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on Human Capital and Human Resource Management |
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Issue of 2007‒01‒06
eight papers chosen by Fabio Sabatini Universita degli Studi di Roma, La Sapienza |
| By: | John Micklewright (S3RI, University of Southampton and IZA Bonn); Sylke V. Schnepf (S3RI, University of Southampton and IZA Bonn) |
| Abstract: | Within-country differences in educational outcomes are compared for a large group of industrialised countries. We investigate where inequality is greatest, the association between inequality in learning and average levels of learning, the interpretation of measured levels of inequality, and differences in inequality at the top and bottom of the national distributions. Our analysis is based on test score data for 21 countries present in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). The use of three different surveys avoids reliance on a single source. |
| Keywords: | inequality, learning, education, TIMSS, PISA, PIRLS |
| JEL: | D39 I21 I39 |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2517&r=hrm |
| By: | Ana Rute Cardoso (IZA and University of Minho); Miguel Portela (Tinbergen Institute, NIPE-University of Minho and IZA); Carla Sá (Tinbergen Institute and NIPE-University of Minho); Fernando Alexandre (NIPE-University of Minho) |
| Abstract: | The Bologna process aims at creating a European Higher Education Area where intercountry mobility of students and staff, as well as workers holding a degree, is facilitated. While several aspects of the process deserve wide public support, the reduction of the length of the first cycle of studies to three years, in several continental European countries where it used to last for four or five years, is less consensual. The paper checks the extent of public confidence in the restructuring of higher education currently underway, by looking at its implications on the demand for academic programs. It exploits the fact that some programs have restructured under the Bologna process and others have not, in Portugal. Precise quantification of the demand for each academic program is facilitated by the rules of access to higher education, in a nation-wide competition, where candidates must list up to six preferences of institution and program. We use regression analysis applied to count data, estimating negative binomial models. Results indicate that the programs that restructured to follow the Bologna principles were subject to higher demand than comparable programs that did not restructure, as if Bologna were understood as a quality stamp. This positive impact was reinforced if the institution was a leader, i.e. the single one in the country that restructured the program. Still an additional increase in demand was experienced by large programs that restructured to offer an integrated master degree, thus conforming to Bologna principles while not reducing the program duration. |
| Keywords: | education policy, European Higher Education Area, economic, social and cultural integration, count data |
| JEL: | I28 I21 F15 |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2532&r=hrm |
| By: | Ana Rute Cardoso (IZA Bonn and University of Minho); Dorte Verner (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims at identifying the major drop-out and push-out factors that lead to school abandonment in an urban surrounding, the shantytowns of Fortaleza, Northeast Brazil. We use an extensive survey addressing risk factors faced by the population in these neighborhoods, which covered both in-school and out-of-school youth, of both genders. The role of early parenthood, child labor, and poverty in pushing teenagers out of school is subject to particular attention. The potential endogeneity of some of the determinants is dealt with in the empirical analysis. We take advantage of the rich set of variables available and apply an instrumental variables approach. Early parenthood is instrumented with the age declared by the youngsters as the ideal age to start having sexual relationships; work is instrumented using the declared reservation wage (minimum salary acceptable to work). Results indicate that early parenthood has a strong impact driving teenagers out of school. Extreme poverty is another factor lowering school attendance, as children who have suffered hunger at some point in their lives are less likely to attend school. In this particular urban context, working does not necessarily have a detrimental effect on school attendance, which could be linked to the fact that dropping out of school leads most often to inactivity, and not to work. |
| Keywords: | school drop-out, investment in human capital, education, development, Latin America, Brazil |
| JEL: | I21 O15 D1 |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2515&r=hrm |
| By: | Kenn Ariga (Kyoto University); Giorgio Brunello (Padova University, Kyoto University, CESifo and IZA); Roki Iwahashi (University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa); Lorenzo Rocco (Padova University) |
| Abstract: | During the postwar period, many countries have de-tracked their secondary schools, based on the view that early tracking was unfair. What are the efficiency costs, if any, of de-tracking schools? To answer this question, we develop a two skills - two jobs model with a frictional labour market, where new school graduates need to actively search for their best match. We compute optimal tracking length and the output gain/loss associated to the gap between actual and optimal tracking length. Using a sample of 18 countries, we find that: a) actual tracking length is often longer than optimal, which might call for some efficient de-tracking; b) the output loss of having a tracking length longer or shorter than optimal is sizeable, and close to 2 percent of total net output. |
| Keywords: | mismatch, school tracking |
| JEL: | I2 J6 |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2534&r=hrm |
| By: | Maarten Lindeboom (Free University Amsterdam, Tinbergen Institute, HEB, Netspar and IZA Bonn); Ana Llena-Nozal (Free University Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute); Bas van der Klaauw (Free University Amsterdam, Tinbergen Institute, CEPR and IZA Bonn) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the impact of parental education on child health outcomes. To identify the causal effect we explore exogenous variation in parental education induced by a schooling reform in 1947, which raised the minimum school leaving age in the UK. Findings based on data from the National Child Development Study suggest that postponing the school leaving age by one year had little effect on the health of their offspring. Schooling did however improve economic opportunities by reducing financial difficulties among households. We conclude from this that the effects of parental income on child health are at most modest. |
| Keywords: | returns to education, intergenerational mobility, health, regression-discontinuity |
| JEL: | I12 I28 |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2516&r=hrm |
| By: | Isik U. Zeytinoglu; Margaret Denton |
| Abstract: | The goal of this project was to assist health system managers and policy makers develop policies and strategies to recruit and retain human resources in the homecare sector and have a satisfied, healthy workforce. The overall research question was: How do the work characteristics of homecare workers and the work environment in homecare contribute to job satisfaction, stress, physical health, and retention? The research is designed as a mixed-method approach with both qualitative and quantitative data. Results showed that restructuring and organizational change in the homecare sector has contributed to both mental and physical health problems (including job stress and musculoskeletal disorders), job dissatisfaction, and retention problems. Factors that contribute to higher levels of satisfaction and the propensity to stay with the organization include organizational and peer support, working one-on-one with clients, doing emotional labour (that is, the work involved in dealing with other people’s feelings), and satisfaction with schedules, pay, and benefits. This study also examined the association between job flexibility and job insecurity and self-reported musculoskeletal disorders and found no relationship between these variables and musculoskeletal disorders. |
| Keywords: | home care workers, job satisfaction, retention |
| JEL: | I11 J22 |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:qseprr:412&r=hrm |
| By: | Emilia Del Bono (ISER, University of Essex and IZA Bonn); Daniela Vuri (University of Rome Tor Vergata, CHILD, CESifo and IZA Bonn) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores newly available Italian data derived from a 1:90 sample of social security administrative records (INPS) to investigate gender differences in pay during the initial stages of a worker’s career. We find that a significant and growing pay differential between men and women emerges during the first years of labour market experience, and that gender differences are highest when workers move across firms. In particular, we find that the most significant gender gap in log wage growth is associated with job moves which take place within a very short period of time, involve positive wage growth and result in the highest salary increases. Moreover, this gender mobility penalty occurs mainly when workers move to larger firms and we show that this is most likely explained by the fact that women value more than men some of the characteristics of these jobs or employers. Overall our results suggest that job and firm characteristics, rather than differences in worker characteristics or across-the-board discrimination, are the most important determinants of the gender wage growth differential in the Italian labour market. |
| Keywords: | job mobility, gender gap, wage growth, fixed effects panel estimation |
| JEL: | J16 J31 C23 |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2523&r=hrm |
| By: | Armin Falk (IZA Bonn, University of Bonn and CEPR); David Huffman (IZA Bonn); Uwe Sunde (IZA Bonn, University of Bonn and CEPR) |
| Abstract: | Standard search theory assumes that individuals know, with certainty, how they compare to competing searchers in terms of ability. In contrast, we hypothesize that searchers are uncertain about relative ability, with important implications for search behavior. We test our hypotheses in a laboratory experiment. The first main finding is that people are substantially uncertain about whether they are a type with a high or low probability of success, determined by being above or below the median in terms of ability. Self-confidence, defined as an individual’s self-assessed probability of being a high type, is too high (above zero) for many low types, and too low (below 1) for many high types. Second, people update beliefs based on search outcomes. Self-confidence increases or decreases in the right direction, but is less sensitive to new information than predicted by Bayes’ rule. Third, updating affects future search decisions: people are less likely to search as confidence about being a high type falls. Fourth, some search too little, and others search too much, due to wrong beliefs. Fifth, at the end of the experiment a substantial fraction turn down the chance to learn their exact rank. These are overwhelmingly those with low ability, suggesting an aversion to learning that one is one of the worst performers. Given that people are uncertain even in the simple setting of our experiment, our evidence strongly suggests that uncertainty about ability is relevant in more complex, real-world search settings, including search for a job or search for a mate. Focusing on the case of job search, we discuss how our findings can provide a new explanation for various important stylized facts from field evidence. |
| Keywords: | search, self-confidence, discouraged workers, unemployment, gender |
| JEL: | J64 D01 D83 |
| Date: | 2006–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2525&r=hrm |