happiness, whereas the effect of under-education on happiness has received minimal attention. In addition, no research to date has examined the effect of both over- and under-education on happiness by using a full spectrum of workers. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to fill this research gap.
Design/methodology/approach
The ordered probit model is estimated to examine the effect of the education–occupation mismatch on happiness based on 2012 survey data from Taiwan.
Findings
The results generally indicate that over-education positively affects happiness, whereas under-education has a minimal effect. The effect of the education–occupation mismatch on happiness also varies with different age groups. Specifically, over-education positively affects happiness except for workers aged 42 and above, whereas negative effects of under-education are found only among workers aged between 32 and 42 when their social network is insufficiently extensive. Moreover, a worker’s social network as a non-pecuniary factor, rather than income as a pecuniary factor, is a major channel through which education enhances happiness.
Originality/value
Given the limited and mixed evidence on the relationship between over-education and happiness, this study contributes to the existing literature by examining whether and how the education–occupation mismatch (over- and under-education) affects the happiness of workers both directly and indirectly via pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors. The research issue remains unexplored to date. Addressing such a question should help explain the persistent trend in pursuing higher education in Taiwan, although highly educated people may suffer from unemployment and an education–occupation mismatch.
Peer review
The peer review history for this paper is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2019-0283
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Naiwei Chen, Hao-Chang Sung and Jingjing Yang
This paper aims to examine whether and how ownership structure and corporate governance have bearings on the investment efficiency of Chinese listed firms.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine whether and how ownership structure and corporate governance have bearings on the investment efficiency of Chinese listed firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors measure the investment efficiency by following the work of Richardson (2006) and classify listed firms into two categories: state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private firms. OLS regressions with both industry and year fixed effects are used to investigate the effect of ownership structure and governance mechanisms on the listed firms’ investment efficiency.
Findings
The authors find that ownership concentration has a negative impact on investment efficiency, and this effect is more pronounced in SOEs than in private firms. In addition, adoption of incentive-based compensation helps improve investment efficiency. Compared with other types of institutional investors, mutual funds are more likely to exert a positive effect on the investment efficiency of investee companies.
Originality/value
This paper examines the monitoring effect of governance mechanisms in China from a new perspective, which is the investment efficiency. Furthermore, previous studies provide minimal evidence indicating any effect of incentive-based compensation on firm performance in China. This study provides empirical evidence on this effect by using incentive-based compensation (whether CEOs have been granted stock options) as an explanatory variable in the regression models.
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Hui Hong, Zhicun Bian, Naiwei Chen and Chiwei Su
This paper aims to examine the impact of interest rate liberalisation on the constancy of mean interest rates in China to test the effect of financial reforms and provide…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the impact of interest rate liberalisation on the constancy of mean interest rates in China to test the effect of financial reforms and provide strategies for future practices.
Design/methodology/approach
Bai and Perron’s (1998, 2003) methodology is used to test for structural breaks in the mean of different interest rates using Chinese data, and break dates are measured against the exact dates of the interest rate liberalisation. The performance of mean interest rates across the regimes defined by liberalisation dates is also investigated.
Findings
The main results show that interest rates generally increase (decrease) after deregulations on lending (deposit) rates, but these changes are not significant to induce a negative impact on the domestic economy. Instead, the infrequent but important shifts (structural breaks) in mean interest rates are caused by factors other than liberalisation such as economic shocks, inflationary expectation and liquidity crunch in China.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper provides unprecedented evidence on significant changes in interest rates attributable to the liberalisation within the Chinese context.