The chapter investigates the effects of the wage determination mechanism based on bargaining and efficiency wages introduced in Italy in 1993. The analysis deals specifically with the productivity effects of the efficiency wage approach and tests the role of different profit sharing schemes...

We link survey and balance sheet data to investigate the extent of complementarity between the introduction of new technology and changes in workplace practices. Across all firms, we find that new technology is complementary with higher work intensity. Similarly, changes in work techniques yield...

Job, workplace and human resource management (HRM) designs are nowadays at the centre of great attention in economic analysis. New work practices are becoming the cornerstone of an approach to flexibility from within the firm which is credited with a significant contribution to sustainable...

In the last decade a growing economic literature has been devoted to the relationship between firm organisation and performance. Empirical analyses mainly focus on the relationship between human resources management and firm performance, neglecting the role played by organisational designs. The...

The chapter first introduces Tarantelli’s thought on the role of labour economics and social pacts. The implementation of his proposals for a social pact in Italy is then discussed and compared to similar experiences in Europe. Attention is finally devoted to developing a theory of social...

We show analytically that the credibility problem which has affected the European Stability Pact originates from the insufficient distinction between two reasons for having binding fiscal constraints. The first reason deals with the governments' tendency to neglect the effects of their fiscal...

This paper undertakes a comparison exercise to disentangle what drives the opposite findings regarding the effect of house prices on consumption documented in two papers using the same data set for the UK. On the one hand, Campbell and Cocco (2007) find that old owners are the most benefited by...

High-performance work practices are frequently considered to have positive effects on corporate performance, but what do they do for employees? After assessing the correlation between organizational innovation and firm performance, this article investigates whether high-involvement work...

type="main" xml:id="ecca12098-abs-0001" xml:lang="en" <p>This paper revives the debate in the literature about the relationship between house prices and consumption by exploring conflicting results in the UK. Campbell and Cocco (<link href="#ecca12098-bib-0008"/>) find that old owners benefit most from a house price increase and...</p>

Using data from the 2004 Workplace Employee Relations Survey on British establishments and two surveys on manufacturing firms located in the North of Italy, we look at the diffusion of new workplace practices in the two countries and at their impact on the firm's value added. We find that the...