Sarah Bridges

The internal economics of the firm: further evidence from personnel data

Abstract Baker, Gibbs and Holmstrom [Quarterly Journal of Economics 109 (1994) 881] [BGH] carried out a detailed description of the internal hierarchical structure of a firm together with its pay and promotion dynamics. Their work has become the basis of much theoretical work, but little attempt has been made to establish its generality. Accordingly, we replicate their analysis as closely as possible using data from a large British financial sector firm between 1989 and 1997. In many respects, our results are similar to those described by BGH, but they also differ in important ways, suggesting that more needs to be understood.

Absenteeism in the UK: A Comparison across Genders

We analyse an empirical model of absence from work based upon a variant of the traditional work-leisure model of labour supply. The model is tested with data from the 1993 UK Family Expenditure Survey and a comparison of absenteeism is made across genders. We find substantial differences in the probability of absenteeism across gender and various family situations. We also find that our conclusions concerning gender differences in absenteeism are sensitive to the definition of absenteeism used and that the differences in the determination of these measures may help to explain some of the existing disagreements in the literature. Copyright 2001 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd and The Victoria University of Manchester

House Price Shocks and Household Indebtedness in the United Kingdom

We use household panel data to explore the link between changes in house prices and household indebtedness (both secured on housing assets and unsecured) in the United Kingdom. We show that households which are borrowing-constrained by a lack of housing equity as collateral make greater use of unsecured debt such as credit cards or personal loans. In response to rising house prices, which relax this constraint, such households are more likely to refinance and to increase their indebtedness relative to unconstrained households. However, for most households, house price movements appear to have little impact on indebtedness.

Should They Stay or Should They Go? Attitudes Towards Immigration in Europe

This paper examines the main determinants of individual attitudes towards immigration in Europe. Our results suggest that both economic and non-economic variables shape attitudes towards immigration, but the relative importance of these factors depends crucially on the race/ethnicity of the arriving immigrants. While fears over labour market competition are more likely to shape attitudes towards the arrival of same race immigrants, more exposure to immigrants reduces opposition towards the arrival of different race immigrants. These findings persist after controlling for socioeconomic characteristics, and after exploiting the data to allow for cohort-specific effects.

Health and Female Labour Market Participation: The Case of Uganda

There is growing evidence that reducing gender inequality in access to the job market and control of key productive resources necessary for growth are concrete means of accelerating and diversifying growth, making it more sustainable, and ensuring that the poor both contribute to, and benefit from, that growth (see, for example, World Bank 2001, Blackden et al. 2007). This has resulted in a common finding in many developing countries during the past decade that there has been a substantial growth in female employment (Standing 1999). Despite this, countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are still characterized by an underutilization of their female labour, of which human capital, and health in particular, plays a major role. In many sub-Saharan African countries, as in many other developing countries, women who participate in the labour market are more likely to be in self-employment or, more generally, informal sector employment (Glick and Sahn 1997).

An analysis of the theory of biased contests in an organisational setting

This paper uses personnel data gathered from a large financial sector firm to examine the idea of biased contests. The pattern of scores attained by individual workers in performance ratings is used to explain the probability of subsequent promotion within the organisation. Initial empirical evidence is presented, which gives some support for the theory.