Search

This paper uses a matched employee-employer dataset using the Productivity and Investment Climate Survey 2007 to assess the relative effect of demand and supply-side characteristics on the wages of native and immigrant workers in Malaysia. In doing so, the study demonstrates noteworthy differences in the wage determination process. Individual supply-side characteristics are found to be a key determinant of wages for native workers, and are relatively more important in explaining the wage variation than demand-side effects. In contrast, individual supply-side characteristics are found to explain noticeably less of the wage variation for immigrant workers. Therefore, this study reveals that native and immigrant wages do not solely reflect the workers' productivity, although this effect is far more pronounced for the migrant workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The standard treatment of occupational risk in the labour market is conducted in terms of the theory of compensating wage differentials, the basic characteristic of which is that workers can fully estimate actual occupational risks. However, research in cognitive psychology, and recent advances in economic psychology, suggest that individuals consistently underestimate risks associated with accidents. In this paper, we discuss the case when the workers systematically underestimate job risks. After presenting the standard treatment of occupational risks, and of health and safety at work regulation, we then proceed to incorporate the idea of job risk underestimation. The paper discusses the types and impact of regulation on health and safety effort in a simple framework in which workers' beliefs concerning accident risks also play a role. The paper shows that a particular type of regulatory intervention is necessary for the risk underestimating workers not to suffer a welfare loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine protected areas (MPAs) are attracting widespread attention worldwide as a tool for fishery management and marine ecosystem conservation. The establishment of MPAs has increased greatly in recent years mostly due to international commitments to the establishment of a global network of MPAs by 2012. MPAs have the potential to strongly affect the fishing industry, and their success depends, at least partly, on fishers' attitudes towards this management measure. However, research on MPAs tends to focus on the ecological and conservation aspects of this management approach and not on its human dimensions. Studies in attitudes, perceptions, beliefs and preferences related to MPA issues have been identified as priority social science topics in need of research. We present a 'rapid review', conducted systematically, of the literature published up to September 2009 and aimed at identifying the most investigated topics related to commercial fishers' attitudes towards MPAs, describing the main findings from these studies, and analysing the implications for management. Most published work focuses on fishers' attitudes towards issues of governance, conservation of biodiversity and the environment, and the impact of MPAs on fishing activity. Despite the recent increase in the literature on the human dimensions of MPAs, the present review reveals that little of this literature originates from empirical studies. Hence, given the forthcoming increase in the implementation of MPAs in the near future, research on fishers' attitudes towards these management measures is critically needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]