When the Meaning of Work Has Disappeared: Experimental Evidence on Employees’ Performance and Emotions
Adrian Chadi, Sabrina Jeworrek, Vanessa Mertins
Management Science,
No. 6,
2017
Abstract
This experiment tests for a causal relationship between the meaning of work and employees’ motivation to perform well. The study builds on an existing employer–employee relationship, adding realism to the ongoing research of task meaning. Owing to an unexpected project cancelation, we are able to study how varying the information provided about the meaning of previously conducted work — without the use of deception, but still maintaining a high level of control — affects subsequent performance. We observe a strong decline in exerted effort when we inform workers about the meaninglessness of a job already done. Our data also suggests that providing a supplemental alternative meaning perfectly compensates for this negative performance effect. Individual characteristics such as reciprocal inclinations and trust prompt different reactions. The data also show that the meaning of work affects workers’ emotions, but we cannot establish a clear relationship between emotional responses and performance.
Read article
Do Local Banking Market Structures Matter for SME Financing and Performance? New Evidence from an Emerging Economy
Iftekhar Hasan, Krzysztof Jackowicz, Oskar Kowalewski, Łukasz Kozłowski
Journal of Banking and Finance,
2017
Abstract
This paper investigates the relationship between local banking structures and SMEs’ access to debt and performance. Using a unique dataset on bank branch locations in Poland and firm-, county-, and bank-level data, we conclude that a strong position for local cooperative banks facilitates access to bank financing, lowers financial costs, boosts investments, and favours growth for SMEs. Moreover, counties in which cooperative banks hold a strong position are characterized by a more rapid pace of new firm creation. The opposite effects appear in the majority of cases for local banking markets dominated by foreign-owned banks. Consequently, our findings are important from a policy perspective because they show that foreign bank entry and industry consolidation may raise valid concerns for SME prospects in emerging economies.
Read article
Complex-task Biased Technological Change and the Labor Market
Colin Caines, Florian Hoffmann, Gueorgui Kambourov
Review of Economic Dynamics,
April
2017
Abstract
In this paper we study the relationship between task complexity and the occupational wage- and employment structure. Complex tasks are defined as those requiring higher-order skills, such as the ability to abstract, solve problems, make decisions, or communicate effectively. We measure the task complexity of an occupation by performing Principal Component Analysis on a broad set of occupational descriptors in the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) data. We establish four main empirical facts for the U.S. over the 1980–2005 time period that are robust to the inclusion of a detailed set of controls, subsamples, and levels of aggregation: (1) There is a positive relationship across occupations between task complexity and wages and wage growth; (2) Conditional on task complexity, routine-intensity of an occupation is not a significant predictor of wage growth and wage levels; (3) Labor has reallocated from less complex to more complex occupations over time; (4) Within groups of occupations with similar task complexity labor has reallocated to non-routine occupations over time. We then formulate a model of Complex-Task Biased Technological Change with heterogeneous skills and show analytically that it can rationalize these facts. We conclude that workers in non-routine occupations with low ability of solving complex tasks are not shielded from the labor market effects of automatization.
Read article
Private Equity and Industry Performance
Shai B. Bernstein, Josh Lerner, Morten Sorensen, Per Strömberg
Management Science,
No. 4,
2017
Abstract
The growth of the private equity industry has spurred concerns about its impact on the economy. This analysis looks across nations and industries to assess the impact of private equity on industry performance. We find that industries where private equity funds invest grow more quickly in terms of total production and employment and appear less exposed to aggregate shocks. Our robustness tests provide some evidence that is consistent with our effects being driven by our preferred channel.
Read article
IWH-Industrieumfrage zum Jahresauftakt 2017: Ostdeutsche Hersteller gehen nach Aufschwung im Jahr 2016 von weiterhin günstigen Geschäftsaussichten aus
Birgit Schultz
Konjunktur aktuell,
No. 1,
2017
Abstract
Die vom IWH befragten rund 300 Unternehmen des Verarbeitenden Gewerbes Ostdeutschlands gehen nach einem erfolgreichen Geschäftsjahr 2016 zuversichtlich in das neue Jahr. Die Umsätze stiegen im Jahr 2016 meist stärker als vor einem Jahr von ihnen erwartet. Bei den Konsumgüterherstellern war die Umsatzentwicklung besonders erfreulich. In allen Sparten war die Industriekonjunktur mit viel Schwung in das Jahr 2016 gestartet und bremste erst im späteren Verlauf des Jahres etwas ab. Mit Blick auf das Jahr 2017 zeigt sich die überwiegende Mehrheit der befragten Unternehmen aber wieder optimistisch. Die Ertragslage konnte sich im Jahr 2016 im Vergleich zum Vorjahr zwar nicht weiter verbessern, jedoch schafften es mehr Unternehmen, aus der Verlustzone zu kommen. Die Exportunternehmen, die in den Jahren zuvor eine besonders gute Performance gezeigt hatten, konnten diesmal nicht durchweg überdurchschnittlichen glänzen. Das soll im Jahr 2017 wieder aufgeholt werden, wie Umsatz- und Beschäftigungspläne zeigen. Insbesondere die größeren ostdeutschen Industrieunternehmen planen häufig, ihren Personalbestand zu erhöhen.
Read article
Banking Globalization, Local Lending, and Labor Market Effects: Micro-level Evidence from Brazil
Felix Noth, Matias Ossandon Busch
Abstract
This paper estimates the effect of a foreign funding shock to banks in Brazil after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008. Our robust results show that bank-specific shocks to Brazilian parent banks negatively affected lending by their individual branches and trigger real economic consequences in Brazilian municipalities: More affected regions face restrictions in aggregated credit and show weaker labor market performance in the aftermath which documents the transmission mechanism of the global financial crisis to local labor markets in emerging countries. The results represent relevant information for regulators concerned with the real effects of cross-border liquidity shocks.
Read article
Optimizing Policymakers' Loss Functions in Crisis Prediction: Before, Within or After?
Peter Sarlin, Gregor von Schweinitz
Abstract
Early-warning models most commonly optimize signaling thresholds on crisis probabilities. The expost threshold optimization is based upon a loss function accounting for preferences between forecast errors, but comes with two crucial drawbacks: unstable thresholds in recursive estimations and an in-sample overfit at the expense of out-of-sample performance. We propose two alternatives for threshold setting: (i) including preferences in the estimation itself and (ii) setting thresholds ex-ante according to preferences only. Given probabilistic model output, it is intuitive that a decision rule is independent of the data or model specification, as thresholds on probabilities represent a willingness to issue a false alarm vis-à-vis missing a crisis. We provide simulated and real-world evidence that this simplification results in stable thresholds and improves out-of-sample performance. Our solution is not restricted to binary-choice models, but directly transferable to the signaling approach and all probabilistic early-warning models.
Read article
Internal Governance and Creditor Governance: Evidence from Credit Default Swaps
Stefano Colonnello
IWH Discussion Papers,
No. 6,
2017
Abstract
I study the relation between internal governance and creditor governance. A deterioration in creditor governance may increase the agency costs of debt and managerial opportunism at the expense of shareholders. I exploit the introduction of credit default swaps (CDS) as a negative shock to creditor governance. I provide evidence consistent with shareholders pushing for a substitution effect between internal governance and creditor governance. Following CDS introduction, CDS firms reduce managerial risk-taking incentives relative to other firms. At the same time, after the start of CDS trading, CDS firms increase managerial wealth-performance sensitivity, board independence, and CEO turnover performance-sensitivity relative to other firms.
Read article
Should Forecasters Use Real-time Data to Evaluate Leading Indicator Models for GDP Prediction? German Evidence
Katja Heinisch, Rolf Scheufele
Abstract
In this paper we investigate whether differences exist among forecasts using real-time or latest-available data to predict gross domestic product (GDP). We employ mixed-frequency models and real-time data to reassess the role of survey data relative to industrial production and orders in Germany. Although we find evidence that forecast characteristics based on real-time and final data releases differ, we also observe minimal impacts on the relative forecasting performance of indicator models. However, when obtaining the optimal combination of soft and hard data, the use of final release data may understate the role of survey information.
Read article
27.01.2017 • 10/2017
IWH-Industrieumfrage zum Jahresauftakt 2017: Ostdeutsche Hersteller gehen nach Aufschwung im Jahr 2016 von weiterhin günstigen Geschäftsaussichten aus
Die vom IWH befragten rund 300 Unternehmen des Verarbeitenden Gewerbes Ostdeutschlands gehen nach einem erfolgreichen Geschäftsjahr 2016 zuversichtlich in das neue Jahr. Die Umsätze stiegen im Jahr 2016 meist stärker als vor einem Jahr von ihnen erwartet. Bei den Konsumgüterherstellern war die Umsatzentwicklung besonders erfreulich. In allen Sparten war die Industriekonjunktur mit viel Schwung in das Jahr 2016 gestartet und bremste erst im späteren Verlauf des Jahres etwas ab. Mit Blick auf das Jahr 2017 zeigt sich die überwiegende Mehrheit der befragten Unternehmen aber wieder optimistisch. Die Ertragslage konnte sich im Jahr 2016 im Vergleich zum Vorjahr zwar nicht weiter verbessern, jedoch schafften es mehr Unternehmen, aus der Verlustzone zu kommen. Die Exportunternehmen, die in den Jahren zuvor eine besonders gute Performance gezeigt hatten, konnten diesmal nicht durchweg überdurchschnittlichen glänzen. Das soll im Jahr 2017 wieder aufgeholt werden, wie Umsatz- und Beschäftigungspläne zeigen. Insbesondere die größeren ostdeutschen Industrieunternehmen planen häufig, ihren Personal-bestand zu erhöhen.
Birgit Schultz
Read