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We use data from millions of online job postings to construct monthly estimates of annual growth in advertised wages in the US, UK, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain from 2019 to 2022. The resulting wage growth tracker is a source of timely and forward-looking data on the wages of the marginal worker and serves as a useful leading indicator of momentum in wage dynamics. We show that the online job postings data benchmarks well against official sources on job vacancies, new hires, and wage levels. In both Europe and the US, growth in advertised wages accelerated sharply after the pandemic. Granular data shows a heterogeneous pattern of post-pandemic wage growth, with lower-paid jobs experiencing stronger wage growth in most of the countries in our sample. We attribute this to stronger labor demand for lower-paid jobs coming out of the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Modern Economic Science is the property of Modern Economic Science Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Widespread attention has been paid to the continuous rounds of rising agricultural product prices in China since 2003. During this period, rising prices were affected by input costs and international market prices; therefore, the degree of benefits obtained by farmers from the rise in agricultural product prices has been questioned. However, limited studies have examined the effect and relationship between rising agricultural product prices and farmers' income. The purpose of the study was to provide empirical evidence on how the rise in agricultural product prices affects farmers' income and to understand the role of land and labor costs in this context using provincial data from 2003 to 2020. The findings reveal that there is a threshold effect on the impact of the rise in agricultural product prices on farmers' income. A moderate rise in agricultural product prices can increase farmers' income, but excessive price increases have an insignificant effect. The causes behind the price rise significantly influence farmers' income. An increase attributed to higher land and labor costs can improve farmers' income, whereas a rise driven by international market prices or the cost of agricultural production inputs is unlikely to benefit farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Automobile Technology & Material is the property of Automobile Technology & Material Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study addresses the dearth of research on what enables firms' performance in the context of Industry 4.0 (I4.0). We investigate how I4.0 shapes the effects of firm investments over time and whether the effects of people and equipment depend on innovative management approaches. A longitudinal multi-sector study is conducted of 157 export-oriented, manufacturing firms in a European Union member state (Slovenia) over a 14-year period (in total, consisting of 1791 total observations). The findings suggest that firms which invest more in technology complement these costs by making investments in people, which over time leads to a higher firm performance. The I4.0 phase moderates this mediated relationship in that firms more advanced with respect to engaging in I4.0 tend to lower their human resources costs despite investing in technology while still showing a superior firm performance. This indicates the substitution effect of technology vis-à-vis human resources. The moderation of management innovation proved to be weaker, calling for a detailed look at its nuances across the studied levels. Taken together, our paper contributes in advancing the stream of research focused on internal factors and processes specifically related to firm investments and management processes, thereby leading to the outcomes of new technology use and capitalization. The findings highlight the link between I4.0 and technology management, and innovation, and complements the existing research on the link between management innovation and performance by contextualizing it within I4.0's new technology and socio-economic changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Letter to the Editor is a response to the author's paper, titled “Economic Evaluation of Ultrasound-guided Central Venous Catheter Confirmation vs Chest Radiography in Critically Ill Patients: A Labor Cost Model”. We agree that Point-Of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) has been demonstrated to be a non-inferior assessment for confirmation of successful above the diaphragm Central Venous Catheter (CVC) placement when compared to Chest X-ray (CXR). From a cost analysis standpoint, we believe there are significant areas of direct and indirect costs that would demonstrate an advantage to the use of POCUS versus CXR.

Introduction: To improve our understanding of how people engage in altruistic behavior, it is important to investigate the motives provided by help recipients and how these motives influence givers’ helping behaviors. Method: In the present study we conduct three experiments (total N = 606), exploring how the financial motivation of help recipients can aect givers’ helping behaviors. Results and discussion: We find that people like to help others but resent helping those motivated by immediate financial gains. Study 1 shows that the recipient of help influenced the responses of the helpers depending on whether the recipient was making a sales profit from this help or not. An influencing factor was whether the recipient could provide an excuse for making such a profit. Study 2 replicated these findings also in conditions in which other kinds of profits were applied. Study 3 confirmed the results in conditions in which helpers were informed about recipients’ financial motives before deciding whether to help. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the establishment of any facility, it is quite necessary to determine the profitability of the unit. The present research provides a detailed analysis of the case unit along with the necessary costs and returns on investment. This research paper also includes the cost and benefits analysis of a newly installed digital printing department at Sapphire Diamond Company. Since the relationship between fabric printing and most of the costs is non-linear, this is the reason the system dynamics modelling technique was used in the present research; it was used to model the requirement of material, electricity, and human resources. The model was developed by using the stocks, flows, variables, and parameters in the Anylogic PLE version and the simulated results were validated from the real-time scenario. The data regarding the labour cost, electricity cost, and material cost were collected from the case department. Furthermore, the scenario analysis was conducted and simulated results were downloaded in Microsoft Excel. Several line charts were plotted in Microsoft Excel and Origin software. It was indicated from the scenario analysis that the cost per meter decreased by increasing the production rate. It was also indicated that if the digital printing machine was operated at its maximum capacity, the ROI would be maximum. Incurred overheads were also the subject of concern in the present scenario. After the overall analysis, it was concluded that the digital printing facility was still in profit even if its production rate per day was 150+50. Since the present research encompasses the detailed cost and benefit analysis of a newly installed digital printing facility, therefore, it can be beneficial for investors as analytical support to decide on installing digital textile printing machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Widespread attention has been paid to the continuous rounds of rising agricultural product prices in China since 2003. During this period, rising prices were affected by input costs and international market prices; therefore, the degree of benefits obtained by farmers from the rise in agricultural product prices has been questioned. However, limited studies have examined the effect and relationship between rising agricultural product prices and farmers’ income. The purpose of the study was to provide empirical evidence on how the rise in agricultural product prices affects farmers’ income and to understand the role of land and labor costs in this context using provincial data from 2003 to 2020. The findings reveal that there is a threshold effect on the impact of the rise in agricultural product prices on farmers’ income. A moderate rise in agricultural product prices can increase farmers’ income, but excessive price increases have an insignificant effect. The causes behind the price rise significantly influence farmers’ income. An increase attributed to higher land and labor costs can improve farmers’ income, whereas a rise driven by international market prices or the cost of agricultural production inputs is unlikely to benefit farmers.

IntroductionTo improve our understanding of how people engage in altruistic behavior, it is important to investigate the motives provided by help recipients and how these motives influence givers' helping behaviors.MethodIn the present study we conduct three experiments (total N = 606), exploring how the financial motivation of help recipients can affect givers' helping behaviors.Results and discussionWe find that people like to help others but resent helping those motivated by immediate financial gains. Study 1 shows that the recipient of help influenced the responses of the helpers depending on whether the recipient was making a sales profit from this help or not. An influencing factor was whether the recipient could provide an excuse for making such a profit. Study 2 replicated these findings also in conditions in which other kinds of profits were applied. Study 3 confirmed the results in conditions in which helpers were informed about recipients' financial motives before deciding whether to help.

Copyright of Conference Journal of Social Policy / Sosyal Siyaset Konferanslar Dergisi is the property of Journal of Social Policy Conferences/Sosyal Siyaset Konferanslar Dergisi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study examines how a labor cost shock affects firms' research and development (R&D) activity, focusing on the heterogeneous effect across firm size. Using the difference-in-differences approach, we investigate the R&D effect of Labor Contract Law (LCL) on firms in China. Empirical evidence reveals that, when considering the law binding issue, strict enforcement of the LCL has a negative treatment effect on treated firms' R&D expenditure, which was reduced by 3.03%–6.75% on average, but it did not affect their likelihood of engaging in R&D. Crucially, the LCL's R&D effect varies greatly by firm size. There is a positive treatment effect for large and medium-sized firms, whereas small treated firms reduce R&D in response to the labor cost shock. These heterogeneous effects apply to R&D propensity across firm size. The potential mechanisms for mitigating the LCL's cost impact are discussed. Robustness checks reaffirm the above findings. Plain English Summary: The purpose of this paper is to question that does a stringent labor regulation hamper or facilitate firms' R&D activity in China? Whether this R&D effect of labor regulation differs across large, medium, and small firms. We examine these questions by drawing on the discussions about labor regulation, firm size, and R&D in literature. Subsequently, the difference-in-differences approach is adopted to conduct empirical estimations, with a panel dataset drawn from Chinese Annual Survey of Industrial Firms. We find that strict enforcement of the Labor Contract Law executes a negative treatment effect on treated firms' R&D expenditure, but not for their likelihood of engaging in R&D. Crucially, this R&D effect is a positive for large and medium-sized enterprises, but negative for small firms. Thus, the principal implication of this study is that small firms are disadvantageous in innovation activity under labor cost shocks. Small firms should consider feasible strategies to promote productivity in response to changes in the external environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technologies are being integrated into everyday life worldwide, constantly transforming our society and labor markets. The EU requires digitally smart people in the labor market and has promoted this through the Digital Agenda. In this context, our paper aims to investigate the diversity of the EU member states in terms of the digitalization of the labor market in the post-pandemic context. Using a multidimensional perspective, we considered indicators reflecting not only labor market specificities but also the degree of digitalization and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the strength of the association between digitalization and the labor market indicators was quantified through a Pearson test, while the cluster analysis highlighted some patterns for the high-tech EU economies compared to the medium- and low-tech EU economies. Among the high-tech economies cluster, Finland stands out as the frontrunner in the EU's digital transformation, with the most digitally skilled workers. At the opposite pole are the South-Eastern countries, which have the most to do to recover and still lack an effective digital policy framework to support youth workers' access to digital training. The practical implications of our study consist mostly of providing decision-makers with directions on issues to tackle when implementing EU digital policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background and Aim The traditional method of taking Chinese Medicine involves creating a decoction by cooking medicinal Chinese herbs. However, this method has become less popular, being replaced by the more convenient method of consuming concentrated Chinese herbal extracts, which creates challenges related to the complexity of stacking multiple formulas. Methods We developed the Chinese Intelligence Prescription System (CIPS) to simplify the prescription process. In this study, we used data from our institutions pharmacy to calculate the number of reductions, average dispensing time, and resulting cost savings. Results The mean number of prescriptions was reduced from 8.19 ± 3.65 to 7.37 ± 3.34 ( $$p=2.46\;\times10^{-8}$$ p = 2.46 × 10 - 8 ). The reduction in the number of prescriptions directly resulted in decreased dispensing time, reducing it from 1.79 ± 0.25 to 1.63 ± 0.66 min ( $$p=1.88\;\times10^{-14}$$ p = 1.88 × 10 - 14 ). The reduced dispensing time totaled 3.75 h per month per pharmacist, equivalent to an annual labor cost savings of $15,488 NTD per pharmacist. In addition, drug loss was reduced during the prescription process, with a mean savings of $4,517 NTD per year. The combined savings adds up to a not insignificant $20,005 NTD per year per pharmacist. When taking all TCM clinics/hospitals in Taiwan into account, the total annual savings would be $77 million NTD. Conclusion CIPS assists clinicians and pharmacists to formulate precise prescriptions in a clinical setting to simplify the dispensing process while reducing medical resource waste and labor costs.

In Honduras and El Salvador, coffee (Coffea arabica) is one of the leading agricultural exports, and the share of specialty coffee is growing each year. However, despite the importance of specialty coffee production and exports, there is a knowledge gap regarding its cost structure and profitability, particularly those associated with labor costs. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the cost structure of specialty coffee in Honduras and El Salvador and to estimate the costs and profitability of producing specialty coffee in these countries. A semi-structured survey instrument was administered to 14 farmers in Honduras and El Salvador selected as a convenience sample to represent different farm sizes, regions, and specialty-conventional and organic production systems. Specialty-conventional refers to high-quality coffee with or without certifications. Then,cost-profitability models were developed using an economic cost approach, which considered cash, noncash cost, and the opportunity costs of inputs. The results showed that although both countries are neighbors and economically and culturally similar, the cost structure of producing specialty coffee differed significantly. Costs were lower and profits were higher in Honduras than in El Salvador, and the specialty-conventional coffee production system was more profitable than the organic production system.

The housing provident fund is an important part of payroll taxes. This paper quantifies its impact on employment. Although the fund helps enterprises with R&D to recruit more employees, it will also reduce the profitability of enterprises and cause enterprises to shrink their production scale, resulting in a negative overall effect on the number of employees. The negative impacts are significant in groups with strong financing constraints, and it mainly affects workers with a low education level and male workers. This paper also examines the impact of the increase and decrease of the contribution rate. The results show that reducing the contribution rate will promote employment.

Background and Aim: The traditional method of taking Chinese Medicine involves creating a decoction by cooking medicinal Chinese herbs. However, this method has become less popular, being replaced by the more convenient method of consuming concentrated Chinese herbal extracts, which creates challenges related to the complexity of stacking multiple formulas. Methods: We developed the Chinese Intelligence Prescription System (CIPS) to simplify the prescription process. In this study, we used data from our institutions pharmacy to calculate the number of reductions, average dispensing time, and resulting cost savings. Results: The mean number of prescriptions was reduced from 8.19 ± 3.65 to 7.37 ± 3.34 ( p = 2.46 × 10 - 8 ). The reduction in the number of prescriptions directly resulted in decreased dispensing time, reducing it from 1.79 ± 0.25 to 1.63 ± 0.66 min ( p = 1.88 × 10 - 14 ). The reduced dispensing time totaled 3.75 h per month per pharmacist, equivalent to an annual labor cost savings of $15,488 NTD per pharmacist. In addition, drug loss was reduced during the prescription process, with a mean savings of $4,517 NTD per year. The combined savings adds up to a not insignificant $20,005 NTD per year per pharmacist. When taking all TCM clinics/hospitals in Taiwan into account, the total annual savings would be $77 million NTD. Conclusion: CIPS assists clinicians and pharmacists to formulate precise prescriptions in a clinical setting to simplify the dispensing process while reducing medical resource waste and labor costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the construction industry is labor-intensive, predicting the number of workers is important for estimating various factors that influence construction, such as the construction worker fatality rate and construction financing plan. In South Korea, the number of full-time workers is estimated based on the total construction cost; however, this estimation method does not reflect the characteristics of specific construction types. This study presents a simple model that uses real data to predict the number of construction workers and calculates correction factors in two ways to improve reliability. This study involved three steps: (1) collecting data, (2) calculating and validating the estimated labor rate, and (3) calculating correction factors. The model predicted the number of workers with an average error rate of 7.60% without correction factors. To improve reliability, this research suggests two-way correction factors, and the results show that correction factor one reduces the average error rate to 0.06% and correction factor two reduces the average error rate to 0.00%. The proposed model can be used for estimating project costs and predicting construction worker fatalities for a project. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Chinese manufacturing enterprises during 2006-2014 as research sample, we examine the effect of adoption of industrial robots on firm entry and its mechanism. The empirical results show that the application of industrial robots can significantly improve the number of new enterprises, total industrial output value, the sales revenue of main business products and the entry rate of new enterprises. After the robustness tests such as solving endogeneity problems and changing the measurement of key variables by constructing Bartik instrumental variables, the conclusion is still valid. The mechanism analysis reveals that first, the application of industrial robots has a certain substitution effect on labor demand. The real labor cost is relatively low in areas with high installation density of industrial robots, thus promoting the scale of firm entry. Second, the application of industrial robots can improve the productivity and profits of enterprises, thus attracting new enterprises. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the adoption of industrial robots has a larger impact on the market entry of non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) than on that of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) ; and compared with technology-intensive industries, it has a larger impact on new enterprises in labor-intensive and capital-intensive industries. In addition, it has a larger effect on new enterprises in areas with higher level of marketization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital technologies are being integrated into everyday life worldwide, constantly transforming our society and labor markets. The EU requires digitally smart people in the labor market and has promoted this through the Digital Agenda. In this context, our paper aims to investigate the diversity of the EU member states in terms of the digitalization of the labor market in the post-pandemic context. Using a multidimensional perspective, we considered indicators reflecting not only labor market specificities but also the degree of digitalization and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. First, the strength of the association between digitalization and the labor market indicators was quantified through a Pearson test, while the cluster analysis highlighted some patterns for the high-tech EU economies compared to the medium- and low-tech EU economies. Among the high-tech economies cluster, Finland stands out as the frontrunner in the EU’s digital transformation, with the most digitally skilled workers. At the opposite pole are the South-Eastern countries, which have the most to do to recover and still lack an effective digital policy framework to support youth workers’ access to digital training. The practical implications of our study consist mostly of providing decision-makers with directions on issues to tackle when implementing EU digital policies.

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to improve the blood transfusion treatment consent accuracy, simplify the verification process, prolong the temperature control time before the blood transfusion, and save the blood transportation labor cost. Methods We designed the blood transfusion consent electronic signing process, which can generate personalized the text content and can automatically check the filling accuracy. The signal can be transmitted to the blood transfusion management system (TMS) to relieving the blood distribution. For blood delivering pattern, we established the blood transport center, recruited full-time nurses and used temperature-controlled blood transfer boxes to deliver blood in batches on a regular basis. Results A quarterly data analysis of blood transfusion quality showed a 100% blood transfusion consent accuracy after an electronic signing process was implemented. The average confirmation time savings between the electronic content and paper content was 26 min for the Department of Emergency (estimated difference 95% CI = 26 (20 to 36), p

Objective: With the advent of the knowledge economy, physical assets have given way to human capital as an important strategic resource for companies. The company's workforce is considered to be one of the most important intangible resources and assets of the company that have a direct impact on the process of value creation for the company. On the other hand, managers, especially CEOs, play an important role in running a company. Therefore, the present study investigates the relationship between CEO power and firm labor productivity. Methods: A sample of 104 firms listed in Tehran Stock Exchange during 2011-2018 was selected and the research hypotheses were tested using multivariate regression models based on panel data technique. Results: The results of this study showed a positive relationship between CEO power and labor productivity. In other words, according to tournament theory, firms with stronger CEOs are associated with increased labor productivity. The results also showed that CEO power is positively correlated with labor efficiency and negatively related to labor cost, meaning that more powerful CEOs increase labor efficiency and reduce labor costs. In addition, the results of supplementary analysis showed that the research results are not sensitive to changes in estimation methods and are robust. Conclusion: According to tournament theory, strong CEOs are recognized as the best workforce and receive more rewards for their performance than other employees. Therefore, a significant difference in the amount of payment can motivate the lower-level workforce and help them in their efforts and better performance to obtain career advancement, and this will increase the productivity of the company's workforce.

With the improvement of industrialization, numerous rural laborers migrate to urban areas in search of off‐farm jobs. Farmers change agricultural production decisions to adapt to the change of labor force, which will inevitably affect the crop planting structure. However, few studies have explored the sustainability of crop planting structure. Based on the calculation of the multiple cropping index (MCI), grain crops planting rate (GCR), economic crops planting rate (ECR), and ecological sustainability index (ESI) of crop planting structure, this study analyzes the impact of labor transfer rate (LTR) and labor cost (LC) on the sustainability of crop planting structure using a geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model. The results show that the scale of rural labor transfer and labor cost in China remains on the rise, but the growth rate has slowed down. The total carbon absorption of crops in China shows a U-shape trend, and the rice and maize have the largest carbon absorption. The impact of LTR on MCI is mainly positive, especially in the North China Plain in the early stage and some provinces in the Southwest China in the later stage. The impact of LTR on ECR and ESI is negative in most provinces. And the negative influence of LC on MCI is increasing, showing the spatial distribution characteristics of large influence in the southeast and small influence in the northwest. The impact of LC on ESI shows a negative effect in most provinces in the early stage, and the negative effect is more concentrated in some provinces in the southwest in the later stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manual transplanting is the traditional rice crop establishment method in the Philippines. Consequently, crop establishment comprises over 25% of the total labor cost that drives up rice production costs in the country. The study, therefore, assessed the socioeconomic effect of direct-seeded rice (DSR) as an alternative to transplanted rice (TPR), determined the trends and patterns of adoption of DSR, examined the economic performance of DSR relative to TPR, and identified the factors that influence DSR adoption. The rice-based farm households survey data from 1996/1997 to 2016/2017 showed that the proportion of DSR farmer-adopters increased from 27% in 1996/1997 to 33-42% in 2016/2017. The adoption of DSR resulted in lower labor use and cost in crop establishment and higher labor productivity. However, lower yield and higher seed and herbicide costs relative to TPR were its major trade-offs. Despite this, the partial budget analysis showed that shifting to DSR posed incremental income, especially in rainfed areas and during the dry season, brought by labor savings that compensated for the higher seed and herbicide cost and yield penalty. Probit regression analysis revealed that area, use of seeds and pesticides, labor use, tenurial status, irrigation, and power cost significantly affected farmer adoption of DSR. Addressing the constraints, especially the yield gap between DSR and TPR, may enhance the adoption of DSR. The study suggests promoting DSR as a viable alternative to TPR in suitable areas through extension services and technology demonstrations; training and encouraging rice farmers to practice efficient weed control techniques including proper water management and land preparation, and to use technologies like drum seeder and similar technologies to save on seeds and labor; and developing rice varieties and technologies ideal for DSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1997-1998, the resilience of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) was tested when the monetary recession paralysed Indonesia. At that time, only SMEs were detected as shining and the most prominent from other sectors. This study is oriented to investigate the effect of the quality of human resources (HR), capital, and business length on turnover, labor cost, market share, and profit. The study design is offline survey, where primary data is collected from a sample that invites 285 respondents in three zones of Indonesia. Sources of information focused on and addressed to three SME scales covering the fields of trade, industry, and services. Then, the data is processed, filtered, and set using the structural equation model (SEM). The findings confirm that the HR quality and capital drives an increase in turnover, labor cost, market share, and profit. At one point, the business length actually only stimulated turnover, labor cost, and market share, but did not generate significant profits. But, significant of labor cost, market share, and profit followed the increase in turnover. Similarly, between labor cost to market share and profit, where the results are significant. The market share affects profit. It is important for a country to realize that disruptions in financial access, HR capabilities, and experience attributes trigger the inhibition of domestic market performance. These three alternatives give birth to strong SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates the impact of COVID-19 on the Italian manufacturing industry, testing whether the recovery measures introduced by the government were effective in alleviating the economic consequences of the virus in 2020. In particular, this work aims to address the impact of COVID-19 on the Italian manufacturing industry, and evaluation of the adopted recovery measures. Considering the current situation, with the war in Ukraine and the related gas crisis across the European Union, such investigation on policy relief is even more relevant, contributing to the current debate. Adopting RE models, and considering the latest economic and financial information available, we analyzed active private limited firms in the Italian manufacturing industry between 2019 and 2020, investigating the impact of layoff on their productivity (i.e., Total Factor Productivity) and profitability (i.e., Return On Assets), as well as their expected probability of default. According to the results of these regression models, and assuming 8 weeks of layoff, we observed an increase in productivity (between 1.20% and 1.59%), a decrease in profitability (1.47%) and an increase in bankruptcy risk (2.27%). Hence, the relief policy was not able to alleviate the economic consequences of COVID-19 for these firms, even though the layoffs were able to support their productivity. Practical implications concern the necessary improvements for the above relief policy, i.e., interventions to support the demand of manufactured products, interventions to support the digitalization of services, interventions to support the remote working, and interventions to support the introduction of innovative products on the market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explore firm quasi‐dynamics (entry, exit, and growth) in Chinese manufacturing industry and investigate how these dynamics vary across regions. Our results show that relative to provinces with less developed economies, in provinces with more developed economies (i) there is a higher proportion of new firms; (ii) new firms are smaller and more labor‐intensive; (iii) firms exit at a quicker rate, and surviving firms grow faster. These results point toward cross‐region differences in market efficiency in terms of how much it costs a firm to enter or exit the market. Our findings shed light on how firms should adapt their strategies across regions and how the government should create sound policies on industrial upgrading and relocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Secretary (16742354) is the property of Secretary Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In early 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic. In response, two novel messenger RNA (mRNA)-based vaccines: mRNA-1273 (Moderna) and BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) were rapidly developed. A thorough understanding of the differences in workflow requirements between the two vaccines may lead to improved efficiencies and reduced economic burden, both of which are crucial for streamlining vaccine deployment and minimizing wastage. Vaccine administration workflow costs are borne by providers and reimbursed separately from dose acquisition in the United States. Currently, mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2 are the most administered COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. In this study, US-licensed and practicing pharmacists were interviewed to collect data on differences in terms of labor costs associated with the workflows for mRNA-1273 and BNT162b2. Results suggest the cost differential for mRNA-1273 compared to BNT162b2 is −$0.82 (or −$1.01 when assuming volume equivalency). If extrapolated to even just a proportion of the remaining unvaccinated US population, this can amount to significant workflow efficiencies and lower vaccine administration costs. Further, as key differences in the vaccine workflow steps between the two vaccines would be similar in other settings/regions, these findings are likely transferable to health-care systems worldwide.

Expanding activities abroad to exploit existing advantages, to seek economies of scale or to finalize a production phase in an economy other than that of the home country is common for multinational enterprises (MNE), whilst seeking new locations where higher intensity of labor is required is a characteristic especially for the vertical foreign direct investment (FDI) and export-oriented firms. Low labor cost is considered one of the primary comparative advantages for the countries of South-Eastern Europe in terms of attracting FDI. Our paper contributes to the literature by examining how low labor cost impacts the level of FDI inflows in three countries of Western Balkans: Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia. Our analysis reveals that low labor cost is not positively related and significant in these countries with regard to the attraction of FDI inflows.

The basic concern of the Capitalistic approach of manufacturing industry is to minimize costs and to maximize profit. Through uncontrolled rate of exploitation, the manufacturer creates large quanta of social surplus. This ultimately results in the economic injustice and inequality among social economic classes. This current article makes an initiation to develop an economic production quantity model with deterioration under Marxian approach of socio-political economy. Here, two Marxian economic production quantity models are developed aiming at the minimization of exploitation rate and reduction of social surplus. The notion of marginal profit is considered here to reduce the social surplus (Net profit) incurred in the production plant itself. Fuzzy system has also been studied to get the variability of the exploitation in the model. Sensitivity analysis, graphical illustrations are made to validate the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main motive of this study is to evaluate the adaptation of the form of public-private organization to cost control. The empirical analysis for this research includes time-series data from 2008 to 2019 for the EcoHigjiena company by comparing its costs when it was a publicly owned company with the costs over the time the company entered into the partnership agreement. The findings of the study show that public-private ownership is a critical factor in determining total costs of the company by reducing total costs by 10%. The control variables (such as landfill within the municipality, wages and maintenance costs, number of customers and number of employees) for this study also showed significant and robust relationships in the total costs of the company. Wage expenses are an important indicator in increasing the total costs of the company by increasing them by 1.12%, which means that for every employee in the company, total cost decrease by 0.49%. Disposal costs contribute to a 0.25% increase in total costs. The number of clients is statistically important when viewed from an economic perspective, its impact on total costs is not high, or, in other words, there is no implication because for each client of the company, total expenses increase by 0.002%.

Background: The aim of this study was to improve the blood transfusion treatment consent accuracy, simplify the verification process, prolong the temperature control time before the blood transfusion, and save the blood transportation labor cost.Methods: We designed the blood transfusion consent electronic signing process, which can generate personalized the text content and can automatically check the filling accuracy. The signal can be transmitted to the blood transfusion management system (TMS) to relieving the blood distribution. For blood delivering pattern, we established the blood transport center, recruited full-time nurses and used temperature-controlled blood transfer boxes to deliver blood in batches on a regular basis.Results: A quarterly data analysis of blood transfusion quality showed a 100% blood transfusion consent accuracy after an electronic signing process was implemented. The average confirmation time savings between the electronic content and paper content was 26 min for the Department of Emergency (estimated difference 95% CI = 26 (20 to 36), p < 0.05). The blood delivering pattern reduced the time for each unit by leaving the average temperature control by 7.24 min (estimated difference 95% CI = 7.24 (6.92 to 7.56), p < 0.05). Furthermore, $3.67 was saved for the blood transportation labor cost for each unit as well.Conclusion: Blood transfusion consent electronic signing process not only ensures the accuracy, but also saves the verification time. Moreover, the blood delivering pattern prolongs the blood temperature control time and saves blood transportation labor costs. Thus, these two improvements could enhance transfusion management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing severity of environmental regulations, Chinese enterprises are gradually transforming from the profit growth pattern of "growth with pollution" to green development. However, this paper finds that this transformation is not complete. While catering to the national environmental protection governance requirements, some enterprises still persist the profit growth pattern of "growth with pollution." How to solve this problem? By attracting government subsidies, reducing tax burdens, and increasing the proportion of technical personnel employed, we theoretically and empirically demonstrate that the positive effect of "new infrastructure" in accelerating enterprises' transformation away from the profit growth pattern of "growth with pollution" to sustainable development. In the heterogeneity analysis section, we found that in enterprises with higher political correlation, more technical personnel, and lower labor cost, the "new infrastructure" has a stronger restraining effect on the "growth with pollution" pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: With the advent of the knowledge economy, physical assets have given way to human capital as an important strategic resource for companies. The company's workforce is considered to be one of the most important intangible resources and assets of the company that have a direct impact on the process of value creation for the company. On the other hand, managers, especially CEOs, play an important role in running a company. Therefore, the present study investigates the relationship between CEO power and firm labor productivity. Methods: A sample of 104 firms listed in Tehran Stock Exchange during 2011- 2018 was selected and the research hypotheses were tested using multivariate regression models based on panel data technique. Results: The results of this study showed a positive relationship between CEO power and labor productivity. In other words, according to tournament theory, firms with stronger CEOs are associated with increased labor productivity. The results also showed that CEO power is positively correlated with labor efficiency and negatively related to labor cost, meaning that more powerful CEOs increase labor efficiency and reduce labor costs. In addition, the results of supplementary analysis showed that the research results are not sensitive to changes in estimation methods and are robust. Conclusion: According to tournament theory, strong CEOs are recognized as the best workforce and receive more rewards for their performance than other employees. Therefore, a significant difference in the amount of payment can motivate the lower-level workforce and help them in their efforts and better performance to obtain career advancement, and this will increase the productivity of the company's workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Cotton Textile Technology is the property of Cotton Textile Technology Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper investigates the effects of minimum wage (MW) policies on entrepreneurship by using all contiguous county-pairs in China that straddle prefecture borders. We find that the MW significantly and negatively affects entrepreneurship, and the results are robust to a battery of tests based on different specifications. A plausible mechanism might be the crowd-out effect of increase of labor cost, given that our findings are particularly strong in labor-intensive industries, in areas with higher labor costs or low-level access to finance. Overall, this study highlights the negative effects of minimum wage labor policy on entrepreneurship, which have yet to be fully understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This manuscript presents a framework to develop vector error correction (VEC) models applicable to forecasting the short- and long-run movements of the average hourly earnings of construction labor, which is an essential predictor of the construction labor costs. These models characterize the relationship between average hourly earnings and a set of explanatory variables. The framework is applied to develop VEC forecasting models for the average hourly earnings of construction labor in the USA based on the identified variables that govern its movements, such as Global Energy Price Index, Gross Domestic Product, and Personal Consumption Expenditures. More than 150 candidate VEC models were created, of which 25 passed the diagnostics. The most appropriate model was then identified by comparing the prediction performance of these models when applied to the forecasting average hourly earnings over 36-months. The proposed framework and the ensuing models address the need for appropriate models that can forecast the short- and long-run movements of the labor costs. Practitioners can use the proposed framework to develop much-needed forecast models and estimate construction labor costs of the various projects. The insights derived from the development and applications of these models can enhance the chances of project success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the impact of CEO gender on firm‐level average labor cost. In a sample of U.S. public firms with voluntary labor cost disclosure, we find that firms with female CEOs have significantly lower average labor cost than firms with male CEOs. This effect is robust to the use of propensity score matching approach to alleviate the impact of possible selection bias and endogeneity concerns. The results are stronger in a subsample of firms where CEO turnover introduces CEO gender change. We hypothesize that female CEOs may be more risk averse and tend to pursue less risky corporate policies, leading to a lower equilibrium employee wage. Alternatively, female CEOs may offer higher non‐monetary employee benefits in lieu of monetary compensation. Our empirical results do not support the risk aversion hypothesis, whereas we find robust evidence that firms with female CEOs offer higher non‐monetary employee benefits than firms with male CEOs, especially in human capital‐intensive firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use state‐level increases in unemployment insurance (UI) benefits as exogenous shocks to unemployment risk to examine its effect on accounting conservatism. Employing difference‐in‐differences analyses, we find an increase in accounting conservatism after UI benefit increases. Our findings support the employee perception management hypothesis, which argues that in order to mitigate labor costs associated with worker turnover, firms have incentives to manage employees' perceived job security through less conservative accounting. When UI laws reduce workers' separation costs, employer firms have less incentives to manage employees' perception, attributing to the positive relation between UI benefits and accounting conservatism. Subsample tests show that this effect is driven by labor‐intensive firms as well as firms with higher risk. Overall, our paper suggests that labor market frictions have a significant impact on firm's accounting reporting policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]