Private Information, Wage Bargaining and Employment Fluctuations

Shimer (2005) pointed out that although we have a satisfactory theory of why some workers are unemployed at any given time, we don?t know why the number of unemployed workers varies so much over time. The basic Mortensen-Pissarides (1994) model does not generate nearly enough volatility in unemployment, for plausible parameter values. This paper extends the Mortensen-Pissarides model to allow for informational rents. Productivity is subject to publicly observed aggregate shocks, and to idiosyncratic shocks that are seen only by the employer. It is shown that there is a unique equilibrium, provided that the idiosyncratic shocks are not too large. The main result is that small fluctuations in productivity that are privately observed by employers can give rise to a kind of wage stickiness in equilibrium, and the informational rents associated with this stickiness are sufficient to generate relatively large unemployment fluctuations.

Agricultural Reciprocity under Economic Partnership Agreements

This paper investigates how the formation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the EU might affect the ability of the six Development Cooperation Ireland programme countries in Sub-Saharan Africa to continue to provide protection to their domestic agri-food sectors. Various scenarios are constructed on the assumption that ‘substantially all' trade with the EU must be liberalised if the EPAs are to be compatible with WTO rules on regional trade agreements. The paper concludes that EPAs are unlikely to require major changes in existing levels of border protection provided to domestic agriculture in Ethiopia, Lesotho, Mozambique and Zambia but that the effects on Tanzania and Uganda could be greater. It argues that the preparation of a ‘defensive' EPA strategy by these countries should occur in parallel with a strategic review of agricultural trade policy.Economic Partnership Agreements, agriculture, reciprocity

The effect of expected income on individual migration decisions

economic models;migration;decision making;income distribution

Special and Differential Treatment for Agriculture: Africa's Requirements from Special Safeguards and Special Products

The 1 August 2004 Framework Agreement stated that developing countries would have access to a Special Safeguard Mechanism and Special Products designation as part of special and differential treatment within a new WTO Doha Round agricultural agreement. This was confirmed in the Ministerial Declaration following the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial in December 2005. This paper discusses the potential usefulness of these instruments for the six programme countries of Development Cooperation Ireland, and what further research is desirable to help countries define them in a way that maximises their usefulness.

Nonprofit Organizations Improving Public Relations through an Analysis of Public Perceptions

Hilltop Neighborhood Child Care Center is a critical support system for low-income families. The internal perceptions and the external perceptions need to be identified to better serve the organization and the community (its publics). This organization-public relations (OPR) emphasis through interviews, surveys, and focus groups will be the basis of an organizational strategic plan and a public relations campaign

The Effect of Expected Income on Individual Migration Decisions

The paper develops a tractable econometric model of optimal migration, focusing on expected income as the main economic influence on migration. The model improves on previous work in two respects: it covers optimal sequences of location decisions (rather than a single once-for-all choice), and it allows for many alternative location choices. The model is estimated using panel data from the NLSY on white males with a high school education. Our main conclusion is that interstate migration decisions are influenced to a substantial extent by income prospects. The results suggest that the link between income and migration decisions is driven both by geographic differences in mean wages and by a tendency to move in search of a better locational match when the income realization in the current location is unfavorable.