Undocumented Worker Employment and Firm Survival

Do firms employing undocumented workers have a competitive advantage? Using administrative data from the state of Georgia, this paper investigates the incidence of undocumented worker employment across firms and how it affects firm survival. Firms are found to engage in herding behavior, being more likely to employ undocumented workers if competitors do. Rivals' undocumented employment harms firms' ability to survive, while firms' own undocumented employment strongly enhances their survival prospects. This suggests that firms enjoy cost savings from employing lower-paid undocumented workers at wages less than their marginal revenue product. The herding behavior and competitive effects are found to be much weaker in geographically broad product markets, where firms have the option to shift labor-intensive production out of state or abroad.undocumented workers, firm dynamics, monopsony, immigration policy

Undocumented worker employment and firm survivability

Do firms employing undocumented workers have a competitive advantage? Using administrative data from the state of Georgia, this paper investigates the incidence of undocumented worker employment across firms and how it affects firm survival. Firms are found to engage in herding behavior, being more likely to employ undocumented workers if competitors do. Rivals' undocumented employment harms firms' ability to survive while firms' own undocumented employment strongly enhances their survival prospects. This finding suggests that firms enjoy cost savings from employing lower-paid undocumented at workers wages less than their marginal revenue product. The herding behavior and competitive effects are found to be much weaker in geographically broad product markets, where firms have the option to shift labor-intensive production out of state or abroad.Competition

A cross-sectional study of the income sources of primary care health workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

BACKGROUND: In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the state system to remunerate health workers is poorly functional, encouraging diversification of income sources and corruption. Given the central role that health workers play in health systems, policy-makers need to ensure health workers are remunerated in a way which best incentivises them to provide effective and good quality services. This study describes the different sources and quantities of income paid to primary care health workers in Equateur, Maniema, Kasai Occidental, Province Orientale and Kasai Oriental provinces. It also explores characteristics associated with the receipt of different sources of income. METHODS: Quantitative data on the income received by health workers were collected through baseline surveys. Descriptive statistics explored the demographic characteristics of health workers surveyed, and types and amounts of incomes received. A series of regression models were estimated to examine the health worker and facility-level determinants of receiving each income source and of levels received. Qualitative data collection was carried out in Kasai Occidental province to explore perceptions of each income source and reasons for receiving each. RESULTS: Nurses made up the majority of workers in primary care. Only 31% received a government salary, while 75% reported compensation from user fees. Almost half of all nurses engaged in supplemental non-clinical activities. Receipt of government payments was associated with income from private practice and non-clinical activities. Male nurses were more likely to receive per diems, performance payments, and higher total remuneration compared to females. Contextual factors such as provincial location, presence of externally financed health programmes and local user fee policy also influenced the extent to which nurses received many income sources. CONCLUSIONS: The receipt of government payments was unreliable and had implications for receipt of other income sources. A mixture of individual, facility and geographical factors were associated with the receipt of various income sources. Greater co-ordination is needed between partners involved in health worker remuneration to design more effective financial incentive packages, reduce the fragmentation of incomes and improve transparency in the payment of workers in the DRC

3-O-Benzhydryl-2,5-dide­oxy-2,5-imino-2-C-methyl-l-lyxono-1,4-lactone

The title bicyclic lactone, C19H19NO3, is an inter­mediate in the synthesis of chiral α-methyl­prolines and branched C-methyl pyrrolidines; the absolute configuration was determined by the use of d-erythronolactone as the starting material. It exhibits no unusual crystal packing features, and each mol­ecule acts as a donor and acceptor for one C—H⋯O hydrogen bond

(S)-3-Dimethyl­amino-2-{(4S,5R)-5-[(R)-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl]-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxolan-4-yl}-2-hydroxy­propanoic acid

The Kiliani reaction on 1-de­oxy-(N,N-dimethyl­amino)-d-fructose, itself readily available from reaction of dimethyl­amine and d-glucose, proceeded to give access to the title β-sugar amino acid, C15H27NO7. X-ray crystallography determined the stereochemistry at the newly formed chiral center. There are two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit; they are related by a pseudo-twofold rotation axis and have very similar geometries, differing only in the conformation of one of the acetonide rings. All the acetonide rings adopt envelope conformations; the flap atom is oxygen in three of the rings, but carbon in one of them. There are two strong hydrogen bonds between the two independent mol­ecules, and further weak hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules to form infinite chains running parallel to the a axis