Utilizing provincial-level data from the period of 1994-2008, this paper studies the relationship between union density and wages, employment, productivity, and economic output in China. The findings indicate that union density does not affect average wage levels, but is positively associated...

The effect of strike replacement, or striker replacement, bans has been theoretically modeled using private information bargaining models which predict that strike replacement restrictions will increase wages. These models, however, assume that the capital stock is constant. This paper develops...

Soft budget constraint refers to the phenomenon that money losing inefficient projects keep on getting subsidies and operating. It was first phrased and analyzed by the late Hungarian economist Janos Kornai when he studied former socialist economies and by now, economists generally have agreed...

The potential of shared capitalism to improve individual and organizational performance through financial incentives depends on employees knowing about and participating in compensation plans that link rewards to performance. This paper therefore analyzes a survey of employees from multiple...

China's economic performance of the past two decades presents a puzzle for the economics of transition and development: Enormous private business incentives were unleashed that have fueled rapid economic growth despite the fact that China has had very weak "conventional institutions" (such as...

We use a unique data set to study the implications of introducing managerial incentives and, in addition to incentives, better defined ownership for a firm's financial performance. The data set traces the ten-year history of 80 Chinese rural enterprises, known as township and village...

The conference was held on Dec 14-15, 2015 co-organized by the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) and East-West Center (EWC) in Honolulu. Participants from China, Japan, Korea and the United States discussed the economic future of the major North Pacific countries and the...

Two players in the modeled primitive society independently decide whether or not to arm and fight each other for distributive gains. Wealth and technology levels determine the balance of force and whether the society is in Rousseau's Garden of Eden, the Hobbesian war, or an arms race. Wealth and...

A theory is introduced to systematically explain autocracies' diverse experiences with taxation. State power relative to citizens' capacity for violence determines the limit of taxation, the highest tax rate that citizens will tolerate and pay. Rulers can spend resources on coercion to increase...