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Minimum Wage Series: Part 3

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>>thank you for stopping by and please do not forget to leave a comment... Minimum wage and economic development A very tight minimum wage makes the disposable income of employees constrained but if it is raised it increases raise the earnings and contribute to higher marginal propensity to consume an additional dollar of income than firm owners or low-skilled workers who lose their jobs. Thus, minimum wage increases will result in higher economic growth. Simple correlational evidence on the relationship between minimum wage increases and GDP is not dispositive. An increase of minimum wage led to economic growth in boom periods but the opposite during recession as corroborated by experiences in US. Is Minimum wage -curse or blessing?  Pros of minimum wage hikes  Minimum wage increases are more likely to deliver income gains to low-skilled workers during peaks rather than troughs in the business cycle. Increases in the minimum wage may stimulate macroeconomic growth if pr

Minimum Wages Series: Part 2

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>>thank you for stopping by and please do not forget to leave a comment... National Minimum Wage v Sectoral Minimum Wage A system based on sector collective bargaining wage has the advantage of reflecting the payment capacity of most employers across their respective sectors. This also minimises cases of non-payment of wages and wage related disputes. Some however would argue that the system may prove to be more difficult to monitor and enforce from a central point. The more the complex a minimum wage system is, and the sectoral, occupational and geographical rates it involves, the more difficult it is to monitor, particularly in countries where the labour administration services have very limited resources. This is opposed to the national minimum wage which can be easily monitored due to uniformity across all sectors. Recently in Zimbabwe there have been various attacks on the constitutionality and conduct of NECs by some employers. They argued that the compulsory paying

Minimum Wages Series: Part 1

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>>thank you for stopping by and please do not forget to leave a comment... Today we start a series on minimum wages with the aim of examining various fascets to the subject. Though this discussion applies to all countries, it best relates to the Zimbabwean Scenario. A minimum wage is the lowest amount payable to employees for performing work. It is used as a social protection measure to cater for the employees’ basic needs. The ILO advocates for the setting of minimum wages within member states through Convention No. 131 on Minimum Wage Fixing and the Minimum Wage Fixing Recommendation No 135. The Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations classifies the minimum wages into 4 broad categories which are shown in the diagram below:  In Zimbabwe, the first decade after independence was characterised by the fixing of minimum wages by the Government as was provided by the minimum wages act of 1980. Minimum wages were then announced annually on W

PERCEIVED QUALITY AS A TOOL FOR TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (WATCH)

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>>thank you for stopping by and please do not forget to leave a comment... Today I share a video in which I explain about  Perceived Quality , an important tool for Total Quality Management (TQM).  Click here  to access the video and enjoy... For alternative access to the video click  here

Selecting Environmental Policy Instruments (factors to be considered)

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>>thank you for stopping by and please do not forget to leave a comment... 1.0 Introduction Various alternate environmental policy instruments are usually considered in an endeavour to get rid of an environmental problem. According to Perman et al, (2003), the best instrument would be the one which meets the target with greatest reliability. The criterion implemented in order to come with such an instrument will depend on a number of factors such as cost effectiveness, long run effects, dynamic efficiency, ancillary benefits and equity among others (Perman et al, 2003). This paper serves to examine how environmental policy instruments are selected when trying to get rid of or at least minimise pollution of both air and water by companies and individuals. 2.0 Keywords Environmental policy instrument generally involves measures put in place especially by the authorities in order to minimise or completely eradicate an environmental problem. Examples of environmental problem

CHALLENGES FACING ZIMBABWEAN COMPANIES

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DESK REVIEW REPORT ON THE CHALLENGES FACING ZIMBABWEAN COMPANIES 1. INTRODUCTION There was a decline in industrial capacity utilisation owing to various challenges within the economy with the turn of the century. The trend was further exacerbated by the hyper inflationary era experienced during the 2007 – 8 period. Stability in the economy was restored with the adoption of the multicurrency system in 2009 which saw an upsurge in industrial performance as well as economic growth. According to the Confederation of Zimbabwean Industries (CZI) surveys, industrial capacity utilisation declined sharply from 35.8 per cent in 2005 to below 10 per cent by 2008, before improving to 34.3 per cent in 2015.  Despite perceived macroeconomic stability in the economy, companies are still faced with many challenges which range from structural to natural. These challenges have seen the reduction in capacity utilisation and competitiveness, retrenchment of workers, company closures, wide

EFFECTS OF RENT SEEKING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

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>>thank you for stopping by and please do not forget to leave a comment... Though a large number of scholars perceive rent seeking mainly corruption as an undesirable phenomenon   bearing detrimental consequences in various countries world over, a debate still continues as to whether rent seeking act as “sand or oil to the machine” (Mushtaq et al, 1995). It is also argued that rent seeking is inevitable and cannot be completely done away with especially in developing countries. This paper serves to examine the economic effects of rent seeking with reference to evidence from developing economies.   Click here  to view the paper...

LABOUR MIGRATION: HARNESSING REMITTANCES FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

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>>thank you for stopping by, please do not forget to leave a comment... Zimbabwe since the colonial era has been both a sending and receiving country of labour migrants. The trends in labour migration have been accelerated with the onset of the economic recession by the turn of the century. The country has experienced an upsurge in the outward migration of both skilled and unskilled manpower in search of employment opportunities in the region and abroad. In this section we focus on the outward migration of manpower and the benefits that may be derived as a result. Possible recommendations are also suggested in order to effectively harness diaspora remittance flows into Zimbabwe. Statistics released by the Treasury indicated that diaspora remittances, which are the major source of liquidity in Zimbabwe after exports, declined by 15% over the first half of the year. During the first six months of, diaspora remittances amounted to US$387.9 million, compared to US$457.8 mill

Product Quality Enhancement through Innovative and Creative Circles (Quality Control Circles)

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please don't forget to leave your comment...  For some, output only refers to the physical quantities of goods and services produced per given time. However, when measuring output, it is prudent to consider both the quantity and the quality of the products. Producing a large number of poor quality goods may diminish the growth and profitability prospects of a business. Quality refers to the totality of the features which makes a product qualify for its intended purpose. Put simply, quality means fitness for purpose. Quality products are important as they tend to attract competitive prices and increased sales on the market ceteris paribus .  In order for a firm to produce quality goods there is need to understand the requirements of the market and in turn tailor-make the products to suit those requirements. This requires extensive market research as well as lending an ear to customer views. One of the quality improvement tools which can be employed in this regard is Innova