No abstract

The paper analyzes the effects of privatization on the performance of firms switching their ownership from state-owned to private-owned ownership. By using difference-indifference with control variables and propensity score matching techniques, this study overcomes some shortcomings in previous studies on the effect of privatization on performance in transition economies such as no control of selection bias and the inadequateness to single out the privatization effect from the concurrent effects of other economic factors. We find that a shift from state or collective ownership to private ownership can consistently enhance the performance of switchers in terms of profitability. This suggests that privatization is an efficient way to improve the financial performance of Vietnamese state-owned enterprises.

We investigate the differential impact of alternative combinations of horizontal and vertical educational mismatches on wages. By using panel data for Belgian graduates, we consider the role of unobserved worker heterogeneity. Random measurement error in both types of mismatches is accounted for by adopting instrumental variable techniques. We consistently find that overeducated individuals without field of study mismatch earn less than adequately educated workers with a similar educational background. However, for individuals who are working outside their field of study, such a wage penalty is not always observed once accounting for unobserved heterogeneity and random measurement error. In some cases, field of study mismatch even seems to be financially beneficial to the worker. These findings contribute to our understanding regarding the extent to which educational mismatches are truly problematic. The results call for policies that focus primarily on combatting vertical mismatches.

Relying on data for Belgian graduates, we investigate the relationship between motives to participate in higher education (investment, educational consumption, student life consumption and social norms) and overeducation after graduation. We also examine whether these motives affect the relationship between overeducation and other outcomes like wages and job satisfaction. Key findings are that individuals motivated by educational consumption are less likely to be overeducated but face a stronger job satisfaction penalty to overeducation. Moreover, those motivated by student life consumption have a higher likelihood of overeducation.

In this article, we analyze the relationship between rural to urban migration and agricultural output in the Mekong River Delta Region of Vietnam. We use a choice-theoretic model to predict the effects of a reduction in farm hands due to migration on agricultural output. Provided remittances are reinvested, the model shows that migration may enhance household agricultural output. Based on a sample of 1,054 households, we estimate a Cobb-Douglas production function using IV. Substantial economies of scale in agricultural production with large capital elasticities suggest that the reduction of farm labor due to migration and the loss in output may be compensated by reinvested remittances. Policies facilitating migration, the flow of remittances, and their use for farm investment may contribute to reduced poverty, increased agricultural output, and reduced income uncertainty.