Portuguese Economic Journal, 2016, Volume 15, Nº 1
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- Land reforms and population growthPublication . Lehmijoki, Ulla; Palokangas, TapioOne of the greatest puzzles in demographic history is why in the rich and urbanized England, fertility declined much later than in the poor and rural France. We consider the effects of a land reform on demographic growth by a family- optimization model where relative per capita wealth generates social status and welfare. We show that tenant farming is the major obstacle to escaping the Malthu- sian trap with high fertility and low productivity. A land reform provides peasants with higher returns for their investments, inducing them to increase their productiv- ity and status rather than their family size. Consequently, the population growth rate slows down, but the productivity of land increases.
- Profit sharing as entry deterrence mechanismPublication . Buccella, DomenicoIn a right-to-manage framework, this paper analyzes the optimal choice of the pay scheme (profit sharing vs. fixed wage) in a unionized duopoly with potential market entry and decentralized bargaining. The paper shows that, depending on the institutional features, both pay systems can arise as equilibria in Nash strategies. Under duopoly with committed bargaining, the fixed wage is the Nash equilibrium; with flexible bargaining, an agreement between the incumbent firm and its union about profit sharing arises as Nash equilibrium, if the union is not too strong. A monopoly with threat of entry reinforces the selection of profit sharing as a deterrent mechanism.
- Health status and labor force participation : evidence for urban low and middle income individuals in ColombiaPublication . Iregui-Bohórquez, Ana María; Melo-Becerra, Ligia Alba; Ramírez-Giraldo, María TeresaThis paper analyzes the relationship between individual health status and labor force participation using the first wave of the Colombian Longitudinal Survey. The empirical modeling strategy accounts for the presence of potential endogeneity between these two variables. The results show that there is a positive relationship between health and labor force participation in both directions, indicating that better health is likely to lead to a higher probability of participation in the labor market, but also that individuals who participate in the labor market are more likely to report better health. Interesting differences are uncovered when comparing the results by gender and/or age groups. For instance, for younger females, health status and higher education positively affect the probability of labor participation, whereas having children under the age of 5 and being married reduce their probability of participation. Our findings also highlight the importance of public policy to guarantee good health conditions of the population which could also have a positive impact on labor productivity and consequently on long-run economic growth.