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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Dasgupta, Indraneel (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | We examine how group-specific differences in reservation wage, arising due to asymmetries in social entitlements, impact on distribution via the joint determination of class conflict between workers and employers, and ‘ethnic’ conflict among workers. We model a two-dimensional contest, where two unions, representing different sections of workers, jointly but non-cooperatively invest resources against employers in enforcing an exogenously given rent, while also contesting one another. The rent arises from a ‘living’ wage, set above reservation wage rates via labour regulations. We show that high reservation wage workers gain, and employers lose, from better social entitlements for low reservation wage workers. The latter however benefit, with employers and against the former, from weak labour regulations. When minority/immigrant workers are marginalized both in the labour market and in non-wage entitlements, improving job access and expanding ‘social support’ has contradictory effects on class and ethnic conflicts. ‘Trade unionism’, i.e. political articulation of shared economic interests alone, appears insufficient to temper ethnic conflicts among workers. |
| Keywords: | class conflict, ethnic conflict, living wage, labour regulation, social entitlement, affirmative action, Distribution |
| JEL: | D31 D72 D74 I38 J52 O17 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3631&r=lab |
| By: | Simon Gaechter (University of Nottingham); Daniele Nosenzo (University of Nottingham); Martin Sefton (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effects of pay comparison information (i.e. information about what coworkers earn) and effort comparison information (information about how co-workers perform) in experimental firms composed of one employer and two employees. Exposure to pay comparison information in isolation from effort comparison information does not appear to affect reciprocity toward employers: in this case own wage is a powerful determinant of own effort, but co-worker wages have no effect. By contrast, we find that exposure to both pieces of social information systematically influences employees’ reciprocity. A generous wage offer is virtually ineffective if an employee is matched with a lazy co-worker who is also paid generously: in such circumstances the employee tends to expend low effort irrespective of her own wage. Reciprocity is more pronounced when the co-worker is hard-working, as effort is strongly and positively related to own wage in this case. Reciprocity is also pronounced when the employer pays unequal wages to the employees: in this case the co-worker’s effort decision is disregarded and effort decisions are again strongly and positively related to own wage. On average exposure to social information weakens reciprocity, though we find substantial heterogeneity in responses across individuals, and find that sometimes social information has beneficial effects. We suggest that group composition may be an important tool for harnessing the positive effects of social comparison processes. |
| Keywords: | Reciprocity, gift-exchange, social information, social comparisons, pay comparisons, peer effects |
| JEL: | A13 C92 J31 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdx:dpaper:2008-09&r=lab |
| By: | Arnaud Chevalier; Joanne Lindley |
| Abstract: | During the early Nineties the proportion of UK graduates doubled over a very short period of time. This paper investigates the effect of the expansion on early labour market attainment, focusing on over-education. We define over-education by combining occupation codes and a self-reported measure for the appropriateness of the match between qualification and the job. We therefore define three groups of graduates: matched, apparently over-educated and genuinely over-educated; to compare pre- and post-expansion cohorts of graduates. We find the proportion of over-educated graduates has doubled, even though over-education wage penalties have remained stable. This suggests that the labour market accommodated most of the large expansion of university graduates. Apparently over-educated graduates are mostly undistinguishable from matched graduates, while genuinely over-educated graduates principally lack non-academic skills such as management and leadership. Additionally, genuine over-education increases unemployment by three months but has no impact of the number of jobs held. Individual unobserved heterogeneity differs between the three groups of graduates but controlling for it, does not alter these conclusions. |
| Keywords: | Over-education, Skills |
| JEL: | J24 J31 I2 |
| Date: | 2007–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:ceedps:0079&r=lab |
| By: | Drinkwater, Stephen (University of Surrey); Latreille, Paul L. (University of Wales, Swansea); Knight, Ben (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses the 2003 Survey of Employment Tribunal Applications to examine the post-application employment consequences for individuals registering complaints to Employment Tribunals following dismissal or redundancy. In examining this issue, we consider a number of pieces of evidence: (i) the probability of finding another job; (ii) the time taken to get a new job and (iii) the pay/status of the new job. It is found that age plays a significant role in aspects (i) and (iii), whilst those who previously held managerial positions generally took longest to get a new job and found it most difficult to achieve a similar level of pay/status in their current jobs. Long-term health problems/disability is associated with significantly worse outcomes on all three measures. Respondents whose cases were dismissed by the tribunals without hearings fared worst in terms of obtaining a new job and the time it took to do so compared with other outcomes. There were, however, fewer differences by outcome in the relative pay/status of the claimant’s current job. |
| Keywords: | employment tribunals, job separations, job search |
| JEL: | K4 J0 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3629&r=lab |
| By: | Christophe Nordman (DIAL, IRD, Paris); François-Charles Wolff (LEN, Université de Nantes, CNAV, INED) |
| Abstract: | (english) Using matched employer-employee data collected in Mauritius and Madagascar in 2005, we add new evidence on the magnitude of the gender wage gap and on the relevance of the glass ceiling hypothesis recently observed in developed countries. We focus more closely on the role of firm characteristics and job segregation across firms as potential factors explaining the gender wage gap. While the magnitude of the adjusted gender gap is almost insignificant in Madagascar and quite high in Mauritius, our results show that accounting for firm heterogeneity in the analysis is important for both islands. We highlight that these firm effects are the result of gender segregation across firms, i.e. the existence of high paying firms for men and low paying firms for women. In addition, there is no compelling evidence of a glass ceiling phenomenon in both islands. This comparative study then suggests that there is a high heterogeneity in Africa with respect to the situation of women in the formal labor market._______________________________________________________________________________A l’aide de données appariées employeurs-employés du secteur formel collectées à l’île Maurice et à Madagascar en 2005, nous estimons l’ampleur de l’écart salarial selon le genre et testons la pertinence de l’hypothèse de plafond de verre récemment observée dans les pays développés. Nous nous intéressons particulièrement aux caractéristiques des entreprises et à la ségrégation professionnelle au sein des firmes en tant que possible déterminants de l’écart salarial entre les sexes. Alors que l’écart salarial ajusté des caractéristiques individuelles est faible à Madagascar, et relativement élevé à l’île Maurice, nos résultats montrent que la prise en compte de l’hétérogénéité des entreprises dans l’analyse est importante pour les deux îles. Nous mettons en évidence que ces effets d’entreprise sont le résultat d’une ségrégation de genre entre les entreprises, c’est-à-dire qu’il existerait des entreprises versant de hauts salaires pour les hommes et des entreprises à bas salaires pour les femmes. En outre, nous n’observons pas de phénomène de plafond de verre sur les revenus pour ces deux pays. Cette étude comparative suggère finalement qu’il existe une forte hétérogénéité en Afrique en ce qui concerne la situation des femmes sur le marché du travail formel. |
| Keywords: | Gender wage gap, glass ceiling, quantile regressions, matched worker-firm data, Africa, Ecart salarial selon le genre, plafond de verre, régressions de quantiles, données appariées, employeurs-employés, Afrique. |
| JEL: | J24 J31 O12 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dia:wpaper:dt200802&r=lab |
| By: | Dhas, Albert Christopher; Helen, Mary Jacqueline |
| Abstract: | In this paper, the basics of globalization, the economic reforms initiated in India and the trends in employment and the impact of globalisation are discussed. It is argued that the unorganised workers would expand further due to globalisation. Under the present deprived conditions of unorganised sector, this would lead to imbalance in the labour market leading to more supply of labours, low wages and low level of income. This situation would affect the social and economic conditions of the unorganised working population. The unorganised workers will be in the highly disadvantageous position as there would be a shift in the technology from labour to capital intensive and use of unskilled to skilled workers. |
| Keywords: | Globalisation; Economic Reforms; Employment; labour; India; Unorganised workers; Organised workers; Unemployment; unskilled workers; enterprises; |
| JEL: | O1 J6 N3 J0 |
| Date: | 2008–08–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:9597&r=lab |
| By: | Andriy Zapechelnyuk; Ro'i Zultan |
| Date: | 2008–07–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cla:levrem:122247000000002301&r=lab |
| By: | Rettore, Enrico (University of Padova); Paggiaro, Adriano (University of Padova); Trivellato, Ugo (University of Padova) |
| Abstract: | Liste di mobilità (LM) is an Italian labour market programme targeted to dismissed workers. It combines a ‘passive’ component granting monetary benefits to employees dismissed by firms larger than 15 employees, and an ‘active’ component providing an employment subsidy to any firm hiring workers from the LM. Eligibility duration varies with the worker’s age at dismissal. Using a new linked administrative panel data set for an Italian region, we exploit the variability of these provisions to evaluate the impact of extending the duration of eligibility on re-employment probabilities and wages over the 36 months subsequent to enrolment in the programme. The average treatment effect is identified via a Regression Discontinuity Design. We validate the design by a set of overidentification tests. For most of the sub-groups we analyse, we find that a longer eligibility period has no impact on re-employment rates. A negative impact emerges for women entitled to monetary benefits at the end of the second year of eligibility, but it disappears one year later. A major negative impact emerges for workers aged 50 or more granted the monetary benefits; it is most likely due to the fact that they can use the LM as a bridge to retirement. |
| Keywords: | active labour market policies, regression discontinuity design |
| JEL: | C31 J38 J65 J68 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3633&r=lab |
| By: | Eren, Ozkan |
| Abstract: | Using the National Educational Longitudinal Study data, this paper examines the role of pre-market abilities, as well as other determinants, on young men’s self-employment decision. Our results indicate that cognitive and noncognitive abilities are two important, in opposing directions, predictors of self-employment. We also find that cognitive and noncognitive abilities differ in their malleability with the latter being more malleable during adolescence. In addition, having a self-employed father, being black and family size exert large influences on self-employment probability. |
| Keywords: | Cognitive Ability; Endogeneity; Intergenerational Correlation; Noncognitive Ability; Reliability Ratios |
| JEL: | J00 J24 C25 |
| Date: | 2008–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:9811&r=lab |
| By: | Bovenberg, Lans (Tinbergen Institute); Teulings, Coen (CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis) |
| Abstract: | We argue in favour of the shareholder model of the firm for three main reasons. First, serving multiple stakeholders leads to ill-defined property rights. What sounds like a fair compromise between stakeholders can easily evolve in a permanent struggle between the stakeholders about the ultimate goal of the company. In many cases, the vague Rhineland principles no longer offer much protection to workers. Second, giving workers a claim on the surplus of the firm raises the cost of capital for investments in jobs, which harms the position of job seekers, including new entrants to the labour market. Third, and most importantly, making shareholders the ultimate owner of the firm provides the best possible diversification of firm-specific risks. Whereas globalisation has increased firm-specific risk by intensifying competition, globalisation of capital markets has also greatly increased the scope for diversification of firm-specific risk. Diversification of this risk on the capital market is an efficient form of social insurance. Reducing the claims of workers on the surplus of the firm can be seen as the next step in the emancipation of workers. Workers derive their security not from the firm that employs them but from the value of their own human capital. In such a world, global trade in corporate control, global competition and creative destruction associated with these developments are more legitimate. Coordination in wage bargaining and collective norms on what is proper compensation play an important role in reducing the claim of workers on the firm’s surplus, thereby protecting workers against firm-specific risks. Indeed, in Denmark, workers bear less firm-specific risk than workers in the United States do. Collective action thus has an important role to play. Politicians, however, also face the temptation to please voters and incumbent workers with short-run gains at the expense of exposing workers to firm-specific risks and reducing job creation. This is why corporate governance legislation that gives moral legitimacy to the claim of insiders on the surplus of the firm is damaging. The transition from the Rhineland model (in which management serves the interests of all stakeholders) towards the shareholder model is fraught with difficulties. While society reaps long-run gains in efficiency, in the short run a generation of insiders has to give up their rights without benefiting from increased job creation and higher starting wages. Whereas the claims of older workers on the surplus of a firm may thus have some legitimacy, younger cohorts should be denied such moral claims. These problems require extreme political skill to solve. In particular, they may require some grandfathering provisions or temporary explicit transfers from younger to older generations. |
| Keywords: | wagesetting, optimal risk sharing, employment protection, corporate governance |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3626&r=lab |
| By: | Giovanni Di Bartolomeo; Patrizio Tirelli; Nicola Acocella |
| Abstract: | ient outcomes. Our paper reverses this view: properly designed monetary policies may take advantage of predetermined nominal wages to discipline monopolistic wage setters. This, in turn, requires accepting a non-zero in- flation rate. Discretionary monetary policy is e¤ective when wage setters are non atomistic. In?ation targeting has real e¤ects irrespective of the degree of labor market centralization. |
| Keywords: | inflation bias, discretionary monetary policy, non-zero inflation targeting, unemployment, strategic wage setters |
| JEL: | E52 E58 J51 E24 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mib:wpaper:142&r=lab |
| By: | Angrist, Joshua (MIT); Chen, Stacey (State University of New York, Albany) |
| Abstract: | Military service reduces civilian labor market experience but subsidizes higher education through the GI Bill. Both of these channels are likely to affect civilian earnings. New estimates of the effects of military service using Vietnam-era draft-lottery instruments show post-service earnings effects close to zero in 2000, in contrast with earlier results showing substantial earnings losses for white Vietnam veterans in the 1970s and 1980s. The recent estimates also point to a marked increase in post-secondary schooling that appears to be attributable to the Vietnam-era GI Bill. Seen through the lens of a Mincer wage equation, the wage effects observed in 2000 data can be explained by a flattening of the experience profile in middle age and a modest return to the additional schooling funded by the GI Bill. In particular, IV estimates of the returns to GI Bill-funded schooling are well below OLS estimates. Wage equations that allow for nonlinearities in the returns to schooling and a possible negative effect of military service on health, leave the main findings unchanged. |
| Keywords: | veterans, returns to schooling, instrumental variables |
| JEL: | J31 I22 I28 H56 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3628&r=lab |
| By: | Leman Yonca Gurbuzer (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I); Ozge Nihan Koseleci (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first empirical analysis on youth unemployment duration in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The study is based on micro data from the Household Survey Panel Series (2001-04). We formulate the problem within a duration model framework. Semi-parametric methods are used and compared to alternative approaches. The analyses are carried out separately for young men and women to take into account the traditional pattern of the domestic division of labour between genders. Our results indicate that the speed with which an unemployed young person finds employment is partly a function of his/her particular characteristics. We also find significant gender differences in factors affecting the prospects of access to employment. We further observe that for young men as well as young women there is strong evidence for non-monotonic duration dependence. These results turn out to remain robust to different specifications and to the introduction of unobserved heterogeneity. |
| Date: | 2008–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-00308629_v2&r=lab |
| By: | Sergio Destefanis; Raquel Fonseca |
| Abstract: | A matching theory approach is utilised to assess the impact on the Italian labour market of the 1997 legge Treu, which considerably eased the regulation of temporary work and favoured its growth in Italy. The authors re-parameterise the matching function as a Beveridge Curve and estimate it as a production frontier, finding huge differences in matching efficiency between the South and the rest of the country. The legge Treu appears to have improved matching efficiency in the North of the country, particularly for skilled workers, but also to have strengthened competition among skilled and unskilled workers, especially in the South. |
| Keywords: | temporary contracts, matching efficiency, regional disparities |
| JEL: | J64 J69 C24 |
| Date: | 2006–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ran:wpaper:436&r=lab |
| By: | Leman Yonca Gurbuzer (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I); Ozge Nihan Koseleci (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - Paris I) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first empirical analysis on youth unemployment duration in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The study is based on micro data from the Household Survey Panel Series (2001-04). We formulate the problem within a duration model framework. Semi-parametric methods are used and compared to alternative approaches. The analyses are carried out separately for young men and women to take into account the traditional pattern of the domestic division of labour between genders. Our results indicate that the speed with which an unemployed young person finds employment is partly a function of his/her particular characteristics. We also find significant gender differences in factors affecting the prospects of access to employment. We further observe that for young men as well as young women there is strong evidence for non-monotonic duration dependence. These results turn out to remain robust to different specifications and to the introduction of unobserved heterogeneity. |
| Date: | 2008–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:ceswpp:hal-00308629_v2&r=lab |
| By: | Berliant, Marcus; Kung, Fan-chin |
| Abstract: | The modern literature on city formation and development, for example the New Economic Geography literature, has studied the agglomeration of agents in size or mass. We investigate agglomeration in sorting or by type of worker, that implies agglomeration in size when worker populations differ by type. This kind of agglomeration can be driven by asymmetric information in the labor market, specifically when firms do not know if a particular worker is of high or low skill. In a model with two types and two regions, workers of different skill levels are offered separating contracts in equilibrium. When mobile low skill worker population rises or there is technological change that favors high skilled workers, integration of both types of workers in the same region at equilibrium becomes unstable, whereas sorting of worker types into different regions in equilibrium remains stable. The instability of integrated equilibria results from firms, in the region to which workers are perturbed, offering attractive contracts to low skill workers when there is a mixture of workers in the region of origin. |
| Keywords: | Adverse Selection; Agglomeration |
| JEL: | R13 R12 D82 |
| Date: | 2008–08–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:9951&r=lab |
| By: | Georges Dionne; Benoit Dostie |
| Abstract: | Using linked employer-employee data from the Canadian Workplace and Employee Survey 1999-2004, we provide new evidence on how the cost of absence affects labor supply decisions. We use a particular feature of the data by which total absences are divided into three separate categories: sick paid days, other paid days and unpaid days. This division introduces variations in the way workers are compensated for absence (the cost of absence) and allows us to estimate more precisely how variations in such costs affect absenteeism decisions. We find an absence elasticity of -0.37. We also find unobserved heterogeneity to play different roles for workers and workplaces: some workers are more frequently absent whatever the reason, but paid and unpaid leaves are negatively correlated at the workplace level. |
| Keywords: | Absenteeism, Linked Employer-Employee Data, Unobserved Heterogeneity, Count Data Model, Correlated Random Effects |
| JEL: | J22 M52 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:lacicr:0815&r=lab |
| By: | Tu Thuy Anh (Foreign Trade University, Hanoi, Vietnam); Dao Nguyen Thang (National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam); Hoang Xuan Trung (National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam) |
| Abstract: | <p>In this paper, we explore employment decision of Vietnamese farmers as having five choices: staying on the farm exclusively, staying in the village but partially engaging in local off-farm activities, and working outside the home region for a certain period, in which destination options are Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Other which combines the remaining places. This choice model departs from the existing literature in several aspects. Firstly, previous papers focused mainly on the population that takes off-farm jobs or migrate, that are dichotomous employment choice. More importantly, most existing papers using the random utility model ignore factors in the destination areas. They assume implicitly that either migrants choose their destination randomly or that all migrants face exactly the same migration choices. In our paper, we allow multi-destination possibility, and examine impacts of distance, wages and social network on migrants' decisions. The indirect utility of a given migration option is modeled as a function of choice attributes and individual specifics. Choice attributes for each migration option include wage in destination area, transport between origin and destination area which is proxied by the corresponding distances, and social network of the migrants, while those for farm and non-farm option mainly include agricultural prices and local job creation opportunities. Individual specific include age, education, gender, marital status, share of children and elderly in the household.</p><p> The data used in this research are the Vietnam Living Standard Survey (1998) which is until now the only available data set that provides information on the migrant destinations. We start by estimating determinants of wage in destination areas using full information maximum likelihood to overcome selection bias. Then, we predict wages of those who do not currently work for wage. Finally, we run a conditional logit estimation with predicted wage being one of the explanatory variables to examine probability of migration to each location choice and of taking off-farm employment. Our results show that wage and network have significantly positive effects on all migration choices, while distance negatively affects them. Impact magnitude however differs across destination locations.</p> |
| Keywords: | Migration, choice attributes, off-farm employment, random utility model, conditional logit |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dpc:wpaper:2208&r=lab |
| By: | Jae-Won Sun (Department of Japanese Studies, Pyongtaek University) |
| Abstract: | We need to focus on the first half of 1950s of the period of 'job organization's reform' as a preparatory period for high speed growth in Japan. Previous studies focused on technological innovation during the second half of 1950s as a main factor of high speed growth. The 'job organization's reform' is crucial factor for realizing a management rationalization. After WWII in Japan, the most important 'job organization's reform' happened in the first half of 1950s. Through a case of the Showadenko Company, which is representative chemical fertilizer company in Japan, the job organization's reform made a starting point to establish Japanese personnel system called 'Shokunoshikaku system.' This argument is different from previous studies' argument as like Ishida Mitsuo. He argued that the job organization's reform in 1950s limited work's range, so the new job organization did not fit the Japanese personnel system, which is making one's best, even though they sought to try their best. The 'job organization's reform' in the first half of 1950s at Showadenko limited work's range, but the ratio of wage part(Shokumukyu) made by reform was 20% of total wage. Furthermore, the manager made a complementary system, which distributes workers from surplus workforce part to shortage workforce part, called Oen. This flexible job distribution system Oen, which operated before WWII as like representative iron and steel manufacturing company the Yahata Iron and Steel Manufacturing Company, complemented the rigid new job organization. Therefore, we need to recognize the job organization's reform in the first half of 1950s related to another complementary system and it did not change all of Japanese traditional job organization. |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:jseres:2008cj200&r=lab |
| By: | Bigsten, Arne (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Durevall, Dick (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); Munshi, Farzana (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | Offshoring has changed the pattern of international competition; labor in specific occupations rather than whole firms and sectors are now facing competition. Accordingly, wages in offshorable occupations are affected in new ways. In this paper we investigate the effects of offshoring of electronically traded services on relative occupational wages in 13 countries in the 1990-2003 period. Our findings show that increased exports of IT-related services lead to higher relative wages in offshorable occupations, whereas increased imports of such service reduce them. There is also some evidence that the impact of offshoring on relative wages is larger the lower the level GDP per capita. |
| Keywords: | Offshoring; globalization; occupational wages; service trade |
| JEL: | F15 F16 J31 |
| Date: | 2008–08–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0312&r=lab |
| By: | Eren, Ozkan |
| Abstract: | Utilizing the National Educational Longitudinal Study data, this paper examines the role of pre-market cognitive and noncognitive abilities, as well as schooling inputs, on young men’s earnings. In addition to the conditional mean, we estimate the impacts over the earnings distribution using recently developed (instrumental) quantile regression techniques. Our results show that noncognitive ability is an important determinant of earnings, but the effects are not uniform across the distribution. We find noncognitive ability to be most effective for low earners. Cognitive ability, on the other hand, does not yield any impact either at the mean or at the distributional level once we control for educational attainment. We also find that, on average, pupil-teacher ratio is a significant determinant of earnings. However, similar to noncognitive ability, the effects are not homogeneous. |
| Keywords: | Cognitive Ability; Instrumental Quantile Regression; Measurement Error; Noncognitive Ability; Pupil-Teacher Ratio |
| JEL: | C10 C14 I21 J24 I28 |
| Date: | 2008–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:9820&r=lab |
| By: | Peter Galasi (Department of Human Resources, Corvinus University of Budapest) |
| Abstract: | By making use of the Duncan&Hoffman model, the paper estimates returns to educational mismatch using comparable microdata for 25 European countries. Our aim is to investigate the extent to which the main empirical regularities produced by other papers on the subject are confirmed by our data base. On the basis of tests proposed by Hartog&Oosterbeek, we also consider whether the observed empirical patterns are in line with the Mincerian basic human capital model and Thurow’s job competition model. Using Heckman’s sample-selection estimator, we find that results are rather consistent with those found in the literature, and that the job-competition model could be accepted, whereas the Mincerian human capital model could be rejected for most of the countries. |
| Keywords: | job-education matching, overeducation, undereducation, returns to over- and undereducation, international comparison |
| JEL: | J21 J23 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:has:bworkp:0808&r=lab |
| By: | Sean Dougherty |
| Abstract: | Over the past decade, labour market outcomes have improved in India, with net employment rising markedly for the economy as a whole. However, these gains have arisen primarily in the unorganized and informal sectors of the economy, where productivity and wages are generally much lower than in the formal organized sector. It is only India’s organized sector that is subject to labour market regulation, and here employment has fallen. The role of employment protection legislation in affecting employment outcomes is controversial both in the OECD area and in India. This paper looks at the impact of employment protection legislation and related regulation on the dynamics of employment in the organized sector of the economy, using newly constructed measures of national regulation and state labour reforms. We find that while reforms have taken some of the bite out of core labour laws, more comprehensive reforms are needed to address the distortions that have emerged. This working paper relates to the 2007 Economic Survey of India (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/india). <P>Réglementation du travail et dynamiques de l’emploi au niveau de l’État en Inde <BR>Au cours de la dernière décennie, les résultats du marché du travail se sont améliorés en Inde, l’emploi net augmentant de façon sensible dans l’ensemble de l’économie. Cependant, ces gains sont intervenus essentiellement dans les secteurs non organisé et informel de l’économie, où la productivité et les salaires sont généralement bien moindres que dans le secteur organisé formel. Seul le secteur organisé est assujetti à la réglementation du marché du travail et, dans ce secteur, l’emploi a diminué. L’incidence de la législation de protection de l’emploi sur la performance du marché du travail est sujette à controverses aussi bien dans la zone de l’OCDE qu’en Inde. Le présent article examine l’impact de cette législation et des réglementations associées sur la dynamique de l’emploi dans le secteur organisé de l’économie, en utilisant de nouvelles mesures de la réglementation nationale et des réformes au niveau des Etats. Il ressort de cette étude que si les réformes ont permis d’assouplir quelque peu la rigidité du droit fondamental du travail, des mesures plus approfondies sont nécessaires pour remédier aux distorsions qui sont apparues. Ce document de travail se rapporte à l’Étude économique de l’Inde 2007 (www.oecd.org/eco/etudes/inde). |
| Keywords: | labour laws, employment protection indicators, job turnover, labour market distortions, législation du travail, indicateurs de protection de l’emploi, rotation du travail, distorsion du marché du travail |
| JEL: | G38 J21 J63 K20 |
| Date: | 2008–08–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:624-en&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:08/186&r=lab |
| By: | H Gravelle; AR Hole, I Hussein |
| Abstract: | Job satisfaction affects propensity to quit, actual quits, and job performance. Hence it is of interest to survey workers to investigate their satisfaction and the factors affecting satisfaction. But survey respondents may be untypical of the workforce in unobservable respects which are correlated with satisfaction. In particular satisfaction may affect the propensity to respond to job satisfaction surveys, so that estimates of average satisfaction and the effects of determinants of satisfaction may be biased. We examine response bias using data from a postal job satisfaction survey of family doctors. We link all the sampled doctors to an administrative database and so have information on the characteristics of responders and non-responders. Thus we can control for both selection on observables and on unobservables. Allowing for selection increases the estimate of mean job satisfaction in 2005 by between 0.4 to 1.0 from uncorrected sample mean of 5.27 (on a 1 to 7 scale). Correction for response bias also increase the estimated change in mean job satisfaction between 2004 and 2005 from 0.60 to 1.03. Estimates of the determinants of job satisfaction are insensitive to response bias. |
| Keywords: | Job satisfaction. Response bias. Sample selection. Family practitioners. |
| JEL: | J28 J44 I18 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:yorken:08/24&r=lab |
| By: | Etienne Dumont; Bernard Fortin; Nicolas Jacquemet; Bruce S. 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 (MC) system, combining a fixed per diem with a partial (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 3.81%, 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%. <P>En 1999, le ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux du Québec introduisait un mode de rémunération mixte optionnel pour rémunérer l’activité hospitalière des médecins spécialistes. Ce mode combine une rémunération forfaitaire pour chaque jour de travail (per diem ou demi per diem) et une rémunération partielle à l’acte s’exprimant en un pourcentage du tarif habituellement applicable pour un service donné. Cette étude jumelle en panel des données de sondage du Collège des Médecins du Québec et des données administratives de la Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec pour évaluer l’impact de ce mode de rémunération sur les choix de pratique des spécialistes. Nous mettons l’accent sur l’effet de la rémunération mixte sur plusieurs dimensions du comportement professionnel du médecin : heures consacrées aux patients, heures consacrées à l’enseignement, aux activités médicales administratives et à la recherche, volume de services médicaux et temps moyen par service médical. Nos résultats montrent que l’introduction de la rémunération mixte a incité les médecins qui sont passés de la rémunération à l’acte à la rémunération mixte à réduire leur nombre de services médicaux (facturables) de 6,15 % et à réduire leurs heures de travail consacrées aux patients de 2,57 %. En revanche, le temps moyen par service médical s’est accru de 3,81 %, ce qui peut suggérer une substitution entre la quantité et la qualité des services. La réforme a aussi incité ces médecins à accroître le temps consacré à l’enseignement et aux activités médicales administratives (activités non rémunérées par la rémunération à l’acte) de 7,9 %. En outre, le temps consacré par ces médecins à la recherche (activité non rémunérée par l’un ou l’autre des modes de rémunération) a diminué de 14,7 %. Enfin, le revenu des médecins qui sont passés à la rémunération mixte s’est accru de 8,05 %, indiquant qu’il était financièrement rentable pour ceux-ci de choisir ce mode de rémunération. |
| Keywords: | physician payment mechanisms, multitasking, mixed-payment systems, incentive contracts, labour supply, self-selection, panel estimation., mécanismes de rémunération des médecins, fonctionnement multitâche, rémunération mixte, contrats incitatifs, offre de travail, auto-sélection, estimation en panel |
| JEL: | I10 J22 |
| Date: | 2008–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2008s-20&r=lab |
| By: | Peter Dolton; Panu Pelkonen |
| Abstract: | Computers and ICT have changed the way we live and work. The latest WERS 2004 provides a snapshot of how using ICT at the workplace has changed our working lives. Various studies have suggested that the use of a computer at work boosted earnings by as much as 20%. Others suggest this reported impact is due to unobserved heterogeneity. Using excellent data from the WERS employer-employee matched data we compare OLS estimates with those from estimations which include controls for establishments, industrial sectors and occupations and use control function, treatment effects models and Instrumental Variable estimation. We show that the results of OLS estimation grossly overestimate the return to computer use but that including occupation controls, reduces the return to between 3-10%. We explore the return on different IT skills and also find a return to the intensity of computer use as measured by the number of tasks a computer is used for. |
| Keywords: | ICT, Skills |
| Date: | 2007–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:ceedps:0081&r=lab |
| By: | MORIKAWA Masayuki |
| Abstract: | This paper empirically analyzes the relationship between union presence and firm performance in areas such as productivity and profitability by using data on a large number of Japanese firms, covering both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries. Results indicate that the presence of labor unions has large positive effects on productivity level and growth. The effects of union presence on wages are also positive and the magnitude is similar to that of productivity. I find no negative effect for the presence of unions on firm profitability. These results differ from studies in the U.S. The number of employees decreases more for unionized firms than non-unionized firms. Most of the difference in employment is attributable to the change in the number of part-time workers. In order to enhance the productivity of the service sector, close cooperation between management and unions is required. |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:08027&r=lab |
| By: | Quisumbing, Agnes; Pandolfelli, Lauren |
| Abstract: | "Gender norms are an important constraint to increasing agricultural productivity. Inequality in the distribution of resources between men and women is linked with production inefficiency, yet interventions targeting smallholder farmers often fail to redress women's lack of access to, and control of, important agricultural resources. Women are often constrained in access to and control of land, water, and other natural resources; complementary inputs, such as seeds and fertilizer; new varieties and technologies; agricultural extension; labor; credit; markets; and social capital. Oftentimes, interventions will be designed to relieve one constraint, not realizing that gender norms—or constraints in other resources—are more binding and may affect the outcome of the intervention. Without specific attention to gender issues, programs and projects are likely to reinforce inequalities between women and men and may even increase resource imbalances. While individual projects cannot hope to redress these inequalities in the short term, at a minimum, interventions should do no harm, and ideally they should catalyze a change process for ending gender discrimination and securing women's access to key resources. This brief focuses on key agricultural resources needed by poor female farmers to generate incomes and ensure their families' food security. It is organized around key resources and promising approaches to increase poor women's control of those resources. One resource that is not included in this review is human capital. It must be emphasized that investing in women's education, health, and nutrition is an integral part of enabling women to guarantee their families'—and their own—well-being. These approaches were identified in the course of a review of projects and interventions in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. However, while many of these interventions are innovative, most of them have not been rigorously evaluated. Where evaluations have been done, little attention has been paid to the differential impacts on men and women, or to which delivery mechanisms may be more effective in reaching different groups of women and men. Many of the approaches were also pilot projects, and without evaluations it is difficult to recommend which of them should be scaled up. Nevertheless, this brief suggests many promising strategies for channeling resources into the hands of female farmers to boost their agricultural productivity.." from Text |
| Keywords: | Women, Farmers, Gender, food security, Land policy, Water resources, Agricultural inputs, extension activities, |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:resbrf:13&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:08/187&r=lab |
| By: | Jean-Pierre Cling (DIAL); Mohamed Ali Marouani (Université Paris1-Sorbonne/IEDES, DIAL et ERF); Mireille Razafindrakoto (DIAL, IRD, Paris); Anne-Sophie Robilliard (DIAL, IRD, Paris); François Roubaud (DIAL, IRD, Paris) |
| Abstract: | (english) The strong growth of the Vietnamese economy over the last two decades has brought about sweeping economic and social changes. In particular, there has been a sharp downturn in poverty along with an upturn in social inequalities (albeit not as sharp as in China). This makes the question of the distributional impact of the country’s WTO accession (January 2007) a particularly keen one. The first simulations made using our micro-simulation model point to mainly four types of redistributive effects induced by WTO membership: job gains (especially industrial jobs), growth in real wages, reduction in gender inequalities, and increase in inequalities between rural and urban areas (but slight drop in overall inequalities). Our findings demonstrate the importance of flanking measures to accompany WTO accession and making the most the opportunities that arise, especially in the area of training, domestic migration, regional policies and assistance to wage earners affected by restructuring. _________________________________ (français) La forte croissance de l’économie vietnamienne au cours des deux dernières décennies s’est accompagnée de profondes transformations économiques et sociales. En particulier, on a observé une forte réduction de la pauvreté, accompagnée d’une progression des inégalités sociales (quoique moins accentuée qu’en Chine). Dans ce contexte, la question de l’impact distributif de l’adhésion à l’OMC intervenue en janvier 2007 se pose avec acuité. Les premières simulations effectuées à l’aide de notre modèle de micro-simulation comptable indiquent que l’adhésion à l’OMC aura principalement quatre types d’effets redistributifs : gains d’emplois (en particulier industriels) ; croissance des salaires réels ; réduction des inégalités de genre ; progression des inégalités entre zones rurales/urbaines (mais tassement des inégalités globales). Nos résultats montrent l’importance de prendre des mesures pour accompagner l’entrée à l’OMC et saisir les opportunités offertes, en particulier dans le domaine de la formation, des migrations internes, des politiques régionales et de l’aide aux salariés touchés par les restructurations. |
| Keywords: | International Trade; WTO; Labour; Inequalities; Vietnam, Commerce international; OMC; Emploi; Inégalités; Vietnam. |
| JEL: | F16 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dia:wpaper:dt200803&r=lab |
| By: | Nebiyou Tilahun; David Levinson (Nexus (Networks, Economics, and Urban Systems) Research Group, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minnesota) |
| Abstract: | Relocation decisions are complex. Each household has a bundle of attributes that make a location attractive to it, including the ability to access different activity locations easily, neighborhood quality, house amenities etc. Relocating households have an opportunity to Þnd housing closer to their work. Using data collected in the Twin Cities area, we investigate how distance to home and travel time to home change among individuals who have changed their residence since they started their current job. Comparing the home-to-work distance after the move to the previous-home-to-work distance, we Þnd that the average home to work distance is reduced as a result of the move. We also Þnd that the reduction depend on the previous home to work distance as well as the previous homesÕ proximity to downtown Minneapolis. The Þndings show that households that are either very close to their work, or very close to down- town, or both did not signiÞcantly increase or decrease their commute after relocation. This suggests that access to work as well as access to the opportunities that proximity to downtown offers (to jobs, urban spaces, etc.) are important in the decision making process. |
| Keywords: | Journey to Work, Commuting, Relocation, Tenure, Jobs, Minnesota, Minneapolis |
| JEL: | R41 R48 D63 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nex:wpaper:relocationjourneytowork&r=lab |
| By: | Holmlund, Helena (CEP, London School of Economics); Lindahl, Mikael (Uppsala University); Plug, Erik (University of Amsterdam) |
| Abstract: | Recent studies that aim to estimate the causal link between the education of parents and their children provide evidence that is far from conclusive. This paper explores why. There are a number of possible explanations. One is that these studies rely on different data sources, gathered in different countries at different times. Another one is that these studies use different identification strategies. Three identification strategies that are currently in use rely on: identical twins; adoptees; and instrumental variables. In this paper we apply each of these three strategies to one particular Swedish data set. The purpose is threefold: (i) explain the disparate evidence in the recent literature; (ii) learn more about the quality of each identification procedure; and (iii) get at better perspective about intergenerational effects of education. We find that the three identification strategies all produce intergenerational schooling estimates that are lower than the corresponding OLS estimates, indicating the importance of accounting for ability bias. But interestingly, when applying the three methods to the same data set, we are able to fully replicate the discrepancies across methods found in the previous literature. Our findings therefore indicate that the estimated impact of parental education on that of their child in Sweden does depend on identification, which suggests that country and cohort differences do not lie behind the observed disparities. Finally, we conclude that income is a mechanism linking parent’s and children’s schooling, that can partly explain the diverging results across methods. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational mobility, education, causation, selection, identification |
| JEL: | I20 J30 J62 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3630&r=lab |
| By: | Eric Maurin; Sandra McNally |
| Abstract: | It is difficult to know whether widening access to schools which provide a more academically oriented general education makes a difference to average educational achievement. We make use of reforms affecting admission to the 'high ability' track in Northern Ireland, but not England. The comparison of educational outcomes between Northern Ireland and England before and after the reform identifies the net effect of expanding the academic track to accommodate more students. This is composed of the direct effect of the more academic track on individual performance and the indirect effect arising on account of the change in peer group composition. Our paper is relevant to debate on the consequences of ability tracking and of expanding access to the academic track. |
| Keywords: | education, tracking, selection |
| JEL: | I2 |
| Date: | 2007–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:ceedps:0085&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:08/189&r=lab |
| By: | Egon Franck (Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich); Stephan NŸesch (Institute for Strategy and Business Economics, University of Zurich) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the relationship between talent disparity and team productivity based on panel data from German soccer teams. Holding average ability and unobserved team heterogeneity constant, we find evidence that the players selected to play on the competition team should be rather homogeneous regarding their playing talent. If, however, the team is defined at the preparatory stage, which includes all training activities, talent disparity turns out to be beneficial. In a first model, we analyze match-level data to test the talent composition effects of the fielded team on the final score of the game. In a second model, we include the reserve players as well and relate talent differences within the entire squad to the teamÕs (inverted) league standing at the end of the season as the ultimate measure of long-run team effectiveness. At the competition stage of team production, the gameÕs result depends on all team members performing at or above some threshold level of proficiency. At the preparatory stage of team production, however, aspects like mutual learning seem to be more important. |
| Keywords: | Talent Disparity, Team Productivity; Sports Economics, Soccer |
| JEL: | D23 D24 J44 L83 |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iso:wpaper:0087&r=lab |
| By: | Jo Blanden; Paul Gregg; Lindsey Macmillan |
| Abstract: | Sociologists and economists reach quite different conclusions about how intergenerational mobility in the UK compares for those growing up in the 1970s and 1980s. Persistence in social class is found to be unchanged while family income is found to be more closely related to sons’ earnings for those born in 1970 compared to those born in the 1958. We investigate the reasons for the contrast and find that they are not due to methodological differences or data quality. Rather, they are explained by the increased importance of differences in income within social class for sons’ earnings in the second cohort. When economists measure intergenerational mobility their ideal is to see how permanent income is transmitted across generations. Our investigations show that the importance of within-social class differences in income mean that a single measure of income is a better predictor of permanent income status than fathers’ social class. We would not, therefore, expect the results for changes in intergenerational mobility based on income and social class to necessarily coincide. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational mobility, Earnings, social class |
| JEL: | J62 I2 D31 |
| Date: | 2008–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:08/195&r=lab |
| By: | Alain de Serres |
| Abstract: | The Polish tax system is characterised by high social security contributions for both employers and employees. As a result, Poland has one of the highest tax wedges in the OECD, despite relatively low personal income tax rates. This, combined with a relatively high minimum wage and generous early-retirement and disability benefit programmes, contributes to low employment rates, in particular among low-skilled workers. The system also relies heavily on consumption taxes, whereas relatively little revenue is collected from such bases as environment externalities, inheritances and, in particular, property. One of the key implications of the tax structure is that the system as a whole is one of the least redistributive among OECD countries. This paper reviews the main features of the tax system and explores options to improve its efficiency, including possibilities to broaden existing tax bases as well as to shift the tax burden from labour towards less mobile and distorting sources such as property. <P>Réformer le système fiscal polonais afin d’améliorer son efficience <BR>Le système fiscal polonais se caractérise par des cotisations patronales et salariales de sécurité sociale élevées. Par conséquent, la Pologne compte l’un des coins fiscaux les plus élevés de l’OCDE, malgré des taux de l’impôt sur le revenu des personnes physiques relativement bas. Cette situation, associée à un salaire minimum relativement conséquent et à des indemnités généreuses de retraite anticipée et d’invalidité, contribue à la faiblesse des taux d’emploi, surtout parmi les travailleurs peu qualifiés. Par ailleurs, le système s’appuie massivement sur les impôts sur la consommation, tandis que les recettes provenant d’autres sources telles que les taxes sur les produits polluants, les droits de mutation et surtout les impôts fonciers sont relativement minimes. L’une des principales conséquences de cette structure fiscale est que le système est, dans son ensemble, l’un des moins redistributifs parmi les pays de l’OCDE. Cette étude examine les principales caractéristiques du régime fiscal polonais et envisage différentes solutions pour améliorer son efficience, comme l’élargissement des assiettes d’imposition existantes et le transfert de la charge fiscale du travail vers des sources moins mobiles et entraînant moins de distorsions, telles l’immobilier. |
| Keywords: | taxation, fiscalité, tax reform, impôt sur le revenu, property tax, taxe foncière, TVA, labour tax wedge, VAT, personal income tax, corporate income tax, polish tax system, réforme de la taxation, coin fiscal, impôt sur les profits, système de taxation polonais |
| JEL: | H20 H22 H23 H24 H25 |
| Date: | 2008–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:630-en&r=lab |
| By: | Paul Gregg; Carol Propper; Elizabeth Washbrook |
| Abstract: | In this paper we explore the association between family income and children’s cognitive ability (IQ and school performance), socio-emotional outcomes (self esteem, locus of control and behavioural problems) and physical health (risk of obesity). We develop a decomposition technique that allows us to compare the relative importance of the adverse family characteristics and home environments of low income children in accounting for different outcomes. Using rich cohort data from the UK we find that poor children are disadvantaged at age 7 to 9 across the full spectrum of outcomes, the gradient being strongest for cognitive outcomes and weakest for physical health. We find that some aspects of environment appear to be associated with the full range of outcomes - for example, maternal smoking and breastfeeding, child nutrition, parental psychological functioning. We also find some some aspects of the environment of higher income households hinder child development. We conclude that many aspects of growing up in poverty are harmful to children’s development, and that narrowly-targeted interventions are unlikely to have a significant impact on intergenerational mobility. |
| Keywords: | Child outcomes, income, pathways, mediating factors |
| JEL: | I12 I31 I32 J13 |
| Date: | 2008–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:08/193&r=lab |
| By: | Armstrong, Mark; Vickers, John; Zhou, Jidong |
| Abstract: | We discuss the impact of consumer protection policies on consumer incentives to become informed of the best deals available in the market. In a market with costly consumer search, we find that imposing a cap on suppliers' prices reduces the incentive to engage in search, with the result that prices paid by consumers (both informed and uninformed) may rise. In a related model where consumers have the ability to refuse to receive marketing, we find that this ability softens price competition and can make all consumers worse off. |
| Keywords: | Consumer protection; search; price caps; advertising |
| JEL: | D18 L51 D83 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:9898&r=lab |
| By: | Alexandre Janiak |
| Abstract: | I augment the standard large-firm matching model with a firm process of entry and exit. This extension requires the analysis of firm-level dynamics, which I present in this note. I also show the equivalence of the model with the one-worker firm model from Pissarides (2000). JEL: J63. |
| Date: | 2008 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:edj:ceauch:245&r=lab |
| By: | Paul A. Grout; Sebastien Mitraille; Silvia Sonderegger |
| Abstract: | Much of the literature on diversity assumes that individuals have an exogenous "taste for discrimination". In contrast with this approach, we build a model where preferences over the nature of one's community are derived indirectly, and arise because the composition of the community determines the behavior of its members. This allows us to gain a far deeper understanding of the forces that underpin the desirability of diversity or homogeneity within communities. Our main contribution is to show that there are always counteracting forces (heterogeneity involves both costs and benefits), and that, although people prefer to live in communities where their type is majoritarian, they always benefit from having some heterogeneity in the composition of their community. |
| Keywords: | heterogeneity, social interactions, value of information, complementarities. |
| JEL: | C7 D82 Z1 |
| Date: | 2008–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:08/191&r=lab |
| By: | Steve Gibbons; Shqiponja Telhaj |
| Abstract: | We consider the influence that mobile pupils have on the academic achievements of other pupils in English primary schools. We find that immobile pupils in year-groups (à la US "grades") that experience high pupil entry rates progress less well academically between ages 8 and 11 than pupils in low-mobility year groups (grades), even within the same school. The disruptive externalities of mobility are statistically significant, but actually very small in terms of their educational impact. An increase in annual entry rates from 0 to 10% (a 4 standard deviation change) would set the average incumbent pupil back by between 1 and 2 weeks, or about 4% of one standard deviation of the gain in pupil achievement between ages 7 and 11. |
| Keywords: | pupil mobility, pupil achievement, externalities |
| JEL: | H4 I2 R2 J24 |
| Date: | 2007–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:ceedps:0083&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:08/190&r=lab |
| By: | María Laura Alzúa (Centro de Estudios Distributivos, Laborales y Sociales (CEDLAS) - Universidad Nacional de La Plata) |
| Abstract: | Empirical studies attempting at testing dualism in developing countries often rely on an ex-ante definition of the primary and the secondary sector. Many times this methodology causes biases in the estimation due to sample selection problems. Also, such definitions may be arbitrary sometimes. We use twenty seven years of Household Data in order to test for the existence dual labor markets in Argentina. We estimated an endogenous switching model with unknown regime without defining ex-ante sector attachment. We find evidence of dualism for both periods analyzed. However, the diferences between the two sectors have signi¯cantly changed over time. Finally, our estimations also corroborate the fact that using the usual ex-ante definition of sector attachment may not be adequate for testing dualism. |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dls:wpaper:0073&r=lab |
| By: | Houle, René; Schellenberg, Grant |
| Abstract: | Remittances "the money immigrants send to family members in their country of origin" are now centre stage in development and immigrant research. Yet, in spite of this interest, research on the characteristics of remittance senders in Canada remains quite limited, in large part because of the absence of household survey data. More broadly, studies of remittance senders in Canada and elsewhere often focus on immigrants from only one or two source countries and, consequently, do not provide a broad cross-national perspective on the issue. This study addresses these gaps by using the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada to document the incidence of remitting and the amounts remitted by immigrants from a wide range of countries. Using a common set of concepts and methods, we find that the incidence of remitting by the 2000 to 2001 landing cohort ranges from less than 10% to 60% across immigrants from different countries, while the average annual amounts remitted range from about $500 to almost $3,000. Turning to the factors associated with remitting, the financial and family characteristics are consistently significant among immigrants from all world regions. In contrast, other factors, such as gender and education, are associated with remitting among immigrants from some regions but not from others. |
| Keywords: | Income, pensions, spending and wealth, Ethnic diversity and immigration, Household, family and personal income, Immigrants and non-permanent residents |
| Date: | 2008–07–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:stc:stcp3e:2008312e&r=lab |
| By: | Fuchs, Johann (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Söhnlein, Doris (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Weber, Brigitte (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "Forecasts show a substantially decreasing and ageing labour force in Germany. This paper provides a decomposition of the projected change in the overall labour force into three parts. The first, called the 'demographic component', shows the effects of fertility, mortality and a changing age structure of the population. The second effect is the migration component. This part is due to the cumulative net inflow of migrants, but includes their reproductive behaviour as well. Changes in the participation rates give the third effect, the participation component. The decomposition was conducted by comparing different labour force scenarios until 2050. The method can easily be extended for decomposition into more than three factors. Not surprisingly, the downward trend in the labour force is attributable only to population effects. Ageing of the baby-boom generation and low birth rates both are the responsible factors behind. Neither a strong increase in labour force participation nor large immigration flows can halt this trend in the labour force. As the age structure is almost given and increasing fertility rates only have positive effects in the very long run, the projected decline in the labour force should be taken as a fact." (author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Arbeitskräfteangebot - Prognose, Erwerbspersonenpotenzial - Determinanten, demografischer Wandel, Wanderung - Auswirkungen, Erwerbsverhalten, Geschlechterverteilung |
| JEL: | J11 J21 F22 |
| Date: | 2008–08–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:200831&r=lab |
| By: | Takashi Obinata (Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the value relevance of earnings and the explanatory power of earnings for subsequent returns. This analysis, at the same time, examines the efficiency of capital markets. The targets of this paper are two class of returns over different periods. Cross-sectional analysis and the panel analysis are adopted. We use both the bootstrap regression and the linear panel regression which corrects serial correlations. Our results show that the market is almost efficient regarding to earnings, special items, and dirty surplus in US and JP. Although those information have explanatory power for annual returns from the beginning of the next year, the explanatory power decreases or diminishes for annual returns from four months after the closing date. On the other hand, empirical results show the possibility that anomalies may occur. We detect that investors cannot quickly and adequately respond to losses, negative special items, and negative dirty surplus. Moreover, residuals that are estimated by regressing stock prices of closing date on earnings are negatively associated with the subsequent returns. This is the phenomenon commonly observed in US and JP. The results imply that stock prices will converge to the fundamental value of firms estimated by earnings capitalization model. Those findings provide the empirical foundation to the presumptions of studies, which investigates the value relevance of earnings. This research, which integrates the relationship between contemporary stock prices and earnings and the relationship between future returns and earnings, contributes to the further research on the usefulness of earnings and to the selection of panel analysis method. |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tky:jseres:2008cj198&r=lab |
| By: | Gabriel Helene Bie Lilleør (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen) |
| Abstract: | Primary school enrolment rates are continuously low in many developing countries. The main explanation in the economic literature on schooling is focused on credit constraints and child labour, implying that the indirect cost of schooling in terms of foregone earnings is too high. This paper investigates the effects of future income uncertainty on sibling dependence in the schooling decisions of rural households in developing countries. Schooling tends to direct skills towards future urban employment, whereas traditional rural education or on-farm learning-by-doing tends to direct skills towards future agricultural employment. Given this dichtomy, the question is then: Does future income uncertainty influence the joint educational choice made by parents on behalf of their children and is it possible to test this on simple cross-sectional data? I extend a simple human capital portfolio model to a three period setting. This allows me to explore the natural sequentiality in the schooling decision of older and younger siblings. The model can generate testable empirical implications, which can be taken to any standard cross-sectional data set. I find empirical evidence of negative sibling dependence in the educational decision, which is consistent with a human capital portfolio theory of risk diversification and which cannot be explained by sibling rivalry over scarce resources for credit constrained households. The paper thus provides a complementary explanation to why enrolment rates in developing countries are often continuously low. |
| Keywords: | schooling; human capital investment; specific human capital; sibling dependency; old-age security; uncertainty; risk and income source diversification; liquidity constraints; Tanzania; Africa |
| JEL: | J13 J24 O15 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kuieca:2008_05&r=lab |
| By: | Sean Dougherty; Richard Herd |
| Abstract: | The provision of high-quality education and health care to all of the population is considered a core element of public policy in most countries. In India, the government is active in both education and health but the private sector also plays an important role, notably for heath, and to a lesser extent in education. At present, the quality and quantity of the outputs from education, and also form public health care, are holding back the process of economic development. Steps are being taken to draw more children into primary education and the paper considers ways to keep children in school. It also considers institutional changes that may help to improve the performance of the educational system and so boost human capital formation. This working Paper relates to the 2007 Economic Survey of India (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/india). <P>Améliorer la formation du capital humain en Inde <BR>Permettre à l’ensemble de la population de bénéficier d’une éducation et de soins de santé de qualité est l’un des enjeux majeurs de la politique publique dans la plupart des pays. En Inde, les pouvoirs publics interviennent aussi bien dans l’éducation que dans les soins de santé, ce qui n’empêche pas le secteur privé de jouer un rôle important, en particulier dans le premier de ces domaines. À l’heure actuelle, les performances qualitatives et quantitatives de l’éducation et des services publics de santé constituent un frein au processus de développement économique. Des mesures ont été prises pour augmenter la fréquentation de l’enseignement primaire, et le présent document étudie les moyens de lutter contre les abandons scolaires. Il analyse également les changements institutionnels nécessaires pour contribuer à améliorer les performances du système éducatif et stimuler ainsi la formation du capital humain. Ce document de travail se rapporte à l’Étude économique de l’Inde 2007 (www.oecd.org/eco/etudes/inde). |
| Keywords: | tertiary education, education policy, Returns to education, literacy rates, age cohorts, primary, secondary, politique éducative, taux d’alphabétisation, cohorte d’âge, rendement de l’enseignement, primaire, secondaire, supérieur |
| JEL: | I0 I21 J24 |
| Date: | 2008–08–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:625-en&r=lab |
| By: | Claire Crawford; Lorraine Dearden; Costas Meghir |
| Keywords: | Birth effects, birth penalties, school start dates, cognitive outcomes |
| Date: | 2007–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:ceedps:0093&r=lab |
| By: | Pfau, Wade Donald; Giang, Thanh Long |
| Abstract: | Since the 1990s, Vietnam has experienced a dramatic growth in remittance flows. This paper uses the Vietnam Living Standard Surveys for 1992/93 and 1997/98 to study the role of gender in these remittance flows, both from the perspective of receiving and sending remittances. Knowing about gender differences will help to better explain the impact of remittances and to understand the nature of gender roles during a time of economic transformation. We find important distinctions, such as a responsibility among women for the intergenerational transfers of remittances (particularly between parents and children) while men tend to take more responsibility for intragenerational remittances. As well, after controlling for other factors and sharing remittances between spouses who live together, we find evidence that women have a higher likelihood to both send and receive remittances. |
| JEL: | F24 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:9928&r=lab |
| By: | Jain Rekha |
| Abstract: | Telecom sector in India has been growing very fast and changing very rapidly in service delivery mechanisms used, target segments addressed, technogical platforms for service delivery etc. Globally also the growth scenario is very positive. This means that this sector offers employment opportunities that are attractive. In order to exploit these opportunities, the sector needs people with the approppriate employment profiles that match the changing requirements both in atributes and numbers. However, the current education system is not equipped to provide the requisite profiles. This paper identifies and quantifies the skill gap both in terms of focus areas and numbers by segmenting the sector. It suggest directions in which the change must happen. It also reviews innovative approaches in the private and government sector in India and abroad with a view to assess the adapatability of these approaches on a larger scale in India. |
| Date: | 2008–08–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:2008-08-02&r=lab |
| By: | Charley Greenwood; Andrew Jenkins; Anna Vignoles |
| Keywords: | Vocational qualifications, NVQ |
| Date: | 2007–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:ceedps:0089&r=lab |
| By: | Harald Oberhofer; Tassilo Philippovich; Hannes Winner |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the role of distance in professional team sports, taking the example of football (soccer). We argue that a team’s performance in terms of scored and conceded goals decreases with the distance to the foreign playing venue. To test this hypothesis empirically, we investigate 6,389 away games from the German Football Premier League (’Erste Deutsche Bundesliga’) between the playing seasons 1986-87 and 2006-07. We find that distance contributes significantly in explaining a guest team’s propensity to concede goals, but not so for scoring goals. Focusing on the difference between scored and conceded goals (‘goal difference’) as a measure of the overall success of a football team, we observe a significant and non-monotonic impact of distance on team performance. |
| Keywords: | Professional team performance; distance; event count data; poisson regression model |
| JEL: | L25 L83 C29 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2008-16&r=lab |
| By: | Dennis Coates (Department of Economics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County); Babatunde Oguntimein (Department of Economics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses data on players drafted in 1987 through 1989 covering both their collegiate and their professional careers. This time period is chosen because we wanted recent players whose playing days have ended. Our analysis evaluates the role of college productivity on draft position and the relationship between college career productivity, measured in three different ways, with professional career productivity measured similarly and with the length of the career. At issue is the effectiveness of NBA executives in identifying college players who will be successful in the pros. Our results suggest an interesting puzzle regarding scoring. The NBA literature suggests scoring is paramount for evaluating professional players, while our results suggest college scoring has little to do with draft position and is relatively weakly associated with professional scoring. |
| Keywords: | NBA, sports, basketball |
| JEL: | L83 |
| Date: | 2008–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spe:wpaper:0806&r=lab |
| By: | Gabriel Helene Bie Lilleør (Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen) |
| Abstract: | There is little doubt in the literature, that poverty and liquidity constraints can drive children out of school and into child labour in developing countries. But are there other important explanations for low primary school enrolment rates? The child labour and schooling literature often ignores that uncertainty about future returns results in a need for risk diversification, that children function as old-age security providers when there are no available pension systems, that the human capital investment decision of one child is likely to be influenced by that of his/her siblings, and that rural parents face a choice of investing in either specific or general human capital of their children. In this paper, I investigate the effects of future income uncertainty on the joint human capital investment decision of children in a household. I develop and calibrate a simple illustrative human capital portfolio model and show that existing levels of uncertainty can indeed result in less than full school enrolment within a household, even in a world of perfect credit markets. The paper thus offers an alternative explanation for why it might be optimal for rural parents not to send all of their children to school. |
| Keywords: | schooling; child labour; specific human capital; traditional education; intergenerational transfers; old-age security; uncertainty; income source diversification; liquidity constraints |
| JEL: | J13 J24 O15 |
| Date: | 2008–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kud:kuieca:2008_06&r=lab |