Thesis (M.B.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01

The private sector in developing countries plays a key role in job-creation and is central to economic development and poverty alleviation. Governments around the world use various policies and regulations targeting firms in an attempt to foster growth. This dissertation focuses on the interplay between government policies, firm behavior, and labor markets in India. In Chapter 1, I study the impact of a location-based tax incentive scheme in India. Location-based policies that target particular geographic regions are widely used by governments, but there have been few rigorous evaluations of their causal impacts especially in the context of developing countries. Using aggregated and firm-level panel data, I find large increases in employment, total output, fixed capital, and the number of firms as a result of the program. These increases are due to both the growth of existing firms as well as the entry of new firms. There is supporting evidence that the new firms entering the treated regions are larger and more productive. I find no evidence for relocation of firms or spillovers in industrial activity between treatment and control areas. Finally, using data from household surveys, I show that wages of workers rise but find no changes in housing rents or migration across the treated and control regions. My results therefore suggest that the policy increased welfare, and I also conclude that the policy was cost-effective. This provides support for place-based policies to correct for regional economic disparities, especially in settings with low labor mobility. In the next chapter, I focus on the effects of a place-based policy on informal firms. The informal sector in India is a major component of economic activity covering more than 80% of the workforce. More often than not, the informal sector is beyond the ambit of tax authorities, hurting public finances in India. In Chapter 2, I study the impact of the federally financed location-based tax incentive scheme (studied in Chapter 1) on informal firms in India. Using a difference-in-differences approach with bordering districts, neighboring states, and major states as control groups, I find no evidence for increases in employment, total output, gross value added, and registration status for informal firms on average. However, separating informal firms into those that do not hire regular workers (Own Account Manufacturing Enterprises) and those that hire workers (Non-directory manufacturing enterprises/Directory Manufacturing Enterprises) reveals heterogeneous effects. I find that the policy change led to a higher likelihood of registration by NDME/DMEs but no effect on OAMEs. The policy change did not impact the size of these different kinds of firms. This chapter provides suggestive evidence that tax-exemption schemes can be a useful policy tool to incentivize informal firms to register. In Chapter 3, I revisit the contentious labor laws in India and their effects on hiring decisions of firms faced with demand shocks. Labor regulations in India differ by states and apply differently across types of laborers. The most restrictive laws make it harder to fire permanent workers for firms. However, these laws do not apply to workers hired through contractors (contract workers). Using firm-level data from India, I find that compared to firms in flexible labor regulations, those in more restrictive labor regimes hire more contract workers as a response to transitory local demand shocks. I find no differential response in hiring of permanent workers by firms faced with these shocks. This suggests that firms circumvent labor laws by hiring workers indirectly through contractors in the face of economic fluctuations.

Thesis (LLM (Labour law))-- University of Limpopo, 2010.

Thesis (LLM. (Labour Law)) -- University of Limpopo, 2011 / The definition of an employee in most protective labour legislations excludes various categories of workers. The definition of what an employee is, is different in labour legislation. A new presumption of what an employee is, is just a guideline and not exhaustive. The tests developed by our courts do not assist in defining an employee in boarderline cases. It is not simple as it originally seemed. In the beginning it seemed certain but in the end the definition can no longer be valid. The definition of an employee is a journey of a thousand miles which begins with the test step-with no end. The words of Francis Bacan seem to hold water regarding most definition of an employee. Francis Bacan said I quote ‘if a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts, but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.

Thesis (LLM. (Labour Law)) --University of Limpopo, 2012 / The issue of promotion in the workplace has become a subject of discussion these days. As this issue is sensitive and important to both employers and employees it will always bring about conflicting interacts and rights between the two parties. Promotion of employees in the workplace helps the employers to fill up vacant posts and at the same time helps some employees to move up the ladder or get promoted and thereby improving their livelihood or living conditions. In the process of doing this, some employees who did not succeed will feel disappointed and challenge the employer’s decision in the bargaining councils or Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) and even in courts. This dissertation has been extensively researched and supplemented accordingly by incorporating the latest case law in promotional disputes in the shop floor in court or arbitration proceedings. Both employers and employees will find the information contained in this comprehensive and reliable work an indispensible guide to a complex and yet interesting area of law. This work deals with promotion in the workplace in general and the manner in which employers should handle them in order to avoid unnecessary promotion disputes which are often protracted and costly and on how these disputes should be dealt with successfully once they arise.

Originally presented as the author's Thesis (doctoral--Universität Hamburg, 1994). / Includes bibliographical references (p. 280-298).

<p><font size="2" face="Arial"><font size="2" face="Arial"> <p align="left">This research paper is a review of the assertion by some commentators that the regulation of the labour market is a cause of the high unemployment rate in South Africa. It starts by providing a historical background of statutory industrial relations in South Africa leading to the current labour dispensation. The discussion includes a review of the current labour legislation and assessment of its compliance with international law. The rating of the South African labour market by the Doing Business study is discussed. This study seeks to ascertain whether there is a causal relation between labour market regulation and the unemployment rate. The conclusion reached is that South African labour legislation complies with international law as espoused in International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions, is not excessively rigid and, most importantly, that there is no convincing evidence of a causal relation between labour market regulation and the unemployment rate.</p> </font></font><font size="2" face="Arial"><font size="2" face="Arial"> <p>&nbsp / </p> </font></font></p>

<p>This research paper examines the different forms of employment patterns that have emerged as a result of globalisation as well as the mechanisms that have been used by the legislator to accommodate those in non-standard employment relationships.</p>

Thesis (LL. M.)--York University, 2000. / Typescript. "Graduate Programme in Law." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 166-179). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ71639.

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