A Joint Econometric Model of Marriage and Partner Choice

OLS estimates of partner choice equations are biased when the unobservables determining partner choice are correlated with the unobservables determining the likelihood of marriage. This paper presents an example. A theoretical model generates a two-equation empirical model in which unobserverables are correlated a priori. Estimates of the model using data from the PSID indicate that men and women select positively into marriage. OLS estimates of the effects of education and race (black relative to white) on partner's education are biased downward.

Why Are Economics Students More Selfish than the Rest?

A substantial body of research suggests that economists are less generous than other professionals and that economics students are less generous than other students. We address this question using administrative data on donations to social programs by students at the University of Washington. Our data set allows us to track student donations and economics training over time in order to distinguish selection effects from indoctrination effects. We find that economics majors are less likely to donate than other students and that there is an indoctrination effect for non-majors but not for majors. Women majors and non-majors are less likely to contribute than comparable men.altruism, public goods

Estimating the Veteran Effect with Endogenous Schooling when Instruments are Potentially Weak

Instrumental variables estimates of the effect of military service on subsequent civilian earnings either omit schooling or treat it as exogenous. In a more general setting that also allows for the treatment of schooling as endogenous, we estimate the veteran effect for men who were born between 1944 and 1952 and thus reached draft age during the Vietnam era. We apply a variety of state-of-the-art econometric techniques to gauge the sensitivity of the estimates to the treatment of schooling. We find a significant veteran penalty.

Estimating the Veteran Effect with Endogenous Schooling When Instruments Are Potentially Weak

Instrumental variables estimates of the effect of military service on subsequent civilian earnings either omit schooling or treat it as exogenous. In a more general setting that also allows for the treatment of schooling as endogenous, we estimate the veteran effect for men who were born between 1944 and 1952 and thus reached draft age during the Vietnam era. We apply a variety of state-of-the-art econometric techniques to gauge the sensitivity of the estimates to the treatment of schooling. We find a significant veteran penalty.veteran effect, weak instruments

Examining the effect of motivation on the influence of human resource practices and normative commitment among SMEs in Selangor / Elaina Rose Johar ... [et al.]

Human resources are vital to the success or failure of the organization. However, there exist challenges in maintaining these human resources although human resource practices are deliberated as an important factor to improve employees’ commitment to the organization.  Hence, this study aimed to investigate the nature of relationship that exists between human resource practices and normative commitment with motivation as the mediator. Employed a quantitative research approach, 64 SME employees in Selangor were surveyed. It was found that all human resource practices have positive effect on normative commitment with compensation, training and employee involvement-decision being significant. This study also revealed that motivation has a mediating effect for the relationship of training and both employee involvement with normative commitment. Thus, it can be concluded that both training and employee involvement create sense of loyalty and obligation to stay when employees are motivated

Establishing a knowledgebased organisation Lesson learnt and KM challenges in Malaysian organisation

Purpose – Studies on knowledge management (KM) and its effect on organisational innovation and firm performance have been carried out and subsequently proven. However, the consequence is that KM programmes did not achieve the expected results that they were designed for. Considering the issue mentioned above, a KM shortfall and its underlying challenges seem to exist. The purpose of this study is to assess the current practices of KM, lesson learnt and KM challenges in Malaysian organisations from various types of industries. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted with information gathered through a focus group of managers with different hierarchical levels, different types of companies, from multinational corporations to state organisations. This inductive approach was adopted to gain a grounded, rich, local and lived understanding of the process based on the case studies of eight Malaysian organisations that represent the major industries in the Malaysian economic sectors. Additionally, the information gathered was further supported with secondary data that consisted of a case study report of the eight organisations on their KM programmes’ implementation. Findings – The overall results showed that the practice of KM in Malaysian organisations typically displays the following two challenges: (1) process and infrastructure issues and (2) cultural issues. Organisational culture remains the main obstacles faced by most of the organisations in adopting KM. As a lesson learnt, managers should also focus on the after-effect of KM programmes on soft human issues such as employees’ satisfaction and well-being. Research limitations/implications – The authors believe that further research is required considering KM challenges and employee satisfaction or well-being to improve KM performance among different groups of employees through such methods as research survey. Practical implications – The findings can act as a guideline for any organisations to address when adopting KM. Identification of the KM challenges provides the basis for organisations to attach considerable importance to employees’ satisfaction and well-being to enhance the chances of successful KM programmes. Managers should take a proactive approach in creating an appropriate atmosphere to cultivate KM culture among employees. Originality/value – This study offers not only challenges in implementing and sustaining an effective KM system within organisations but also promotes moving the KM literature to the next stage where there is a lack of concern on KM implementation effect on “soft” human issues from the perspectives of employees. This is due to organisations tend to eradicate people’s performance in terms of employee well-being and satisfaction and to the author’s knowledge, this has been largely unexplored in previous research.Purpose – Studies on knowledge management (KM) and its effect on organisational innovation and firm performance have been carried out and subsequently proven. However, the consequence is that KM programmes did not achieve the expected results that they were designed for. Considering the issue mentioned above, a KM shortfall and its underlying challenges seem to exist. The purpose of this study is to assess the current practices of KM, lesson learnt and KM challenges in Malaysian organisations from various types of industries. Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted with information gathered through a focus group of managers with different hierarchical levels, different types of companies, from multinational corporations to state organisations. This inductive approach was adopted to gain a grounded, rich, local and lived understanding of the process based on the case studies of eight Malaysian organisations that represent the major industries in the Malaysian economic sectors. Additionally, the information gathered was further supported with secondary data that consisted of a case study report of the eight organisations on their KM programmes’ implementation. Findings – The overall results showed that the practice of KM in Malaysian organisations typically displays the following two challenges: (1) process and infrastructure issues and (2) cultural issues. Organisational culture remains the main obstacles faced by most of the organisations in adopting KM. As a lesson learnt, managers should also focus on the after-effect of KM programmes on soft human issues such as employees’ satisfaction and well-being. Research limitations/implications – The authors believe that further research is required considering KM challenges and employee satisfaction or well-being to improve KM performance among different groups of employees through such methods as research survey. Practical implications – The findings can act as a guideline for any organisations to address when adopting KM. Identification of the KM challenges provides the basis for organisations to attach considerable importance to employees’ satisfaction and well-being to enhance the chances of successful KM programmes. Managers should take a proactive approach in creating an appropriate atmosphere to cultivate KM culture among employees. Originality/value – This study offers not only challenges in implementing and sustaining an effective KM system within organisations but also promotes moving the KM literature to the next stage where there is a lack of concern on KM implementation effect on “soft” human issues from the perspectives of employees. This is due to organisations tend to eradicate people’s performance in terms of employee well-being and satisfaction and to the author’s knowledge, this has been largely unexplored in previous research