Economics research

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Expenditures In And Revenues From The UKCS : Estimating The Hypothetical Scottish Shares 1970-2003
(University of Aberdeen, 1999) Kemp, Alexander G.; Stephen, Linda; University of Aberdeen.Economics
Ethnic enclaves and employment in England and Wales
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-02) Battu, Harminder; Mwale, Macdonald
This paper examines the effects of ethnic enclaves on the employment probability of ethnic minorities living in England and Wales. Controlling for the endogeneity of residential location we find that living in a high own ethnic concentration area has no systematic effect across all ethnic groups. However, once we disaggregate we find that for some ethnic groups (Indians) enclaves seem to have a positive and significant impact on their employment probability while for other groups (Caribbeans and African-Asians), enclaves have a negative and significant impact. These results are non-trivial and are in accordance with a set of theoretical views in this literature that argue that ethnic spatial concentration can have positive as well as negative effects. The perceived disadvantages of ethnic enclaves are not omnipresent. What seem to be driving this are the differences in the quality of ethnic enclaves where Indian enclaves by being more dynamic in terms of self-employment create more jobs for others within the enclave.
Worker Absenteeism: A Study of Contagion effects
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-02) Barmby, Tim; Larguem, Makram
A number of recent studies have suggested that workers’ attendance as well as their absence, could have importance for the way in which firms’ design remuneration contracts, see Chatterji and Tilley (2000) and Skåtun (2002). One aspect of this is that, since worker absenteeism is in large part due to illness, if contracts impose costs on workers which induce them to attend work when ill this could result in the illness being more readily communicated to other workers with associated effects on productivity. This paper seeks to quantify such contagion effects by examining a personnel dataset which allows us to track daily absence decisions of a group of industrial workers employed in the same factory.
A Note on the Labour Supply Behaviour of NYC Cabdrivers: Does Experience Count?
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-03) Barmby, Tim
In a much talked about paper, Camerer, Babcock, Lowenstein and Thaler (1997), (hereafter CBLT) outline some potentially cautionary news about the intertemporal labour supply hypothesis. The basis of their paper is that cab drivers will face day to day variation in their wage rates due to a variety of factors (weather, subway breakdowns etc) which will affect demand, but that this variation is transitory. Their main conclusion is that there is some possibility that New York cabdrivers, who are the subject of their paper, might make their decisions one day at a time, using a daily income target. Chou (2002) in another paper looking at taxi divers in Singapore arrives at very similar conclusions. CBLT do take pains to point out that their result should be treated with some caution. However target income behaviour, of course, generates predictions which are counter to the intertemporal labour supply hypothesis, as on high wage days the cabdrivers will hit the income target earlier and work fewer hours. This short note looks at some of the CBLT data again and suggests that certain conclusions of the original article may be modified, particularly with respect to the effect of level of experience of the cabdriver, as the title suggests.
Urban Effects on Participation and Wages: Are there Gender Differences
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-08) Phimister, Euan
This paper estimates participation and wage equations using panel data from the United Kingdom to explore gender differences in urban wage and participation premiums. The results suggest a small but economically significant urban participation premium for women but none for men. Results from the wage estimations suggest that after controlling for sample selectivity, observed and unobserved heterogeneity, the urban premium is larger for women. This wage premium is also larger for married or cohabiting women relative to others. There is also evidence of higher urban returns to experience for men and lower urban wage depreciation for both men and women.
Is it Easier to Escape from Low Pay in Urban Areas? Evidence from the UK
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-08) Phimister, Euan Cartner; Theodossiou, Ioannis; Upward, Richard; Centre for European Labour Market Research; University of Aberdeen, Business School, Economics
In this paper we compare periods of low pay employment between urban and rural areas in the UK. Using the British Household Panel Survey, we estimate the probability that a period of low pay employment will end allowing for a number of possible outcomes, namely to a ‘high pay’ job, self-employment, unemployment and out of the labour force. The results show that there are statistically significant differences in the dynamics of low pay across urban and rural labour markets, particularly in terms of exits to high pay and out of the labour force. After controlling for different personal and job characteristics across markets, urban low pay durations are somewhat shorter on average, with a higher probability that urban workers will move to high pay. However, the results suggest that any urban-rural differences in the typical low pay experience are particularly concentrated among certain types of individuals, e.g. young workers, women without qualifications.
Explaining Student Retention: The case of the University of Aberdeen
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-09) McCausland, W. David; Theodossiou, Ioannis; Mavromaras, Kostas
Student retention has risen high on the political agenda in the UK as part of the government’s priorities to widen participation in higher education, in particular among groups traditionally under-represented in the sector. These concerns have been reflected in policies of the funding bodies in the UK. In turn Universities across the UK have become increasingly active in developing processes and procedures to meet the challenges of improving student retention while simultaneously widening access and participation in the context of rising student numbers overall. This has led to the desire for accurate data and reliable statistical analysis on which to inform policy at the University of Aberdeen. The purpose of this report is to answer the question: “To what extent can the probability of drop out of a student be explained by student characteristics?” Are mature students more likely to drop out? Is there an empirical distinction between younger and older mature students? Are male students more prone to dropping out? To what extent can the level of entry qualifications explain dropouts? Are there any differences in the impact of below core entry qualifications between male and female students? Do students who performed unsatisfactorily in their first year and who were allowed to repeat this first year drop out less or more often than other students? Have there been any significant trends over time? It is clear that any associations of these characteristics with drop out rates may have important policy implications for the University as it may allow the identification of those potentially “at risk” before they join the University and hence facilitate the targeting of support once students start their studies.
The Relationship Between Obesity, Lifestyles and Employment Status
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-10) Goode, Alison; Mavromaras, Kostas; Zangelidis, Alexandros
This paper investigates the relationship between obesity and lifestyles in the light of different employment status. The distinction between Employed and Not-employed individuals is used in order to represent the different constraints that face the two types of individuals: the average Employed has more money and less time and the average Not-employed has less money and more time. Typically, healthy eating is more expensive than less healthy lower quality food and the price of healthy eating is usually outwith the control of individuals. By contrast, the price of physical activity can be controlled by individuals, but only when they have sufficient free time. Economic theory would then suggest that where obesity may be perceived to be a problem by the individual, the Employed will engage more in (expensive but not time consuming) healthy eating and the Not-employed will engage more in (less expensive but time consuming) physical activity. The paper uses quantile regression in order to investigate these effects at different segments of the BMI distribution. Instrumental variables are used in order to control for endogeneity bias. Conditional estimates lend support to the predictions of economic theory: the Employed engage more in healthy eating and the Not-employed engage more in physical activity.
Do Social Preferences Increase Productivity? Field experimental evidence from fishermen in Toyama Bay
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-10) Seki, Erika; Carpenter, Jeffrey
We provide a reason for the wider economics profession to take social preferences, a concern for the outcomes achieved by other reference agents, seriously. Although we show that student measures of social preference elicited in an experiment have little external validity when compared to measures obtained from a field experiment with a population of participants who face a social dilemma in their daily lives (i.e., team production), we also find strong links between the social preferences of our field participants and their productivity at work.
Profitable Career Paths: The Importance of Occupational and Industry Expertise
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-10) Zangelidis, Alexandros
This paper departs from the conventional assumption that divides accumulated in work human capital into employer-specific and general labour market skills, and pursues the idea of industry and occupational specificity. Occupation-specific skills are estimated to have an important contribution in wage determination, while the evidence on industry specificity is not strong and in some cases inconclusive. The findings also outline that industry and occupational expertise are truly important to individuals’ earnings in industry sectors and occupations that are characterised by high-paying, prestigious but, competitive and demanding jobs, like professional and managerial jobs or jobs in the banking and finance sector.
Effects of rotation scheme on fishing behaviour with price discrimination and limited durability: Theory and evidence.
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-10) Seki, Erika
This paper examines how rotation arrangement between two groups of fishers with different institutional arrangements affects fishing behaviour and economic outcomes in a particular economic environment characterised by price discrimination and product durability. In one group, fishers cooperate and maximise the extraction of rents, while members in the second group behave non-cooperatively. Applying a model of alternating duopoly, we show that the cooperating group behaves like a price discriminating monopolist and tends to uphold prices. When the two groups rotate fishing days the cooperating group tends to produce more, which prevents the non-cooperating group from unprofitable demand pre-emption.
Seniority profiles in unionised workplaces:Do unions still have the edge?
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-10) Zangelidis, Alexandros
This paper, using data from the British Household Panel; Survey, explores how institutional arrangements influence employees’ wages. Particularly, it distinguishes the different paths seniority-earnings profiles follow depending on whether the individual is employed in a workplace where trade unions and collective bargaining are present, or not. Within this framework, two propositions are set. It is argued that in the union sector seniority should be an important determinant of wages, while in the less structured non-union sector true productivity, proxied by the more competitive accumulated skills and professional expertise, should have a key role on earnings profiles. Indeed the empirical analysis on male employees verifies both propositions. Seniority-earnings profiles appear to be steeper in the union-sector, while occupational expertise is estimated to have a more significant role in non-union jobs.
Job contact networks and the ethnic minorities
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-11) Battu, Harminder; Seaman, Paul; Zenou, Yves
This paper examines the job finding methods of different ethnic groups in the UK. The theoretical framework shows that less assimilated ethnic unemployed workers are more likely to use their friends and family as their main method of search but they have less chance of finding a job using this method compared to whites and more assimilated ethnic unemployed workers that use formal job search methods (adverts, employment agencies etc.). Using data from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), we test these hypotheses. Our empirical findings are consistent with the theory since they suggest that, though networks are a popular method of finding a job for the ethnic minorities, they are not necessarily the most effective either in terms of gaining employment or in terms of the level of job achieved. However, there are important differences across ethnic groups with the Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups and those born outside the UK (the least assimilated), losing out disproportionately from using personal networks.
Regional earnings inequality in Great Britain: Evidence from fixed-effects regressions
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-11) Dickey, Heather
Earnings inequality in Great Britain has increased substantially over the last two decades at both the national and regional levels. This paper examines the determinants of regional hourly earnings over the period 1976 to 1995 by estimating regional fixed-effects earnings equations. Using panel dataset from the New Earnings Survey, individual-specific heterogeneity is controlled for, and superior estimates of the factors affecting regional earnings are obtained. Increasing returns to skill, increasing industrial differentials, and increasing premiums for older workers are found to have contributed to increasing regional earnings inequality, and consequently rising earnings inequality at the national level.
Who are the moonlighters and why they moonlight: Evidence for rural communities
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-11) Dickey, Heather; Theodossiou, Ioannis
This paper examines the incidence of and reasons for moonlighting in the context of rural communities where multiple-job holding is viewed as an important means of promoting sustainability of these communities. Drawing upon a unique dataset of a relatively homogeneous population living in an isolated area on the west coast of Scotland, where employment opportunities are limited, dual-job holding is investigated within the fisheries and aquaculture industries. Evidence is found that those who moonlight do not do so primarily for financial reasons, and that educational attainment has a positive impact on the incidence of dual-job holding.
National and regional earnings inequality in Great Britain: Evidence from quantile regressions
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2004-11) Dickey, Heather
Earnings inequality in Great Britain has increased substantially over the last two decades at both the national and regional levels. This paper examines the changes that have taken place within both the national and regional distributions of earnings in Great Britain over the period 1976 to 1995. The estimation of national OLS and quantile regressions highlights those factors that have contributed to the rise in national earnings inequality, while the estimation of regional quantile earnings equations reveal the causes of increasing regional earnings inequality.
An intertemporal model of the real exchange rate, stock market, and international debt dynamics: policy simulations
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2005-01) Gazioglu, Saziye; McCausland, W. David
This paper develops an open economy intertemporal optimising model that seeks to analyse the effect of bill financed government expenditure on several key financial markets. The main results suggest that an increase in bill financed government expenditure leads to a rise in net international debt, a fall in the domestic real exchange rate and a fall in the stock market value. Furthermore, due to the presence of non-linearities in the model, reversing the deficit financing policy doesn’t restore the initial net international credit, high stock market value state. Instead, the country finds itself stuck in an international debt and low stock market value trap.
Things Can Only get Worse? An Empirical Examination of the Peter Principle.
(2006) Barmby, Tim; Eberth, Barbara; Ma, Ada
The results reported in this paper suggest the possible operation of the Peter Principle in a large hierarchical financial sector firm. This result holds even after we allow for variation in optimal effort over stages in the hierarchy. The method also allows us to attribute the contributory factors for the observed fall in performance after a promotion. It appears that approximately 2/3 of the fall is due to the Peter Principle and 1/3 due to lessening incentives.
Specific Human Capital Accumulation and Job Match Quality – Implications for Measuring Returns to Tenure
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2006) Barmby, Tim; Eberth, Barbara
This paper uses the theoretical argument presented by Stevens (2003) that suggests that the measured returns to tenure will unambiguously be biased downwards. We illustrate this effect for data from a UK internal labour market using the counterfactual methodology outlined by DiNardo, Fortin and Lemieux (1996). Finally we argue that Stevens’s theory offers a possible explanation for the apparent puzzle presented by Medoff and Abraham (1980) who find that their estimated coefficient on tenure did not fall when direct measures of productivity were introduced into the wage equation.
Do Career Prospects Make Happy Workers? Evidence from Panel Data
(University of Aberdeen Business School, 2006) Theodossiou, Ioannis; Zangelidis, Alexandros
This paper investigates the relationship between career profile, job tenure, earnings and job satisfaction utilising the British Household Panel Survey Dataset (BHPS). Career status is modelled as an endogenous variable, subject to an initial job choice and the potential endogeneity of the tenure-earnings and tenure-job satisfaction relationship is taken into account by the use of instrumental variable estimation. It is found that job satisfaction of individuals employed in jobs with career prospects is not only higher compared with those who are not, but also that their returns to tenure in terms of job satisfaction are significantly higher.