Market access, organic farming and productivity: the determinants of creation of economic value on a sample of Fair Trade affiliated Thai farmers

We analyse the impact of Fair Trade and organic farming on a sample of Fair Trade organic rice producers in Thailand. We find that per capita income from agriculture is positively and significantly affected by organic certification and FT affiliation years. Such effect does not translate into higher productivity due to a concurring increase in worked hours. FT and organic certification contributions are however downward biased if we do not take into account the relatively higher share of self- consumption of affiliated farmers. Our main findings are robust when we control for selection bias and endogeneity with instrumental variables, propensity score matching and by restricting the sample to affiliated producers only. We also test which of the two (organic and FT) effects is stronger and find that the latter prevails.organic production, Fair Trade, productivity

MARKET ACCESS, ORGANIC FARMING AND PRODUCTIVITY: THE DETERMINANTS OF CREATION OF ECONOMIC VALUE ON A SAMPLE OF FAIR TRADE AFFILIATED THAI FARMERS

We analyse the impact of Fair Trade and organic farming on a sample of Fair Trade rice producers in Thailand. We find that per capita income from agriculture is positively and significantly affected by organic certification and FT affiliation years. This effect does not translate into higher productivity due to a concurring increase in worked hours. The estimated FT and organic certification contributions are however downward biased if we do not take into account the relatively higher share of selfconsumption of affiliated farmers. Our main findings are robust when we control for selection bias and endogeneity with instrumental variables, when using propensity score matching and restricting the sample to affiliated producers only. We also test which of the two (organic and FT) effects is stronger and find that the latter prevails.organic production, Fair Trade, productivity

Lavoro sommerso, costi di licenziamento e produttivit\ue0 d\u2019impresa

Un dato acquisito della letteratura in tema compliance alle normative fiscali e del lavoro \ue8 che eludere norme che regolano sotto vari profili l\u2019attivit\ue0 imprenditoriale ha un effetto negativo sulla produttivit\ue0. Tuttavia, un risultato altrettanto consolidato \ue8 che l\u2019eccessiva onerosit\ue0 del fardello regolamentare e fiscale rappresenta uno degli incentivi principali che spingono le imprese ad operare informalmente. La decisione di attingere al serbatoio del lavoro informale pu\uf2 essere vista in termini di valutazione tra i costi dell\u2019informalit\ue0 e i costi di compliance; le imprese italiane, ad esempio, hanno ridotto i flussi di impiego nel settore ufficiale, a vantaggio del lavoro informale, in risposta ad un mercato del lavoro rigido. Considerati gli effetti deleteri dell\u2019economia sommersa per la crescita, il dibattito sulle riforme della legislazione in tema di lavoro non dovrebbe trascurare i costi di compliance delle norme e, quindi, le ricadute che queste possono avere sull\u2019incidenza del sommerso e sulla produttivit\ue0 del sistema

Institutions' and firms' adjustments: Measuring the impact of courts' delays on job flows and productivity

Not only is labor-market rigidity the result of legislative provisions, but it is de\uc2\uadtermined by the institutional framework at large. We argue that courts\ue2\u80\u99 delays in settling labor disputes affect the strictness of employment-protection legislation by increasing the expected firing costs. We exploit the variation in the length of labor trials across Italian judicial districts and the fact that the Italian leg\uc2\uadislation regarding firing prescribes different firing regimes for firms above the 15-employee threshold and provide evidence on the impact of courts\ue2\u80\u99 delays on job reallocation and firms\ue2\u80\u99 productivity. We show that in judicial districts with longer trials, the rate of job turnover is significantly lower. This occurs through lower rates of job destruction and, to a lesser extent, job creation. We also find a detrimental impact of courts\ue2\u80\u99 delays on the labor productivity of firms above the 15-employee threshold. The effect is stronger in sectors with higher flexibility requirements

Informality and productivity: do firms escape EPL through shadow employment? Evidence from a regression discontinuity design

Compliance with labour law has costs and benefits which may depend on the institutional environment in which firms operate. Although several studies have documented a negative effect of informality on firms' productivity and growth it is a fact that firms may resort to undeclared employment to escape excessive tax or regulatory burden. We argue that firms may respond to strict employment protection legislation through accrued informality thus (partially) offsetting the negative effect of informality on productivity. We exploit the Italian dismissal legislation imposing higher firing costs for firms with more than 15 workers and show that informality reduces the turnover of formal jobs for firms above the 15 workers threshold; furthermore, while the overall effect of informality on firms' productivity is negative, the differential effect for firms above the threshold as compared to smaller firms is positive and significant

Informality and Productivity: Do Firms Escape EPL through Shadow Employment? Evidence from a Regression Discontinuity Design

Compliance with labour law has costs and bene\u85ts which may depend on the institutional environment in which \u85rms operate. Although several studies have documented a negative e\ua4ect of informality on \u85rms\u92productivity and growth it is a fact that \u85rms may resort to undeclared employment to escape excessive tax or regulatory burden. We argue that \u85rms may respond to strict employment protection legislation through accrued informality thus (partially) o\ua4setting the negative e\ua4ect of informality on productivity. We exploit the Italian dismissal legislation imposing higher \u85ring costs for \u85rms with more than 15 workers and show that informality reduces the turnover of formal jobs for \u85rms above the 15 workers threshold; furthermore, while the overall e\ua4ect of informality on \u85rms\u92productivity is negative, the di\ua4erential e\ua4ect for \u85rms above the threshold as compared to smaller \u85rms is positive and signi\u85cant

Human resource management and productivity in the "Trust Game Corporation"

Contemporary production activity is crucially determined by the performance of complex tasks with the characteristics of corporate trust games. In this paper, we outline a productivity paradox showing that, under reasonable conditions, the non cooperative solution, that yields a suboptimal firm output, is the equilibrium of corporate trust games when relational preferences are not sufficiently high. We show that tournaments and steeper pay for performance schemes may crowd out cooperation in presence of players preferences for relational goods. These findings help to explain firm investment in workers' relationships and the puzzle on the less than expected use of such schemes