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on Human Capital and Human Resource Management |
| By: | Modena, Francesca; Sabatini, Fabio |
| Abstract: | This paper carries out an investigation into the socio-economic determinants of childbearing decisions made by couples in Italy. The analysis accounts for the characteristics of both possible parents. Our results do not support established theoretical predictions according to which the increase in the opportunity cost of motherhood connected to higher female labour participation is responsible for the fall in fertility. On the contrary, the instability of women’s work status (i.e. having occasional, precarious, and low-paid positions) is revealed as a significant dissuasive factor in the decision to have children. Couples in which there is an unemployed woman are less likely to plan childbearing as well. Other relevant explanatory variables are women’s age, men’s work status and education, women’s citizenship, marital status and perceived economic well-being. |
| Keywords: | Fertility; family planning; parenthood; childbearing; participation; job instability; precarious employment; Italy |
| JEL: | J13 J71 J12 Z13 C25 |
| Date: | 2010–10–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:26117&r=hrm |
| By: | Montizaan, Raymond Michel (Maastricht University) |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:maastr:urn:nbn:nl:ui:27-24229&r=hrm |
| By: | Benoit Dostie |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we estimate returns to classroom and on-the-job firm-sponsored training in terms of value-added per worker using longitudinal linked employee-employer Canadian data from 1999 to 2006. We estimate a standard production function controlling for endogenous training decisions because of perceived net benefits and time-varying market conditions using dynamic panel GMM methods. We find that employees who undertook classroom training are 11 percent more productive than otherwise similar employees. We show that returns to on-the-job training are on average lower (3.4 percent). We provide evidence that these lower returns are due to on-the-job training being more closely related to turnover and more geared toward subjects that are less productivity-enhancing. |
| Keywords: | Productivity, Classroom training, On-the-Job training, Linked employer-employee data, Turnover, Subjects of training |
| JEL: | C23 D24 J31 J63 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:lacicr:1040&r=hrm |
| By: | Dostie, Benoit |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we estimate the determinants of low (and slow) completion rates with a competing risk duration model using data from the National Apprenticeship Survey (NAS) 2007. This allows us to distinguish the impact age and duration dependence on the probability of dropping out. We find older apprentices are less likely to transit toward completion after age 28. We also find duration dependence to be positive, meaning transition probabilities to completion increase with apprenticeship duration. However, the positive effect dies out quickly after 10 years of apprenticeship. |
| Keywords: | Apprenticeship training, human capital, competing risks model |
| JEL: | J24 I21 |
| Date: | 2010–10–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2010-29&r=hrm |
| By: | Graziella Bertocchi; Arcangelo Dimico |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of slavery on the current performances of the US economy. Over a cross section of counties, we find that the legacy of slavery does not affect current income per capita, but does affect current income inequality. In other words, those counties that displayed a higher proportion of slaves are currently not poorer, but more unequal. Moreover, we find that the impact of slavery on current income inequality is determined by racial inequality. We test three alternative channels of transmission between slavery and inequality: a land inequality theory, a racial discrimination theory and a human capital theory. We find support for the third theory, i. e., even after controlling for potential endogeneity, current inequality is primarily influenced by slavery through the unequal educational attainment of blacks and whites. To improve our understanding of the dynamics of racial inequality along the educational dimension, we complete our investigation by analyzing a panel dataset covering the 1940-2000 period at the state level. Consistently with our previous findings, we find that the educational racial gap significantly depends on the initial gap, which was indeed larger in the former slave states. |
| Keywords: | Slavery, development; inequality; institutions; education |
| JEL: | D02 H52 J15 O11 |
| Date: | 2010–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mod:recent:051&r=hrm |
| By: | Suen, Richard M. H. |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a dynamic competitive equilibrium model in which heterogeneity in time preferences alone can generate the observed patterns of wealth and income inequality in the United States. This model generalizes the standard deterministic neoclassical growth model by introducing (i) a direct preference for wealth by the consumers and (ii) human capital formation. The first feature prevents the wealth distribution from collapsing into a degenerate distribution. The second feature generates a strong positive correlation between earnings and wealth across agents. A calibrated version of this model is able to replicate the wealth and income distributions of the United States. |
| Keywords: | Inequality; Heterogeneity; Time Preference; Human Capital |
| JEL: | D31 O15 E21 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:26021&r=hrm |
| By: | Pham Thi Phuong , Nga (Maastricht University) |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:maastr:urn:nbn:nl:ui:27-24246&r=hrm |
| By: | Drine, Imed; Grach, Mouna |
| Abstract: | Whether policy support should be designed differently for women entrepreneurs is a particularly relevant question. To answer this, and to inform the design of policies to provide appropriate support for women entrepreneurs, the paper compares male and female perceptions of typical entrepreneurship support services, such as government provision of information, training and funding. The focus is on Tunisia, a developing country characterized by high level of unemployment, particularly of women. Based on a survey of 50 men and 50 women entrepreneurs in the regions of Sfax, Sousse and Tunis, our results suggest that existing support services are inadequate for promoting female entrepreneurship. Accordingly we discuss support measures specifically designed for women entrepreneurs. |
| Keywords: | entrepreneurship, gender, women entrepreneurs, Africa |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2010-100&r=hrm |