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1 – 10 of 69Near-stagnation in wages is difficult to reconcile with reports of a very tight labour market in which firms struggle to hire. The answer lies partly in much higher levels of…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB285105
ISSN: 2633-304X
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Topical
Lower household consumption, residential investment and companies’ capital investment all contributed to the 2.9% (annualised) contraction. Although inflation is decelerating…
Behind this workforce expansion is higher immigration that has allowed considerably more new jobs without raising real wages. Immigration explains some of the strength in…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB286716
ISSN: 2633-304X
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Geographic
Topical
Siti Hafsah Zulkarnain and Abdol Samad Nawi
The purpose of this study is to analyse numerous aspects affecting residential property price in Malaysia against macroeconomics issues such as gross domestic product (GDP)…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyse numerous aspects affecting residential property price in Malaysia against macroeconomics issues such as gross domestic product (GDP), exchange rate, unemployment and wage.
Design/methodology/approach
The hedonic pricing model has been adopted as econometric model for this research to investigate the relationship between residential property price against macroeconomics indicator. The data for residential property price and macroeconomic variables were collected from 1991 to 2019. Multiple linear regression had been adopted to find the relationship between the dependent and independent variables.
Findings
The result shows that the GDP has a significant positive impact on residential property price, while exchange rate has no significant impact although it was positive. In addition, the unemployment rate has a significant impact on the residential property price and has a negative relationship. Similar to the wage that shows the negative relationship with residential property prices. Moreover, during the pandemic COVID-19 in Malaysia, this research shows a more transparent view of the relationship between residential property price and the macroeconomic issues of GDP, exchange rate, unemployment and wage.
Originality/value
The findings of this research found that macroeconomics issue cannot be eliminated due to Malaysia is a developing country, and there will always be an issue that will happen, but the issues can be reduced to maximise the advantages, e.g. during COVID-19, the solution to fight against COVID-19 were crucial and weaken the macroeconomics issues.
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Petr Rozmahel and Marek Litzman
This chapter elaborates on the main factors of the adverse macroeconomic development in Czechia and Europe. Currently, i.e. from 2022, Czechia mainly suffers from double-digit…
Abstract
This chapter elaborates on the main factors of the adverse macroeconomic development in Czechia and Europe. Currently, i.e. from 2022, Czechia mainly suffers from double-digit galloping inflation and GDP stagnation. The aim of this chapter is to identify and describe the influence of the main factors from the present and the more distant past on current inflation and approaching stagflation in Czechia. This chapter analyzes an unfavourable mix of demand and supply factors that leave the new banking board of the CNB facing a dilemma, that is, whether to pursue a disinflationary policy of increasing interest rates and thus push the Czech economy closer into recession or to rely on demand-driven economic growth, which will keep unemployment at a low level, but at the same time contribute to inflationary pressures. The new governor of the CNB completely changed the strategy of his predecessor and, despite strong criticism, did not raise interest rates even once. Based on the analysis of inflationary factors, this chapter tries to explain the motives for the Central Bank's new strategy in the fight against inflation, which is the systematic appreciation of the Czech koruna.
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Yeva Nersisyan and L. Randall Wray
In this paper, the authors examine the causes of 2021–2023 inflation and evaluate whether raising interest rates is the right solution.
Abstract
Purpose
In this paper, the authors examine the causes of 2021–2023 inflation and evaluate whether raising interest rates is the right solution.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors evaluate both the macroeconomic (too much demand) and microeconomic (monopoly pricing and supply chains) explanations for the causes of inflation.
Findings
The authors argue that the spike in inflation is due to disrupted supply chains and corporations taking advantage of the situation to raise their prices. The aggregate demand stimulus from fiscal policy had all but played out by the time inflation arose, making it an unlikely cause of said inflation.
Originality/value
The authors' paper demonstrates that raising interest rates is the wrong solution to tackling the problem of inflation, especially since it's coming from the supply side.
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Economists usually shy away from talking about power. They assume an economy comprised of many small and medium-sized firms, each competing for consumer dollars. This circumvents…
Abstract
Economists usually shy away from talking about power. They assume an economy comprised of many small and medium-sized firms, each competing for consumer dollars. This circumvents the problem of economic power. John Kenneth Galbraith, however, refused to ignore power. It stood at the center of his economics, and he saw it as a key reason the US economy thrived in the years following World War II (WWII). This chapter examines Galbraith’s changing views regarding economic power. American Capitalism explains how countervailing power, or power on the other side of the market, solves the problem of economic power. In The New Industrial State, scientists and educated managers within the firm (the technostructure) mitigate the negative consequences of economic power wielded by large firms. The Affluent Society and Economics and the Public Purpose look to the government as the main check on corporate power. It does this through labor legislation or programs such as the New Deal and Fair Deal. This chapter then evaluates the different solutions Galbraith proffered to the problem of economic power. It contends that Galbraith got three things right when analyzing economic power. First, we no longer live in a world of scarcity due to oligopolistic firms. Second, capitalism was different in the post-WWII era because the US economy thrived and gains were shared widely. Third, Galbraith understood that power was unequally distributed – both between the public and private sectors and within the private sector itself. On the other hand, Galbraith was overly optimistic in believing the market economy or the public sector could counter corporate power.
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The polarisation of employment is a specific structural change in the labour market when the share of high and low-skilled workers increases and, simultaneously, the share of…
Abstract
The polarisation of employment is a specific structural change in the labour market when the share of high and low-skilled workers increases and, simultaneously, the share of middle-skilled workers decreases. The chapter analyses the effect of polarisation in Czechia and other Central European countries and describes how employment has changed from the perspective of skills regarding gender. The analysis is based on observing the changes in the share of high, middle and low-skilled workers evaluated on the basis of occupational classification over time. Results imply (with a few exceptions) polarisation of employment across all countries during the period between 1998 and 2021, even if we consider the distinction between males and females. Results confirm that employment polarisation has also become a prevalent phenomenon in Central European countries during the last two decades. Finally, this chapter also summarises the economic motivation for studying polarisation phenomenon.
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Opeoluwa Adeniyi Adeosun, Richard O. Olayeni, Mosab I. Tabash and Suhaib Anagreh
This study investigates the nexus between the returns on oil prices (OP) and unemployment (UR) while taking into account the influences of two of the most representative measures…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the nexus between the returns on oil prices (OP) and unemployment (UR) while taking into account the influences of two of the most representative measures of uncertainty, the Baker et al. (2016) and Caldara and Iacovello (2021) indexes of economic policy uncertainty (EP) and geopolitical risks (GP), in the relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use data on the US, Canada, France, Italy, Germany and Japan from January 2000 to February 2022 and the UK from January 2000 to December 2021. The authors then apply the continuous wavelet transform (CWT), wavelet coherence (WC), partial wavelet coherence (PWC) and multiple wavelet coherence (MWC) to examine the returns within a time and frequency framework.
Findings
The CWT tracks the movement and evolution of individual return series with evidence of high variances and heterogenous tendencies across frequencies that also align with critical events such as the GFC and COVID-19 pandemic. The WC reveals the presence of a bidirectional relationship between OP and UR across economies, showing that the two variables affect each other. The authors’ findings establish the predictive influence of oil price on unemployment in line with theory and also show that the variation in UR can impact the economy and alter the dynamics of OP. The authors employ the PWC and MWC to capture the impact of uncertainty indexes in the co-movement of oil price and unemployment in line with the theory of “investment under uncertainty”. Taking into account the common effects of EP and GP, PWC finds that uncertainty measures significantly drive the co-movement of oil prices and unemployment. This result is robust when the authors control for the influence of economic activity (proxied by the GDP) in the co-movement. Furthermore, the MWC reveals the combined intensity, strength and significance of both oil prices and the uncertainty measures in predicting unemployment across countries.
Originality/value
This study investigates the relationship between oil prices, uncertainty measures and unemployment under a time and frequency approach.
Highlights
Wavelet approaches are used to examine the relationship between oil prices and unemployment in the G7.
We account for uncertainty measures in the dynamics of oil prices and unemployment.
We observe a bidirectional relationship between oil prices and unemployment.
Uncertainty measures significantly drive oil prices and unemployment co-movement.
Both oil prices and uncertainty measures significantly drive unemployment.
Wavelet approaches are used to examine the relationship between oil prices and unemployment in the G7.
We account for uncertainty measures in the dynamics of oil prices and unemployment.
We observe a bidirectional relationship between oil prices and unemployment.
Uncertainty measures significantly drive oil prices and unemployment co-movement.
Both oil prices and uncertainty measures significantly drive unemployment.
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Lucas Prata Feres, Alex Wilhans Antonio Palludeto and Hugo Miguel Oliveira Rodrigues Dias
Drawing upon a political economy approach, this article aims to analyze the transformations in the labor market within the context of contemporary capitalism, focusing on the…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing upon a political economy approach, this article aims to analyze the transformations in the labor market within the context of contemporary capitalism, focusing on the phenomenon of financialization.
Design/methodology/approach
Financialization is defined as a distinct wealth pattern marked by a growing proportion of financial assets in capitalist wealth. Within financial markets, corporate performance is continuously assessed, in a process that disciplines management to achieve expected financial results, with consequences throughout corporate management.
Findings
We find that this phenomenon has implications for labor management, resulting in the intensification of labor processes and the adoption of insecure forms of employment, leading to the fractalization of work. These two mechanisms, added to the indebtedness of workers, constitute three elements for disciplining labor in contemporary capitalism.
Originality/value
We argue that these forms of discipline constitute a subsumption of labor to finance, resulting in an increase in labor exploitation. This formulation of the relationship between financialization and changes in the realm of labor also contributes to understanding the unrealizing potential of social free time in contemporary capitalism.
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