WHICH HUMAN CAPITAL MATTERS FOR RICH AND POOR'S WAGES: EVIDENCE FROM MATCHED WORKER-FIRM DATA FROM TUNISIA

In this paper, we study the return to human capital variables for wages of workers observed in Tunisian matched worker-firm data in 1999. We develop a new method based on multivariate analysis of firm characteristics, which allows us most of the benefits obtained by introducing firm dummies in wage equations. It also provides a human capital interpretation of the effect of these dummy variables. Moreover, in the studied data, using three firm characteristics easily collectable yields results close to those obtained by using the matched structure of the data.wage, returns to human capital, matched worker-firm data, quantile regressions, factor analysis, Tunisia

Which Human Capital Matters for Rich and Poor’s Wages? Evidence from Matched Worker-Firm Data from Tunisia

In this paper, we study the return to human capital variables for wages of workers observed in Tunisian matched worker-firm data in 1999. This tells us how returns to human capital in a Less Developed Country like Tunisia differ from the industrial countries usually studied with matched data. We develop a new method based on multivariate analysis of firm characteristics, which allows us most of the benefits obtained by introducing firm dummies in wage equations for studying the effect of education. It also provides a human capital interpretation of the effect of these dummy variables. Moreover, in the studied data, using three firm characteristics easily collectable yields results close to those obtained by using the matched structure of the data. The workers with low wages or low conditional wages experience greater returns to human capital than workers belonging to the middle of the wage distribution, while their return to schooling is significantly lower than that of high wage workers. Wage regressions including the computed factors confirm that human capital is associated with positive intra-firm externality on wages. Therefore, a given worker would be more productive and better paid in an environment strongly endowed in human capital. However, the poorest workers do not take advantage of the human capital in the firm. Conversely, the poor benefit from working in the textile sector in terms of wages unlike the middle and high wage workers. Finally, the poorest and richest workers benefit from an innovative environment while the middle workers of the wage distribution do not.wage, returns to human capital, matched worker-firm data, quantile regressions, factor analysis, Tunisia

WAGE AND HUMAN CAPITAL IN EXPORTING FIRMS IN MOROCCO

We study the relationship of wages and education and training practices in Morocco in a context of trade and liberalisation reforms in a matched worker-firm data of eight exporting firms in two industrial sectors: Metallurgical-Electrical industries and Textile-Clothing. We find that the specific characteristics of the surveyed firms little affect worker wages. Moreover, the textile sector does not appear to be a significant channel for promoting skills in the economy. The minimal wage legislation is found to exert a positive pressure on wages. Also, some evidence of gender wage gap exists in the data. In these data, the effects of education and experience on wages are quite limited below the third quantile of wages, as well as the role of apprenticeship. In contrast, On-the-Job Training (OJT) much contributes to labour productivity as measured by wage levels. Most of the OJT is concentrated in the Metallurgical-Electrical industries. Education is positively correlated to OJT. Moreover, estimates of explanatory relationships of task organisation (chain gangs, teams, supervision and executive workers) show the powerful sector and educational determinations of job organisation in the firms. Then, our results suggest that the impact of worker education may take indirect routes and not only appear through education coefficients in wage regressions.wage, returns to human capital, matched worker-firm data, quantile regressions, Tunisia

HUMAN CAPITAL AND WAGES IN TWO LEADING INDUSTRIES OF TUNISIA: EVIDENCE FROM MATCHED WORKER-FIRM DATA

From Tunisian matched worker-firm data in 1999, we study the returns to human capital for workers observed in two leading manufacturing sectors. Workers in the mechanical and electrical industries (IMMEE) benefit from higher returns to human capital than their counterparts in the Textile-clothing industry. In the IMMEE firms, low wage workers experience greater returns to labour market experience than high wage workers. The wage premium for on-the-job training is substantial for both sectors. However, taking into account whether formal training is still ongoing at the time of the survey, our results clearly indicate that workers bear heavy costs for their training. Our analysis shows that on-the-job training (OJT) and education can be efficient channels of policies aiming at raising earnings for low wages as well as high wages workers. However, careful consideration of the industrial sector should accompany these policies since specific impact of education, experience, OJT are found in the studied sectors.wage, returns to human capital, matched worker-firm data, quantile regressions, Tunisia

Task Organization, Human Capital and Wages in Moroccan Exporting Firms

We conduct a case study of the linkages of task organization, human capital accumulation and wages in Morocco, using matched worker-firm data for Electrical-mechanical and Textile-clothing industries. In order to integrate task organization into the interacting processes of workers’ training and remunerations, we use a recursive model, which is not rejected by our estimates: task organization influences on-the-job training that affects wages. Beyond sector and gender determinants, assignment of workers to tasks and onthe- job training is found to depend on former education and work experience in a broad sense. Meanwhile, participation in on-the-job training is stimulated by being assigned to a team, especially of textile sector and for well educated workers. Finally, task organization and on-the-job training are found to affect wages.Morocco, Wages, On-the-job training, Human capital, Task organization.

Task Organization, Human Capital and Wages in Moroccan Exporting Firms

We conduct a case study of the linkages of task organization, human capital accumulation and wages in Morocco, using matched worker-firm data for Electrical-mechanical and Textile-clothing industries. In order to integrate task organization into the interacting processes of workers’ training and remunerations, we use a recursive model, which is not rejected by our estimates: task organization influences on-the-job training that affects wages. Beyond sector and gender determinants, assignment of workers to tasks and on-the-job training is found to depend on former education and work experience in a broad sense. Meanwhile, participation in on-the-job training is stimulated by being assigned to a team, especially of textile sector and for well educated workers. Finally, task organization and on-the-job training are found to affect wages.Morocco, Wages, On-the-job training, Human capital, Task organization.

WHICH HUMAN CAPITAL MATTERS FOR RICH AND POOR'S WAGES? EVIDENCE FROM MATCHED WORKER-FIRM DATA FROM TUNISIA

In this paper, we study the return to human capital variables for wages of workers observed in Tunisian matched worker-firm data in 1999. This reveals us how returns to human capital in a Less Developed Country like Tunisia may differ from the industrial countries usually studied with matched data. We develop a new method based on multivariate analysis of firm characteristics, which allows us most of the benefits obtained by introducing firm dummies in wage equations for studying the effect of education. It also provides a human capital interpretation of the effect of these dummy variables. Moreover, in the studied data, using three firm characteristics easily collectable yields results close to those obtained by using the matched structure of the data. The workers with low wages or low conditional wages experience greater returns to human capital than workers belonging to the middle of the wage distribution, while their return to schooling is significantly lower than that of high wage workers. The estimates support the hypothesis that human capital is associated with positive intra-firm externality on wages. Therefore, a given worker would be more productive and better paid in an environment strongly endowed in human capital. However, the low wage workers do not take advantage of the human capital in the firm. Conversely, the low wage workers benefit from working in the textile sector in terms of wages unlike the middle and high wage workers. Finally, the low wage workers and high wage workers benefit from an innovative environment, while the middle wage workers do not.Wage, returns to human capital, matched worker-firm data, quantile regressions, factor analysis, Tunisia

THE VALUATION OF NON-MONETARY CONSUMPTION

Many social indicators are based on household consumption information. The valuation of non-monetary operations is crucial for the analysis of consumption surveys in developing countries because of the importance of own-consumption and transfers in kind. What are the price statistics used in the valuation of consumption indicators? How is the available price information exploited to produce consumption indicators? How can the different steps of the valuation process be analysed? We explore these questions by presenting the valuation method for the consumption used in rural Rwanda for the 1983 consumption survey, and by proposing a general model of valuation algorithm. This is useful not only for improving such algorithms, but also for assessing the impact of the valuation process on economic analyses.Household surveys, Data processing, Consumption analysis, Valuation method, Prices, Demand Systems, Poverty Analysis.

POVERTY AND INEQUALITY UNDER INCOME AND PRICE DISPERSIONS

Many policies simultaneously affect the distribution of prices and incomes in the economy. Moreover, a bias may occur when there is a stochastic relationship between prices and incomes and this relationship is being ignored. It is therefore important to dispose of an analytical framework for welfare analysis that could account for changes in this joint distribution. How can the joint influences of price and income distributions on poverty and inequality indicators be analysed? We offer a method to deal with this problem by using parametric formulae of poverty and inequality measures. We propose statistical indicators for the levels, variabilities and a statistical link of price indices and nominal living standards. These indicators are consistent with an approximation of the problem based on a bivariate lognormal distribution of price indices and nominal living standards. Our analysis provides hints about the social welfare impact of economic shocks or policies affecting levels, variabilities and correlation of prices and incomes. Intuitive insights are obtained, while using arithmetic means and variances instead does not lead to illuminating results. The role of price and income variabilities for poverty and inequality is more complex than generally expected, with the possibility of several variation regimes. Empirical investigation of these statistics would guide social policies.Strategy-proofness, public goods economies, differentiable mechanisms

The measurement of dynamic poverty with geographical and intertemporal price variability: evidence from Rwanda

Little attention has been devoted to the effects of absolute and relative prices variability at local and seasonal levels, for the measurement of living standards in LDCs. In particular, it is not known if a substantial share of welfare or poverty indicators may be the consequence of price differences rather than of differences in living standards across households and seasons. With exogenous poverty lines, we show how the directions of effects of accounting for price variability can be theoretically established for popular poverty indices. With endogenous poverty lines, using data from Rwanda, we show that the composition of the population of the poor can be notably modified by accounting for price variability. The change in aggregate living standards due to price correction is moderate although significant in every quarter, in contrast with the change in poverty which can be considerable. The correction yields generally a larger transient seasonal share of annual poverty. In terms of impact of the price correction on the assessment of poverty, the poverty line or the quarter are generally more influential than the formula of the poverty indicator. Though, poverty indicators giving a high importance to the severity of poverty are more likely to lead to a strong effect of prices. However, the sign of change in poverty indicator is not systematically related with parameters of poverty indices or with poverty lines. These results support the necessity in poverty measurement, of an accurate correction for geographical and seasonal price effects, whose directions cannot be easily predicted. Nonetheless with exogenous poverty lines, for an important class of axiomatically valid poverty indices, the change in poverty with compensation for keeping the harmonic aggregate mean of price indices constant, is always positive.