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The article, titled "The Role of Migration in Classes of Labour: Work and Life in a Central Indian Steel Town," provides an ethnographic study of the industrial workers in the central Indian steel town of Bhilai. The author explores various topics such as labor recruitment, reservations, promotions, and unions, as well as the relationship between caste and class. The article highlights the significant role of labor migration in shaping and reproducing capitalism in Bhilai, emphasizing how migration created the city and transformed rural sending regions. It also discusses how migration contributes to the formation and consolidation of class divisions among workers, as well as the impact of migration on class-based superiority and non-class identities. The article concludes by raising questions about the potential for migration to challenge capitalism and foster working-class solidarity in the future. [Extracted from the article]

This article utilizes a new nationally representative survey, executed in January 2020, that measures non-standard work. The author estimates the incidence of contract company employment and freelancing and describes who goes into non-standard employment. He then studies earnings and access to employer-provided training among contract company employees—the largest and most mis-measured group of non-standard workers. Training is important because it affects wage growth and career trajectories and also gives insight into the evolving character of employment relationships. Findings indicate that contract company employees face an earnings penalty but that considerable heterogeneity occurs within this category. The analysis of multiple forms of formal training finds that contract company employees receive less training than do standard employees even after multiple controls. Informal training is more textured due to the nature of social interactions inherent in its availability. Throughout the analysis, racial and ethnic disparities are apparent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the dynamics of registered firms after implementing a new law (2009) in the Brazilian labour market. The law proposed the electronic monitoring of working time to provide more efficiency and security by standardizing the equipment used for control and avoiding manipulation. As stricter monitoring may increase costs, this paper seeks to analyse whether there have been changes in the dynamics of firms adapting to the new regulation. There are two potential mechanisms as a reference: increasing wages and decreasing workers (or contracted hours), and increasing labour force and decreasing contracted hours per worker (and therefore the monthly wage). Using Brazilian employee–employer data and the difference‐in‐differences approach as an empirical strategy, our main findings suggest that firms that adapt to the new electronic workday control had a general reduction in the number of hours hired, an increase in wages for companies with 10–50 employees and a decrease in workplace accidents in firms with 50 or more employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of Brexit is an important topic in European and British political agendas. In this study, we examine the effect of Brexit on the Portuguese labour market. We apply the synthetic control method to estimate how the number of UK citizens working in Portugal would have evolved if the Remain vote had won the referendum. Our results suggest that the Brexit referendum reduced the number of UK-dependent workers in Portugal, particularly in the case of non-university-educated, male individuals with temporary employment contracts. This reduction is explained by the decrease in the number of incomers. We also find that those UK citizens who were already working in Portugal before Brexit were more likely to continue working in the host country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior to watching Netflix's hit show, Squid Game, I was proud to say that I was someone who was a true connoisseur of reality television. Like millions of Americans who tune in to their favorite "trash TV" show, I would always look forward to turning on my TV at the end of a long day, sitting back in my pajamas, and binge-watching my favorite reality television shows. And, unlike many viewers, I was not ashamed to say this was one of my favorite hobbies. However, after watching Squid Game, my passion for reality television also grew into a concern for the potential welfare of the various participants. Although the show is highly dramatized in its portrayal of the harm done to participants in a competition-based reality program, Squid Game provides a useful springboard for discussion to see what could possibly happen if we continue to allow executives and networks to do as they like (without regard for the welfare of their participants) . . . all for the sake of drawing in ratings and maintaining the attention of viewers. This article examines the multitude of potential legal issues involved in reality television show participation through an exploration of the various abuses done to both Squid Game and "real life" reality TV participants. Then, after evaluating the near unconscionability of real-life reality television arrangements, this Article will provide two solutions that could even out the playing field between networks/producers/executives and participants: (1) adoption of the Ofcom duty of care standard in reality television contracts that the UK implemented in December 2020 and (2) permitted unionization of reality television participants in order to ensure more effective bargaining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates legal steps in resolving labor relations problems, primarily related to drivers, in logistics and land transportation companies. By analyzing employment contracts, consultation with legal experts, amicable negotiations, mediation or arbitration, and the possibility of filing a lawsuit in court, this study aims to comprehensively understand the dispute resolution process. The research method used is a case study that analyzes several cases of logistics and land transportation companies. The results showed that implementing these legal measures can provide fair solutions, minimize conflicts between related parties, and ensure the enforcement of rights by applicable legal provisions. This research implies the importance of understanding and using legal measures to solve labor problems effectively and efficiently in the logistics and land transportation industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information was obtained through an interview with a headmaster and regional coordinator, revealing that the subject was manipulated within a game. The convergence of the research results shows collaboration in the game theory algorithm, which directs the subject to a decision determined by the scenario maker. Game theory is an incremental derivative model designed to minimize alternative complexity. The research employed a qualitative approach, incorporating historical research and focused interviews. This context applies to the subject, namely student alumni who are classified as idealists with substandard economic backgrounds. Conflict arises by implanting memories with the aim of prompting the subject participates in competing for his welfare through the state civil service appointment (ASN) via the government employees with employment agreements (PPPK)/candidates for civil servants (CPNS) test. Game modeling in the form of model schools with Ericsonian heterosuggestions places the subject to a prisoner’s dilemma situation. A weakness is identified when the game cannot be used to make decisions with different matrix orders. Game theory effectively instills belief in passion and subject free will in the final decision because the decision objectives differ between scenario makers, leading to the best alternative and the subject satisfaction factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an economic environment defined by precarious and gig-based labour contracts, academic research has been reimagined as a source of income for research participants. In addition, with the rise of online labour platforms, researchers have turned to online labour platforms as a solution to the increasing difficulty in recruitment of participants in research. This present context makes explicit the hidden labour that research participants have always done in the production of research outputs within academia. This paper develops a Marxist lens through which we can understand the material conditions of the circulation of capital through academia and the role of research participants in this mode of production. By developing this broad analytical framework for the academic mode of production, this paper further argues that our present economic epoch of the gig economy and specifically the use of digital labour platforms for academic research, has accelerated the subsumption of research participation as a source of income through the fragmentation of work and the gigification of everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automating workplaces that results in a loss of jobs has become a topic of public debate and study but has paid little attention to differential impacts on age groups. This paper applies OECD data on the risk of jobs being automated to Australian longitudinal survey data following 15 years old students over a ten-year period as they enter the job market. Whilst in the early stages of their working lives, these young Australians often worked in jobs projected to be at high risk of automation, they gradually moved into jobs and occupations projected to be less exposed to automation. Young Australians were also less likely to work in jobs at risk of automation than the average Australian. Besides socio-demographic factors, including educational attainment but also domestic wealth, the incidence and kind of computer use at home were associated with working in jobs at a higher or lower risk of automation, as were young workers' type of employment contract and whether young employees changed employers. Whilst suggestions of large-scale job losses owing to automation may be exaggerated, the socio-economic divide that extends to exposure to at risk occupations ought to be a matter of policy concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article on the function of human resource managers in making employee employment contracts and employee development is a scientific literature review article within the scope of human resource management science. The purpose of this writing is to build a hypothesis of the influence between variables which can later be used for further research within the scope of human resource management. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. Data was obtained from previous research that is relevant to this research and sourced from academic online media such as Publish or Perish, Google Scholar, digital reference books and Sinta journals. The results of this article are: 1) Human resources managers play a role in creating employee work contracts; 2) The human resources manager plays a role in meeting the needs of the company and employees in making employee work contracts; and 3) Human resources managers play a role in employee development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to extend the literature on psychological contracts, employee mental health, self-control and equity sensitivity among employees in Ghana. Data for this study came from a sample of 484 employees from an organisation in the telecommunication sector of Ghana. The details of the study were discussed with employees after which they were given the choice to participate in the study. The present study found that psychological contract breach is directly associated with mental health and indirectly related to mental health through equity sensitivity and self-control. The findings suggest that psychological contracts are important aspects of the employment relationship that could be used to enhance employee mental health. Furthermore, enhancing employees' self-control and resolving issues of individuals high on equity sensitivity are effective ways that organisations can deploy to sustain mental health in the face of psychological contract breaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik is the property of De Gruyter 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.)

We derive a typology of firms regarding how they use non‐standard contracts, using register data. We find that 58% of firms fit the core‐periphery model. They use non‐standard contracts differently for low‐skilled and high‐skilled employees. The other firms use non‐standard contracts similarly for different groups of employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of FinanzRundschau is the property of De Gruyter 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.)

Copyright of FinanzRundschau is the property of De Gruyter 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.)

"The UAW's Southern Gamble: Organizing Workers at Foreign-Owned Vehicle Plants" by Stephen J. Silvia analyzes the UAW's attempts to organize foreign-owned motor vehicle assembly plants in the southeastern United States from the mid-1980s to 2019. Silvia documents the limited success of these efforts, highlighting obstacles such as a hostile local business community, anti-UAW workers, and political opposition. The book also explores the complexities of the UAW's relationship with IG Metall, a German union, during the organizing campaign at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant. The insights provided by Silvia's analysis offer valuable information for future research and highlight the challenges faced by union organizers. [Extracted from the article]

Noncompetes are often included in modern employment contracts to prevent employees from working for competitors in a specified geographic area and for a specified amount of time after termination of employment. Noncompetes can take the form of a clause in a larger agreement, like an employment contract, or can be a completely separate agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between union organization, workplace representation, the quality of industrial relations and strike incidence, as well as the implications of the matters at stake in localized disputes. Strike incidence is found to be higher in establishments where union density is higher, and where workers are covered by mixed-level collective agreements and in flexible employment. Further, distrust is associated with increased strike incidence, and conversely for employee-focused strategies and heightened employee motivation. These results are robust to controls for possible endogeneity of union density and country (cluster) heterogeneity. In terms of outcomes, higher union density, works councils, profit sharing, and a machine/computer-driven work pace are associated with worker wins, while collective bargaining, firm profitability, and more frequent meetings with management are linked with more balanced agreements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades, policymakers have become increasingly intrigued by public procurement's potential to serve as a policy tool. In line with an increased prevalence of attempts to leverage public procurement for promoting employment-related goals, a growing body of research explores the linkages between public procurement and employment. Yet, while different aspects of the procurement process influence labour market outcomes and the linkages are multiple, current research focuses on individual aspects only. As a result, current understandings of the linkage between public procurement and its labour market effects remain fragmented. Considering choices between the initial identification of an object of purchase and the award and delivery of the contract, this article conceptualises the multi-faceted linkages between public procurement and labour market inequalities understood as issues of access to and (in)equality in employment. It argues that three key aspects (the design of the object, requirements set in the process of buying, and the type of provider) make distinct contributions to the overall impact that procurement processes have on labour market inequality and outlines a framework for analysing the implications of choices at these three core decision points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to reveal the nature, specifics and limits of application of one of the legal grounds for termination of employment relationships established in the labour law of the Republic of Lithu ania – termination of the employment contract at the employer's will. The analysis tests the hypothesis that the goal of increasing flexibility by simplifying the termination of employment relations, which was set at the initiation of the reform of the legal regulation, was not achieved. The presumption is put forward that this ground for terminating the employment contract is neither new nor safely applicable, and the benefits of relatively simplified procedural requirements do not outweigh increased financial burden. To reveal the impact of statutory amendments in question on the regulation of termination of employment relations in Lithuania, the historical background and the impact of obligations established in international documents on it are assessed, key indicators (such as legal grounds, procedural requirements, burden of proof and order of its distribution, etc.) are identified, and the relevant case law is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: International mobility of health workforce affects the performance of health systems and has major relevance in human resources for health policy and planning. To date, there has been little research exploring the reasons why general practitioners (GPs) migrate. This mixed methods study aimed to investigate the reasons why Spain-trained GPs migrate and develop GP retention and recruitment health policy recommendations relevant to Spanish primary care. Methods: The study followed an explanatory sequential mixed methods study design combining surveys with semi-structured interviews and focus groups with GPs who qualified in Spain and were living overseas at the time of the study. The survey data examined the reasons why GPs left Spain and their intention to return and were analysed using quantitative methods. The transcripts from interviews and focus groups centred on GPs' insights to enhance retention and recruitment in Spain and were analysed thematically. Results: The survey had 158 respondents with an estimated 25.4% response rate. Insufficient salary (75.3%), job insecurity and temporality (67.7%), excessive workload (67.7%), poor primary care governance (55.7%), lack of flexibility in the workplace (43.7%) and personal circumstances (43.7%) were the main reasons for leaving Spain. Almost half of the respondents (48.7%) would consider returning to Spanish general practice if their working conditions improved. Interviews and focus groups with respondents (n = 24) pointed towards the need to improve the quality of employment contracts, working conditions, opportunities for professional development, and governance in primary care for effective retention and recruitment. Conclusion: Efforts to improve GP retention and recruitment in Spain should focus on salary, job security, flexibility, protected workload, professional development, and governance. We draw ten GP retention and recruitment recommendations expected to inform urgent policy action to tackle existing and predicted GP shortages in Spanish primary care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a tax travel expense law case in Germany, where the employee, a construction manager, claimed travel-related expenses for the journeys between his residence and the company's branch office. It mentions that the court emphasized the importance of the employment contract and employer's directives in determining the employee's assignment to a specific workplace.

A confidentiality agreement or what is often called a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is often used in every cooperation agreement as a form of protecting a company’s trade secret. NDA is a form of a special agreement between business actors as owners of trade secrets and other parties in a working relationship who have access to the trade secrets of a company. However, a business needs to disclose confidential information to other stakeholders to develop its business interests for better profitability. Through the NDA, the recipient agrees not to disclose confidential information contained in the employment agreement. The problem is how to arrange the NDA as a form of trade secret protection in the work agreement in Indonesia. This paper uses a normative juridical approach, secondary data types, and data collection techniques using literature study with qualitative data analysis techniques. The results of the study show that NDA’s are not regulated explicitly but can be found implicitly in the Trade Secret Law. By making a confidentiality agreement or NDA, the Parties are obliged to maintain confidential information or trade secrets in order to protect the owner of the Trade Secret. Policymakers in a company require the inclusion of an NDA clause in making work agreements that require employees to maintain the confidentiality of company information in accordance with statutory regulations and company regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the effect of the U.S. Army's June 2020 decision to increase the service obligation for Army aviators from six to ten years on West Point cadets' preferences for aviation. We use a difference-in-differences identification strategy, exploiting how the policy took effect after the Class of 2021 submitted four sets of interim preferences but before cadets submitted two final sets of preferences, using preferences from cadets in the Classes of 2015 to 2020 to form counterfactual outcomes. The increased service obligation made aviation less popular, reducing the percentage of cadets who ranked aviation as their first choice by 4.1 percentage points (baseline of 18.5%) and increasing the percentage of cadets who ranked aviation as among their three lowest choices by 6.9 percentage points (baseline of 8.9%). The reduction in aviation's popularity is most pronounced among cadets with above-median grade-point-averages, above-median aviation talent scores, and above-median SAT scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under what conditions do dictators enact pro-worker legislation? Conventional wisdom suggests that heightened mass discontent motivates dictators to make policy concessions to defuse revolutionary threats. However, a more protective labor law may decrease elites' economic benefits--and thus loyalty to the regime. I argue that limited judicial independence helps dictators control the distributional outcomes of the law and therefore better respond to the twin challenges magnified by labor reforms. To test this argument, I conduct a cross-national analysis of sixty-eight autocracies from 1970 to 2008. I then examine an illustrative case--China's 2008 Labor Contract Law--to illuminate how a non-independent judiciary gives autocrats more leeway to balance the interests of elites and the masses. This article contributes to our understanding of authoritarian survival strategies amid distributive tensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Jurídica Portucalense is the property of Revista Juridica Portucalense 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 article comes to answer one of the most common questions we have from clients in the notarial practice: "What documents are required?". Although there are no two contracts alike, just as there are no two people alike, we can say that there is a general framework that is adapted to each situation. We will present what are the stages and the bureaucratic process that the seller and buyer go through in a real estate contract, but also what documents are required and what each of them is used for. The article is structured according to three moments in the authentication process: the procedures prior to authentication, those concurrent with authentication, and those after authentication. Of course, it is up to the notary the instruments the procedure if he considers that, in addition to those presented, other documents are needed to clarify the situation of a building. We will see that, although this bureaucratic route may seem cumbersome and sometimes even boring, it is important for the safety of the non-contentious civil circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the credit risk implications of a firm's reliance on skilled labor and provides an empirical analysis of the effect of skilled labor on loan contracting outcomes. Using a sample of listed US firms from 1998 to 2017, we predict and find that banks charge higher interest rates to firms relying on high‐skill workers than low‐skill workers. This effect is stronger for firms with higher asset‐based operating leverage, higher probabilities of employee turnover and severer conflicts of interest between equity holders and debt holders. In addition, consistent with the idea that banks consider the specific costs and benefits associated with skilled labor, we show that a firm's reliance on skilled labor is positively (negatively) associated with the relative usage of capital (performance) covenants. Our results hold when applying different matching methods, fixed‐effect models or exogenous shocks from two quasi‐natural experiments. Overall, our study demonstrates the impact of skilled labor, an important labor‐force heterogeneity, on debt contract design and contributes to the understanding of the interaction between labor and capital, that is, the two primary inputs of a firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Legal suspension of the individual employment contract can occur in several situations provided by the law. Legal suspension of the individual employment contract does not imply its termination. The contract resumes automatically after the end of the suspension period, without the need for a new agreement between the parties. However, it is important that the employer and the employee comply with the legal provisions and are aware of their rights and obligations during the suspension. The individual employment contract can be suspended in the case of maternity leave and maternal risk leave in accordance with the specific labor legislation in Romania. In Romania, the duration of maternity leave is 126 calendar days (42 days before the birth and 84 days after the birth). If the birth is multiple or if there are medical complications, this leave can be extended. The individual employment contract of the woman who is on maternity leave is suspended during this leave. During the suspension, the employee is entitled to a maternity allowance. The employer cannot denounce or terminate the individual employment contract during the maternity leave. Maternal risk leave is granted to pregnant women in risk situations for their health or that of the fetus. It is necessary to present a medical certificate attesting the necessity of this leave. The individual employment contract can be suspended in the case of maternity leave for the period indicated in the medical certificate issued by the specialist doctor. The employee is entitled to a maternity risk allowance. The employer cannot terminate or terminate the individual employment contract during the maternity leave. In both cases, the employer must respect the rights of the pregnant woman or mother in accordance with Romanian labor and social insurance legislation. Any discrimination or violation of these rights is prohibited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of emotional labour pervades recent popular discourse. However, this discourse tends to emphasize the unpaid work performed in personal and familial relationships. This erases Arlie Russell Hochschild's distinction between emotion work and emotional labour, the latter of which is a waged 'management of feeling' that 'create[s] a publicly observable facial and bodily display'. This focus on unwaged emotion work identifies a real site of exploitation, but tends to obscure the recent historical tendency of care work to be subsumed increasingly into new forms of low-waged labour. I examine this tendency by turning to Catherine Lacey's speculative novel The Answers (2017), which follows an indebted young woman, Mary, who takes a contract job in an experiment run by a celebrity seeking love. Alongside 'girlfriends' with other intimate roles, Mary is paid to be an 'Emotional Girlfriend.' I argue that the novel's thought experiment of splitting the various roles of a romantic partner into separate, waged jobs not only commodifies affective labour, but also replicates the process of industrial deskilling in its depiction of the real subsumption of affective work into the service sectors. Next, I discuss the role of the experiment's Research Division, which not only monitors experimental subjects via cameras, sensors, and interviews, but also directly influences their behaviour using 'internal directives', or chemical instructions that biologically optimize emotion. I argue that these directives intensify the management of feeling to make working subjects' emotions more productive for capital. The argument concludes that The Answers updates Hochschild's theory to account for work that is now often less secure, but fails to address the political questions it raises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following Marx's general law of capitalist accumulation, the present article seeks to evaluate the impact of fixed capital stock, labor productivity, and the mass of profits on the dynamics of employment in Colombia from 1965 to 2019 using a Vector Error Correction Model. The results show that the level of employment exhibits a significant long-term relationship with both the fixed capital stock and labor productivity. In line with Marx's theory, employment expands with fixed capital stock and contracts with labor productivity. In turn, the mass of profits has positive effects on both the capital stock and labor productivity. The empirical findings also support the existence of Marx's biased technical change as well as a negative feedback effect from employment to profits. JEL Classification: J21, C21, C22, B51 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Job mobility has become an enormous issue in the current modern world. All over the world, people sometimes move from one place to another in search of green pastures and life. Persons are sometimes forced by circumstances, as earlier stated, to move and work in countries far from places of their original nationalities. It is on such a note that, persons are compelled to abide by employment contracts that are governed by laws, not of their countries of origin. In the course of working, inevitably, employment disputes become unavoidable, and in this situation, where there is an issue to be dealt with by the courts of law in this area, a complex issue of which law should apply in determining the issue in question arises and becomes a task of the court to make a determination of the same. This article generally discusses individual employment contracts in conflict of laws perspectives under international and domestic labour relation laws, with a special focus on the Rome Conventions, its Regulations, and labour laws applicable in Mainland Tanzania. The article also addresses circumstances under which the Rome Convention, its existing Regulations as well as domestic labour relation laws pave the way in addressing the issue of individual employment contracts in the field of conflicts of laws in Mainland Tanzania. Specifically, this work addresses the concept of employee and employer view of the international and domestic labour relation laws as used also in conflict of laws. This is touched on in this research article because it is one of the complicated areas when it comes to the determination of employment contract disputes containing a foreign element, which has indeed caused a great debate in conflict of laws.". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How should firms provide incentives to a group of workers when performance measures are unverifiable? We provided some answers to this question in our paper “Team Incentives in Relational Employment Contracts” in 2006. Here we reflect upon the contribution of that paper and provide a further analysis of this research question. We propose a more applied theoretical framework and explore stochastic properties of performance variables, including correlations that make one agent’s performance informative about another agent’s effort. In this framework cooperative incentives tend to be preferable when performances are negatively correlated, while competitive incentives tend to prevail under positive correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

The growth of the 'gig economy' has prompted debate about the regulation of arrangements to obtain work and income through digital labour platforms. For platform workers who are classified as freelancers or independent contractors, rather than as employees, one possibility is to invoke general laws on the fairness of contractual terms to challenge the inclusion of harsh or one-sided provisions in the contracts of adhesion typically drafted and imposed by digital platforms. To test the potential application of one such regime, in pt 2-3 of the Australian Consumer Law ('ACL'), we systematically analyse the terms and conditions used by various platforms intermediating work performed in Australia, within and across different industry sectors. Our analysis uncovers many examples of terms that are designated in s 25 of the ACL as potentially unfair or that have been identified as potentially problematic by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ('ACCC'). We also examine the practical difficulties confronting a worker seeking to challenge the fairness of their contract terms, against the background of recent reforms to enhance the efficacy of this regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the consultancy process in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), focusing on consulting entrepreneurs at the beginning of their entrepreneurial career chosen out of necessity due to a terminated long-term employment contract in a public company. Methodology: A qualitative study design was adopted to look into the consultancy process with five new entrepreneurs who participated in a program that combined trainings and consultancy sessions. Text analysis of written feedback from consultants was conducted to understand the challenges entrepreneurs faced and progress they made. Evaluation sheets with closed and open questions were analyzed to explore the effects of the program and the entrepreneur satisfaction with the program. Five years after completing the program, semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify the current status of the entrepreneurial ventures. Results: In this study, the success of the consultancy process was threatened by time constraints and a lack of comprehensive reasoning behind client motivation to become entrepreneurs. These were the most detrimental factors for the client-consultant relationship, which ended up lacking transparency and thoroughness. Conclusion: Research results indicate the importance of consultant's efforts to contextualize the client's decision to become an entrepreneur. Investing time in building a client-consultant relationship as well as providing long-term follow-up support proved to be crucial to ensuring a positive impact of consultancy support for entrepreneurs starting a new business. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether external industry tournament incentives influence the design of executive-compensation contracts. Using staggered negative mobility shocks as exogenous disruptions to tournament incentives, we show that firms treated by these shocks act to restore their executives' diminished implicit risk-taking incentives by increasing compensation vega. On average, post-shock compensation vegas increase by approximately 10%. These effects are considerably larger for treated executives with strong tournament incentives and high ex ante mobility. Mobility shocks have no impact on compensation delta or total pay. Our results shed light on how explicit risk-taking incentives are optimized with respect to executive career concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]