Adjustment capacity of labour markets of the Western Balkan countries

Study on the adjustment capacity to shocks of EU candidate and potential candidate countries of the Western Balkans, with a focus on labour markets, and background studies on several countries of the region. The main question addressed in this study is the performance of the labour markets in the Western Balkans; to find out whether they can deliver growth of employment and decline of unemployment in the medium run and whether they can withstand short-term shocks due to changes in demand or supply. The study finds that there is an important case for improving the rule of law and the quality of public services in general in the fight against very low participation and employment rates in the region, as well as very high unemployment. Wages, with some exceptions in specific sectors, do not seem to be mis-aligned with respect to productivity developments. There is some indication of possible positive effects from adjusting employment protection legislation, especially for women. The study also identifies an important role for income policies in some of the countries as an important complement to labour market policies.Adjustment capacity, external shocks, Western Balkan countries, South-East Europe, labour markets, EU candidate countries, potential candidate countries, employment protection legislation, rule of law, wages, productivity, taxwedge, remittances, migration

Technical Report of Accomplishments of the Weatherization Leveraging Partnership Project

The Weatherization Leveraging Partnership Project was established to provide three types of technical assistance support to W.A.P. network organizations seeking to achieve the Weatherization Plus goal of expanding their non-federal resources. It provided: (1) Analysis that profiled W.A.P.-eligible household energy characteristics and finances for all in determining efficiency investment targets and goals; (2) Detailed information on leveraged partnerships linked from many sources and created a website with finding aids to meet the needs the network identified. There are five major market segments with related, but different, technical assistance needs; (3) Direct, sustained assistance in preparing strategies, analyses, and communications for a limited set of local network initiatives that were in early stages of initiating or changing their resource expansion strategies. The Project identified trends in the challenges that weatherizers initiatives encountered; it designed materials and tools, including the dynamic www.weatherizationplus.org website, to meet the continuing and the emerging needs

The Effect of Moving to a Territorial Tax System on Profit Repatriation: Evidence from Japan

In an increasingly globalized world, the design of international tax systems in terms of taxation on foreign corporate incomes has received much attention from policymakers and economists alike. In the past, Japan\u27s worldwide tax system taxed foreign source income upon repatriation. However, to stimulate dividend repatriations from Japanese-owned foreign affiliates, Japan introduced a foreign dividend exemption in 2009 that exempts dividends remitted by Japanese-owned foreign affiliates to their parent firms from home taxation. This paper examines the effect of this dividend exemption on profit repatriations by Japanese multinationals. We find that the response of Japanese-owned affiliates to the dividend exemption was heterogeneous. More particularly, foreign affiliates with a large stock of retained earnings were generally more responsive to the reform and significantly increased dividend payments to their parent firms in response to the enactment of the dividend exemption system. Dividend payments by these affiliates also became more sensitive to withholding tax rates on dividends levied by host countries under the new exemption system.JEL Classification Codes: H25, F23http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/hasegawa_makoto

The impact of learning on employability

The Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (Inclusion), the British Market Research Bureau (BMRB) and the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) were commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in 2007 to undertake a survey on the impact of learning on employability. This report presents the key findings of the survey. The survey investigated the impact and benefits of general learning in further education (FE) on: the economic status of workless individuals - their progression into work and off benefits; and the personal impact of learning - in terms of improving skills and increasing confidence. Approximately 10,000 learners were interviewed by telephone from June to August 2007. They had all undertaken an FE course which completed in 2005-06, and all were eligible for fee remission due to receipt of workless benefits. Ten per cent of the sample were working less than 16 hours a week when their course started, and all were aged between 20 and 55. The key findings were that nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) of learners who were claiming workless benefits at the start of their FE course have worked since finishing their learning and one in three learners have moved into work and are no longer claiming workless benefits. Employment outcomes are less positive for learners with multiple disadvantages. However, those with multiple disadvantages do benefit from a positive impact of learning in terms of improved communication skills, improved employability skills and increased confidence

How Can Micro and Small Enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa Become More Productive? The Impacts of Experimental basic Managerial Training

経済学 / EconomicsThe vast majority of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in developing countries are located in industrial clusters, and the majority of such clusters have yet to see their growth take off. The performance of MSE clusters is especially low in Sub-Saharan Africa. While existing studies often attribute the poor performance to factors outside firms, problems within firms are seldom scrutinized. In fact, entrepreneurs in these clusters are unfamiliar with standard business practices. Based on a randomized experiment in Ghana, this study demonstrates that basic-level management training improves business practices and performance.JEL Classification Codes: M31, M41, O14, C93http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/sonobe_tetsushi

The Determinants and Stability of Real Money Demand in Vietnam, 1999-2009

経済学 / EconomicsUnderstanding the money demand function is highly important for monetary policy implementation, especially in a monetary targeting framework. The paper uses cointegration analysis and a reduced-form short-run error correction model to investigate the demand for money in Vietnam between 1999 and 2009. We find evidence for a cointegrating relationship between the real money demand, income, the foreign interest rate, and the real stock price. More importantly, statistical tests show that real money demand in Vietnam is stable in this period.JEL Classification Codes: E41, E58, C2

The Effects of Female Education on Adolescent Pregnancy and Child Health: Evidence from Uganda’s Universal Primary Education for Fully Treated Cohorts

Early pregnancy poses serious medical risk and economic burden to mother and neonatal children. While Economics literature generally explains negative relationship between female schooling and early fertility, it remains unclear whether this reflects a causal relationship. To fill in such a gap in literature, this paper examines the impact of female education on adolescent fertility, health investment behavior and the health status of their children in Uganda, focusing on the fully treated cohorts whose fees were abolished by Universal Primary Education policy (UPE) just before they entered schools. Education is instrumented by the interaction between across-cohorts differences in exposure to UPE and the differences in its effective benefits across districts with varying pre-program rates of completing primary education. We show that attending an additional year of schooling reduces the probability of marriage and that of giving birth before age 18 by 7.0-7.2 percentage points. Among those who become mothers, educated women use maternal care and infant immunization more often, and had lower probability that their child dies before 12 months after the birth. These results indicate that promoting the access to primary education among girls is an effective program to reduce adolescent pregnancy. It also shows the important role of maternal education in breaking the cycle of intergenerational transmission of the poor health in least eveloping countries by reducing child mortality. This in turn underscores the importance of considering the widespread benefits of female education in shaping the policy and nstitution influencing educational attainment.JEL Classification Codes: J13, J12, D10, O10http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/yamauchi_chikako

Military and Development in Bangladesh

SUMMARY This article traces the origins of the Bangladesh army back to the British East India Company's army and follows its development through the colonial period, looking at the consequences of the exclusion of Bengalis after 1857. It shows why the Bengali sections of the Pakistan army were brought to the point of revolt in the national liberation struggle of 1971, and examines the factors which inhibited the development of a people's army and people's war. The erosion of public support for the Mujib government and the 1971 takeover are discussed. It is concluded that though there were important grievances internal to the military, the economic situation was the most significant element in these events. Resume Militarisme et développement au Bangladesh Cet article attribue les origines de l'armée du Bangladesh à l'armée de la British East India Company et suit son développement au cours de la période coloniale, examinant les conséquences de l'exclusion des Bengalis, après 1857. Il démontre pourquoi les factions bengalis de l'armée pakistanaise furent au point de se révolter lors de la lutte de libération nationale de 1971, et examine les facteurs qui entravèrent le développement d'une armée populaire et d'une guerre populaire. L'érosion du soutien public pour le gouvernement Mujib et la prise de pouvoir de 1971, sont examinées. L'article conclut que, malgré l'existence de griefs considérables au sein même de l'armée, c'est à la situation économique qu'il convient d'attribuer le rôle prépondérant, dans ces événements. Resumen El militarismo y el desarrollo en Bangladesh En este artículo se investigan los orígenes del ejército de Bangladesh remontándose hasta el ejército de la Compañía británica de la India Oriental y sigue su evolución a través del período colonial, poniendo de relieve las consecuencias de la exclusión de los bengalíes después de 1857. Se indica por qué las secciones bengalíes del ejército de Pakistán casi llegaron al borde de la revuelta en la lucha de liberación nacional de 1971 y se examinan los factores que impidieron la creación de un ejército del pueblo y una guerra del pueblo. Se analizan la erosión del apoyo popular para el gobierno de Mujib y el golpe de estado de 1971. Se llega a la conclusión de que aunque existían importantes agravios internos hacia los militares, la situación económica fue el elemento más significativo de dichos acontecimientos

Global Value Chains and Market Formation Process in Emerging Export Activity: Evidence from Ethiopian Flower Industry

経済学 / EconomicsThis paper provides a case study of the Ethiopian flower export industry which successfully emerged at time when the EU market (main destination) was already characterized by increasingly stringent standards and delivery requirements. Entering this market required a multitude of capabilities at firm, sector and national levels. Several of these capabilities were absent or weak in the domestic market when the new activity kicked off. The paper analyzes how the capabilities of individual firms and the industry at large co-evolved and the role of various actors in the ‘market formation’ process.JEL Classification Codes: O12, O13, O19http://www.grips.ac.jp/list/jp/facultyinfo/sonobe_tetsushi