Showing papers in "Labour in 2014"
50 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used the richest set of panel data available for any Arab country to date to model female labor participation in Morocco and found that marriage, household inactivity rates, secondary education, and gross domestic product per capita are among the factors that contribute to low female labour participation.
Abstract: Female labor participation in the Arab world is low compared with the level of economic development of Arab countries. Beyond anecdotal evidence and cross-country studies, there is little evidence on what could explain this phenomenon. This paper uses the richest set of panel data available for any Arab country to date to model female labor participation in Morocco. The paper finds marriage, household inactivity rates, secondary education, and gross domestic product per capita to lower female labor participation rates. It also finds that the category urban educated women with secondary education explains better than others the low level of female labor participation. These surprising findings are robust to different estimators, endogeneity tests, different specifications of the female labor participation equations, and different sources of data. The findings are also consistent with previous studies on the Middle East and North Africa region and on Morocco. The explanation seems to reside in the nature of economic growth and gender norms. Economic growth has not been labor intensive, has generated few jobs, and has not been in female-friendly sectors, resulting in weak demand for women, especially urban educated women with secondary education. And when men and women compete for scarce jobs, men may have priority access because of employers' and households' preferences.
34 citations
TL;DR: The Chainworkers of Milan, an Italian anarchosyndicalist collective seeking to subvert commercial advertising, chose a new saint: San Precario, the patron saint of casual, temporary, freelance, and intermittent workers as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: On February 29, 2004, the Chainworkers of Milan, an Italian anarchosyndicalist collective seeking to subvert commercial advertising, chose a new saint: San Precario, the patron saint of casual, temporary, freelance, and intermittent workers. San Precario was initially envisaged as a man but has evolved into a rather androgynous being. He or she can appear anywhere and everywhere: on streets and squares, but also in McDonald’s, outlets, supermarkets, and bookstores.1 Prayers are directed to the new saint, such as
34 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the wage implications of temporary jobs across the whole pay profile using unconditional quantile regression (UQR) models and found that the wage penalty associated to temporary jobs is significantly larger at the bottom of the wage profile and is almost absent for high-wage jobs.
Abstract: Using Italian data, this paper investigates the wage implications of temporary jobs across the whole pay profile using unconditional quantile regression (UQR) models. Results clearly indicate that the wage penalty associated to temporary jobs is significantly larger at the bottom of wage profile and is almost absent for high-wage jobs. This is in line with the sticky floors hypothesis, supporting the idea that the wage gap for temporary employees depends on their position in the wage distribution for low-paid jobs. To recover a causal interpretation, I employ an instrumental variable (IV) strategy. I adopt the unconditional instrumental variable quantile treatment effects (IVQTE) estimator proposed by Frolich and Melly, which corrects for endogenous selection in temporary contracts. The IVQTE estimates yield similar results to standard UQR, even if the wage penalty is larger in size at the bottom of the wage distribution and disappears at the top quantiles. This evidence highlights that policies aimed at increasing flexibility may reinforce the two-tier nature of the Italian labour market and the relative wage inequality.
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that the public sick pay compensation level causally affects male performance pay workers' sick leave days, while providing private supplementary sick pay to attract attractive worker groups.
Abstract: Utilizing Norwegian linked register and survey data, while exploiting a discontinuity in public sick pay legislation, I show that the public sick pay compensation level causally affects male performance pay workers' sick leave days. Both male and female performance pay workers experience longer sick leaves when provided private supplementary sick pay compared with those being eligible for public sick pay only. This differential impact of the replacement rate on workers' sick leave rates reveals heterogeneous behavioural changes following public sick pay cuts, and this heterogeneity will be reinforced by the provision of employer-provided sick pay to attractive worker groups.
33 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the incidence and wage effects of overeducation in the Swiss Graduate Survey and found that graduates who are overedocated and mismatched in skills are the most penalized in terms of earnings.
Abstract: Using two periods’ panel data from the Swiss Graduate Survey, this study examines the incidence and wage effects of overeducation. Contrary to most prior research, we account for graduate heterogeneity in perceived skills mismatch when measuring overeducation and correct for potential omitted ability bias in the estimated pay penalty associated with overeducation. We find that graduates who are overeducated and mismatched in skills (i.e. genuinely overeducated) are the most penalized in terms of earnings. This evidence is still valid when using the fixed effects approach, while the pay penalty is no more significant for graduates who are overeducated but matched in skills (i.e. apparently overeducated). This indicates that the wage effects for apparently overeducated graduates are mainly due to the omission of unobserved ability.
28 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the relationship between job quality and retirement using panel data for European countries (SHARE) was studied using three different approaches: overall job satisfaction, over-and undereducation for a particular job as well as effort-reward imbalance which measures the imbalance between a worker's effort and the rewards he or she receives in turn.
Abstract: We study the relationship between job quality and retirement using panel data for European countries (SHARE). While previous studies looked at the impact of bad working conditions on retirement intentions, we can use the panel dimension to study actual retirement as well as other pathways out of a job. As indicators for job quality we use three different approaches: overall job satisfaction, over- and undereducation for a particular job as well as effort-reward imbalance which measures the imbalance between a worker's effort and the rewards he or she receives in turn. (author's abstract)
24 citations
24 citations
22 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyze if there are effects on the annual earnings of formal education for older adults in Europe, Canada, and the US, and find that there are no significant negative effects.
Abstract: Governments in Europe, Canada and the US have expressed an ambition to stimulate education of older. In this paper, we analyze if there are effects on annual earnings of formal education for partic ...
22 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined how active labor market programs (ALMP) and unemployment insurance (UI) affect the transition rates from unemployment to regular employment and entrepreneurship, as well as subsequent earnings levels.
Abstract: Based on administrative registers from Norway, we examine how unemployment insurance (UI) and active labor market programs (ALMP) affect the transition rates from unemployment to regular employment and entrepreneurship, as well as subsequent earnings levels. We find that both the employment and entrepreneurship hazards rise sharply in response to UI sanctions and UI exhaustion. On average, transitions to entrepreneurship are more profitable than transitions to regular employment. While employment transitions are highly pro-cyclical, entrepreneurship transitions are weakly counter-cyclical. ALMPs targeted at entrepreneurship are rare in Norway, but the few start-up subsidies that are provided are successful in terms of generating paid work.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated how looks affect an individual's labor supply decision and found that good looks go hand in hand with higher employment probabilities and more hours of market work, and that physical attractiveness is positively associated with spousal income.
Abstract: Using the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS) 2008, I investigate how looks affect an individual's labor supply decision. My results are, by and large, in line with predictions derived from the neoclassical model of labor supply. Applying regular probit, bivariate probit, Tobit and Heckman selection regression models, I find that good looks go hand in hand with higher employment probabilities and more hours of market work. Furthermore, physical attractiveness is positively associated with spousal income and spousal employment. Hence, beauty appears to affect labor supply decisions both directly and through the marriage market.
TL;DR: In this article, a methodology for decomposing the natural rate of unemployment, thus defining it in terms of equilibrium labour market flows between the aggregate states of the labour market (Employment, Unemployment, Inactivity).
Abstract: The present work analyses the unemployment gender gap in Italy for the period 2004-11. We present a methodology for decomposing the natural rate of unemployment, thus defining it in terms of equilibrium labour market flows between the aggregate states of the labour market (Employment, Unemployment, Inactivity). In addition, we offer estimates of the determinants of the unemployment gender gap to pinpoint the relative role of individual characteristics and structural factors in determining this difference. It is widely recognized that the shocks produced by the latest economic recession, brought about by the financial crisis, have had a strong negative impact on employment at an inter- national level. This impact has been persistent, as the unemployment rate has not yet returned to its pre-crisis level in the majority of developed economies, so the natural rate is increasing. This scenario is of great concern, as permanent separations due to plant closures account for a large part of labour turnover; furthermore, mismatches between labour supply and demand occur together with other simultaneous factors affecting the unemployment rate. Possible explanations of the increase in the natural rate typically refer to the role played by increases in welfare benefits (e.g. unemployment benefits) on the supply side; they also refer to demand-side factors, which are significant in the current economic downturn. The mismatch between vacancies and job-seekers is also related to both sectoral and regional factors, in particular with reference to the construction and finance sectors and to those areas in which these activities are more concentrated. There is another explanation, involving the increase in long-term unemployment and other structural factors such as the unemployment gender gap. The latter is particularly significant in the Italian labour market, which besides sectoral and regional imbalances, also reveals a structural difference between the unemployment rates and more generally the employment opportunities for the male and female components of the labour force. Such a difference in employment opportunities in the Italian labour market is pinpointed by noting that the male employment rate was 67.5 per cent in 2011, whereas the corresponding
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors untersucht the Arbeitsteilung von Paaren innerhalb eines Haushalts, und find deutliche Unterschiede hinsichtlich des Einflusses der Zeitverwendung des Partners zwischen Mannern und Frauen.
Abstract: Die Studie untersucht die Arbeitsteilung von Paaren innerhalb eines Haushalts. Unter Verwendung von Zeitbudgeterhebungsdaten der Jahre 1991/92 und 2001/02 wird der Einfluss der Zeiteinteilung zwischen bezahlter und unbezahlter Arbeit des einen Partners auf die Zeitallokation des anderen Partners untersucht. Die Zeitallokationsentscheidungen der Partner werden dabei unter Verwendung eines interdependenten Modells geschatzt, das die Simultanitat und Endogenitat der Entscheidungen berucksichtigt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen deutliche Unterschiede hinsichtlich des Einflusses der Zeitverwendung des Partners zwischen Mannern und Frauen. Wahrend das Arbeitsangebot von Mannern unabhangig von der Zeitallokation der Partnerin ist, passen Frauen ihr Arbeitsangebot an das ihres Partners an.
TL;DR: This article examined the determinants of vacation leave and its relationship to hours worked and hourly wages by examining the case of Canada and found that pressure at work may lead employees to use more vacation days but also causes them to work for longer hours.
Abstract: This paper provides new evidence on the determinants of vacation leave and its relationship to hours worked and hourly wages by examining the case of Canada. Previous studies from the USA, using individual-level data, have revealed that annual work hours fall by around 53 hours for each additional week of vacation used. Exploiting a linked employer–employee dataset that allows to control for detailed observed demographic, job, and firm characteristics, we find instead that annual hours of work fall by only 29 hours for each additional week of vacation used. Our findings support the hypothesis that pressure at work may lead employees to use more vacation days but also causes them to work for longer hours.
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of immigration on the residual wage inequality in the UK and US between 1994 and 2008 were investigated and it was shown that residual inequality is higher among immigrants than among natives.
Abstract: Over the last few decades, immigration has increased significantly in both the US and the UK; both
countries have also experienced notable increases in the degree of wage inequality
Unlike previous studies, this paper focuses on the effects of immigration on the residual wage
inequality in the UK and US between 1994 and 2008 It seeks to assess whether and to what degree
immigration contributed, along with technology, institutions and traditional explanations, to
widening inequality To answer these questions, this work reassesses Lemieux’s hypothesis (ie,
composition effects exert an upward mechanical force on the residual wage inequality) by adding
the immigration dimension to the original analysis
The empirical analysis reveals that residual wage inequality is higher among immigrants than
among natives However, such differences do not contribute (much) to the increasing residual wage
inequality observed in the two countries
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse in detail the Einfuhrung von sektoralen Mindestlohnen unterstutzen, um durch diese Kostenerhohung den Marktzugang zu erschweren.
Abstract: Diese Studie analysiert, in welchem Mase Arbeitgeber die Einfuhrung von sektoralen Mindestlohnen unterstutzen, um durch diese Kostenerhohung den Marktzugang zu erschweren. Die Datengrundlage bildet ein einzigartiger Datensatz, der 800 Firmen im Dienstleistungsbereich in Deutschland abdeckt. Wir finden Hinweise darauf, dass Arbeitgeber mit hoher Produktivitat Mindestlohne unterstutzen. Auserdem zeigen wir, dass die Zustimmung zu einer Mindestlohneinfuhrung in Wirtschaftszweigen und Regionen hoher ist, wenn die dortigen Markteintrittsbarrieren geringer sind. Dies ist vor allem in Ostdeutschland der Fall, wo der Konkurrenzdruck durch Niedriglohnkonkurrenz aus Mittel- und Osteurope als besonders stark wahrgenommen wird. Des Weiteren befurworten Arbeitgeber, die tariflich vereinbarte Lohne zahlen, Mindestlohne vor allem dann, wenn der gewerkschaftliche Abdeckungsgrad und der tarifliche Lohnaufschlag besonders hoch sind.
TL;DR: The authors assesses the effects of labour market policies on the unemployment outflow rate while disentangling two channels, namely labour market tightness and employer-employee matching efficiency using a sample of 11 OECD countries over the period 1985-2007.
Abstract: This paper assesses the effects of labour market policies on the unemployment outflow rate while disentangling two channels, namely labour market tightness and employer–employee matching efficiency Using a sample of 11 OECD countries over the period 1985–2007, we treat the endogeneity of market tightness with business cycle shocks and the tax wedge as instruments We find that the replacement rate of unemployment benefits, Active Labour Market Policies as well as the tax wedge in countries with poorly representative unions, have a significant, robust, and large impact on market tightness Employment protection has a negative but small impact on matching efficiency Overall, policy effects appear to be mostly channeled through market tightness and job creation
TL;DR: In this paper, the conditional probability of leaving unemployment of French married individuals from 1991 to 2002 was analyzed and it was shown that the e ect of spousal labor income on unemployment duration is asymmetric for men and women.
Abstract: This paper analyzes the conditional probability of leaving unemployment of French married individuals from 1991 to 2002. We nd that the eect of spousal labor income on unemployment duration is asymmetric for men and women. In particular, the probability of men to nd a job is increasing in wife labor income, while it is decreasing in husband’s earnings for women. To adjust for endogenous selection into marriage, we use the quarter of birth as an instrumental variable for the spousal wage. Finally, we show that introducing a breadwinner stigma in a joint job search model generates the positive correlation observed for men in the data.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse individual preferences in relation to different job characteristics in the case of employees of cooperative credit banks in Campania and apply a conjoint analysis approach with stated preference data.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to analyse individual preferences in relation to different job characteristics. More specifically, this work focuses on the case of employees of cooperative credit banks (CCBs) in Campania and accounts for certain fundamental institutional features: CCBs are designed to pursue specific member interests rather than profit maximization, and most employees are both owners and consumers. The research is conducted by applying a conjoint analysis approach with stated preference data. Novel features of the analysis include the application of this approach to empirical research on worker incentives and the use of a mixed logit model.
TL;DR: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, thousands of British West Indians migrated within the Americas, to destinations including the Caribbean islands, Latin America, and the United States as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, thousands of British West Indians migrated within the Americas, to destinations including the Caribbean islands, Latin America, and the United States. They laboured in the construction of the Panama Canal, on Cuban and Dominican sugar plantations, in Central American banana plantations, and in Venezuelan goldfields. Lara Putnam’s Radical Moves looks at these migrations and, more importantly, how they laid basis for much of the modern world, particularly the construction of black identity in the Americas. Putnam teaches history at the University of Pittsburgh and is author of The Company They Kept: Migrants and the Politics of Gender in Caribbean Costa Rica.(1)
TL;DR: This paper used a sample of male workers to estimate public and private wage structures and the public wage premium for Italy and found that public employees have on average lower unobserved wage potentials in both sectors than private employees, but work in the sector where they benefit from a comparative wage advantage.
Abstract: This paper uses a sample of male workers to estimate public and private wage structures and the public wage premium for Italy. Results from a model with endogenous sector and schooling suggest that public employees have on average lower unobserved wage potentials in both sectors than private employees, but work in the sector where they benefit from a comparative wage advantage. Schooling is positively correlated with wages in both sectors, and controlling for that is crucial to get more reliable estimates and predictions. The associated average unconditional public wage premium is 12 per cent. The net premium is 9 per cent, but not statistically significant.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the effect of the introduction of the public employment agency's Internet-based service on the duration of employer search and found that the web service shortened the average duration of vacancies in some regions but not in others.
Abstract: This study investigates the effect of the introduction of the public employment agency's Internet-based service on the duration of employer search. The analysis exploits the introduction of a web-based service by the Finnish Employment Agency in October 2002. The results, based on information on job vacancies announced via the public employment agency between 2002 and 2003, indicate that the introduction of the web service, in general, shortened the duration of employer search. However, we find that the introduction of the web-based service shortened the average duration of vacancies in some regions but not in others. In addition, employers in urban areas were more likely to benefit from the introduction of the online service.