Suchergebnisse

This paper explores the link between rising wage dispersion in Russia over the transitional period and the gender pay gap. The work of Blau and Kahn (1996) emphasized a role for 'wage structure' in the determination of the gender pay gap, although some interpretational issues concerning their methodology have been raised recently by Suen (1997). The unadjusted gender pay gap between 1992 and 1996 exhibited some degree of stability, but the analysis presented identified increased wage dispersion as a modest agent for the widening of the gap in Russia. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimates for an equation pooling observations from both gender groups, registered no statistical difference in the mean ceteris paribus gender pay gap between the two years. To complement the mean regression approach, quantile regression procedures were also employed. Although the median regression provided evidence of a statistically significant temporal increase in the gender pay gap, this finding was not supported at other chosen quantiles of the wage distribution. This result was taken to highlight the possible sensitivity of the OLS procedure.JEL classification: J16, J31, P23.

Abstract
This study examines the impact of the Sierra Leone civil war on household expenditure inequality. The paper exploits three rounds of household survey data for Sierra Leone in an attempt to estimate the impact of the conflict on the distribution of household welfare over both short-run and long-run periods. The empirical approach uses RIF measures based on the Gini index and also provides estimates of treatment effects at selected quantiles of the unconditional household expenditure distribution. The key findings reveal that localities subject to a protracted period of occupation by rebel forces experienced a sharp reduction in household expenditure inequality in the immediate aftermath of the conflict with most of the contraction evident at the top end of the distribution.

The direct approaches to measuring the shadow economy have not been used extensively until very recently. A relatively simple method has been developed (Talis J. Putnins and Arnis Sauka 2015) using an income approach to measuring GDP and exploiting survey data on unreported employee wages and the business income generated by enterprises, which was provided by owners/managers of such enterprises. This paper illustrates the advantages of this approach over indirect ones through applying it to two EU candidate countries. This is first done by measuring the size of the shadow economy and then by providing estimates of the factors which cause enterprises to engage in shadow economic activity. Estimates of these factors suggest a number of policy approaches that could reduce the size of the shadow economy in countries similar to the ones we have used here.

This paper analyzes the demand for UK educational services by international students through investigating the demand for student visas to the UK from 89 developing countries covering the period 2001 to 2008. The substantive findings of this research are that bilateral exchange rates matter more than per capita income in the source country in driving the volume of applications. An analysis of the country-specific fixed effects suggests a higher demand for visa applications from Muslim countries, from countries sharing a common language with the UK, and from countries geographically proximate to the UK. Political stability within developing countries and their formal human capital levels are also found to be important factors.

This paper analyzes the demand for UK educational services by international students through investigating the demand for student visas to the UK from 89 developing countries covering the period 2001 to 2008. The substantive findings of this research are that bilateral exchange rates matter more than per capita income in the source country in driving the volume of applications. An analysis of the country-specific fixed effects suggests a higher demand for visa applications from Muslim countries, from countries sharing a common language with the UK, and from countries geographically proximate to the UK. Political stability within developing countries and their formal human capital levels are also found to be important factors determining the volume of visas issued.

Abstract This paper analyzes the demand for UK educational services by international students through investigating the demand for student visas to the UK from 89 developing countries covering the period 2001 to 2008. The substantive findings of this research are that bilateral exchange rates matter more than per capita income in the source country in driving the volume of applications. An analysis of the country-specific fixed effects suggests a higher demand for visa applications from Muslim countries, from countries sharing a common language with the UK, and from countries geographically proximate to the UK. Political stability within developing countries and their formal human capital levels are also found to be important factors determining the volume of visas issued. JEL codes C23, F14, F22, I29

This paper uses the Labor Force Survey (LFS) from 1999 to investigate the labor market earnings determination process in the small Eastern Caribbean island of Dominica. Given the interval coded nature of the earnings data reported for the LFS, an interval regression model estimated by maximum likelihood techniques is used. A key empirical finding is that the Dominica labor market places a relatively high valuation on formally acquired post-primary human capital assets. We also find that the ceteris paribus public sector pay premium is relatively large and suggests public sector workers are securing a high rent through employment in this sector. A gender pay gap of approximately 20 percent is detected and there is also evidence of a sizeable ethnic pay disadvantage for male members of the island's indigenous population.

AbstractThis paper explores the second‐job holding (or 'moonlighting') behaviour of a sample of employees using data from a unique survey conducted for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in January 1998. Both participation in 'moonlighting' and the number of hours worked are examined. The participation model performs better in an econometric sense and provides the focus for our discussion. We note a strong regional dimension to 'moonlighting' in the FRY with employees in Central Serbia disproportionately represented in this activity. In addition, blue‐collar workers are found to be more likely to engage in 'moonlighting' than white‐collar workers. The set of labour supply variables implied by neo‐classical theory exerts a strong influence and explains a significant amount of the phenomenon of interest. Our calculations suggest that if main (or regular) job earnings are restored to levels that prevailed at the time of the 'break‐up' of the federation, employee second‐job holding in the FRY would only fall by about one‐seventh.JEL classification: J21, J22, P2, P3.

ABSTRACTThis paper uses aggregate data from 42 police‐force areas over 12 years to test predictions of Becker's economic model of crime. The effects of measures for deterrence on the incidence of three types of acquisitive criminal activity (burglary, theft, robbery) in England and Wales are explored. Mixed support for the Becker model emerges. The growth in unemployment is seen to impact positively on two of the three types of criminal activity examined. Per capita household income is seen to have a negative effect on the recorded rates of burglary and theft, but there is some evidence that the income variable is a proxy for the effects of unemployment. Poor housing conditions and the relative youth of the population were also found to play a role in the determination of criminal activity.