Macro- and Monetary Economics

Debates on the Measurement of Global Poverty

Sudhir Anand, Paul Segal, Joseph E. Stiglitz (eds)

The international community's commitment to halve global poverty by 2015 has been enshrined in the first Millennium Development Goal. How global poverty is measured is a critical element ... More

The international community's commitment to halve global poverty by 2015 has been enshrined in the first Millennium Development Goal. How global poverty is measured is a critical element in assessing progress towards this goal, and different researchers have presented widely-varying estimates. The chapters in this volume address a range of problems in the measurement and estimation of global poverty, from a variety of viewpoints. Topics covered include the controversies surrounding the definition of a global poverty line; the use of purchasing power parity exchange rates to map the poverty line across countries; and the quality, and appropriate use, of data from national accounts and household surveys. Both official and independent estimates of global poverty have proved to be controversial, and this volume presents and analyses the lively debate that has ensued. Less

Economics Beyond the Millennium

Alan P. Kirman, Louis-André Gérard-Varet (eds)

This book contains articles by leading economists in which they forecast the way in which economics will evolve in the new millennium. The three sections of the book concern the ... More

This book contains articles by leading economists in which they forecast the way in which economics will evolve in the new millennium. The three sections of the book concern the microfoundations of macroeconomics, markets and organization, and issues in econometrics. Each of these themes reflect a major interest of the GREQAM research group in Marseille. The book was published to celebrate the 10th birthday of the group. Less

Environmental Tax Reform (ETR): A Policy for Green Growth

Paul Ekins, Stefan Speck (eds)

This book explores the economic and environmental implications of environmental tax reform (ETR), also known as green fiscal reform, which entails a reduction in taxes on labour and ... More

This book explores the economic and environmental implications of environmental tax reform (ETR), also known as green fiscal reform, which entails a reduction in taxes on labour and profits, and a corresponding increase in taxes on pollution and the use of natural resources. The book investigates the hypothesis that such a tax shift can increase resource productivity and reduce pollution, and increase employment and innovation in environmental technologies, with potentially positive effects on output and human welfare. The detailed modelling and other analysis reported in the book suggest that ETR can indeed have these effects, although the GDP impacts are small and may be positive or negative, such that ETR emerges as an important cost-effective policy for environmental improvement. However, because countries' fiscal systems and taxation policies are politically very sensitive, the actual implementation of ETR is never likely to be simple, and consideration needs to be given to the political and cultural context of the country, and to the distributional impacts on both firms and households. Low-income households may require compensation if the tax shift is not to be regressive, while the impacts on the competitiveness of firms may be minimized, and the positive environmental impacts much magnified, if the ETR could be carried out at a global level. Less

Executive Remuneration and Employee Performance-Related Pay: A Transatlantic Perspective

Tito Boeri, Claudio Lucifora, Kevin J. Murphy (eds)

Part one: The book traces the evolution of executive compensation, its controversies and its resulting regulations, by comparing US and European CEOs. It shows that many features of current executive ... More

Part one: The book traces the evolution of executive compensation, its controversies and its resulting regulations, by comparing US and European CEOs. It shows that many features of current executive compensation practices reflect the often-unintended consequences of regulatory responses to perceived abuses in top-executive pay, often stemming from relatively isolated events or situations. Regulation always creates unintended (and usually costly) side effects and it is often inherently driven by politicians more interested in their political agendas rather than creating shareholder value. Improvements in executive compensation are more likely to emanate through stronger corporate governance, and not through direct government intervention. Part one: The compensation packages of a growing proportion of firms include pay schemes that are linked to employee or company performance, however little is known about the patterns of performance related pay both within and across countries. This study investigates the diffusion of incentive pay schemes on both sides of the Atlantic and finds a number of empirical regularities. Incentive pay is less common where the share of small firms is larger, or where product and labour markets are regulated. We show that government intervention in this area is not obvious and that extensive discussion with labour, management, and government decision-makers is important.Less

Fighting Unemployment: The Limits of Free Market Orthodoxy

David Howell (ed.)

Much of Europe remains plagued by high levels of unemployment. Fighting Unemployment critically assesses the widely accepted view that the culprit is excessive labor market regulation ... More

Much of Europe remains plagued by high levels of unemployment. Fighting Unemployment critically assesses the widely accepted view that the culprit is excessive labor market regulation and overly generous welfare state benefits. The chapters include both cross-country statistical analyses and country case studies and are authored by economists from seven North American and European countries. They challenge the standard free market prescription that lower wages for less skilled workers, weaker labor unions, greater decentralization in bargaining, less generous unemployment benefits, and much less job security are necessary for good employment performance. There is little or no evidence of an equality-employment tradeoff: more wage equality is not associated with higher unemployment (or lower employment) rates. And while some recent statistical tests of the role of protective labor market institutions across the most affluent countries have been interpreted to lend support to the orthodox view and have been highly influential in both professional and policy circles, these results are shown to vary significantly across studies and to be highly sensitive to minor changes in the way the tests are run. The case study chapters suggest that good employment performance has been achieved less by shrinking the welfare state and deregulating the labor market than by effectively coordinating macroeconomic and social policies with the wage bargaining system —an achievement that requires both strong employer and union associations and a relatively stable and consensual political environment. The larger message of this book is that fundamentally different labor market models are compatible with low unemployment, ranging from the free market “American Model” to the much more regulated and coordinated Scandinavian systems. Less

Financial Access in Post-Reform India

T.A. Bhavani, N.R. Bhanumurthy

This study focuses on the state of financial access in post-reform India. It is analysed from the macroeconomic growth perspective keeping in view the importance of rapid growth for the ... More

This study focuses on the state of financial access in post-reform India. It is analysed from the macroeconomic growth perspective keeping in view the importance of rapid growth for the Indian economy and the fact that majority of production organizations especially in the unorganized segment are yet to have access to the formal financial system. Financial access is considered in terms of actual use of one of the financial services, that is, supply of financial resources for productive investment purpose. The study measures financial access in terms of availability of finances from the formal financial institutions and their adequacy in taking care of productive investment needs. Adequacy of finances is assessed through financial resource gap, that is, proportion of productive investment that is not funded by the formal financial institutions. Availability and adequacy of resources from the formal financial system is analysed at different levels of aggregation: household, sector (agriculture, industry and services), segment (unorganized and organized), and economy. Industry and services sectors are divided into organized and unorganized segments given their differential access to the formal financial system and financial access is computed separately for the two segments. In addition, the study compares India with selected countries (Brazil, China, and United Kingdom) and within India it compares private sector banks with public sector banks. Finally, it provides policy recommendations. Less

Gender, Inequality, and Wages

Francine D. Blau

Anne C. Gielen, Klaus F. Zimmermann (eds)

This book contains extensive research on progress made by women in the labour market, and the characteristics and causes of remaining gender inequalities. It also covers other indicators ... More

This book contains extensive research on progress made by women in the labour market, and the characteristics and causes of remaining gender inequalities. It also covers other indicators of gender inequalities, and other dimensions of inequality. It consists of a collection of previous works, both single-authored and co-authored, which have been revised and form an integrated volume dealing with inequality in the labour market. Each part is introduced by a chapter that places the work in context and explains its genesis, as well as its relevance to current research and policy, and an Epilogue brings together concluding thoughts. The chapters on the gender wage gap probe and quantify the explanations for the gap, show how it has decreased over time in the United States, and suggest explanations for this narrowing and the more recent slowdown in wage convergence. The book also considers international differences in the gender wage gap and wage inequality more generally, ascribing an important role to wage setting institutions. Other chapters more broadly consider a variety of indicators of gender inequality and how they have changed over time, and trends in female labour supply and what they indicate about changing gender roles. In addition, a successful intervention designed to increase the relative success of academic women is evaluated. Inequality by race and immigrant status are also examined, including analyses of race difference in wages and wealth, immigrant-native differences in the use of transfer payments, and the impact of gender roles in immigrant source countries on immigrant women's labour market assimilation in the United States. Less