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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Guillaume Rocheteau; Murat Tasci |
| Abstract: | We review the positive and normative effects of a minimum wage in various versions of a search-theoretic model of the labor market. |
| Keywords: | Minimum wage ; Labor market |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwp:0801&r=lab |
| By: | Mark Bils (University of Rochester); Yongsung Chang (University of Rochester); Sun-Bin Kim (Korea University) |
| Abstract: | We introduce worker differences in labor supply, reflecting differences in skills and assets, into a model of separations, matching, and unemployment over the business cycle. Separating from employment when unemployment duration is long is particularly costly for workers with high labor supply. This provides a rich set of testable predictions across workers: those with higher labor supply, say due to lower assets, should display more procyclical wages and less countercyclical separations. Consequently, the model predicts that the pool of unemployed will sort toward workers with lower labor supply in a downturn. Because these workers generate lower rents to employers, this discourages vacancy creation and exacerbates the cyclicality of unemployment and unemployment durations. We examine wage cyclicality and employment separations over the past twenty years for workers in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). Wages are much more procyclical for workers who work more. This pattern is mirrored in separations; separations from employment are much less cyclical for those who work more. We do see for recessions a strong compositional shift among those unemployed toward workers who typically work less. |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:roc:rocher:540&r=lab |
| By: | Raquel Carrasco; Juan F. Jimeno; Ana Carolina Ortega |
| Abstract: | In this paper we estimate the impact of inward migration flows on the Spanish wage structure over the period 1995-2002 by constructing counterfactual wage distributions that provide the wages that would have been observed had individual and job characteristics remain constant over time. Hence, we compute the impact of immigration on the wage distribution from (i) the estimated wage gaps between similar immigrants and native workers and (ii) the changes in the composition of employment associated to the arrival of new immigrants. Overall, we find that (i) the effects of immigration on wage changes are small and only noticeable when job characteristics are included as determinants of wages, and (ii) the correlation between the incidence of immigration in each decile of the wage distribution and the change in native wages not explained by changes in their individual and job characteristics is positive. These results suggest that other factors, besides immigration, should be identified as the key determinants of the wage moderation observed since the early nineties in Spain. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Wage structure, Quantile regressions |
| JEL: | J31 J21 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cte:werepe:we080603&r=lab |
| By: | Hunt, Priscillia (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, the immigrant-native wage differential is explained through quantile regression estimations. Using repeated cross-sections of the British Labour Force Survey from 1993-2005, we analyse the returns to covariates across the conditional earnings distribution. We estimate a pooled model with an immigrant dummy and separate models for immigrants and natives of the UK. Our results show that the positive wage gap in favour of immigrants is attributed to those at higher quantiles. Returns to education and experience vary wider for natives than for immigrants. We decompose the wage gap in the Blinder-Oaxaca framework and apply quantile regression techniques to see if immigrants simply have more viable labour market characteristics than natives or if there is a preference for immigrant workers (reverse discrimination). Our findings suggest immigrants should actually be earning more and there is sufficient evidence of discrimination. This finding is, however, not symmetric across the conditional wage distribution and immigrants atthe bottom face more discrimination than those at the top. |
| Keywords: | immigration ; wage differential ; quantile regression ; Blinder-Oaxaca ; decomposition |
| JEL: | J31 J61 J71 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:838&r=lab |
| By: | Schlicht, Ekkehart |
| Abstract: | Wage Dispersion and Efficiency. It is often assumed that markets generate efficient allocations, but these are not necessarily fair. The widening of wage differentials that is currently observed is interpreted in this manner: Skill-biased technological progress increases demand for skilled work and makes unskilled labor redundant. Increasing wage dispersion is seen as a market response to an increased scarcity of skilled workers. While wage differentials are widening, we observe at the same time increasing over-qualification in all segments of the labor market. This suggests an increasing abundance of skilled workers, rather than shortage. This paper suggest an explanation for the joint occurrence of wage dispersion and over-qualification. Wage dispersion is brought about by the wage-setting policies of firms that respond to an increased importance of skill differences among workers. The widening wage differentials render the acquisition of skills more rewarding. As a result, wage dispersion and over-qualification increase together. Both are inefficient. Policies that bring wage differentials closer to compensating differentials will increase both efficiency and fairness, quite in line with the classical position taken by Adam Smith on these issues. |
| Abstract: | Marktergebnisse, so wird oft vermutet, seien effizient, aber nicht unbedingt gerecht. Die gegenwärtig zu beobachtende Ausweitung der Lohndifferentiale zwischen verschiedenen Tätigkeiten wird in diesem Sinne als effizient, wenngleich auch als möglicherweise ungerecht gedeutet. Der technische Fortschritt führe eben dazu, daß anspruchsvolle Arbeit zunehmend knapp und weniger anspruchsvolle Arbeit zunehmend redundant werde. Die zunehmende Lohnspreizung wird als Marktkonsequenz dieser Entwicklung gesehen. Zusammenfassung Dieser Deutung steht die ebenfalls zu beobachtende Zunahme der Überqualifikation in allen Arbeitsmarktsegmenten gegenüber, die eher auf eine Qualifikationsschwemme als auf eine Knappheit an Qualifikationen hindeutet. Dieser Beitrag liefert eine theoretische Deutung der Parallelentwicklung von Lohnspreizung und Überqualifikation. Die zunehmende Lohnspreizung ergibt sich aus dem Lohnsetzungsverhalten der Unternehmungen angesichts einer zunehmenden Bedeutung von Qualifikationsunterschieden bei den Arbeitskräften. Diese Entwicklung führt zum gleichzeitigen Auftreten von Überqualifikation und Lohnspreizung. Beide Entwicklungen sind allokativ nachteilig. Maßnahmen, die -- ganz im klassischen Sinne -- die Lohndifferentiale an kompensierende Differentiale heranführen dienen zugleich der Verbesserung der Effizienz und der Gerechtigkeit. |
| Keywords: | Wage structure; wage dispersion; wage compression; over-qualification; over-education; fairness; efficiency; wage competition; job competition; Reder competition; Adam Smith; Alfred Marshall; compensating differentials; job rents; skill-biased technological progess; heterogeneity-biased technological progress; Lohnstruktur; Lohnspreizung; Überqualifikation; Lohnkompression; Gerechtigkeit; Effizienz; Reder-Wettbewerb; Lohnwettbewerb; Qualifikationswettbewerb; kompensierende Lohndifferentiale; Jobrenten; Adam Smith; Alfred Marshall; skill-biased technological progess; heterogeneity-biased technological progress |
| JEL: | D43 J31 J63 |
| Date: | 2008–02–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lmu:muenec:2117&r=lab |
| By: | Jean-Pierre Danthine; André Kurmann |
| Abstract: | We develop a reciprocity-based model of wage determination and incorporate it into a moder dynamic general equilibrium framework. We estimate the model and find that, among potential determinants of wage policy, rent-sharing (between workers and firms) and a measure of wage entitlement are critical to fit the dynamic responses of hours, wages and inflation to various exogenous shocks. Aggregate employment conditions (measuring workers' outside option), on the other hand, are found to play only a negligible role in wage setting. These results are broadly consistent with micro-studies on reciprocity in labor relations but contrast with traditional efficiency wage models which emphasize aggregate labor market variables as the main determinant of wage setting. Overall, the empirical fit of the estimated model is at least as good as the fit of models postulating nominal wage contracts. In particular, the reciprocity model is more successful in generating the sharp and significant fall of inflation and nominal wage growth in response to a neutral technology shock. |
| Keywords: | Efficiency wages, Reciprocity, Estimated DSGE models |
| JEL: | E24 E31 E32 E52 J50 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:lacicr:0743&r=lab |
| By: | Philipp Kircher (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | We analyze a labor search model in which workers choose their search intensity by deciding how often and where to apply for jobs. They observe firms’ wage postings prior to their decision. Due to coordination frictions a firm may not receive any applications; otherwise it is able to hire unless all its applicants have better offers. We show that in equilibrium the entry of firms, the search intensity and the number of filled vacancies are constrained efficient. Wage dispersion creates an (endogenous) safety net against unemployment that is essential for efficiency. As application costs vanish the equilibrium becomes unconstrained efficient. |
| Keywords: | simultaneous search, directed search, efficient wage dispersion, modified Hosios condition, search with stable matchings |
| JEL: | J64 C78 D85 |
| Date: | 2008–01–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:08-004&r=lab |
| By: | Nils Braakmann (Institute of Economics, Leuphana University of Lüneburg) |
| Abstract: | Economic theory suggests both positive and negative relationships between intra- firm wage inequality and productivity. This paper contributes to the growing empirical literature on this subject. We combine German employer-employee-data for the years 1995-2005 with inequality measures using the whole wage distribution of a firm and rely on dynamic panel-data estimators to control for unobserved heterogeneity, simultaneity problems and possible state dependence. Our results indicate a relative minor influence of intra-firm wage inequality on firm productivity. If anything, they provide some support for a view suggesting that some inequality may be beneficial, while too much leads to a detrimental eect on productivity. |
| Keywords: | Wage dispersion, labor productivity |
| JEL: | J31 M52 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:77&r=lab |
| By: | Giuseppe Moscarini; Francis G. Vella |
| Abstract: | Do workers sort more randomly across different job types when jobs are harder to find? To answer this question, we study the mobility of male workers among three-digit occupations in the matched files of the monthly Current Population Survey over the 1979-2004 period. We clean individual occupational transitions using the algorithm proposed by Moscarini and Thomsson (2008). We then construct a synthetic panel comprising annual birth cohorts, and we examine the respective roles of three potential determinants of career mobility: individual ex ante worker characteristics, both observable and unobservable, labor market prospects, and ex post job matching. We provide strong evidence that high unemployment somewhat offsets the role of individual worker considerations in the choice of changing career. Occupational mobility declines with age, family commitments and education, but when unemployment is high these negative effects are weaker, and reversed for college education. The cross-sectional dispersion of the monthly series of residuals is strongly countercyclical. As predicted by Moscarini (2001)'s frictional Roy model, the sorting of workers across occupations is noisier when unemployment is high. As predicted by job-matching theory, worker mobility has significant residual persistence over time. Finally, younger cohorts, among those in the sample for most of their working lives, exhibit increasingly low unexplained career mobility. |
| JEL: | E24 E32 J62 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13819&r=lab |
| By: | Golo Henseke (University of Rostock and Rostock Centre for the Study of Demographic Change, Germany); Thusnelda Tivig (University of Rostock and Rostock Centre for the Study of Demographic Change, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Improvement of the labor market situation for the elderly is a declared target in the EU. In this study we derive a model of occupational age structure, its determinants and their impact on employment and re-employment opportunities for older workers. The empirical analysis is based on data from German microcensus and conducted on the level of occupations. We show firstly that education, skills, training requirements and the compensation structure affect employment and re-employment of workers aged 50 and above, though detailed impact differs by gender. And secondly, working conditions and arrangements exert a clear-cut influence on employment and re-employment at older ages. Our findings suggest that future labor market policies should focus on working conditions and arrangement to improve opportunities for older workers. |
| Keywords: | labor force aging, employment, re-employment, gender |
| JEL: | J21 J14 J16 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ros:wpaper:86&r=lab |
| By: | Eva Reinowski; Jan Sauermann |
| Abstract: | Fixed-term contracts are considerd as one of the most popular instruments of labour market flexibility. Although they provide new labour market options for employer and employees, it is argued that they may lead to decreasing investments in human capital. From the theoretical point of view it is not clear wheter a fixed-term contract is a drawback for the participation in work-related training. The paper deals with the influence of fixed-term contracts on work-related training especially for low-skilled workers. Based on the Micro Census data of 2004, we estimate a bivariate probit model for the probability of fixed-term employment and participating in work-related training. This model enables us to control for selection effects that may arise from unobservable factors. From the estimation results we can conclude that holding a fixed-term contract does not mean a systematical disadvantage for the training probability of low-skilled employees. |
| Keywords: | training, low-skilled occupation, fixed-term contracts |
| JEL: | C35 J24 J42 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iwh:dispap:2-08&r=lab |
| By: | Murat Tasci |
| Abstract: | This paper studies amplification of productivity shocks in labor markets through on-the-job-search. There is incomplete information about the quality of the employee-firm match which provides persistence in employment relationships and the rationale for on-the-job search. Amplification arises because productivity changes not only affect firms’ probability of contacting unemployed workers but also of contacting already employed workers. Since higher productivity raises the value of all matches, even low quality matches become productive enough to survive in expansions. Therefore the measure of workers in low quality matches is greater when productivity is high, implying a higher probability of switching to another match. In other words, firms are more likely to meet employed workers in expansions and those they meet are more likely to accept a firm’s job offer because they are more likely to be employed in a low quality match. This introduces strongly procyclical labor market reallocation through procyclical job-to-job transitions. |
| Keywords: | Job hunting ; Labor market ; Business cycles |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedcwp:0725&r=lab |
| By: | Fatma El-Hamidi; Fatma El-Hamidi |
| Abstract: | . . . |
| Date: | 2003–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pit:wpaper:336&r=lab |
| By: | Michel Grignon (Departments of Economics and Health, Aging and Society, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario); Thomas Renaud (IRDES institut for research and information in health economics) |
| Abstract: | From 1997 to 2001, the total payment to compensate for sickness and injury leaves increased dramatically in France. Since this change coincided with a decrease in unemployment rate,three hypothesizes should be proposed as possible explanations consistently with the literature: moral hazard (workers fear less to loose their job, therefore use sickness leave more confidently); strain (workers work longer hours or under more stringent rules); labor-force composition effect (less healthy individuals are incorporated into the labor force). We investigate the first two strands of explanation using a household survey (ESPS) enriched with claims data from compulsory health insurance funds on sickness leaves (EPAS). We model separately number of leaves per individual (cumulative logit) and duration of leaves (random-effect model). According to our findings, in France, the individual propensity to take sickness leave is mainly influenced by strain in the workplace and by a labor-force composition effect. Conditional duration of spells is not well explained at the individual level: the only significant factor is usual weekly work duration. Influence of moral hazard is not clearly ascertained: it has few impact on occurrences of leave and no impact on duration. |
| Keywords: | Sickness, Labour Force |
| JEL: | I1 D81 J21 |
| Date: | 2007–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irh:wpaper:dt4&r=lab |
| By: | Donald Siegel (Graduate School of Management, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521, USA); Kenneth L. Simons (Department of Economics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180-3590, USA) |
| Abstract: | The unit of analysis in empirical studies of the employment and wage effects of mergers and acquisitions is typically the plant or firm. In contrast, the unit of observation in this study is the individual worker, which allows us to provide direct, systematic empirical evidence on the effects of different types of mergers and acquisitions on employees. Specifically, we analyze linked employer employee data for the entire population of Swedish workers and over 19,000 manufacturing plants for the period 1985-1998. For each worker, we have data on gender, age, national origin, level of education, type of education, location, industrial sector, annual earnings, as well as each employee’s complete work history both before and after a merger or acquisition. We can also identify whether the plant was involved in a full or partial acquisition or divestiture, as well as a related or unrelated acquisition. The empirical evidence suggests that employee outcomes are more favorable when only part of the company is bought or sold or when the firm engages in an unrelated acquisition. |
| JEL: | G34 J23 J31 C81 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rpi:rpiwpe:0804&r=lab |
| By: | David R. Howell and Mamadou Diallo (New School for Social Research, New York, NY) |
| Keywords: | labor market; alternative labor market indicators; unemployment |
| Date: | 2007–06–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:epa:cepawp:2007-6&r=lab |
| By: | Pouliakas, Konstantinos; Theodossiou, Ioannis |
| Abstract: | This study attempts to uncover the ‘primary’ impact of insecure contracts on workers’ perceived job quality, prior to the psychological phenomena of adaptation, coping and cognitive dissonance coming into play. This is done by using a novel conjoint analysis approach that examines the ex ante preferences over different contract statuses of a newly generated homogenous sample of low-skilled employees from seven European countries. Other things equal, it is shown that the anticipated psychological ‘cost’ of moving from a riskless permanent contract to the insecurity of a temporary job appears to be quite significant for permanent workers. In contrast, temporary employees, who have presumably already adapted to the circumstances surrounding a non-permanent contract, are found to be indifferent between permanent and temporary employment, and request much smaller wage premiums in order to switch from one status to the other. The well-documented distress associated with joblessness is nevertheless found to hold for all worker types. The methodology developed here can provide policymakers with an alternative and relatively inexpensive method of quantifying the transitional loss (or gain) in welfare that individuals might experience when there is a shift in employment policies. |
| Keywords: | Adaptation; temporary contracts; conjoint analysis |
| JEL: | J24 C25 |
| Date: | 2006–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:7042&r=lab |
| By: | Miguel Casares (Departamento de Economía-UPNA) |
| Abstract: | This paper shows a New Keynesian model where wages are set at the value that matches household´s labor supply with firm´s labor demand. Subsequently, wage stickiness brings industry-level unemployment fluctuations. After aggregation, the rate of wage in?ation is negatively related to unemployment, as in the original Phillips (1958) curve, with an additional term that provides forward-looking dynamics. The supply-side of the model can be captured with dynamic expressions equivalent to those obtained in Erceg, Henderson, and Levin (2000), though with different slope coefficients. Impulse-response functions from a technology shock illustrate the inter-actions between sticky prices, sticky wages and unemployment. |
| Keywords: | new Keynesian model, sticky wages, unemployment |
| JEL: | E12 E24 E32 J30 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nav:ecupna:0801&r=lab |
| By: | Lehmer, Florian; Ludsteck, Johannes (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "This paper analyses extensively the effects of inter-regional mobility on the earnings of skilled workers. We interact returns to inter-regional migration with employer changes to separate the two effects and find that inter-regional mobility results in positive additional returns as compared to job mobility within a region in general. Partitioning the sample by experience level and tracing the exact paths of migration, it turns out that both the contemporaneous returns and the wage-growth effects exhibit large differences: for young workers we find the highest contemporaneous returns and the largest wage growth effects. Further analyses show that these returns to migration are strongly influenced by the characteristics of both the region of origin and the region of destination. In contrast to results from economic theory, the returns to inter-regional migration are most significant for people who move to rural districts in agglomerated areas. Altogether, the results indicate that switching to a different workplace in a similar region type pays more than moving to a different type of region." (author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| JEL: | J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2008–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:200806&r=lab |
| By: | Kirdar, Murat |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I test the savings accumulation conjecture that is used to rationalize return migration decisions in the context of immigrants in Germany. Using cross-country and time variation in purchasing power parity, I distinguish between the two competing capital accumulation conjectures (human capital vs. savings accumulation) and uncover evidence for the savings accumulation conjecture. In addition, I examine how labor market outcomes influence return decisions. A key finding here is that unlike previous studies which find a positive impact of unemployment on return migration, I find that the direction of the impact of unemployment changes by the spell length. |
| Keywords: | International Migration; Capital Accumulation; Unemployment; Duration Analysis |
| JEL: | F22 C41 J61 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:7128&r=lab |
| By: | Paulos, Margarida Ramires |
| Abstract: | Processes such as globalization, the spread of information technology and the intensification of competition caused significant and meaningful changes in the labour market. On one hand there are some companies that invest in innovation and quality, allowing and encouraging the growth of workers skills, and on the other hand a large number of companies bring the deterioration of employment and working conditions, through the reduction of labour costs and a deregulated market. The flexible company presents itself as the most effective way to ensure competitiveness in an environment of instability and global competition. There are several strategies of readjustment that companies have at their disposal in restructuring the organization of work, from the adjustment of hours of work (part-time, flexible hours, shifts, ect.) to the outsourcing of one or more activities. The flexible market is a reality in European countries and the European Commission seeks to regulate it through the implementation of the Flexicurity model. Combining flexibility with security, this controversial concept combines a flexible labour market with a security system strong and effective. There are several consequences of this flexible management on individuals lives, there seems to be an improvement in living and working conditions for some individuals, who benefit from the reduction of working hours maintaining a stable position with good working conditions, and a deterioration to others, who are subject to a pace of work more intense, with irregular and unpredictable schedules. |
| Keywords: | Flexibility; flexicurity; working conditions; labour market |
| JEL: | J81 J22 J24 J82 J50 |
| Date: | 2007–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:7043&r=lab |
| By: | Bernhard, Sarah (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Wolff, Joachim (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "Contracting out placement services aims at enhancing the effectiveness of placements of unemployed job-seekers through market mechanisms. This paper analyses the effectiveness of the temporary assignment of needy job-seekers to private placement services by comparing their outcomes with respect to employment, unemployment and benefit receipt with those of a suitable control group. Using recently available administrative data we apply propensity score matching to construct the control group. We regard a period after a policy reform in 2005 that introduced a new means-tested benefit, the unemployment benefit II, and emphasized the activation of needy unemployed people. Hard-to-place job-seekers usually need more effort to be placed into a job. Therefore it is an interesting question whether groups of people with different a priori employment probabilities benefit to a different extent from an assignment to a private placement service. To answer this question we analyse several subgroups separated by sex, age, migration background, occupational education and time since the last job. Our results suggest that in some cases the assignment to private providers is relatively more effective for groups of job-seekers who are rather hard to place. Despite positive employment effects for some subgroups, however our results imply that the assignment to private providers is generally ineffective and in some subgroups counterproductive regarding the goal of avoiding unemployment and benefit receipt." (author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| JEL: | C13 H43 J68 |
| Date: | 2008–02–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:200805&r=lab |
| By: | Roy Thurik; Ingrid Verheul; Isabel Grilo |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates why self-employment rates of women are consistently lower than those of men. It has three focal points: it discriminates between the preference for self-employment and actual involvement in self-employment for women and men. It uses a huge data set from about 8,000 individuals across 26 countries while probit equations are estimated explaining (the preference for) self-employment. And a systematic distinction is made between different ways in which gender can influence the preference for and actual involvement in self-employment, including moderation, mediation and direct effects. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour we investigate effects of risk attitude,social norms, locus of control, perceptions of the entrepreneurial environment as well as that of an individual’s age and educational attainment. Findings show that the lower preference of women to become self-employed largely explains their relatively low involvement in self-employment and that – other things equal – women and men who express a preference for it, have equal chances of becoming self-employed. This paperis a new version of H200622, "Determinants of self-employment preference and realization of women and men in Europe and the United States" |
| Date: | 2008–01–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eim:papers:r200803&r=lab |
| By: | Jeffrey Grogger; Gordon H. Hanson |
| Abstract: | Two prominent features of international labor movements are that more educated individuals are more likely to emigrate (positive selection) and more-educated migrants are more likely to settle in destination countries with high rewards to skill (positive sorting). Using data on emigrant stocks by schooling level and source country in OECD destinations, we find that a simple model of income maximization can account for both phenomena. Results on selection show that migrants for a source-destination pair are more educated relative to non-migrants, the larger is the skill-related difference in earnings between the destination country and the source. Results on sorting indicate that the relative stock of more-educated migrants in a destination is increasing in the level earnings difference between high and low-skilled workers. We use our framework to compare alternative specifications of international migration, estimate the magnitude of migration costs by source-destination pair, and assess the contribution of wage differences to how migrants sort themselves across destination countries. |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13821&r=lab |
| By: | Fatma El-Hamidi; Fatma El-Hamidi |
| Abstract: | . . . |
| Date: | 2007–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pit:wpaper:341&r=lab |
| By: | Leah Platt Boustan |
| Abstract: | In the mid-twentieth century, relative black wage growth in the North lagged behind the Jim Crow South. Inter-regional migration may explain this trend. Four million black southerners moved North from 1940 to 1970, more than doubling the northern black population. Black migrants will exert more competitive pressure on black wages if blacks and whites are imperfect substitutes. I use variation in the relative black-white migrant flows across skill groups to estimate the elasticity of substitution by race in the northern economy. I then calculate a counterfactual rate of black-white wage convergence in the North in the absence of southern migration. Migration slowed the pace of northern convergence by 50 percent, more than accounting for the regional gap. Ongoing migration appears to have been an impediment to black economic assimilation in the urban North. |
| JEL: | J61 J71 N22 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13813&r=lab |
| By: | Richard G. Harris (Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University); Peter E. Robertson (School of Economics, The University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | We consider the impact of the recent trend in immigration policies towards selecting migrants on the basis of skills. The analysis uses an inter-temporal general equilibrium model with endogenous skill formation. The model is calibrated to a steady state benchmark that represents Australia in 2000-2001. We then consider the impact of the increase in skilled migrants of approximately 20 thousand per year, which corresponds to the increase in flows of migrant Professionals in Australia since 2000. We find that this generates substantial crowding out of the higher Education sector in Australia. Moreover we show that, when this shock is anticipated as a permanent policy change, there is very little net increase in the stock of skilled labour due to falling student enrollments of 12%. Paradoxically, in this case, the decline in students increases the number of unskilled workers in the economy such that the ratio skilled to unskilled workers in the economy actually falls and the skill premium increases. |
| Keywords: | Immigration; Human Capital; Computable General Equilibrium Models |
| Date: | 2007–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2007-21&r=lab |
| By: | Ramana Nanda (Harvard Business School, Entrepreneurial Management Unit); Jesper B. Sorensen (Graduate School of Business, Stanford University) |
| Abstract: | We examine whether the likelihood of entrepreneurial activity depends on the prior career experiences of an individual's co-workers. We argue that peers may increase an individual's likelihood of becoming an entrepreneur through two channels: by increasing the likelihood that an individual will perceive entrepreneurial opportunities, and by increasing his or her willingness to pursue those opportunities. Our analysis uses a unique panel dataset that allows us to track the career histories of individuals across firms. We find that an individual is more likely to become an entrepreneur if his or her co-workers have been entrepreneurs before, or if the co-workers' careers involved frequent movement between firms. Peer influences appear to be substitutes for direct experience: the effects are strongest for those without exposure to entrepreneurship in their family of origin, and for those who have engaged in little inter-firm mobility themselves. These effects are robust to attempts to address concerns about unobserved heterogeneity bias. |
| Date: | 2006–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hbs:wpaper:08-051&r=lab |
| By: | Arpaia, Alfonso; Pichelmann, Karl |
| Abstract: | Both common macroeconomic shocks and country-specific developments have subjected the flexibility of wage setting mechanisms in the euro area to a stress test in recent years. Against this background, this paper takes a fresh look at wage flexibility in EMU and attempts to draw a few lessons from the experience of the early years. First, we set the stage for the analysis by providing a brief description of the stylised facts regarding nominal and real wage and unit labour cost developments in the euro area over the recent business cycle. Then, the paper presents an empirical assessment of wage inertia based on new econometric estimates of a Phillips-curve type wage equation across euro area countries and offers an interpretation of the main findings with respect to nominal and real wage flexibility. Finally, we investigate the cyclical responsiveness of relative competitive positions among euro area countries. We conclude that from a bird's eye perspective euro area wage and labour cost dynamics have been quite benign in the past couple of years. However, our estimates suggest that persistent cross-country differences in wage and labour cost developments have not always reflected warranted adjustment needs; they are rather indicative of an eventually insufficient degree of nominal and real wage flexibility in the euro area. |
| Keywords: | Phillips curve; nominal and real rigidities; unit labour costs; EMU |
| JEL: | J0 J30 E30 E31 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:4364&r=lab |
| By: | Anna Zhu (School of Economics, The University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | Childhood obesity has increased dramatically in the developed world. One cause of this trend, suggested by studies in the United States, is the increase in maternal employment. This paper explores if the causal relationship exists in Australia. Using recent data from the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Children (LSAC), a 2SLS procedure and a Full Information Maximum Likelihood (FIML) model that jointly estimates a multinomial treatment and binary outcome is used to control for endogeneity and self-selection bias, respectively. The results consistently show that maternal employment does have an impact on the likelihood of a child being overweight and that this impact is positive and statistically significant. |
| Keywords: | Child obesity; Maternal employment; Regression analysis; 2SLS; FIML; Endogeneity; Self-selection bias |
| JEL: | I10 J22 C30 C31 C35 |
| Date: | 2007–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:swe:wpaper:2007-17&r=lab |
| By: | Pu Chen, Armon Rezai and Willi Semmler (New School for Social Research, New York, NY) |
| Keywords: | productivity; unemployment; employment |
| Date: | 2007–09–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:epa:cepawp:2007-8&r=lab |
| By: | Etienne Dumont; Bernard Fortin; Nicolas Jacquemet; Bruce Shearer |
| Abstract: | We analyse how physicians respond to contractual changes and incentives within a multitasking environment. In 1999 the Quebec government (Canada) introduced an optional mixed compensation system, combining a fixed per diem with a discounted (relative to the traditional fee-for-service system) fee for services provided. We combine panel survey and administrative data on Quebec physicians to evaluate the impact of this change in incentives on their practice choices. We highlight the differentiated impact of incentives on various dimensions of physician behaviour by considering a wide range of labour supply variables: time spent on seeing patients, time devoted to teaching, administrative tasks or research, as well as the volume of clinical services and average time per clinical service. Our results show that, on average, the reform induced physicians who changed from FFS to MC to reduce their volume of (billable) services by 6.15% and to reduce their hours of work spent on seeing patients by 2.57%. Their average time spent per service increased by 3.58%, suggesting a potential quality-quantity substitution. Also the reform induced these physicians to increase their time spent on teaching and administrative duties (tasks not remunerated under the fee-for-service system) by 7.9%. |
| Keywords: | Physician payment mechanisms, multitasking, mixed-payment systems, incentive contracts, labour supply, self-selection, panel estimation |
| JEL: | I10 J22 |
| Date: | 2007 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:lacicr:0745&r=lab |
| By: | Pilar García Gómez |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the relationship between health shocks and labour outcomes in 9 European countries using the European Community Household Panel. In order to control for the non-experimental nature of the data I use matching and matching combined with difference-in-differences techniques. My results suggest that there is a significant effect running from health to the probability of employment and to income: individuals who suffer a health shock are significantly more likely to leave employment, and in several countries this is associated to a significant reduction in some types of income. There are differences in the estimates across countries, with the largest employment effects being found in the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland, and the smallest in France, Italy and Greece. The differences in Social Security arrangements help to explain the differences in the estimates for the effects of the health shocks. |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2008-01&r=lab |
| By: | Fatma El-Hamidi; Fatma El-Hamidi |
| Abstract: | . . . |
| Date: | 2004–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pit:wpaper:337&r=lab |
| By: | Michael Baker; Kevin Milligan |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of maternal care on early child development using an expansion in Canadian maternity leave entitlements. Following the leave expansion, mothers who took leave spent between 48 and 58 percent more time not working in the first year of their children's lives. We find that this extra maternal care primarily crowded out home-based care by unlicensed non-relatives, and replaced mostly full-time work. However, the estimates suggest a weak impact of the increase in maternal care on indicators of child development. Measures of family environment and motor-social development showed changes very close to zero. Some improvements in temperament were observed but occurred both for treated and untreated children. |
| JEL: | J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13826&r=lab |
| By: | Klinger, Sabine (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Wolf, Katja (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "From 1992 to 2005, part-time employment in Western Germany has grown by 82 percent, whereas full-time employment has shrunk by 14 percent. Behind these general figures there is substantial variation of employment schemes across industries. Beside this, the share of the service industries in gross value added has grown, whereas the importance of manufacturing and construction has decreased considerably. We analyse the extent to which the changes in part-time and full-time employment can be explained by changes in the sectoral composition of the economy or by other factors. Using West German yearly data from 1992-2005, we estimate a regression analogue shiftshare model. It allows us to divide the overall development of employment into the business cycle effect, the sector effect and the employment status effect. Moreover, we control for sectoral gross value added, unit labour costs and working time. As a methodological contribution we extend the shift-share approach into a dynamic panel model. We use a bias-corrected least squares dummy variable (LSDVc) estimator which is appropriate for our data structure. As a second step, we decompose the fixed effects of the LSDVc estimation into parameters for part-time, full-time, and self-employment as well as six sectors. Our results confirm previous deterministic shift-share analyses: Characteristics inherent in full-time or part-time employment dominantly explain changes in employment patterns in Western Germany. The sectoral composition of the economy plays a significant but minor role. The model extensions reveal that much of the status and sector effects in the simple shiftshare analysis can be captured by determinants of labour demand." (author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Vollzeitarbeit - Determinanten, Teilzeitarbeit - Determinanten, Wirtschaftsstrukturwandel, Shift-Analyse, Arbeitskräftenachfrage, Westdeutschland, Bundesrepublik Deutschland |
| JEL: | C33 E24 J21 J23 |
| Date: | 2008–02–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:200807&r=lab |
| By: | Didier Blanchet (INSEE institut national de la statistique et des études économiques); Thierry Debrand (IRDES institut for research and information in health economics) |
| Abstract: | This work uses the first wave of SHARE to analyze the impact of health and satisfaction at work on preferences concerning age at retirement in 10 European countries. Preferences concerning age at retirement are measured by the rate of people wishing to retire as soon as possible. We examine how health and work conditions contribute to explain differences in these preferences both at the individual level and between countries. At the individual level, the effects that are obtained are consistent with expectations, but they are of little help for explaining international differences. Fixing health and work conditions, we observe a north-south gradient of preferences for early retirement which remains close to the gross cross country differentials. All these results are robust to control by institutional features of pension systems (overall generosity of pension systems) and to control for the selection bias implied by the fact that preferences are only measured on people that are still in employment. |
| Keywords: | retirement, monetary factor, Health, job satisfaction |
| JEL: | J28 I10 J26 |
| Date: | 2007–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irh:wpaper:dt1&r=lab |
| By: | Jennifer Golan; Jann Lay |
| Abstract: | Focusing on intra-household allocation, we investigate the effects of coffee market liberalisation in Uganda. As coffee has traditionally been a male domain, higher income from this activity might increase gender disparities. In addition, gender-related inefficiency in household production might undermine the positive impact of improved incentives. Using data from three household surveys conducted between 1992 and 2006, we estimate Engel curves, coffee yield and labour input equations incorporating bargaining proxies. We find that income from coffee is increasingly pooled and therefore shared more equally among household members. Yet, we can only detect partial improvements in production efficiency: bargaining still appears to constraint output efficiency and the distribution of household resources continues to follow gendered lines. Moreover, female-headed households are deterred from entry into coffee farming mainly because of discrimination in access to land. |
| Keywords: | Coffee, Market liberalisation, Gender, Bargaining, Intra-household allocation, Sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda |
| JEL: | D13 D61 J16 O12 O13 O24 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1402&r=lab |
| By: | Thibault Brodaty (EUREQUA - Equipe Universitaire de Recherche en Economie Quantitative - CNRS : UMR8594 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I, CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique - INSEE - École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique) |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces and describes unobserved heterogeneity in earnings quintiles transition matrices in the US. Unobserved heterogeneity is found to play a crucial role in earnings mobility. Each individual is attracted, given his characteristics, towards a specific zone of the distribution. At the stationnary equilibrium, the earnings quintiles distribution is thus segmented. Interestingly, while the level of earnings mobility has remained quite stable since 1970, the width of these zones has decreased, such that this segmentation was more pronounced in the 80's and the 90's than in the 70's, especially in the middle of the quintiles distribution. |
| Keywords: | earnings mobility; unobserved heterogeneity; segmentation; state dependence; dynamic multinomial logit |
| Date: | 2007–11–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:papers:halshs-00250130_v1&r=lab |
| By: | Erik Hurst |
| Abstract: | This paper summarizes five facts that have emerged from the recent literature on consumption behavior during retirement. Collectively, the recent literature has shown that there is no puzzle with respect to the spending patterns of most households as they transition into retirement. In particular, the literature has shown that there is substantial heterogeneity in spending changes at retirement across consumption categories. The declines in spending during retirement for the average household are limited to the categories of food and work related expenses. Spending in nearly all other categories of non-durable expenditure remains constant or increases. Moreover, even though food spending declines during retirement, actual food intake remains constant. The literature also shows that there is substantial heterogeneity across households in the change in expenditure associated with retirement. Much of this heterogeneity, however, can be explained by households involuntarily retiring due to deteriorating health. Overall, the literature shows that the standard model of lifecycle consumption augmented with home production and uncertain health shocks does well in explaining the consumption patterns of most households as they transition into retirement. |
| JEL: | D11 E21 J26 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:13789&r=lab |
| By: | Rafael Guerreiro Osório (International Poverty Centre) |
| Abstract: | This Working Paper addresses the issue of whether current racial discrimination is the decisive determinant of the wide and persistent inequalities in socioeconomic conditions between Whites and Blacks in Brazil. The paper highlights three main conclusions. The first is that factors, such as region of residence, parental education and household income, together, are responsible for the major proportion of the racial gaps that are observed today, but that racial discrimination remains a major source of inequalities among racial groups. The second conclusion is that whenever educational outcomes, such as literacy, can be easily attained, the ceteris paribus effect of race on the probability of attainment is small and diminishes as household income increases; but when outcomes are more difficult to attain, such as for secondary or higher education, the racial gap is large and increases with income. In other words, the effects of racial discrimination tend to be amplified when Black Brazilians are competing with White Brazilians for highly valued but low-supply social resources, such as higher levels of education. The third conclusion is that although younger age cohorts of Black Brazilians are advancing relative to their parents and to the Brazilian population as a whole, they are not advancing relative to their own age cohort. Thus, although younger age cohorts might be advancing relative to older age cohorts, young Black Brazilians remain in the same relative position vis-à-vis young White Brazilians as older generations of Blacks did vis-à-vis Whites. Thus, in a relative sense, there has been virtually no social mobility for Black Brazilians in the last three decades. |
| Keywords: | Racial Discrimination, Educational Attainment, Intergenerational Mobility. |
| JEL: | J15 I21 J62 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:wpaper:43&r=lab |
| By: | Catherine Bros (Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to provide a detailed analysis of the process of segregation formation. The claim is that segregation does not originate from prejudice or exogenous psychological factors. Rather it is the product of strategic interactions among social groups in a setting where one group has captured power. While using a model featuring random matching and repeated games, it is shown that whenever one group seizes power, members of other groups will perceive additional value in forging long term relationships with the mighty. They will systematically cooperate with the latter either because it is in their interest to do so or because they do not have other choice. The mighty natural response to this yearning to cooperate is to refuse intergroup relationships. The dominated group will best reply to this new situation by in turn rejecting the relationships and a segregation equilibrium emerges. Segregation stems from the systematic cooperation by one group with another. However, not all societies that have experienced power captures converge towards segregation. It is shown that the proportion of individuals that are actually powerful within the mighty group determines convergence towards segregation. |
| Keywords: | Segration, discrimination, power, caste, repeated games, prisoner's dilemma, clubs, status, social organizations. |
| JEL: | D02 D63 D71 D80 O15 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:r08002&r=lab |
| By: | Steven Proud |
| Abstract: | The effect of a child’s peers has long been regarded as an important factor in affecting their educational outcomes. However, these effects follow several different mechanisms and are often difficult to estimate, due to unobserved selection. This paper builds on the work of Hoxby (2000) and uses exogenous changes in the proportion of girls within UK school cohorts to estimate the effect of a more female peer group. I include estimates of effects at a classroom level for schools that appear to contain only one class per cohort to estimate the direct effect of a peer group. Further, I examine if there is a differential effect of boys and girls with differing socioeconomic status, and also examine the effect of a more female peer group on a child’s value added score. I find large significant negative effects of a more female peer group on boy’s outcomes in English, whilst in maths and science, both boys and girls benefit from a more able peer group up until age 11. |
| Keywords: | peer groups, education |
| JEL: | J13 D1 I21 I38 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:07/186&r=lab |
| By: | Julien Beaute (HAS haute autorite de sante); Yann Bourgueil (IRDES institut for research and information in health economics); Julien Mousques (IRDES institut for research and information in health economics); Remy Bataillon (URML union regionale des medecins liberaux); Jean-Louis Samzun (URML union regionale des medecins liberaux); Lise Rochaix (HAS haute autorite de sante) |
| Abstract: | Face aux nouveaux enjeux épidémiologiques (maladies chroniques), à l’exigence croissante en termes de qualité et d’efficience des soins ou encore les tensions de la démographie médicale, de nombreux auteurs plébiscitent un renforcement de la médecine de première ligne et des soins primaires. Le regroupement de médecins en cabinet de groupe s’inscrit dans cette logique. Il permettrait en effet, par la mutualisation des moyens, d’améliorer la production de soins et services. Toutefois, on ne dispose que de peu de données concernant la pratique de groupe en France. Davantage d’informations sont nécessaires pour envisager l’éventuelle mise en place de politiques incitatives. L’objectif de cette étude est donc de décrire la pratique de groupe, de la comparer avec la pratique individuelle et d’identifier les éventuels leviers utilisables par les décideurs publics à travers l’identification des motivations des médecins évoluant en groupe ou non. |
| Keywords: | job organization, health, older workers |
| JEL: | I11 I18 |
| Date: | 2007–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irh:wpaper:dt5&r=lab |
| By: | Thierry Debrand (IRDES institut for research and information in health economics); Pascale Lengagne (IRDES institut for research and information in health economics) |
| Abstract: | TLes conditions de travail ont rapidement évolué au cours des dernières décennies dans les pays développés. Cette évolution s’est accompagnée de l’apparition de nouvelles formes d’organisation du travail s’avérant être sources de pénibilité et de risques pour la santé. Dans un contexte de vieillissement des populations, ces problèmes sont particulièrement préoccupants, en matière de santé, d’emploi et de financement des retraites. Cette étude s’intéresse aux liens existant entre l’organisation du travail et la santé des seniors (50 ans et plus). A partir des données de l’enquête SHARE 2004, nous montrons que plusieurs facteurs liés à l’organisation du travail - tels qu’une forte demande psychologique, un manque de latitude décisionnelle, une récompense reçue par le travail insatisfaisante, l’absence de soutien dans le travail mais aussi l’insécurité de l’emploi - sont corrélés à l’état de santé des seniors. Dès lors, l’organisation du travail comme la santé constituent des déterminants importants de la sortie d’activité des seniors. |
| Keywords: | job organization, health, older workers |
| JEL: | I10 J28 |
| Date: | 2007–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irh:wpaper:dt3&r=lab |
| By: | Fatma El-Hamidi; Fatma EL-Hamidi; Cem Baslevent |
| Abstract: | . . . |
| Date: | 2007–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pit:wpaper:335&r=lab |
| By: | George Leckie |
| Abstract: | Traditional studies of school differences in educational achievement use multilevel modelling techniques to take into account the nesting of pupils within schools. However, educational data are known to have more complex non-hierarchical structures. The potential importance of such structures is apparent when considering the impact of pupil mobility during secondary schooling on educational achievement. Movements of pupils between schools suggest that we should model pupils as belonging to the series of schools attended and not just their final school. Since these school moves are strongly linked to residential moves, it is important to additionally explore whether achievement is also affected by the history of neighbourhoods lived in. Using the national pupil database (NPD), this paper combines multiple-membership and cross-classified multilevel models to simultaneously explore the relationships between secondary school, primary school, neighbourhood and educational achievement. The results show a negative relationship between pupil mobility and achievement, the strength of which depends greatly on the nature and timing of these moves. Accounting for pupil mobility also reveals that schools and neighbourhoods are more important than shown by previous analysis. A strong primary school effect appears to last long after a child has left that phase of schooling. The additional impact of neighbourhoods, on the other hand, is small. Crucially, the rank order of school effects across all types of pupils is sensitive to whether we account for the complexity of the multilevel data structure. |
| Keywords: | Cross-classified models, Multiple-membership-models, Multilevel modelling, Pupil mobility, School effectiveness, Value-added models |
| JEL: | I2 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:07/189&r=lab |
| By: | Sven Fischer (Department of Economics, University College London); Werner Güth (Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena); Christoph Köhler (Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Institute for Sociology, Economic and Social Structure Group) |
| Abstract: | We experimentally test how acceptance thresholds react to the decision of the proposer in a three party ultimatum game to exclude one of two responders with veto power from the game. We elicit responder acceptance thresholds in case the proposer decides to exclude one of them, what increases the available pie, and in case he doesn't exclude him despite strong monetary incentives. We ?nd that on the aggregate level the proposer's decision has no effect on acceptance thresholds. However, if the proposer excludes one responder, the distribution of thresholds becomes bimodal, indicating a polarization in behavior. |
| Keywords: | bargaining, experiment, labor markets |
| JEL: | C91 J52 |
| Date: | 2008–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2008-011&r=lab |
| By: | Manuel Bagues; Mauro Sylos Labini; Natalia Zinovyeva |
| Abstract: | This paper documents that grades vary significantly across Italian public universities and degrees. We provide evidence suggesting that these differences reflect the heterogeneity of grading standards. A straightforward implication of this result is that university funding schemes based on students' academic performance do not necessary favour universities that generate higher value added. We test this for the case of the Italian funds allocation system, which rewards universities according to the number of exams passed by their students. We find that university departments that rank higher according to this indicator actually tend to be significantly worse in terms of their graduates' performance in the labour market. |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fda:fdaddt:2008-07&r=lab |
| By: | Shintaro Yamaguchi |
| Abstract: | This paper constructs and structurally estimates a dynamic occupational choice model that has two distinct features. First, an occupation is vertically and horizontally differentiated by a multidimensional task complexity measure. This allows a simultaneous analysis of career progression and comparative advantage. Second, the model includes hundreds of occupations by characterizing all jobs by a multidimensional task complexity vector, thereby avoiding the curse of dimensionality. Estimation results from the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY) indicate that wages increase according to task complexity and that individuals climb up the career ladder along the dimension of tasks in which they have a comparative advantage. |
| Keywords: | Career decisions, dynamic stochastic discrete choice model |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mcm:deptwp:2008-03&r=lab |
| By: | Robert Plasman (DULBEA, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels); Michael Rusinek (DULBEA, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels); François Rycx (DULBEA, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, and IZA, Bonn); Ilan Tojerow (DULBEA, Université libre de Bruxelles, Brussels) |
| Abstract: | Depuis près de 20 ans, la plupart des débats concernant la rémunération du travail sont centrés sur la question de la compétitivité. Si la question des coûts salariaux est évidemment importante, on en arrive cependant à oublier que tous les travailleurs belges ne sont pas logés à la même enseigne du point de vue de leur rémunération. Des disparités importantes existent en effet entre certaines catégories de travailleurs. L’objectif de ce rapport est d’identifier les facteurs qui sont à l’origine de ces différentiels. Les résultats obtenus mettent en évidence, au cours des chapitres successifs, l’impact sur le salaire des situations particulières des salariés, selon leur sexe, leurs statuts d’emploi ou de chômeur, leur âge et l’effet sur les différentiels salariaux de la structure et des caractéristiques des entreprises, des secteurs d’activité et des négociations collectives. Chacun de ces chapitres donne lieu, pour finir, à une série de recommandations en terme de politique économique. |
| Keywords: | Wage structure, Belgium, Collective bargaining |
| JEL: | D31 J31 J41 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dul:wpaper:08-01rr&r=lab |
| By: | Sonia Bhalotra; Bernarda Zamora |
| Abstract: | This paper uses two large repeated cross-sections, one for the early 1990’s, and one for the late 1990’s, to describe growth in school enrolment and completion rates for boys and girls in India, and to explore the extent to which enrolment and completion rates have grown over time. It decomposes this growth into components due to change in the characteristics that determine schooling, and another associated with changes in the responsiveness of schooling to given characteristics. Our results caution against the common practice of using current data to make future projections on the assumption that the model parameters are stable. The analysis nevertheless performs illustrative simulations relevant to the question of whether India will be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of realising universal primary education by the year 2015. The simulations suggest that India will achieve universal attendance, but that primary school completion rates will not exhibit much progress. |
| Keywords: | Millennium Development Goals, primary schooling, attendance, completion rates, gender, India, decomposition |
| JEL: | I21 I28 O12 J18 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:07/190&r=lab |
| By: | Ed Hopkins |
| Date: | 2008–02–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cla:levrem:122247000000001896&r=lab |
| By: | Adele Atkinson; Simon Burgess; Paul Gregg; Carol Propper; Steven Proud |
| Abstract: | The effect of a more able peer group on a child’s attainment is considered an integral part in estimating a pupil level educational production function. Examinations in England at age 16 are tiered according to ability, leading to a large stratification of pupils by ability. However, within tiers, there is a range of policies between schools regarding setting, ranging from credibly random to strict setting by results from examinations at age 14. We use this variation to estimate ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates, with school and teacher fixed effects, of the effect of a more able peer group using a subset of schools that has apparently random allocation of pupils. As a robustness test of the apparently random setting results, we use an instrumental variables (IV) methodology developed by Lefgren (2004b). We find significant, positive, and non-trivial effects of a more able peer group using both the OLS and IV estimations for English and mathematics. |
| Keywords: | peer groups, education |
| JEL: | J13 D1 I21 I38 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:07/187&r=lab |
| By: | Hugh Gravelle (National Primary Care Research & Development Centre, Centre for Health Economics, University of York); Matt Sutton (Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen); Ada Ma (Health Economics Research Unit, University of Aberdeen) |
| Abstract: | Since 2003, 25% of UK general practitioners’ income has been determined by the quality of their care. The 65 clinical quality indicators in this scheme (the Quality and Outcomes Framework) are in the form of ratios, with financial reward increasing linearly with the ratio between a lower and upper threshold. The numerator is the number of patients for whom an indicator is achieved and the denominator is the number of patients the practices declares are suitable for the indicator. The number declared suitable is the number of patients with the relevant condition less the number exception reported by the practice for a specified range of reasons. Exception reporting is designed to avoid harmful treatment resulting from the application of quality targets to patients for whom they were not intended. However, exception reporting also gives GPs the opportunity to exclude patients who should in fact be treated in order to achieve higher financial rewards. This is inappropriate use of exception reporting or ‘gaming’. Practices can also increase income if they are below the upper threshold by reducing the number of patients declared with a condition (prevalence), or by increasing reported prevalence if they were above the upper threshold. This study examines the factors affecting delivered quality (the proportion of prevalent patients for indicators were achieved) and tests for gaming of exceptions and for prevalence reporting being responsive to financial incentives. |
| Keywords: | Quality. Incentives. Gaming. Pay for performance. |
| Date: | 2007–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chy:respap:28cherp&r=lab |
| By: | Uschi Backes-Gellner (Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich); Donata Bessey (Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich); Kerstin Pull (Eberhard Karls Universitaet Tuebingen); Simone Tuor (Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | In this survey article, we review results from behavioural and experimental economics that have a potential application in the field of personnel economics. While personnel economics started out with a “clean” economic perspective on human resource management (HRM), recently it has broadened its perspective by increasingly taking into account the results from laboratory experiments. Besides having inspired theory-building, the integration of behavioural economics into personnel economics has gone hand in hand with a strengthening of empirical analyses (field experiments and survey data) complementing the findings from the laboratory. Concentrating on employee compensation as one particular field of application, we show that for personnel economics there is indeed much to be learnt from the recent developments in behavioural economics. Moreover, integrating behavioural economics into personnel economics bears the chance of eventually reconciling personnel economics and “classic” HRM analysis that has a long tradition of relying on social psychology as a classical point of reference. |
| Keywords: | Behavioural Economics, Personnel Economics |
| JEL: | J3 M52 C9 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:wpaper:0077&r=lab |