Canada and the US are highly integrated economies and yet persistent productivity gaps exist between them. This raises the question whether there is a relationship in productivity between Canada and the US, and if so, what industry-specific characteristics are important. This dissertation focuses on the manufacturing sector and its component three-digit industries. The first chapter investigates the interdependence of labour productivity (LP) between the two countries. It finds no evidence of long-run convergence of US and Canadian LP. There is, however, some evidence of short-run dependence within industries. Regarding industry characteristics, only industry-specific export intensity is found to be an important channel for the long-run productivity transmission. The second chapter develops measures of total factor productivity (TFP) that are comparable across Canada and the US. The third chapter investigates the interdependence of TFP between the countries. As with LP, there is no evidence of long-run convergence. In both the short and long run, the dependence of Canadian manufacturing industries upon their US counterparts is limited and non-uniform. The fourth chapter examines industry-specific characteristics. Export, import and foreign direct investment (FDI) intensities are found to be important channels in the short run for technology diffusion from the US. Surprisingly, a higher research and development intensity reduces short-run technology diffusion. In the long run, export and FDI intensities are shown to contribute to technology diffusion. / Graduate / 2015-04-17 / 0501 / berylli@uvic.ca

<p>This dissertation consists of three separate essays on the economics of education. In the first chapter, co-authored with Esteban Aucejo, studies the relative effectiveness of reducing absences to extending the school calendar on test score performance. Using administrative data for North Carolina public schools, we exploit a state policy that provides variation in the number of days prior to standardized testing and find substantially larger effects for absences relative to additional days of class.</p><p>The second chapter, co-authored with Esteban Aucejo, analyzes whether different institutional settings could affect how school administrators and teachers respond to possible extensions of the school calendar. We present a theoretical model in which principals set the date of the test and teachers decide how much effort to exert in the classroom with and without monetary performance bonuses for teachers. Leveraging the removal of monetary bonuses during the sample period, we utilize a difference-in- difference estimation strategy and find that, consistent with the theoretical model, low performing schools are more likely to make extensive use of the testing window when monetary bonuses are in place; this behavior disappears after changes to the scheme of incentives.</p><p>In the third chapter, I present joint work with Peter Arcidiacono, V. Joseph Hotz and Arnaud Maurel, utilizing data on subjective expectations of outcomes from counterfactual choices to recover <italic>ex ante<\italic> treatment effects as well as the non-pecuniary benefits associated with different treatments. The particular treatments we consider are the choice of occupation. By asking individuals about potential earnings associated with counterfactual choices of college majors and occupations, we can recover the full distribution of <italic>ex ante<\italic> monetary returns to particular occupations, and how they vary across majors. We then link subjective expectations to a model of occupational choice, enabling the examination of how individuals tradeoff their preferences for particular occupations with the corresponding monetary rewards. While sorting across occupations is partly driven by the <italic>ex ante<\italic> monetary returns, sizable differences in expected earnings across occupations remain after controlling for selection on monetary returns, which points to the existence of substantial compensating differentials.</p> / Dissertation

This thesis explores labour market processes in urban India. Investigating large and persistent differentials in urban unemployment rates across the Indian states, we find that regions with higher wage push or better amenities have higher unemployment rates, controlling for labour force composition. The differentials are maintained by rural-urban migration rather than by barriers to inter-state migration. Our investigation of wage determination yields evidence of imperfect competition in the labour market which is not simply 'institutional'. Indian firms pay efficiency wages which induce sufficient productivity gains to pay for themselves. After identifying the long and short run structural processes in the labour market, we consider recent aggregate trends in India's factory sector. There was negative employment growth in the 1980s even as output growth touched record levels. Our analysis suggests that this had less to do with wage growth, as proposed by the World Bank, and more to do with increasing work intensity, encouraged by wage incentives, improved infrastructure and increased competition. Considerable slack was inherited from the past, evidence of which flows from the wage and production function estimates. We find that increased labour utilization raises capacity utilization. This is important because Indian industry has chronically carried large excess capacity. A breakthrough in total factor productivity growth accompanied declining employment in the 1980s and has been interpreted as the reward of deregulation in this decade. Existing studies mismeasure productivity growth by neglecting labour utilization (hours) and assuming perfectly competitive product markets. We produce new estimates at the aggregate and industry levels. A natural ceiling to hours worked moderates bad news on the employment front and good news on the productivity front. Our analyses are expected to contribute to the evaluation of current and controversial policy changes in India.

<p> Over the last 100 years, there has been an ever-tightening correlation between education and employment. In the early 1900s, it was the attainment of a high school diploma that yielded lower unemployment. In the middle of the century, it was the bachelor's degree, and in the 21st century, it is advanced degrees, such as MBAs. While there is a preponderance of data supporting the relationship between higher levels of education and a diminishing likelihood of unemployment, the value of continuing education potentially assisting an educated (degree-holding) worker back into the workforce is an un-researched area. </p><p> This study examined the relationship between the pursuit of continuing education (either advanced academic degree or industry certification) and re-employment for experienced professionals. When the educational effort was introduced in interviewing, hiring or sourcing activities, did recruiters or hiring managers give preference to that job candidate? Moreover, since the worker already had an academic degree, would pursuit of an advanced degree be more beneficial than the pursuit of a professional certification? </p><p> Early discussions with several potential subjects indicated that they could not, due to privacy and legal issues, divulge hiring decisions for specific staff members. Therefore, two anonymous surveys were devised to solicit insights from both job seekers and recruiters/hiring managers. The recruiter/hiring manager responses supplied the most direct answers to the research questions while the job seeker responses provided insights on the current approach to education when a person is unemployed. </p><p> The findings identified that recruiters/hiring managers embraced continuing education. Depending on the situation, between 35% and 67% of the respondents valued the educational efforts in the hiring process. In most cases, since the worker already held a bachelor's degree, pursuit of an industry certification was deemed more valuable than the pursuit of an advanced degree, but neither pursuit could compete with job candidates who already held advanced degrees. </p><p> While further research is needed to refine the differences based on age, degree type, and industries, the general guidance for an out-of-work professional with a bachelor's degree is to pursue industry certification or pursue an advanced degree to improve the prospects of quicker re-employment. </p>

No description available.

Sociologists are interested in examining the relations between globalization and a range of labour market outcomes, including earnings inequality. Common approaches include studying the impact of globalization on the welfare state, and the effects of import competition and foreign direct investment (FDI) outflows. This thesis examines the effects of exporting, foreign ownership (FDI inflow), and outsourcing – with particular emphasis on exporting – on i) workplace productivity; ii) worker compensation; iii) the demand for skills and the pay of employees with different skill levels; and iv) employer-provided training. While sociological writings have largely treated productivity as a concept to be attacked, or simply ignored, this thesis discusses the meaning of productivity and addresses issues of its measurement. It highlights the productivity-wages link based on human capital theory, and argues that a necessary step in understanding the relations between globalization and earnings inequality is to look closely at the relationship between globalization and productivity. The four papers find evidence that i) exporting and foreign ownership have strong positive effects on productivity; ii) pay is substantially tied to productivity, and prolonged exposure to export markets and foreign ownership are associated with higher total compensation; iii) employees with higher skills are concentrated in workplaces that are exposed to international markets, and they are paid more than comparably skilled employees in workplaces that are not exposed to international markets; iv) exporters provide more training, most plausibly to make possible the innovation required to compete internationally. The results of the four papers also reinforce each other. First, the process of absorption of best practice in foreign markets, the technological and financial advantages associated with foreign ownership, the adoption of global supply chains, the employment of a workforce with higher / Les sociologues sont intéressés par l'examen des relations entre mondialisation et une série de résultats sur le marché du travail, incluant les inégalités salariales. Les approches communes incluent l'étude de l'impact de la mondialisation sur l'état providence, et les effets de la concurrence des importations et de l'investissement étranger direct (IÉD). La présente thèse examine les effets de l'exportation, de la propriété étrangère (entrées d'IÉD), et de la sous-traitance – en portant une attention particulière sur l'exportation – sur i) la productivité en milieu de travail; ii) le salaire et les avantages sociaux; iii) la demande de compétences et la paye des employés avec différents niveaux de compétence; et iv) la formation fournie par l'employeur. Alors que les écrits sociologiques ont largement attaqué le concept de productivité ou l'ont tout simplement ignoré, la présente thèse s'attarde à la signification de la productivité et les enjeux liés à sa mesure. On y met en relief le lien entre productivité et salaire basé sur la théorie du capital humain, et soutient qu'une étape nécessaire dans la compréhension des relations entre mondialisation et inégalité des gains est de s'attarder à la relation entre mondialisation et productivité. Les quatre articles démontrent que i) l'exportation et la propriété étrangère ont des effets positifs marqués sur la productivité; ii) la paye est fortement reliée à la productivité, et des expositions prolongées aux marchés internationaux et à la propriété étrangère sont associées à une plus grande rémunération; iii) les employés hautement qualifiés se retrouvent surtout dans des milieux de travail exposés aux marchés internationaux, et sont mieux payés que des employés aussi qualifiés qui travaillent dans des milieux de travail non exposés aux marchés internationaux; iv) les milieux de travail impliqués dans l'exportation fournissent plus de form

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-134). / Microfiche. / ix, 134 leaves, bound 29 cm

This portfolio is concerned with ascertaining the factors which are most important in determining employee turnover of high performing employees in the Electronics industry in Thailand. / Paper One represents the Literature Review on employee turnover. As would be expected, most of the literature is from Western sources and concerns studies undertaken in the West, especially in the USA. There are relatively few studies which are concerned with employee turnover in Thailand. It is interesting to note that virtually all past studies, wherever they have been located, have been concerned with employee turnover as a general phenomenon. No studies were able to be identified, which specifically examined the turnover of identified high performers. / In Paper Two, a case study is presented of the turnover of high performing employees in one Electronics company in Thailand. This is a qualitative research study. Fifty high performing employees, who had left the company over the previous period of five years (1999-2003), for the purposes of this study, were identified and were able to be contacted by telephone for telephone interviews based on a research framework or model of the turnover of high performing employees. In this model, a number of variable likely to singly or jointly cause employee turnover were identified. As indicated, these former high performing employees were interviewed by telephone interviews and their responses tested against the model's components. The results of the information obtained from these interviews were then analysed, summarised and presented in three staffing categories, managerial staff, technical staff and supporting staff. Various measures are then presented as recommendations which could lead to lower turnover levels of performing employees. / Paper Three then performs a further qualitative analysis study of a group of senior managers from the industry, CEOs and Personnel or HR Directors/Managers to test their reactions to the established model and if necessary, to further modify the model, taking these views of senior managers into account. As a result of these interviews, a number of changes were made to the turnover model, even though most of these changes represented 'fine tuning' of the model rather than fundamental disagreements or changes required to the model. The model is seen as relevant especially to the Electronics industry in Thailand but may also serve as an investigatory model for investigating the turnover of high performing employees, in other Thai companies and industries and even possibly for companies and industries located outside Thailand. It represents a substantial study for, as indicated, no other study of the turnover of high performing employees has been identified from the literature. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2006.

Paper1: This article critically reviews the various theoretical perspectives of industrial relations encompassing unitarism, pluralism, Marxism, Fordism, neo/post Fordism and post-modernism and applies them to the unique industrial relations context in Malaysia. It is also discusses various Human Resource (HR) theories focusing on both the 'soft' and 'hard' aspects of HR and its impact on industrial relations practices in the Asia-Pacific region based on empirical evidence. It follows with a critical review of the emerging global patterns/trends on industrial relations, debating whether convergence or divergence of industrial relations systems is more evident or whether patterns of industrial relations are co-related to a country's stage of industrialisation. The article questions whether empirical evidence in union-management relations globally points towards adversarialism or collaboration, or co-operation within an adversarial context to constrained conflict within a co-operative framework. The literature gap suggests that further industrial relations research involving employers and employees should be carried out in Malaysia. / Paper 2: This research aims to find out whether there are differences in the ranking and perception of 13 IR issues and challenges in Malaysia by secretaries-general of trade unions and HR/IR Managers of unionised private sector companies in Malaysia. It also seeks to determine whether, within each group, there are significant differences in the ranking of such IR issues and challenges by age group, gender, experience level, and years exposed to Malaysian industrial relations. / Paper 3: This research aims to find out the ranking and perception of 13 IR issues and challenges by unionised officers of a large local bank in Malaysia. It seeks to determine whether there are significant differences in their rankings of such IR issues and challenges by age group, education level, gender, and years of experience as an officer of the Bank. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2005.

Bibliography: leaves 443-499 / vi, 499 leaves ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, 1985