Labor Investment Research Articles

The dark side of finance: the link between financialisation and labour investment in emerging Asian countries

The dark side of finance: the link between financialisation and labour investment in emerging Asian countries

Media Attention and Labor Investment Efficiency*

Media Attention and Labor Investment Efficiency*

CoNglyPred: Accurate Prediction of N-Linked Glycosylation Sites Using ESM-2 and Structural Features With Graph Network and Co-Attention.

N-Linked glycosylation is crucial for various biological processes such as protein folding, immune response, and cellular transport. Traditional experimental methods for determining N-linked glycosylation sites entail substantial time and labor investment, which has led to the development of computational approaches as a more efficient alternative. However, due to the limited availability of 3D structural data, existing prediction methods often struggle to fully utilize structural information and fall short in integrating sequence and structural information effectively. Motivated by the progress of protein pretrained language models (pLMs) and the breakthrough in protein structure prediction, we introduced a high-accuracy model called CoNglyPred. Having compared various pLMs, we opt for the large-scale pLM ESM-2 to extract sequence embeddings, thus mitigating certain limitations associated with manual feature extraction. Meanwhile, our approach employs a graph transformer network to process the 3D protein structures predicted by AlphaFold2. The final graph output and ESM-2 embedding are intricately integrated through a co-attention mechanism. Among a series of comprehensive experiments on the independent test dataset, CoNglyPred outperforms state-of-the-art models and demonstrates exceptional performance in case study. In addition, we are the first to report the uncertainty of N-linked glycosylation predictors using expected calibration error and expected uncertainty calibration error.

Does corporate digitalization promote labor investment efficiency? Evidence from Chinese listed companies

This study examines whether and how corporate digitalization affects labor investment practices. Using a sample of Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2023, we find that corporate digital development is positively associated with labor investment efficiency. Mechanism tests show that corporate digitalization can facilitate precise judgment of labor input scales, accelerate employment adjustment responsiveness, recruit high-quality potential workforce, and improve management oversight, thus contributing to making efficient labor investment decisions. Cross-sectional tests indicate that the positive impact of corporate digital development is more prominent for firms located in regions with stronger labor protection systems, industries with higher competition levels and those non-state-owned enterprises. Moreover, corporate digitalization can curb both over- and underinvestment in labor resources, and this effect is primarily manifested in firm’s hiring practices. Our findings contribute to the literature on the determinants of corporate labor investment efficiency and provide practice insight into the role of corporate digitalization in firm’s decision-making.

Efficient crop segmentation net and novel weed detection method

Computer vision-based precision weed control offers a promising avenue for reducing herbicide input and the associated costs of weed management. However, the substantial investments in time and labor required for the collection and annotation of weed image data pose challenges to develop effective deep learning models. The limitation also stems from the challenges in achieving accurate and reliable detection of weeds across varying growth stages, densities, and ecotypes in field scenarios. To address these issues, this research investigated a novel methodology employing a segmentation algorithm to accurately mark the contour information of crops in the image and detect weeds through image processing technology. Furthermore, a novel segmentation network was developed based on the YOLO architecture to address the substantial computing resource demands associated with segmentation algorithms. This was achieved through the design of a new backbone, incorporation of an attention mechanism, and modification of the feature fusion technique. The novel network achieved higher segmentation accuracy with less computational demands. The effectiveness of three different attention modules on segmentation tasks was additionally investigated. Experimental results showed that the insertion of Criss-cross Attention significantly improved the model's performance and was subsequently incorporated into our enhanced methodology. The enhanced model achieved a Mean Intersection over Union (mIoU50) of 90.9 %, with precision increasing by 5.9 % and Giga FLoating-point Operations Per Second (GFLOPs) reduced by 15.56 %, demonstrating enhanced suitability for deployment in resource-constrained computing environments. The findings presented in this study hold substantial theoretical and practical implications for precise weed management.

Growing pains: geographic expansion and labor investment efficiency

Growing pains: geographic expansion and labor investment efficiency

The impact of employee satisfaction on company's labour investment efficiency

This study examines the impact of employee satisfaction on company's labour investment efficiency (CLIE) using a sample of 2,333 company-year observations associated with 302 companies listed in the UK between 2008 and 2020. Arguments based on human relations theory suggest that satisfied employees are likely to be motived to exert greater efforts and exhibit lower turnover, thereby reducing employer's exposure to labour market frictions. In contrast, agency theory argues that satisfied employees may become entrenched and thus harm organisational outcomes, including CLIE. We measure satisfaction with employers across our sample companies using 164,341 employees' ratings posted on Glassdoor UK. We observe a positive impact of employee satisfaction on CLIE, demonstrating the validity of underlying human relations theory for the present business context characterised by labour shortages. We also find the positive impact of employee satisfaction on CLIE to be stronger for companies with higher labour intensity, more reliance on skilled labour, and more competitive industry environments. Our study contributes to research investigating the determinants of efficient investment in workforce. We also demonstrate the informational value of employee' online reviews for understanding a company's performance, particularly in assessing the efficiency of its employment decisions.

Development and Characterization of a New TILLING Population for Forward and Reverse Genetics in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

Mutagenesis is an important tool in crop improvement and free of the regulatory restrictions imposed on genetically modified organisms. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is a diploid species with a genome smaller than those of other members of the Triticeae crops, making it an attractive model for genetic studies in Triticeae crops. In this study, we report an ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS)-mutagenized population in the Chinese barley landrace TX9425, which is tolerant to both abiotic and biotic stress. A TILLING (Targeting Induced Locus Lesion in Genomes) population consisting of 2000 M2 lines was also constructed based on the CEL I enzyme with subsequent polyacrylamide electrophoresis, which decreased the cost and labor investment. The mutant phenotypes of the M2 and M3 generations were scored and revealed the presence of a wide spectrum of morphological diversity. The population was evaluated by screening for induced mutations in five genes of interest. A detailed analysis was performed for the HvGLR3.5 gene and three mutations were identified by screening in 2000 M2 lines. Two of three mutations displayed tuft and yellow striped leaves compared to the wild type. Altogether, our study shows the efficiency of screening and the great potential of the new TILLING population for genetic studies in the barley crop model system.

Labor protection and corporate labor investment efficiency - Evidence based on the implementation of the "Labor Contract Law"

This research examines non-financial companies listed in China's capital market, using the “Labor Contract Law” as a natural experiment to explore how labor protection influences investment efficiency. The study provides insights into how such policies shape corporate investment behavior. Findings indicate that stronger labor protection significantly improves labor investment efficiency and the allocation of labor resources within companies. Furthermore, the positive impact on investment efficiency is more pronounced in smaller firms and non-state-owned enterprises.

Remote sensing reveals trends in vegetative recovery and land cover transformation post-reclamation at tar creek superfund site

The harmful effects of mining waste on human and ecosystem health make reclamation of former mine sites an environmental management priority. However, field-based monitoring of reclamation requires significant investments of time, labor, and money. Remote sensing offers a less expensive alternative to field-based monitoring, but work is still needed to determine which metrics can be reliably estimated using remote sensing techniques. This study uses remote sensing to examine over 20 years of reclamation efforts at Tar Creek Superfund Site and to assess revegetation after site restoration. Using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), we quantify key factors affecting vegetation recovery and stability after reclamation across 123 surface mining waste cleanup locations within Tar Creek. Leveraging long-term imagery from Landsat and high-resolution PlanetScope imagery, we combine time series analysis of vegetation regrowth and landcover change detection for a comprehensive picture of recovery at each site. Across all reclamation sites, the average recovery duration was 3.5 years, and average recovery rate was 0.1 NDVI year−1. After vegetative growth had plateaued, reclaimed sites had an average NDVI of 0.70. All reclamation areas were converted from majority barren landcover to vegetated landcover classes after reclamation, and vegetative stability at reclamation sites was high (70% of reclaimed area saw continuous vegetative cover from 2017 to 2023). These results demonstrate a strong potential for multi-method remote sensing techniques in tracking and explaining vegetation recovery after reclamation and represent a cost-effective approach for real-time monitoring of reclamation progress and outcomes.

Automating efficiency: The impact of industrial robots on labor investment in China

This study examines the impact of industrial robot applications on labor investment efficiency. While previous studies have mainly focused on how industrial robots affect productivity, economic structures, and labor markets, their influence on labor investment efficiency has remained relatively underexplored. Using data from Chinese manufacturing firms, our results demonstrate that the adoption of industrial robots significantly improves labor investment efficiency. This improvement is mainly achieved by optimizing the human capital structure and enhancing capital deepening. We also find that this effect is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, in environments with reduced information asymmetry, and in firms with low R&D investment and labor intensity. Overall, our results highlight the positive effect of industrial robot applications on the efficiency of corporate labor investments from a microeconomic perspective, providing important insights for labor investment decisions and resource allocation optimization.

The bright side of staggered boards: Evidence from labor investment efficiency

Using U.S. data from 1983 to 2015, we document that firms with staggered boards exhibit greater labor investment efficiency, measured as less abnormal net hiring, including over-investment (over-hiring and under-firing) and under-investment (under-hiring). A path analysis shows that 8.3% of the total effect of staggered boards on labor investment efficiency is explained by the positive effect of staggered boards on institutional ownership. Overall, our results support the view that staggered boards strengthen managers’ commitment to long-term shareholders’ interests, thereby encouraging managerial efforts to boost labor investment efficiency.

Perks and labor investment efficiency: Evidence from China

This study investigates the effect of perks on future labor investment efficiency. Agency theory suggests that perks motivate managers to distort investments for personal gain. By contrast, incentive contract theory suggests that perks can be a component of incentive contracts, encouraging managers to make investments in the best interest of shareholders. Based on a sample of 12,818 firm–year observations from 2009 to 2017, we find that perks are positively related to future labor investment inefficiencies, consistent with agency theory. An exogenous reduction in executive perks caused by the 2012 anti-corruption campaign decreases labor investment inefficiencies. Further analyses show that the positive effect of perks on overinvestment predominantly occurs when firms have excessive free cash flow, low political visibility, and a less-educated workforce, whereas the positive relationship between perks and underinvestment is more prevalent. Finally, we find that perks and labor investment inefficiencies are detrimental to firm value.

The effects of political connections on labor investment: evidence from Indonesia

The effects of political connections on labor investment: evidence from Indonesia

Labor investment inefficiency and LGBTQ+-friendliness

We study the effect of firms' LGBTQ+ friendliness on their labor investment efficiency and find that an improvement in firms' LGBTQ+ friendliness leads to greater labor investment inefficiencies, and that more LGBTQ+ friendly firms tend to underinvest in labor. However, we show that this relationship diminishes over time as societal and legal support for LGBTQ+ equal rights increases. A variety of firm and societal characteristics moderate the negative link between corporate LGBTQ+ friendliness and labor investment efficiency.

CEO-employee pay ratio and labor investment efficiency

This paper investigates the impact of CEO-to-median employee pay ratios on labor investment efficiency. Drawing on competing predictions from Talent Assignment Theory and Equity Theory, we examine how pay disparity between CEOs and average workers influences suboptimal investment in labor (labeled inefficient investment in labor). Our analysis finds a significant negative relationship between pay ratios and inefficient investment in labor, suggesting firms with higher CEO compensation exhibit more balanced labor investments. This challenges Equity Theory, which hypothesizes that large intra-firm pay gaps cause perceived unfairness and under-investment in labor. Overall, the study provides novel evidence on how CEO pay practices shape employee behaviors and factor inputs. The findings contribute to ongoing debates regarding the economic implications of CEO compensation, particularly in optimizing human capital efficiency.

Board of director characteristics and corporate labour investment efficiency: empirical evidence from European-listed firms

Purpose Prior work has shown that the board of directors can alleviate market imperfections that lead to capital investment inefficiency. The authors extend previous work by exploring how board characteristics influence the efficiency of human capital investment, a critical production factor that has remained insufficiently examined. Specifically, this study aims to investigate how board activity, size, the presence of a separate chairman, female directors and board independence affect firm labour investment efficiency in the European context. Design/methodology/approach The sample contains 4,331 firm-year observations traded on the STOXX® Europe 600 index from 2009 through 2022. This paper applies a lagged ordinary least squares (OLS) regression to test the proposed hypotheses. It also uses a dynamic panel generalised method of moments (GMM) regression to tackle potential endogeneity concerns. Findings The results show that board gender diversity and the level of independent directors are positively linked to labour investment efficiency, whereas board size and meeting frequency are negatively related to labour investment efficiency. Meanwhile, the presence of a separate chairman on the board does not appear to be significantly associated with labour investment efficiency. In additional subgroup analyses, the authors find that board gender diversity mitigates managers’ inclinations towards both overinvestment and underinvestment in labour. The authors also find that the level of independent directors helps greatly in reducing the underinvestment in labour, while it fails to attenuate the overinvestment in labour. Moreover, the authors find board size to be significantly associated with the tendency to make suboptimal labour decisions, manifesting as both overinvestment and underinvestment in labour. Finally, the results show that board meetings are significantly associated with overinvestment problems, while underinvestment problems seem to be unrelated to meeting frequency. Practical implications The empirical results have implications for policymakers and market participants in Europe. Firstly, firms may improve the efficiency of their labour investments by increasing directors’ independence and adding more female voices to corporate boards. Secondly, the evidence shows that some board attributes, such as board activity and size, do not necessarily have a beneficial impact on corporate decisions, particularly labour investment decisions. Finally, market participants are likely to benefit from this paper by understanding the role of board attributes in promoting the efficient allocation of firm resources. Originality/value This paper makes two significant contributions. Firstly, it extends the literature on the role of boards of directors in shaping corporate decision-making processes, particularly concerning human capital investment decisions within European firms. By doing so, the authors provide new evidence confirming that certain board attributes, such as board size, director independence and board gender diversity, are important for optimising firms’ resource allocation. Secondly, although numerous studies investigate boards’ role in capital investment decisions, relatively few empirical studies exist on the role of boards in labour investment decisions. This paper, therefore, tries to tackle this void in the literature by investigating firms’ decision-making concerning labour investments.

How does climate regulatory risk influence labor employment decisions? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

We exploit a green lending mandate as a quasi-natural experiment and estimate its effect on labor investment inefficiency of firms with high carbon risk. We document that heightened climate regulatory risk through mandatory green lending requirements motivates firms with higher carbon risk to adjust their labor investments to levels supported by economic fundamentals. We especially show that climate regulatory risk lowers labor investment inefficiency by curbing overinvestment in labor. This impact is more concentrated among firms that are more dependent on banks for liquidity, firms with severe financial constraints, and those with more institutional investors. After the green credit policy, we also observe an increase in bank lending costs and a reduction in loan maturities for carbon-intensive firms. Overall, our findings suggest that climate bank lending regulation is one of the major channels through which climate risks get embedded in labor employment decisions. In particular, green lending regulatory costs can have significant effects on corporate labor investment efficiency.

Tax Governance and Corporate Labor Investment Efficiency: A Quasi‐Natural Experiment From China

Tax Governance and Corporate Labor Investment Efficiency: A Quasi‐Natural Experiment From China

Experimental study of a leakage location method based on plug flow mass transfer characteristics

Leaks in water supply pipes pose a threat to water security. In order to save labor investment in pipeline leak location and to find a method to obtain the leak location by calculating upstream and downstream related data, an experimental study was conducted to investigate the plug flow mass transfer characteristics in horizontal pipelines. The results show that the addition of carbon dioxide gas can better detect the occurrence of small area ruptures in the pipeline. The translational velocity equation for elongated bubbles has better accuracy for both the insoluble gas air and the slightly soluble gas carbon dioxide. The local volumetric mass transfer coefficient shows a better linear relationship with the residual gas volume. The iterative equation derived from such a law can effectively predict the distribution of carbon dioxide concentrations in the pipeline. The study shows that the iterative equation, combined with the carbon dioxide concentration at a point downstream and the bubble translation velocity, can make a good localization judgment of the pipeline rupture point.