Motherhood wage penalties and labour market segmentation: Evidence from Argentina

Includes bibliography.

Wage share and economic growth in Latin America, 1950-2011

This article builds series of wage shares in gross domestic product (GDP) for 15 Latin American economies individually and as a group for the period 1950-2010. Using different methodologies, it is established that wage share is non-linear and has undergone two major cycles. The article discusses various authors, especially classic and post-Keynesian thinkers, who have explored the relationship between wage share in GDP and economic activity. It is also shown that the post-Keynesian approach is relevant in explaining that the main variables determining real gdp variations include wage share, gross capital formation and exports of goods and services. However, the contribution of wage share to real output growth has declined from the 1980s onwards.

CEPAL Review no. 113

Development then and now: Idea and utopia / Rolando Cordera Campos .-- Latin America’s competitive position in knowledge-intensive services trade / Andrés López, Andrés Niembro and Daniela Ramos .-- Wage share and economic growth in Latin America, 1950-2011 / Germán Alarco Tosoni .-- Patterns of technical progress in the Brazilian economy, 1952-2008 / Adalmir Marquetti and Melody de Campos Soares Porsse .-- Mexico: Combining monthly inflation predictions from surveys / Pilar Poncela, Víctor M. Guerrero, Alejandro Islas, Julio Rodríguez and Rocío Sánchez-Mangas .-- Expectations and industrial output in Uruguay: Sectoral interdependence and common trends / Bibiana Lanzilotta .-- Argentina: Impacts of the child allowance programme on the labour-market behaviour of adults / Roxana Maurizio and Gustavo Vázquez .-- Occupational mobility and income differentials: The experience of Brazil between 2002 and 2010 / Sandro Eduardo Monsueto, Julimar da Silva Bichara and André Moreira Cunha .-- What does the National High School Exam (enem) tell Brazilian society? / Rodrigo Travitzki, Jorge Calero and Carlota Boto .-- Brazil’s Northeast Financing Constitutional Fund: Differentiated effects on municipal economic growth / Fabrício Carneiro Linhares, Ricardo Brito Soares, Marcos Falcão Gonçalves and Luiz Fernando Gonçalves Viana.

Fertility in Curitiba, Brazil: levels, trends and differentials

Objectives: To identify levels, tendency and recent differentials in fertility in Curitiba, Brazil. Methods: It is a quantitative and temporal series study, in which the birth rates, general and total fertility indicators, for the period of 1995-2007, were calculated and analyzed in Curitiba, Brazil, as well as the proportion of women with high fertility in 2005-2007, compared to the state of Parana. In order to evaluate inner regional differences in the city of Curitiba the same rates were calculated for each one of the administrative districts in the capital. Results: It was noticed a tendency of decline in fertility rates in Curitiba. The total fertility rate in 2007 was 1.49 children per woman and 1.66 in Parana state. The proportion of women with high fertility in the interior of Parana was 1.8 times higher than in the capital. The analysis of fertility rates by districts in Curitiba pointed out important differences: only 10 out of 75 districts had total fertility rates higher than 2.1 children per woman, and 9 districts concentrated 59.6% of women with high fertility. Conclusions: Curitiba showed a quick and sharp reduction in fertility rates. However, the inner regional differences in the city suggests the need to devise actions of reproductive health and social measures, directed to specific groups of population.

Essays on Wage and Price Formation in Sweden

Study IReal Wage Determination in the Swedish Engineering Industry This study uses the monopoly union model to examine the determination of real wages and in particular the effects of active labour market programmes (ALMPs) on real wages in the engineering industry. Quarterly data for the period 1970:1 to 1996:4 are used in a cointegration framework, utilising the Johansen's maximum likelihood procedure. On a basis of the Johansen (trace) test results, vector error correction (VEC) models are created in order to model the determination of real wages in the engineering industry. The estimation results support the presence of a long-run wage-raising effect to rises in the labour productivity, in the tax wedge, in the alternative real consumer wage and in real UI benefits. The estimation results also support the presence of a long-run wage-raising effect due to positive changes in the participation rates regarding ALMPs, relief jobs and labour market training. This could be interpreted as meaning that the possibility of being a participant in an ALMP increases the utility for workers of not being employed in the industry, which in turn could increase real wages in the industry in the long run. Finally, the estimation results show evidence of a long-run wage-reducing effect due to positive changes in the unemployment rate. Study IIIntersectoral Wage Linkages in Sweden The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the wage-setting in certain sectors of the Swedish economy affects the wage-setting in other sectors. The theoretical background is the Scandinavian model of inflation, which states that the wage-setting in the sectors exposed to international competition affects the wage-setting in the sheltered sectors of the economy. The Johansen maximum likelihood cointegration approach is applied to quarterly data on Swedish sector wages for the period 1980:1–2002:2. Different vector error correction (VEC) models are created, based on assumptions as to which sectors are exposed to international competition and which are not. The adaptability of wages between sectors is then tested by imposing restrictions on the estimated VEC models. Finally, Granger causality tests are performed in the different restricted/unrestricted VEC models to test for sector wage leadership. The empirical results indicate considerable adaptability in wages as between manufacturing, construction, the wholesale and retail trade, the central government sector and the municipalities and county councils sector. This is consistent with the assumptions of the Scandinavian model. Further, the empirical results indicate a low level of adaptability in wages as between the financial sector and manufacturing, and between the financial sector and the two public sectors. The Granger causality tests provide strong evidence for the presence of intersectoral wage causality, but no evidence of a wage-leading role in line with the assumptions of the Scandinavian model for any of the sectors. Study IIIWage and Price Determination in the Private Sector in Sweden The purpose of this study is to analyse wage and price determination in the private sector in Sweden during the period 1980–2003. The theoretical background is a variant of the “Imperfect competition model of inflation”, which assumes imperfect competition in the labour and product markets. According to the model wages and prices are determined as a result of a “battle of mark-ups” between trade unions and firms. The Johansen maximum likelihood cointegration approach is applied to quarterly Swedish data on consumer prices, import prices, private-sector nominal wages, private-sector labour productivity and the total unemployment rate for the period 1980:1–2003:3. The chosen cointegration rank of the estimated vector error correction (VEC) model is two. Thus, two cointegration relations are assumed: one for private-sector nominal wage determination and one for consumer price determination. The estimation results indicate that an increase of consumer prices by one per cent lifts private-sector nominal wages by 0.8 per cent. Furthermore, an increase of private-sector nominal wages by one per cent increases consumer prices by one per cent. An increase of one percentage point in the total unemployment rate reduces private-sector nominal wages by about 4.5 per cent. The long-run effects of private-sector labour productivity and import prices on consumer prices are about –1.2 and 0.3 per cent, respectively. The Rehnberg agreement during 1991–92 and the monetary policy shift in 1993 affected the determination of private-sector nominal wages, private-sector labour productivity, import prices and the total unemployment rate. The “offensive” devaluation of the Swedish krona by 16 per cent in 1982:4, and the start of a floating Swedish krona and the substantial depreciation of the krona at this time affected the determination of import prices.

Sintesi di immagini realistiche mediante l'uso del Photon differentials come estensione del Photon mapping

Questa tesi intende presentare una tecnica per la sintesi di immagini realistiche al calcolatore basata sul concetto di particle tracing. Il metodo proposto opera una stima sulla densità locale dei fotoni estendendo il concetto del photon differentials anche alla gestione delle riflessioni diffusive. Si è scelto di implementare il nuovo algoritmo di illuminazione globale all’interno di XCModel come estensione del photon mapping.

A Historical-Institutional Study of the Welfare Systems in the United States and Sweden: Net Social Wage Approach

In this study I first look at the historical developments of the welfare systems in Sweden and the United States to understand why these countries have produced two distinct systems over the years. After understanding their historical context I turn to the question of the relationship between the welfare system and economic growth. Policy makers and the mainstream media commonly cite the critique that through government deficit and public debt, welfare systems are a drag on the economy. By calculating the net social wage, the difference in taxes paid and benefits received by workers, I test this hypothesis to see if welfare systems are self-financed by the workers. My findings demonstrate that the net social wage has been negative in the U.S. from 1962 to the early 2000s and in Sweden from 1965 to 2012. This shows that the welfare systems are entirely self-financed by the workers for the full period in Sweden and until the recent financial crisis in the U.S.

The Recent Structure of Wages in the Czech Republic

The project drew on an extensive firm-level sample of employees to describe in detail the recent evolution of the structure of wages in the Czech Republic between 1995 and 1998. The results of the analysis were then compared with information from EU countries. Regression analysis was used to study a number of specific questions, with particular emphasis being paid to proper weighting of the sample. Jurajda first quantified the effects on male and female hourly wages in the Czech Republic of worker age and education, firm size, region, industry and ownership type. He then examined whether these effects have been changing over time and how they differ by gender, and identified those industrial sectors that carry the largest wage premiums not accounted for by worker or firm characteristics, and measured the effect of unemployment on wages. He found a substantial increase in returns on human capital, with the earning differentials for education increasing substantially between 1995 and 1998, with these gains being largely comparable to those in western countries. Overall, the Czech structure of wages is now very responsive to market forces and is converging rapidly on EU-type flexibility in almost every dimension. It is likely, however, that due to the constrained supply of tertiary-educated workers in particular, the returns on education may keep on rising, surpassing levels typical of western economies and potentially reaching the high levels observed in developing countries.

Raise the Minimum Wage

A Montana Public Radio Commentary by Evan Barrett. Published newspaper columns written by Evan Barrett on this topic, which vary somewhat in content from this commentary, appeared in the following publications: Montana Standard, November 25, 2013 Missoulian, November, 28, 2013