This thesis analyzes the impacts of raising the minimum wage to transfer payments for social insurance in the period 2004 - 2014. It compares development and changes in the rate of minimum wage in selected EU countries and examines the context of the events that preceded these changes. The conclusions of many theses show that minimum wage increases the employer's costs for employees, who subsequently seek different ways how to avoid these additional costs. This thesis did not confirm the hypothesis that an increase in the minimum wage significantly affects the rate of income from social insurance.

The imbalances within the Euro-zone were the main reasons of the crisis that had led to the growing budget deficits in the Southern Europe resulting in the accumulation of unsustainable debt. The imbalances were caused by the declining competitiveness of the South vis-s-vis the North. The main causes of the declining competitiveness are the differences in unit labor costs invoked by different regulations concerning the labor markets in the Euro-zone countries and the diverging levels of productivity, which is liked with the different levels of technological advancement. The contributing factor is the institutional imperfections of the EMU, that did not allow the countries in Southern Europe to restore their competitiveness by traditional means without providing them with alternatives.

This thesis examines the evolution of China's economy and the competitive position of its exports in the international market. The thesis explores whether China is losing its competitive edge in export to the group of developing countries called Post China 16. First chapter identifies macroeconomic variables that significantly influence exports of a specific economy. Second chapter discusses the development of selected economic variables in Post China 16 economies. It studies whether the development of selected variables reveals possible changes in the competitive position of China and selected developing countries. Final part of the thesis develops an econometric model that tests the influence of selected variables on development of exports across several industries of The Post China 16 economies. Results confirm that most of the variables influence exports as the theory predicts and that the influence is higher in some industries than others. However, the model has limitations due to the shortcomings of the data.

Yes / This paper investigates the role of peer effects in the employee welfare policies of organizations. Using US panel data for a sample of 11,451 firm-year observations from 1996 to 2017, we find that firms’ employee welfare decisions are driven by their peers and show that peer firms play a significant role in defining corporate employee welfare policies. Our findings are robust to various sensitivity checks, including alternative definitions of employee welfare, alternative peer proxies, and several identification strategies. Our additional analysis shows that herding behavior is prevalent in followers, who mimic leaders' behavior, but we do not find any such relationship for industry leaders. Further, we show the evidence suggesting that mimetic and normative isomorphic pressures are driving the peer effects. Finally, we document the economic consequence of peer mimicking in employee welfare policies. Our findings on firms’ peer effects and herding behavior have policy implications.

Changes caused by globalization and internationalization in recent decades have stimulated the modernization of the agriculture and strengthened the interdependence between primary (farm) production and upstream and downstream activities, consolidating the so-called \"agribusiness\". This closer relationship between the links of the agribusiness chain connects the dynamics of the labor market in its segments. However, despite the importance of agribusiness to the Brazilian economy and society and the interrelationship between the labor markets of its segments, there is no employment evaluation approach that considers agribusiness as a whole in Brazil. Studies that analyze the labor market in this sector are also scarce in the literature, technical or scientific. This thesis sought to make a first contribution towards filling this gap. In the first chapter, where we also created the basis for the second, we provide a new approach that allows to measure the Brazilian agribusiness labor market considered as a whole. Additionally, as empirical exercises, we analyzed some additional characteristics of the sector labor force and the effects of some employment-related income determinants on income differences among agribusiness workers. Our main database was the 2014 quarterly microdata of the Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios Contínua (PNAD-C [Continuous National Household Sample Survey]). We also used information from the Relação Annual de Informações Sociais (RAIS [Annual Social Information Report]) and Cepea calculations. Our main findings are: 19 million people, 21% of the country\'s workforce, worked in the Brazilian agribusiness sector in 2014; agribusiness workers were predominately unskilled or semi-skilled with little formal education; much of the sector workforce was not formally employed; and there is an extreme labor market heterogeneity among agribusiness sector segments - with the primary segment presenting a noticeably dissimilar profile - and a significant income differential associated with different employment statuses and job market locations. In the second chapter, we analyze the significant increase in employment-related income in agribusiness based on labor productivity, real unit labor cost and the relationship between the GDP sector deflator and the IPCA, between the years 2004 and 2015. For that, we apply the procedure that Barros (2016) developed to analyze this issue for the Brazilian economy as a whole. To find the total number of employees in agribusiness (and sub-segments) in the analyzed period and to calculate labor productivity in the sector, we implemented an adaptation of the methodology developed in the first chapter of the thesis. As main results, we found that in agribusiness, there was no preponderant role of the relationship between the sector deflators and the IPCA to mitigate the effects of employment-related income growth on labor cost to the employer, as occurred in Brazil as a whole. Nevertheless, real labor income gains practically did not influence labor costs, mainly due to productivity gains in the sector, boosted by its primary segment. Without this productivity growth, real labor costs to the employer would increase at the annual rate of 3.4%, adversely affecting or even rendering unfeasible the simultaneous gains of agribusiness employers and workers in the period. / As mudanças causadas pelos processos de globalização e internacionalização nas últimas décadas estimularam a modernização da agropecuária e fortaleceram a dependência entre a agropecuária e as atividades a montante e a jusante de sua produção, consolidando o agronegócio. A medida em que os elos do agronegócio se tornaram fortemente relacionados, as dinâmicas do mercado de trabalho em cada um de seus segmentos também se conectaram. No entanto, apesar da importância do agronegócio para a economia e a sociedade no Brasil, e essa interrelação entre as dinâmicas do mercado de trabalho de seus segmentos, não há uma avaliação de emprego que considere o agronegócio como um todo no Brasil. Até por esse motivo, são escassos na literatura, técnica ou científica, estudos que analisam o mercado de trabalho desse setor. Essa tese buscou oferecer uma primeira contribuição no sentido de preencher essa lacuna. No primeiro capítulo, no qual também se cria a base para o desenvolvimento do segundo, é proposto um novo procedimento que permite que seja mensurado o mercado de trabalho do agronegócio brasileiro, considerado como um todo. Adicionalmente, como exercícios empíricos, são analisadas algumas características adicionais da força de trabalho do setor e estimados os efeitos de importantes determinantes dos rendimentos do trabalho sobre o diferencial de rendimentos entre os trabalhadores do agronegócio. Como principal base dados, são utilizados os microdados da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios Contínua (PNAD-C) e, adicionalmente, informações da Relação anual de Informações Sociais (RAIS) e cálculos do Cepea. Os principais resultados do capítulo são: 19 milhões de pessoas, ou 21% da população ocupada no Brasil, trabalharam no agronegócio em 2014; os trabalhadores do agronegócio são predominantemente pouco ou não qualificados com baixo nível de educação formal; parte relevante dos trabalhadores do setor não possui carteira de trabalho assinada; e, existe elevada heterogeneidade entre o mercado de trabalho dos diferentes segmentos do agronegócio - com o primário apresentando um perfil destoante - e um diferencial de rendimentos significativo associado às diferentes posições na ocupação e categorias de emprego e à localização geográfica. No segundo capítulo da tese, analisa-se o expressivo crescimento dos rendimentos do trabalho no agronegócio entre 2004 e 2015 com base na produtividade do trabalho, no custo unitário real do trabalho (CURT) e na relação entre as variações dos deflatores do PIB setoriais e do IPCA. Para isso, aplica-se o procedimento desenvolvido por Barros (2016) para analisar a mesma questão para a economia brasileira como um todo. Para encontrar o número de ocupados no agronegócio e seus segmentos, e então calcular a produtividade do trabalho, implementou-se uma adaptação do procedimento desenvolvido no primeiro capítulo da tese. Como principais resultados, encontrou-se que, para o caso do agronegócio, diferente do que Barros (2016) observou para o Brasil como um todo, não houve papel preponderante do distanciamento entre os deflatores e o IPCA para amenizar o efeito da valorização real dos rendimentos do trabalho sobre o CURT. Ainda assim, esses ganhos de rendimentos ocorreram sem influenciar o CURT devido, principalmente, ao crescimento da produtividade no setor - impulsionada, por sua vez, pelo segmento primário. Sem esse crescimento de produtividade, o CURT teria crescido a uma taxa anual de 3,4%, afetando negativamente ou mesmo inviabilizando os ganhos simultâneos para empregados e empregadores do agronegócio no período.

An analytical method for predicting life-cycle maintainability labor costs is developed. The purpose of the analytical method is to allow the evaluation of products, based on life-cycle labor cost, early in the design process. The Boeing 737-300/400/500 Bleed Air Control System is used as a test model, and the results of the analysis are compared with historical data from this system. Four prospective design changes to the Bleed Air Control System are analyzed to demonstrate the ability of the analytical method to compare different designs or design changes. / Graduation date: 1997

The market is developing and a growing competition increases pressure on companies to maintain their competitive advantage. Working with cost savings is a way to enhance earnings in a short term but also in a longer perspective. Volvo Powertrain Production Köping has an overall goal; to reduce costs by nine percentages in three years. To achieve the goal, Volvo Powertrain Production Köping works with World Class Manufacturing where the Department of Processing Technology constitutes an important part. Volvo Powertrain Production Köping lacks a standard for how savings within the metal cutting tool area are to be calculated. This makes it difficult to control and monitor their business outcome but it also causes difficulties in controlling the tool suppliers’ outcome. The suppliers’ outcome is later used as the basis in price negotiations which means that Volvo Powertrain Production Köping lacks information that can improve their outcome of a negotiation. The aim of the project is to increase understanding of how activities of processing technology affect productivity through a spreadsheet model. Starting with a current status report and a literature review revealed that many companies are missing an hourly rate designed at machine level. There are theories saying that the machine hourly rate should be allocated for both producing state and downtime, which in subsequent interviews with other companies proves to be far from being reality. Collected information was analyzed and a model was developed. The model has been tested in two improvement projects and the outcome has been compared with existing calculations from tool vendors. The result of the thesis is a standardized savings model with a machine specific hourly rate, taking into account both producing and downtime states. The savings model is based on the currently used Cost Deployment system. The proposed spreadsheet will monitor the outcome of tool suppliers which will result in a better control of cost savings and price negotiations. The savings model is not solely for savings calculations; the model also helps the user to understand how different parameters affect the cost of manufacturing. The expectation is to increase cost awareness and reduce the risk of sub-optimization in Volvo Powertrain Production Köping´s operations. The developed hourly rate is not specific to processing technology but the entire company can benefit from the spreadsheet. From a wider viewpoint, the model is applicable to manufacturing companies that have a detailed loss monitoring system similar to Cost Deployment. / Marknaden utvecklas och konkurrensen ökar vilket medför ett ökat tryck på företagen att behålla sin konkurrensfördel. Att arbeta med kostnadsbesparingar är det säkraste sättet för att öka förtjänsten på kort sikt men även i ett längre perspektiv. Volvo Powertrain Production Köping har ett övergripande mål som innebär att kostnaderna ska reduceras med nio procent på tre år. För att uppnå målet arbetar Volvo Powertrain Production Köping med World Class Manufacturing där bearbetningsteknik utgör en viktig del. Volvo Powertrain Production Köping saknar en standard för hur besparingar inom bearbetningsteknik ska beräknas. Detta medför svårigheter att kontrollera och följa upp den egna verksamhetens utfall men också svårigheter att kontrollera verktygsleverantörernas utfall som ligger till grund för inköpsförhandlingar. Syftet med examensarbetet är att öka förståelsen för hur aktiviteter inom det bearbetningstekniska området påverkar produktiviteten genom en kalkylmodell. Arbetet började med en nulägesbeskrivning och en litteraturgenomgång som visade att många företag saknade en timkostnad framtagen på maskinnivå. Det finns teori som säger att maskintimkostnaden bör finnas både för producerande tillstånd och stillestånd vilket i efterföljande kvalitativa intervjuer med andra företag visar sig vara långt ifrån verkligheten. Insamlad information analyserades och en modell utvecklades. Modellen har testats i två förbättringsprojekt och utfallet har jämförts med befintliga kalkyler från verktygsförsäljare. Resultatet av examensarbetet är en standardiserad besparingskalkyl med en maskinspecifik timkostnad där hänsyn tas till om maskinen producerar eller om maskinen har oplanerat stillestånd. Besparingskalkylen är baserad på Cost Deployment som redan används inom Volvo Powertrain Production Köping. Besparingsmodellen är inte enbart till för att beräkna besparingar utan modellen kan också hjälpa användaren att förstå hur olika parametrar påverkar tillverkningskostnaden i hopp om att öka kostnadsmedvetenheten och minska risken för suboptimering i den egna verksamheten. Den framtagna timkostnaden är inte specifik för bearbetningsteknik utan hela företaget har nytta av kalkylen vid besparingsberäkningar. I ett större perspektiv är modellen applicerbar på tillverkningsföretag som har en noggrann förlustuppföljning liknande Cost Deployment.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 157-162).

Law is always closely linked to reality and, for this reason, its areas intertwine constantly. This is how, considering the taxes that arise from the work relations, it is understood that Labor Law and Tax Law have different meeting points. Currently, a phenomenon referred to as “taxation of Labor Law” is happening and, as a complex process, it requires a detailed analysis.Is it really an interdisciplinary topic or is this a case of invasion from one branch of Law to another? Do they just have points in common or do they differ also? The author examines these and other questions and to do so, herefers, among other topics, to the role that the Sunat has in these circumstances. / El Derecho está íntimamente vinculado a la realidad y, por tal motivo, sus ramas se entrelazan constantemente. Así, considerando los tributos que surgen de relaciones laborales, se entiende que el Derecho Laboral y el Derecho Tributario tienen diversos puntos de convergencia. Actualmente, se está dando el fenómeno denominado “tributación del Derecho Laboral” y, como un proceso complejo, requiere de un análisis detallado. ¿Es un tema interdisciplinario o estamos ante un supuesto de invasión de una rama del Derecho a otra? ¿Sólo tienen puntos en común o también divergentes? El autor plantea resolver éstas y otras interrogantes haciendo referencia, entre otros, al rol de la Sunat en estas circunstancias.

Цель проекта заключается в разработке приложения, которое способно информационно поддержать структурный анализ веб-сайта. В функционал созданного приложения входят: разбор тегов, составляющих HTML-код приложения, построение карты сайта, определение ссылок на внешние адреса, нахождение и отображение в отдельном окне подгруженных на сайт графических ресурсов. В ходе выполнения ВКР были рассмотрены варианты использования данного приложения. Например, его можно использовать для оценки сложности и трудоемкости сайта. Для этого были изучены и адаптированы основные методики оценки трудоемкости создания программных продуктов. Результаты тестирования показали, что все функции приложения работают корректно и могут быть использованы в практической деятельности. / The goal of the project is to develop an application that is able to support the structural analysis of a website. The functionality of the created application includes the following stages: parsing the tags that make up the HTML code of a website under investigation, building the site map, determining links to external addresses, finding and displaying graphic resources uploaded into the site in a separate window. In this work, ways for implementing this application were considered. For example, it provides the functionality to assess the site complexity and labor costs for its development. In order to do this, main techniques for assessing labor costs of software development were learnt and adapted. Test results showed that all functions of the application were working correctly and could be used in practice.