Social Preferences in Wage Bargaining: a Neocorporatist Approach

The starting point in this paper is based on the strand of the literature on corporatist systems stressing the role of co-operation and consensus in wage bargaining in order to reach better economic performances. In order to model a co-operative regime in the classical framework in which the monopoly union controls wages and the firm controls employment, we introduce social preferences with some degree of other-regarding concern(ORC) such that each agent's objective function is a linear combination of her own welfare and the other's. The results show that under specific conditions concerning the degree of ORC, one may obtain an employment level higher than in the selfish case and wage moderation.wage bargaining; corporatism; cooperation; social preferences

The Choice of Search Methods: Some Empirical Evidence from Italy

In labour market part of the coordination process involves the matching between job skills and vacancies requiring specific skills. On the side of unemployed workers, the process requires a searching activity based on the gathering of information on available vacancies, the related wages and skills. The distinction among search methods plays a significant role as to the success of individual job search. The factors characterising the methods and the individuals searching for a job influence their choice. The specific aim of this empirical analysis is to understand how individual look for a job and, thus, how they decide to choose the search methods drawn from the set of search actions as specified in the 1993 Bank of Italy Survey.labour supply; unemployment; models and job search

Jon Search Methods:The Choice Between the Public and the Private Sector

It is well known that the lack of information often leads to the difficulty of decentralised decision units solving coordination problems through market functioning. In labour market the lack of information is often characterised by asymmetric information on heterogeneous labour skills and the related productive capabilities [Spence, 1973] and coordination mainly concerns the matching of vacant jobs with unemployed individuals, which results from a costly and time-consuming process. Coordination involves also the matching between job skills and vacancies requiring specific skills. This process is characterised by the existence of uncertainty as unemployed individuals know the general features of wage distribution in an area but ignore which firms are offering each wage. Accordingly, coordination on the side of unemployed workers involves a searching activity based on the gathering of information on available vacancies, the related wage and skill, whereas on the side of firms the gathering of information on the characteristics of individuals willing to fill the vacancies like their skills. As to unemployed workers, the distinction among search methods plays a significant role in the final result of their job search.labour supply; unemployment; job search

Governmental Organized Learning and Coordination Problems: The Case of Japan in the 1950s

The effectiveness of the coordinating role of the market hrough the price-system, and of the State through its intervention olicy, depends on the type of information and the knowledge base nherent in the nature of the coordination problems to be solved. arket deficiencies can arise in part from the existence of information asymmetries due to the dispersion of information among decentralized decision units, as in investment decisions. Overcoming these may require not just information flows but also shared knowledge bases, for example to recognize and flag the alience of a particular investment decision for growth. Governmental agencies, as permanent organizations with an ad hoc institutional set-up, can potentially allow the development of such a common knowledge base across organizations, underpinning their coordinating role in the economic system. The paper suggests that such a role helps explain the success of state-inspired industrial recovery in Japan in the 1950s.coordination; organized learning; governmental agencies; common knowledge base; japanese development

A Correspondence Analysis of Labour Market Institutions

The aim of the paper is to combine the systemic approach to labour market institutions with the analysis of the role played by the organisational forms of the bargaining partners, which favour coordination both inter partes and intra partes, in order to characterise the 19 countries considered. The methodology adopted is based on Multiple Correspondence Analysis and on the use of a device called doubling. The results show a clear-cut distinction between two groups of countries: the former is characterised by the absence of institutional mechanisms of coordination whereas the latter by the presence of the organisational forms. In details, the countries with regulated labour market functioning but without any control of wages at macroeconomic level have the worst long term unemployment performance. The inter partes coordination role of the government entails the choice of a specific trade-off between direct intervention in the bargaining process and fiscal policy. This trade off performs well when it is supported by intra partes coordination devices. The evidence confirms the existence of the institutional equivalence, leading to the conclusion that better nemployment performances go along with specific institutional set-ups

A Correspondence Analysis of Labour Market Institutions

The aim of the paper is to combine the systemic approach to labour market institutions with the analysis of the role played by the organisational forms of the bargaining partners, which favour coordination both inter partes and intra partes, in order to characterise the 19 countries considered. The methodology adopted is based on Multiple Correspondence Analysis and on the use of a device called doubling. The results show a clear-cut distinction between two groups of countries: the former is characterised by the absence of institutional mechanisms of coordination whereas the latter by the presence of the organisational forms. In details, the countries with regulated labour market functioning but without any control of wages at macroeconomic level have the worst long term unemployment performance. The inter partes coordination role of the government entails the choice of a specific trade-off between direct intervention in the bargaining process and fiscal policy. This trade off performs well when it is supported by intra partes coordination devices. The evidence confirms the existence of the institutional equivalence, leading to the conclusion that better nemployment performances go along with specific institutional set-ups

Social and Personal Identities: Their Influence on Scholastic Effort

When analysing the influence of identity on the motivations of scholastic effort, it is crucial to consider both social and personal identities. A child’s social identity can be shaped by family background through the transmission of parental values vis-a`-vis educational aspirations and achievements. As to personal identity, children may show a different locus of control over the successes and failures of their scholastic effort. In this paper, I develop an in-depth analysis of these aspects of social and personal identities and the nature of their interaction, and consider their influence on a child’s effort in school through a theoretical model. Overall, the results from the model show that a (non-)pro-school social identity influenced by family background and locus of control along with their antagonistic or complementary interaction play a key role in determining children’s scholastic effort by influencing their motivations

Secular education and religious values in the formation of human capital

Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the causal link between religion and the formation of human capital. It takes into consideration that, though religion may transmit a system of values that positively affect children’s education, it can also be characterized by a traditionalist dimension. The latter may hamper children’s self-determination and their educational achievements. Nevertheless, religious values may adapt to the cultural changes due to economic development and modernization and become less conservative. Design/methodology/approach – The above aspects are investigated through an overlapping generations model with human capital where parents’ human capital and the religion in which individuals have been raised, characterize family background. Findings – The model’s predictions point to the crucial role that development may play in promoting education. For instance, if a moderate responsiveness of religious institutions to economic and cultural changes is associated with low development, conservative attitudes prevail in society. This undermines individual confidence in improving one’s socio-economic status through education and negatively affects children’s education. Whereas, a development level sufficiently high counterbalances the effects of a low ability of religious institutions to adjust to changes and fosters education. Originality/value – Though the empirical literature widely acknowledges that religion affects economic growth, the hypothesis that the link between religion and economic performance may also pass through education has been overlooked. In this respect, the paper investigates on this relationship by taking religion as a force reactive to economic processes