AFA2019会议论文（50）：Labor and Investment

AFA2019会议论文（50）：Labor and Investment

金融经济学 1周前

1.Minimum Wage and Corporate Policy

Matthew Gustafson, Pennsylvania State University

Jason Kotter, Pennsylvania State University

Abstract

Using cross-state and intertemporal variation in whether a state's minimum wage is bound by the federal minimum wage, we find that minimum wage increases lead to reduced corporate investment across a wide range of labor-intensive industries. The effect is largest for capital investments (i.e., capital expenditures and acquisitions of non-labor-intensive firms) and firms in minimum wage sensitive industries (i.e., restaurant, retail, and entertainment), and is accompanied by a reduction in both debt and equity financing. These findings suggest that a scale effect whereby minimum wage hikes reduce optimal production is the predominant channel through which minimum wage affects corporate investment.

原文链接：

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2914598

2.Economic Stimulus at the Expense of Routine-Task Jobs

Selale Tuzel, University of Southern California

Miao Zhang, University of Southern California

Abstract

Do investment tax incentives improve job prospects for workers? Using two massive establishment-level datasets on occupational employment and computer investment, we study the causal effect of a major tax incentive for investment on labor outcomes. The incentive, Section 179, indirectly reduces the after-tax price of equipment investment for eligible small businesses but not for ineligible ones. By exploring the variation in states' adoption of this incentive for state taxes, we find that when states increase investment incentive, eligible firms increase their equipment investments, yet, they experience little change in total employment. A further investigation shows that these firms significantly reduce their routine-task employees, while they slightly increase their nonroutine-task employees. Our results highlight the importance of heterogeneous worker skills for policy outcomes, and provide evidence that cheaper access to investment-specific technologies may reduce certain jobs.

原文链接：

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3072733

3.Labor Scarcity, Finance, and Innovation: Evidence from Antebellum America

Yifei Mao, Cornell University

Jessie Jiaxu Wang, Arizona State University

Abstract

This paper establishes labor scarcity as an important economic channel through which access to finance shapes technological innovation. We exploit antebellum America, a unique setting with (1) staggered passage of free banking laws across states and (2) sharp differences in labor scarcity between slave and free states. We find that greater access to finance spurred technological innovation as measured by patenting activities, especially in free states where labor was relatively scarce. Interestingly, in slave states where slave labor was prevalent, access to finance encouraged technological innovation that substituted for free labor, but discouraged technological innovation that substituted for slave labor. 

原文链接：

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3143199

4.Manpower Constraints and Corporate Policies

Francesco D'Acunto, Boston College

Michael Weber, University of Chicago

Shuyao Yang, Ifo Institute for Economic Research

Abstract

Manpower constraints are the pervasive lack of specialized high- and low-skill workers, irrespective of the wage firms might offer. For a panel of German firms, we show manpower-constrained firms have 5% higher capacity utilization and 21% longer backlog of orders (measured in months). They are 15% more willing to increase their capital expenditures, and 4% more willing to grow their employment in the following year. Manpower constraints vary substantially over time and across industries, being higher on average in traditional manufacturing industries and lower in high-tech industries. For identification, we exploit the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the subsequent differential fluxes of Eastern immigrants across Western states, which followed the pre-existing patterns of Eastern German immigration immediately after WWII. We construct a Manpower Constraint (MPC) Index calibrating the loadings on firm-level financials that are also available in commonly used data set for US, European, and Asian firms. Our results help inform relevant debates such as the reform of immigration policies and the investment in public and private education for low-skilled workers.

原文链接：

https://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conference/download.cgi?db_name=AFA2019&paper_id=1207

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