Increasing the Legal Retirement Age: The Impact on Wages, Worker Flows and Firm Performance

Many pay-as-you-go pension systems have increased or plan to increase their legal retirement age (LRA) to address the financial consequences of ageing. Although the success of these policies is ultimately determined at the labour market, little is known about the effects of higher LRAs at the firm level. Here, we identify this effect by considering a legislative reform introduced in Portugal in 1994: women's LRA was gradually increased from 62 to 65 years while men's LRA stayed unchanged at 65. Using detailed matched employer-employee panel data and difference-in-differences matching methods, we analyse the effects of the reform in terms of a number of worker- and firm-level outcomes. After providing evidence of compliance with the law, we find that the wages and hours worked of older women (those required to work longer) were virtually unchanged. However, firms employing older female workers significantly reduced their hirings, especially of younger female workers. Those firms also lowered their output although not their output per worker.social security reform, older workers, matching estimators

Foreign Ownership, Employment and Wages in Brazil: Evidence from Acquisitions, Divestments and Job Movers

How much do developing countries benefit from foreign investment? We contribute to this question by comparing the employment and wage practices of foreign and domestic firms in Brazil, using detailed matched firm-worker panel data. In order to control for unobserved worker differences, we examine both foreign acquisitions and divestments and worker mobility, including the joint estimation of firm and worker fixed effects. We find that changes in ownership do not tend to affect wages significantly, a result that holds both at the worker- and firm-levels. However, divestments are related to large job cuts, unlike acquisitions. On the other hand, movers from foreign to domestic firms take larger wage cuts than movers from domestic to foreign firms. Moreover, on average, the fixed effects of foreign firms are considerably larger than those of domestic firms, while worker selection effects are relatively small.foreign direct investment; ownership changes; worker mobility

Is firm performance driven by fairness or tournaments? Evidence from Brazilian matched data

Theory and evidence are ambiguous about the effect of within-firm wage inequality on firm performance. This paper tests empirically this relationship drawing on detailed Brazilian matched employer-employee panel data, considering alternative measures of inequality and performance and different estimation methods. We find overwhelming evidence of a positive relationship between wage dispersion and firm performance when using cross-section analysis, especially in manufacturing. However, this relationship is weakened when controlling for firm time-invariant heterogeneity.Tournaments, Incentives, Equity, Wage Dispersion

Foreign Ownership, Employment and Wages in Brazil: Evidence from Acquisitions, Divestments and Job Movers

How much do developing countries benefit from foreign investment? We contribute to this question by comparing the employment and wage practices of foreign and domestic firms in Brazil, using detailed matched firm-worker panel data. In order to control for unobserved worker differences, we examine both foreign acquisitions and divestments and worker mobility, including the joint estimation of firm and worker fixed effects. We find that changes in ownership do not tend to affect wages significantly, a result that holds both at the worker- and firm-levels. However, divestments are related to large job cuts, unlike acquisitions. On the other hand, movers from foreign to domestic firms take larger wage cuts than movers from domestic to foreign firms. Moreover, on average, the fixed effects of foreign firms are considerably larger than those of domestic firms, while worker selection effects are relatively small.ownership changes, foreign direct investment, worker mobility

Foreign Ownership, Employment and Wages in Brazil: Evidence from Acquisitions, Divestments and Job Movers

How much do developing countries benefit from foreign investment? We contribute to this question by comparing the employment and wage practices of foreign and domestic firms in Brazil, using detailed matched firm-worker panel data. In order to control for unobserved worker differences, we examine both foreign acquisitions and divestments and worker mobility, including the joint estimation of firm and worker fixed effects. We find that changes in ownership do not tend to affect wages significantly, a result that holds both at the worker- and firm-levels. However, divestments are related to large job cuts, unlike acquisitions. On the other hand, movers from foreign to domestic firms take larger wage cuts than movers from domestic to foreign firms. Moreover, on average, the fixed effects of foreign firms are considerably larger than those of domestic firms, while worker selection effects are relatively small.Foreign Direct Investment, Ownership Changes, Worker Mobility

Is There Rent Sharing in Developing Countries? Matched-Panel Evidence from Brazil

We provide evidence about the determinants of the wage structures of developing countries by examining the case of Brazil. Our specific question is whether Brazil's dramatic income and wage differentials can be explained by the division of rents between firms and their employees, unlike in competitive labour markets. Using detailed individual-level matched panel data, covering a large share of manufacturing firms and more than 30 million workers between 1997 and 2002, we consider the endogeneity of profits, by adopting different measures of rents and different instruments and by controlling for spell fxed effects. Our results, robust to different specifications and tests, indicate no evidence of rent sharing. This conclusion contrasts with findings for most developed countries, even those with flexible labour markets. Possible explanations for the lack of rent sharing include the weakness of labour-market institutions, the high levels of worker turnover and the macroeconomic instability faced by the country.Wage Bargaining, Instrumental Variables, Matched Employer-Employee Data, Developing Countries

Diabetic Shoe Upper Pressures: Preliminary Approach to Identify Relative Levels of Comfort and Injury

ESBiomech 2021Diabetic foot is one of the most serious complications affecting the feet of diabetic patients. It is characterized by a progressive loss of protective skin sensitivity and requires an early diagnosis due to the imminent possibility of infection, ulceration, and amputation [1]. Frequently, the anatomical deformation of the foot and the use of misfit shoes compromise the biomechanics of the foot, causing abnormal overload and minor trauma that can precipitate ulceration. The most critical pressure points, located in the plantar and dorsal region of the foot, are already well identified. In this sense, in addition to increased clinical attention, the use of appropriate footwear is also an essential factor in preventing injuries. The shoe must have an internal length between 1 and 2 cm greater than the foot, it must be adapted to the widest part of the foot and the height of the toecap must guarantee sufficient space for the toes. The choice of shoes should be evaluated with the patient standing and preferably at the end of the day when the feet are more likely to be swollen. In more complex cases, the use of custom-made shoes should be advisedinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nacionalidade das Empresas e Fluxo de Empregos no Brasil (Firms’ Nationality and Job Flows in Brazil)

The late 1990s in Brazil are a period characterized by a large increase in foreign direct investment inflows (and outflows). This process motivates the present study about job flows in domestic and foreign firms. Although foreign firms tend to be considered more `footloose’ than domestic firms, there is very little evidence on this difference, even for developed countries. Using data from RAIS, a large matched employer-employee panel, and other data sets and a sample of foreign and domestic firms created from a propensity score matching analysis, we compare different measures of job flows across the two types of firms. We find that, if there is any difference between the two, it is the domestic firms that exhibit greater destruction and reallocation rates and lower net job creation.foreign firms; job destruction; matching