In this thesis, I study the impact of minimum wage policy and city agglomeration on wages and employment in local labour markets. This is an important topic because having a better understanding of the determinants of regional wage differentials and employment offers insights into: the roles played by local production, consumption and city structures; the standard of living enjoyed by workers with different human capitals; and policy recommendations for the future minimum wage law and city planning regulations. I use local occupation and geographic information to assess how highly productive occupations and local consumption amenities sort workers and generate local wage differentials. I also use this information to construct instruments that enable the accurate estimation of the effects of policy interventions. After an introduction in chapter 1, chapter 2, The Impact of the Minimum Wage on the Wage Distribution: Evidence from China, provides an empirical estimation of the effects of minimum wages using a Chinese household survey. I introduce new instrumental variables, relating to transport costs and local productivity, to control for the potential median wage endogeneity. The instrument variable regressions indicate that the effective minimum wage, defined as the ratio between the minimum wage and the median wage, significantly reduces the lower tail wage inequality — measured by the wage differential between the 50th and the 10th percentiles— by up to 0.3 per cent. In chapter 3, The MinimumWage and Its Impact onWage and Employment, joint work with Coen Teulings, we propose a novel framework for estimating the effects of minimum wages by considering the neoclassical wage and labour participation equations at the same time. To estimate the non-linear censored model with correlated error terms, we provide a five-step procedure and use maximum likelihood estimation. After correcting the bias using occupation information and city size, we find that effective minimum wage correlate significantly with the proportion of workers earning below minimum wage. I study the structure of city and commuting in chapter 4, Consumer City and the Sharing Economy. Based on the international trade literature, I develop a theoretical model with multiple cities, which have different amenities and productivities. In equilibrium, the unobservable parameters are estimated using local employment, wage, and commuting information. Cities show strong agglomeration effects in both productivity and consumption amenities. A counterfactual technological improvement, providing a cheaper transportation for workers and consumers, leads to a more concentrated employment distribution, commuting pattern and higher utility. In the final chapter, Agglomeration and Sorting, joint work with Coen Teulings, we show that agglomeration externalities are strongly related to the occupational structure. At the same time, regional differences in house prices offset these externalities. We develop a multi-region model with regional heterogeneity in workers and jobs, tradable versus non-tradable commodities, consumption amenities, regional house prices, non-homothetic utility, and interregional labour mobility. The model fits the regional data on the fixed wage effects, the return and mean level of human capital, land prices, and the city-rural area distinction well. We use land values to calculate the value of agglomeration.

The collection of articles in this Special Feature is part of a larger project on "Forecasting Societies" Adaptive Capacity to Climate Change (an Advanced Grant of the European Research Council to Wolfgang Lutz). In investigating how global change will affect population vulnerability to climate variability and extremes, the project aims to help develop strategies that enable societies to better cope with the consequences of climate change. In doing so, the basic hypothesis being tested is that societies can develop the most effective long-term defense against the dangers of climate change by strengthening human capacity, primarily through education. Education can directly influence risk perception, skills and knowledge and indirectly reduce poverty, improve health and promote access to information and resources. Hence, when facing natural hazards or climate risks, educated individuals, households and societies are assumed to be more empowered and more adaptive in their response to, preparation for, and recovery from disasters. Indeed the findings from eleven original empirical studies set in diverse geographic, socioeconomic, cultural and hazard contexts provide consistent and robust evidence on the positive impact of formal education on vulnerability reduction. Highly educated individuals and societies are reported to have better preparedness and response to the disasters, suffered lower negative impacts, and are able to recover faster. This suggests that public investment in empowering people and enhancing human capacity through education can have a positive externality in reducing vulnerability and strengthening adaptive capacity amidst the challenges of a changing climate.

The aim of this study was to assess challenges in Public Appointments and Recruitment Processes in Chris Hani District Municipality: A case study of Human Resource Department in Lukhanji Local Municipality (2008-2010) of the Eastern Cape Province. There has never been a detailed research study conducted in the Chris Hani Human Resource Department, regarding the subject in question. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa in Section 195(i) directs that Public Administration must be broadly representative of the South African people, with employment and personnel management practices based on ability, objectivity, fairness and the need to redress the imbalances of the past to achieve broad representation. The literature review explored extensively the models used in implementing recruitment and appointment processes globally. From those tested models elsewhere, it was evident that South Africa has a great Constitution and good policies regarding Local Government Human Resource Department recruitment and appointment processes not withstanding some challenges cited in the study. This assessment of challenges in the public appointments and recruitment processes in Chris Hani District Municipality assisted in the establishment of the real facts about effective and fair recruitment and appointment processes in the Local Government Human Resource Management Department to deserving communities. It became clear from the study that providing efficient and fair recruitment and appointments processes to the Local Government Human Resource Department in South Africa requires a broader advocacy agenda encompassing the development of Human Resource systems and the generation of numerous skills and expertise to deliver services to the poor people of our country.

The main goal of this graduation theses named "The remuneration system of human resources in the company" is to evaluate the current system of remuneration and productivity of human sources in a company, that I chose and design a process that would lead to improvement in human resources achievments. In the practical part is charecterized the chosen company, in detail described its system of remuneration and structure of employees. On the basis of the observed data there are designed some changes to make the remuneration system more effective that would lead to improvement in human resources achievments.

This diploma work is dealing and talking about remuneration system and evaluating the effectiveness of the company Galasport Ltd. (Galasport s.r.o.) for the time period from 2011 to 2015. All data and needed information were obtained from the profit and loss account of the company or material from an interview with employees and management. This work is divided into three sections. Theory, methodology and practice. The theoretical part describes the basic characteristics of human capital, payroll system, motivation and productivity. Data are obtained from the literature. The methodology describes all the necessary formulas for the next application in the practical part. It is the labor productivity, the average monthly wage, labor costs per employee or wage growth and productivity. The formula in labor productivity was calculated from four perspectives. Labor productivity is calculated as a proportion of total revenue or added value to the average number of employees or personnel costs. In practical part the high society is characterized, also is broken down in detail the structure of the employees remuneration system. Consequently they are applied to all formulas that were defined in the methodology. Using the formula of productivity, efficiency was observed in the company. In conclusion, the proposals are designed to maintain and improve the efficiency of employees.

Este trabalho visa analisar a relação de causalidade existente entre ensino superior e crescimento econômico no período de 1954 a 1999. Para isso abordar-se-á a economia da educação, com ênfase na abordagem do capital humano e o papel do Estado na economia, com destaque para área da educação. Além disso, analisar-se-á através de estudo empírico a relação entre a educação em nível superior e o PIB brasileiro. / The objective of this dissertation is to analyze the causality relationship between higher education and economic growth. It will be broached the education economy with emphasis in the human capital theory and the Estate in economy bring out to the education area. Moreover it will be analyzed through empirical methodology the relationship between higher education and economic growth.

Submitted by Daniella Santos (daniella.santos@fgv.br) on 2009-08-07T12:39:31Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Marcelo_Zouain_Pedroni.pdf: 659759 bytes, checksum: 3609c2455d6be1829e847dd880a510b3 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Antoanne Pontes(antoanne.pontes@fgv.br) on 2009-08-07T17:39:30Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Marcelo_Zouain_Pedroni.pdf: 659759 bytes, checksum: 3609c2455d6be1829e847dd880a510b3 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2009-08-07T17:39:30Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertacao_Marcelo_Zouain_Pedroni.pdf: 659759 bytes, checksum: 3609c2455d6be1829e847dd880a510b3 (MD5) / Lucas (2009) has proposed a two-sector model to account for patterns in growth data. However, Lucas’s analysis does not involve any inter-temporal decision by the consumers. The behavior of the variables is determined a priori by the technology that is chosen. Rodriguez (2006) proposed a model with the twosector technology presented by Lucas adding an inter-temporal decision process for the consumer. In addition to the results obtained by Rodriguez, we characterize sufficiency and provide elucidating examples of particular cases of the model. Moreover, we make an effort to derive new insights from the model and clarify some technical points. Finally, we obtain conditions under which the economy invests in human capital even though benefits are deferred. / Lucas (2009) propôs um modelo com dois setores para explicar padrões observados em dados de crescimento. Entretanto, a análise de Lucas não envolve uma decisão intertemporal para o consumidor. O comportamento das variáveis é determinado à priori pela tecnologia escolhida. Rodriguez (2006) propôs um modelo com a tecnologia com dois setores apresentada por Lucas adicionando um processo de decisão intertemporal para o consumidor. Adicionalmente aos resultados obtidos por Rodriguez, nós caracterizamos suficiência e apresentamos exemplos esclarecedores de casos particulares do modelo. Ademais, nós fazemos um esforço para derivar novos insights e esclarecer alguns pontos técnicos. Finalmente, nós obtemos condições sob as quais a economia investe em capital humano mesmo com benefícios diferidos.

The first essay is The linkage between foreign direct investment and international migration. Immigration policy and policies regarding the flow of capital across borders are generally enacted separately. Such separation may not be appropriate if there are interactions between immigration and foreign direct investment (FDI). Although much research has focused on the determinants of international migration, little agreement has been made with respect to how FDI affects migration. In this paper, we attempt to clarify the influence of FDI on migration. We consider not only how aggregate FDI into country i affects migration from i to j but also how the FDI that i receives specifically from country j (which we denote as bilateral FDI) affects migration from i to j. We find that bilateral FDI stock has a positive and significant impact on the size of migrant stock through what we call an ``ideological linkage". We show that this finding is robust across different estimation methods, including instrumental variables Tobit and Heckman selection models. We conclude that the influence of FDI on migration needs to be considered when designing economic policies. The second essay is Environmental quality and international migration. This essay examines the extent of which pollution is a factor that pushes people to migrate across borders. It provides an empirical analysis of the aspects of air quality and its unexplored role in the international migration. We allow pollution to affect migrants differently according to their gender and educational attainment. We also consider different types of air pollution such as sulfur dioxide and particulate matter. We then test for the interaction between environmental quality and income upon migration. We find that air pollution is a push factor but not necessarily for countries with very high incomes. We also find evidence supporting that there is a gender difference in the migration-environment association. Finally, the third essay is The effects of foreign universities on domestic human capital accumulation. In this essay, we focus on the impact of foreign direct investment in education (i.e., foreign universities opening up branches overseas) on human capital formation in the host countries. High ranking universities have the privilege to enter foreign market and usually enjoy subsidy from the host country. However, the entry of low quality foreign universities may have positive impact on domestic human capital accumulation with less uncertainty. In our model, we have three types of universities: high quality foreign universities located domestically, low quality foreign universities located domestically and domestic universities. Agents in the model represent students in the host country who decide upon their level of preparedness for a university education. As comparative statics exercises, we examine how effort changes when the slots of high quality or low quality foreign institutions change. Results from these comparative statics exercises could help a government choose the optimal size of high quality or low quality foreign universities where optimal means maximizing aggregate effort. We also examine the effect of foreign education premium on human capital accumulation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first economics-based, theoretical study of this issue. We conclude that the entry of low quality foreign universities generally increases domestic human capital accumulation whereas allowing more high quality universities to enter the country produces less straightforward results. We also find that lowering the wage gap could have beneficial effects on human capital accumulation.

x, 132 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This dissertation examines the role that institutions play in the existence of multiple equilibria in models of economic development. In addition, it examines the dynamics of transition between such equilibria. In the first chapter of this dissertation, I build a dynamic model of institutional choice, wherein the government invests in the legal infrastructure in response to the need for the protection of output from appropriation. A unique equilibrium exists only under commitment, not under discretion. This would suggest that a measure of institutional quality must not only consider the extent to which current policies protect property rights but also include the ability of the government to commit to reform in the long run. The second chapter of this dissertation examines the effect of adaptive learning on stability and transitional dynamics between multiple equilibria in a growth model with human capital externalities. I find that there are two equilibria, one a poverty trap with no education. Only the poverty trap is locally stable under learning. However, productivity shocks are not sufficient to generate transitions between the equilibria. Indeed, productivity shocks must lie below a threshold in order for the economy to escape the poverty trap. These escape paths do not allow the economy to transition to the upper steady state. I propose instead the use of shocks to expectations to permit such a transition. The third chapter of this dissertation presents an empirical test for the role that human capital and institutions may play in transitions between equilibria by estimating a Markov-switching regression. This methodology allows me to characterize both distinct growth regimes and transitions between them. I explore the effects of time-varying institutional measures and human capital on transition probabilities. I find that political and economic institutions are similar in their effects on transitions arid that the time variation in the institutional measure increases the probability of identifying both miracle growth and stagnation regimes. Furthermore, human capital has a significant effect on switches between miracle growth, stable growth and stagnation. / Committee in charge: George Evans, Co-Chairperson, Economics; Shankha Chakraborty, Co-Chairperson, Economics; Jeremy Piger, Member, Economics; Yue Fang, Outside Member, Decision Sciences

ix, 88 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / This dissertation addresses the high disease burden in developing countries today by examining the role of disease in economic development through its impact on productivity, fertility and human capital investment. In the second chapter of this dissertation, I model the impact on labor productivity of a change in disease susceptibility that results from intellectual property rights (IPR) reform. I develop a North-South model in which the disease environments differ between the rich and poor countries, and individuals consume innovated health goods to avoid the cost (labor time lost) of getting a disease. Southern welfare is shown to increase with the imposition of IPR protection when health needs in the South differ sufficiently from those in the North, and when health goods are accessible (in terms of adequate health care infrastructure) and effective (in counteracting disease). In the third chapter of this dissertation, I model the impact of child disease burden on fertility and human capital investment. The fertility response to a decline in child mortality depends on the morbidity effect of the disease, the level of disease burden, and whether prevalence rates or case fatalities decline. Fertility rates follow mortality and morbidity, but since mortality and morbidity do not always move in the same direction, the fertility response may be dampened or non-monotonic. Using a 20-year panel data set on malaria prevalence for 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, I find empirical support for the cases defined by the model; changes in malaria prevalence affect fertility more in non-endemic areas, where cases are more severe and more fatal relative to endemic areas. Historical and biological evidence suggest a link between (infectious) diseases early in life and (non-infectious) diseases later in life. In Chapter IV I model this link using a three-period overlapping generations model in which childhood disease outcomes affect longevity. Simulations in a general equilibrium framework duplicate the defining characteristics of the epidemiological-demographic transition as it occurred in many industrialized countries: as disease declines parents engage in a quantity-quality tradeoff for children, longevity rises and population declines after an initial jump. This dissertation includes unpublished co-authored material. / Committee in charge: Shankha Chakraborty, Chairperson, Economics; Bruce Blonigen, Member, Economics; Peter Lambert, Member, Economics; Laura Leete, Member, Planriing Public Policy & Mgmt; Jean Stockard, Outside Member, Planning Public Policy & Mgmt