Job satisfaction and response to incentives among China's urban workforce

This article examines job satisfaction and incentive structures among China's urban workforce. The main determinants of job satisfaction are found to be age, education, occupation and personal income. The criteria that Chinese urban employees considered most important when choosing a job were job stability, a high income and professional development. Employees who considered job stability, high income, professional development opportunities, work/life balance and provision of social insurance as being important when selecting a job were more likely to have higher levels of job satisfaction. © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Costly monitoring, dynamic incentives, and default

We study dynamic contracts between a lender and a borrower in the presence of costly state verification and hidden effort. We prove three results. Costly monitoring is employed by the lender to optimally limit history dependence and prevent future inefficient termination of the relationship. Due to interaction between costly monitoring and dynamic incentives, the probability of monitoring may fail to be monotone in the borrower's reservation utility. Finally, following the interpretation of the costly state verification literature, we distinguish two levels of bankruptcy: one associated with restructuring and the other with liquidation.

Executive equity risk-taking incentives and audit pricing

Using a large sample of U.S. firms spanning the period 2000-2010, we document a strong positive association between the sensitivity of CEO compensation portfolio to stock return volatility (vega) and audit fees. We also show that the positive association between vega and audit fees is weaker in the post-Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) period. In supplementary tests, we show that the relation between vega and audit fees is stronger for firms with older CEOs and in firms where the CEO is also chairman of the board. Collectively, our results suggest that audit firms incorporate executive risktaking incentives in the fees they charge for their services.

Financial incentives for living kidney donors: are they necessary?

In the face of the perceived failure of altruistic organ donation programs to generate sufficient kidneys to meet demand, introducing financial incentives for living donors is sometimes argued as the only effective strategy by which lives currently lost while awaiting kidney transplantation might be saved. This argument from life-saving necessity is implicit in many incentive proposals, but rarely challenged by opponents. The core empirical claims on which it rests are thus rarely interrogated: that the gap between supply of and demand for donor kidneys is large and growing, the current system cannot meet demand, and financial incentives would increase the overall supply of kidneys and thus save lives. We consider these claims in the context of the United States. While we acknowledge the plausibility of claims that incentives, if sufficiently large, may successfully recruit greater numbers of living donors, we argue that strategies compatible with the existing altruistic system may also increase the supply of kidneys and save lives otherwise lost to kidney failure. We conclude that current appeals to the life-saving necessity argument have yet to establish sufficient grounds to justify trials of incentives.

Risk, regulation, and financial incentives for living kidney donation

In his comprehensive review of the hazards of existing,largely unregulated markets in human kidneys, Koplin(2014) argues that advocates of regulated markets mayunderestimate the potential physical, psychosocial andfinancial harms risked by vendors. He acknowledges, however,that market proponents will likely be undeterred incalling for “trials” or “pilot studies” of financial incentivesin developed countries on the grounds that the experienceof international black markets is of limited predictive valuein anticipating the outcomes of regulated markets. We contendthat there is good evidence to support the concernthat living vendors would be at higher risk of adversehealth outcomes compared to altruistic donors in the contextof a regulated market. This has important implicationsnot only for the informed consent of prospective vendors,but also for the potential regulations that would berequired to mitigate these risks. We argue here that pilotstudies would be at the very least premature until suchtime as market proponents have sufficiently engaged withpotential harms to prospective kidney vendors.

Charitable incentives for blood donation are promising, but require careful consideration

In outlining his proposal for a charitable incentive schemefor blood donors, Sass (2013) highlights the ongoing challengeof translating widespread public support for blooddonation into actual donors. Sass rightly points out that a reliableand effective blood supply depends on regular donations,rather than sporadic surges in response to exceptionalevents like September 11. He argues that prospective donorsmight be more effectively motivated to donate if each donationis rewarded or recognized with a financial contributionto public health care services or medical research. Sass anticipatessuch “health-related charitable incentives” wouldencourage prosocial behavior by enhancing the beneficialimpact of blood donation. The increased consequentialistvalue of each blood donation would strengthen preexistingprosocial motivations, and would augment the signalingvalue of donation as an altruistic activity. Unfortunately,Sass’s account of the donor–societal relationship is incomplete,due to his reliance on the traditional conception ofdonation as an act of unilateral altruism. He neglects to considerthe potential influence of reciprocity and solidarity inmotivating prosocial behavior and donation in particular(Sykora 2009), and the implications of these elements for ´his proposal. In this commentary, I outline a stronger argumentfor his charitable incentive proposal and discuss someof the potential concerns the proposal may raise.

Streetwise Asia, a practical guide for the conservation and revitalisation of heritage cities and towns in Asia.

This is a practical and accessible guide for residents and professionals concerned to preserve and revitalise heritage cities in Asia. Heritage cities (many listed by UNESCO) are of course of major interest to one of the world's largest industries, tourism. Using inset colour photographs to complement the text, the realities of destructive and constructive development, repairs, restoration and usage are made clear. Legal, financial, administrative, historical and educational aspects of conservation policies, incentives and implementations are discussed. With outlines for strategy, goals and bibliography.

The value of work in younger and older adults' lives: an Australian perspective

In the present study we examined the perceived role of work in the lives of younger and older adults in three different occupations: teaching, nursing, and small business. On the basis of lifespan developmental theory of changes in work-related values across the lifespan we expected that (1) older adults would rate their job satisfaction and organisational commitment more highly than younger adults, and (2) younger adults would rate the importance of work more highly than older workers. Based on utility theory we expected that nurses and teachers would view early retirement more positively than small business employees because of early retirement incentives in these two careers. One-hundred-sixty-two participants completed a 118-item survey. Overall few age differences were found between older and younger workers. On average, all participants rated work as moderately important and their job satisfaction as moderately high. Nonetheless, older participants rated their job satisfaction higher than younger participants. On average, all groups believed they would retire before 65 years of age. The latter finding is important for workability theory and raises issues about how to change attitudes, perceptions and values about working past traditional retirement ages.

The tax treatment of employee stock options : generous to a fault

In the 2000 budgets, both the federal and Ontario governments introduced changes to the tax treatment of employee stock options for the explicit purpose of making their tax treatment in Canada similar to or more favourable than that in the United States. The federal budget added a deferral, similar to that currently applicable to options granted by Canadian-controlled private corporations, for up to $100,000 per year of public company stock options. The Ontario budget introduced an exemption from tax for employees involved in research and development on the first $100,000 per year of employee benefits arising on the exercise of qualified stock options or on eligible capital gains arising from the sale of shares acquired by the exercise of eligible stock options. These proposals reflect the apparent acceptance by the two governments that there is a “brain drain” from Canada to the United States of knowledge workers in the “new” economy and that reductions in Canadian taxes should stem this drain. In the author’s view, the tax treatment of employee stock options, even without these changes, is overly generous. Both the federal and provincial proposals ignore the fact that most employee stock options are taxed more favourably in Canada than in the United States in any event. In particular, most employee stock option benefits in Canada are taxed at capital gains tax rates, whereas in the United States most are taxed at full rates. While the US Internal Revenue Code does provide capital gains tax treatment for certain employee stock option benefits, a number of preconditions must be met. Most important, the shares acquired pursuant to the options must be held for a minimum of one year after the option is exercised. In addition, there are monetary limits on the amount of options that qualify for capital gains treatment. In Canada, there are generally no holding period requirements or monetary limits that apply in order for the option holder to benefit from capital gains tax rates. Empirical evidence indicates that the vast majority of employees in the United States exercise their options and immediately sell the shares acquired. These “cashless exercises” do not benefit from capital gains treatment in the United States, whereas similar cashless exercises in Canada generally do. This empirical evidence suggests not only that the 2000 budget proposals are unwarranted, but also that the existing treatment of employee stock options in Canada is already more generous than that in the United States. This article begins with a theoretical “benchmark” for the taxation of employee stock options. The author suggests that employee stock options should be treated in the same manner as other income from employment. In theory, the value of the benefit should be included in income when the option is granted or vests. However, owing to the practical difficulty of valuing employee stock options, the theoretical benchmark proposed is that the value of the benefit (the difference between the fair market value of the shares acquired and the strike price under the option) be taxed when the shares are acquired, and the employer be entitled to a corresponding deduction. The employee stock option rules in Canada and the United States are then compared and contrasted with each other and the benchmark treatment. The article then examines the arguments that have been made for favourable treatment of employee stock options. Included in this critique is a review of the recent empirical work on the Canadian brain drain. Empirical studies suggest that the brain drain—if it exists at all—is small and that, despite what many newspapers and right-wing think-tanks would have us believe, lower taxes in the United States are not the cause. One study, concluding that taxes do have an effect on migration, suggests that even if Canada adopted a tax system identical to that in the United States, the brain drain would be reduced by a mere 10 percent. Indeed, even if Canada eliminated income tax altogether, it would not stop the brain drain. If governments here want to spend money in order to stem the brain drain, they should focus on other areas. For example, Canada produces fewer university graduates in the fields of mathematics, sciences, and engineering than any other G7 country except Italy. The short supply of university graduates in these fields, the apparent loss of top-calibre academics to US
universities, and the consequent lower levels of university research in these areas (an important spawning ground for new ideas in the “new” knowledge-based economy) suggest that Canada may be better served by devoting more resources to its university institutions, particularly in post-graduate programs, rather than continuing the current trend of budget cuts that universities have endured and may further endure if taxes are reduced.
As far as employee stock options are concerned, if Canada does want to look to the United States for guidance on tax reform (which it seems to do with increasing frequency of late), it should adopt the US rules applicable to nonstatutory options, which are close to the proposed benchmark treatment. In the absence of preferential tax treatment, employee stock options would still be included in compensation packages provided that there were sound business reasons for their use. No persuasive evidence has been put forward that the use of stock options, in the absence of tax incentives, is suboptimal. Indeed, the US experience suggests quite the opposite.

Investment opportunities and leverage: some Australian evidence on the role of board monitoring and director equity ownership

This paper tests the hypothesis that the negative relationship between investment opportunity set (IOS) and debt is moderated by board monitoring and director equity ownership. According to contracting theory, firms with high growth opportunities (high IOS) are associated with lower levels of debt as a result of the asset substitution and the under-investment problem. However, our hypotheses test the conjecture that the negative debt / IOS relationship will be moderated by the proportion of non-executive directors (NEDs) on the board and director equity ownership. NEDs provide higher monitoring which reduces management discretion while director equity ownership provides incentives for managers to maximize the value of the firm. More specifically, we expect that high growth firms with a higher proportion of non-executive directors and director equity ownership are less likely to be associated with asset substitution and under investment. Thus, the negative investment opportunity set / debt relationship will be weaker for firms with higher levels of non-executive directors and high director equity ownership. Data collected from Australian companies support both these two hypotheses. Results have significant implications for corporate finance theory.

Conservation and development interventions as networks: The case of the India ecodevelopment project, Karnataka

Experience with community-based biodiversity conservation programs in the 1980s and 1990s contributed to the conviction among donor agencies and researchers that such programs must be based on the active support of local resource users, appropriate incentives, and institutional support. Yet the continuing struggles of practitioners to implement conservation interventions that are socially and ecologically sustainable point to difficulty in realizing these principles on the ground. Actor-oriented research in rural development and actor network theory emphasize that the capacity of facilitators to engage effectively in negotiation processes and establish strong networks with key actors is critical in mediating intervention outcomes. Drawing on the case of the India Ecodevelopment Project at Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) National Park in Karnataka, India, this paper explores the role of relationships and networks between actors in a conservation and development intervention, finding that practitioners need to focus on negotiation and network building as a central rather than subsidiary part of the intervention process. Associated with this is the need for change in the way donor and implementing agencies conduct themselves, to promote communication and greater flexibility in intervention processes.

Incentive or deterrent: which encourages greater focus on health and safety in the Victorian construction industry?

The Australian Government commissioned a Royal Commission into the building industry in Australia that reported to Parliament in August 2002. Volume 6 of this report, released in February 2003, discussed certain aspects in occupational health and safety in Australia and leaned toward deterrents as a means of achieving reform. This research defines both incentives and deterrents used to increase awareness of, and improve safety on, building sites in Victoria, a state of Australia. A pilot survey questionnaire was developed following a literature review and industry employer representatives were invited to participate. Industry awareness of Government incentive programmes was found to be low, with less than a quarter stating they read Government strategies. One fund that provides actual research monies into health and safety was known to very few of the respondents. Of the employers surveyed, the majority agreed that financial fines do act as a valid deterrent. Increases in worker compensation premiums were seen as the greatest deterrent due to the effect on company overheads and thus competitive tendering bids. Deterrent programmes were more readily acknowledged by employers as they had an element of self promotion with employers attempting to avoid their application.