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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Timothy J. Bartik (W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research) |
| Abstract: | Public policies may affect employment by directly creating jobs, facilitating job creation, or augmenting labor supply. In labor markets with high unemployment, such employment changes may have significant net efficiency benefits, which should be included in benefit-cost analyses. The research literature offers diverse recommendations on measuring employment benefits. Many of the recommendations rely on arbitrary assumptions. The resulting employment benefit estimates vary widely. This paper reviews this literature, and offers recommendations on how to better measure employment benefits using estimable parameters. Guidance is provided on measuring policy-induced labor demand, estimating the demand shock’s impact on labor market outcomes, and translating labor market impacts into efficiency benefits. Two measures are proposed for efficiency benefits, one relying on adjusted reservation wage gains, the other on adjusted earnings gains. |
| Keywords: | Reservation wages, unemployment, occupational upgrading |
| JEL: | H43 J68 Q28 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upj:weupjo:11-178&r=lab |
| By: | Guido Menzio (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania); Irina A. Telyukova (Department of Economics, University of California, San Diego); Ludo Visschers (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | We develop a life-cycle model of the labor market in which different worker-firm matches have different quality and the assignment of the right workers to the right firms is time consuming because of search and learning frictions. The rate at which workers move between unemployment, employment and across different firms is endogenous because search is directed and, hence, workers can choose whether to seek low-wage jobs that are easy to find or high-wage jobs that are hard to find. We calibrate our theory using data on labor market transitions aggregated across workers of different ages. We validate our theory by showing that it correctly predicts the pattern of labor market transitions for workers of different ages. Finally, we use our theory to decompose the age profiles of transition rates, wages and productivity into the effects of age variation in work-life expectancy, human capital and match quality. |
| Keywords: | Directed Search; Labor Reallocation; Lifecycle |
| JEL: | E24 J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2012–01–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pen:papers:12-002&r=lab |
| By: | B. COCKX; M. PICCHIO |
| Abstract: | This study investigates whether and to what extent further unemployment experience for youths who are already long-term unemployed imposes a penalty on subsequent labor market outcomes. We propose a flexible method for analyzing the effect on wages aside of transitions from unemployment and employment within a multivariate duration model that controls for selection on observables and unobservables. We find that prolonging unemployment drastically decreases the chances of finding employment, but hardly affects the quality of subsequent employment. The analysis suggests that negative duration dependence in the job finding rate is induced by negative signaling and not by human capital depreciation. |
| Keywords: | scarring effect of unemployment duration, employment quality, wage in multivariate duration model, selectivity. |
| JEL: | C33 C41 J62 J64 |
| Date: | 2011–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:11/731&r=lab |
| By: | Verónica C. Frisancho Robles; Kala Krishna |
| Abstract: | Affirmative action policies in higher education are used in many countries to try to socially advance historically disadvantaged minorities. Although the underlying social objectives of these policies are rarely criticized, there is intense debate over the actual impact of such preferences in higher education on educational performance and labor outcomes. Most of the work uses U.S. data where clean performance indicators are hard to find. Using a remarkably detailed dataset on the 2008 graduating class from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi we evaluate the impact of affirmative action policies in higher education on minority students focusing on three central issues in the current debate: targeting, catch up, and mismatch. In addition, we present preliminary evidence on labor market discrimination. We find that admission preferences effectively target minority students who are poorer than the average displaced non-minority student. Moreover, by analyzing the college performance of minority and non-minority students as they progress through college, we find that scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students, especially those in more selective majors, fall behind their same-major peers which is the opposite of catching up. We also identify evidence in favor of the mismatch hypothesis: once we control for selection into majors, minority students who enroll in more selective majors as a consequence of admission preferences end up earning less than their same-caste counterparts in less selective majors. Finally, although there is no evidence of discrimination against minority students in terms of wages, we find that scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students are more likely to get worse jobs, even after controlling for selection. |
| JEL: | I20 J15 J31 J7 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17727&r=lab |
| By: | M. PICCHIO; J. C. VAN OURS |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether on-the-job training has an effect on the employability of workers. Using data from the Netherlands we disentangle the true effect of training incidence from the spurious one determined by unobserved individual heterogeneity. We also take into account that there might be feedback from shocks in the employment status to future propensity of receiving firm-provided training. We find that firm-provided training significantly increases future employment prospects. This also holds for older workers, suggesting that firm-provided training may be an important instrument to retain older workers at work. |
| Keywords: | training, employment, human capital, older workers. |
| JEL: | C33 C35 J21 J24 M53 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:11/748&r=lab |
| By: | Ganna Vakhitova (Kyiv School of Economics, Kyiv Economic Institute); Christopher R. Bollinger (University of Kentucky) |
| Abstract: | Using data from a Microsoft survey and the Current Population Survey, we examine the returns to Microsoft Certification in early 2000’s. The formal structure of Microsoft Certification provides a well documented external measure of computer skills rather than the ad-hoc self reports used in other research. We find that the wage premium for MS certification may be over 30% in the full labor market. When certificate holders are compared to only individuals in IT occupations, the overall wage premium falls to a range of 3-7%. We find that the hierarchical structure of Microsoft Certification is reflected in the wage premium associated with specific certificates, further supporting the claim that these certificates measure skills valued in the labor market. We also find that different IT occupations have different values for these skills. The similarity between the return to certification and the return to general education is examined. |
| Keywords: | Computer skills; human capital; Microsoft certification; IT wage premium |
| JEL: | J24 J30 J31 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kse:dpaper:46&r=lab |
| By: | Pia S. Schober |
| Abstract: | This study investigates how the duration of the work interruption and the labor market status of mothers upon their return affect the division of housework in couples after a birth. By observing several parental leave policy reforms in Britain and West-Germany, this research also explores how extended leave entitlements for mothers influence the division of housework. The analysis uses multilevel multiprocess models for 1220 birth events of British couples and 1785 births to German couples based on data from the British Household Panel Survey (1991-2008) and the German Socio-Economic Panel (1985-2009). The results suggest that mothers increase their housework hours with every additional month of employment interruption. Mothers' full-time return seems more effective than a short labor market time-out in altering men's housework contributions and reducing the trend towards a more traditional division of housework. Parental leave policy extensions for mothers were associated with the division of housework only indirectly through their impact on the length of women's work interruptions. |
| Keywords: | Parenthood, parental leave policy, maternal employment, housework, gender division of labor, Britain, Germany |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp422&r=lab |
| By: | Louis N. Christofides (Universities of Cyprus and Guelph.); Michael Hoy (University of Guelph.); Joniada Milla (University of Guelph.); Thanasis Stengos (University of Guelph.) |
| Abstract: | In this study, we explore the effect of peers and family on University attendance and graduation. We find that parental expectations and peer effects have a significant impact on the educational outcomes which operates through the interconnectedness between grades and aspirations during high school. Apart from this indirect path, parents and peers directly influence educational outcomes. Policy measures that exploit especially the parental influence on the child may be useful to balance the gender gap of University graduates in Canada. |
| Keywords: | University Attendance and Graduation, Peer and Parental Influences. |
| JEL: | I20 J00 |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gue:guelph:2012-01.&r=lab |
| By: | Kenneth L. Sørensen (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University, Denmark); Rune Vejlin (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University, Denmark) |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the relationship between initial wage and return to experience. We use a Mincer-like wage model to nonparametrically estimate this relationship allowing for an unobservable individual permanent effect in wages and unobservable individual return to experience. The relationship between return to experience and unobservable individual ability is negative when conditioning on educational attainment while the relationship between return to experience and educational attainment is positive. We link our finding to two main theories of wage growth, namely search and human capital. We are able to test if search frictions are the main driver of the negative relationship, but we find this is not the case. |
| Keywords: | Wage growth, initial wage, return to experience, nonparametric estimation |
| JEL: | J3 J24 |
| Date: | 2012–01–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:aarhec:2012-02&r=lab |
| By: | Edita E. Tan (School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman); Kristine S. Canales (PCED-Institute to Study Inequality, Poverty, and Social Protection (ISIP)); Kevin G. Cruz (PCED-Institute to Study Inequality, Poverty, and Social Protection (ISIP)); Jan Carlo B. Punongbayan |
| Abstract: | The paper tries to explain why women in the Philippines, as yet a low middle income country, obtain higher levels of education than boys. Four empirically based reasons are posited – the substantial expansion of the education system, the growth of job opportunities, the culture that encourages girls to develop better study habits and the high returns to their education. Empirical evidence is provided to support these contentions especially on the returns to women’s schooling. The study concentrates in estimating by various methods returns to schooling using individual observations from the labor force survey. The more conventional OLS regressions are first applied to allow comparison with many studies and the semi-parametric estimates. But the semi-parametric additive method had to be used in order to check for specification robustness of the model due to the observed violation of the OLS assumption of normal distribution of error terms. The quantile regression was also applied to reflect the income distribution implications of the returns pattern. An additional insight into the returns estimation is given by the inclusion of the effect of being married and marrying well, i.e., whether the spouses are equally or upward matched in education, or not. We find that returns to education are higher the higher the level of education is and that returns to women's education are higher than returns to men’s education. Moreover, being married and married well increase earnings. Additionally, there is a fairly high good matching between education classes, i.e., there is substantial intermarriage among college graduates and other college educated and among lower educated individuals. This implies poor social mobility considering that access to education especially at the higher levels is very much constrained by family resources. Intermarriage between college graduates preserves their high social position since access to education is restricted by income. The paper concludes with a list of social issues that emerge from the findings. |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phs:dpaper:201112&r=lab |
| By: | Harald Oberhofer; Matthias Stöckl; Hannes Winner (WIFO) |
| Abstract: | We provide evidence on the impact of globalisation on labour market outcomes analysing pay differences between foreign-acquired and domestically-owned firms. For this purpose, we use firm level data from 16 European countries over the time period 1999 to 2006. Applying propensity score matching techniques we estimate positive wage premia of cross-boarder merger and acquisitions, suggesting that foreign acquired firms exhibit higher short-run (post-acquisition) wages than their domestic counterparts. The observed wage disparities are most pronounced for low paying firms (with average wages below the median). Finally, we find systematic wage premia in Western European countries, but not so in Eastern Europe. |
| Keywords: | Globalisation, mergers and acquisitions, wage effects, propensity score matching |
| Date: | 2012–01–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wfo:wpaper:y:2012:i:416&r=lab |
| By: | Robert Clark; Melinda Sandler Morrill; Jennifer Maki |
| Abstract: | This project examines the impact of employer-provided financial education for newly hired workers on contributions to voluntary retirement savings plans. Using administrative data from five large employers, the researchers assess the impact of information and delivery methods on the choice to participate in the plans and the deferral amount selected. The researchers collected additional data from one employer-partner covering the two years before and after their automatic enrollment policy was implemented. Average participation rates increased sharply, while the same fraction of workers took advantage of the full employer match once eligible. The researchers also conducted a survey of newly hired workers. The survey measured employees’ understanding of their company’s voluntary retirement savings plan, their assessment of the employer-provided information, and their reasons for limited or non-participation. Nonparticipants demonstrated lower overall financial literacy relative to participants, and many respondents felt that the information provided by their employers was not sufficient. Finally, the largest employer-partner, BB&T, implemented a field experiment where an on-line mailing was sent to a random subset of non-participating newly hired workers. Younger workers receiving the flyer were significantly more likely to enroll in the 401(k) plan, while older workers actually had lower initiation rates relative to their control group. The research presented provides insights into the efficacy and importance of financial education provided by employers to newly hired workers and how it impacts their retirement saving decisions. |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ran:wpaper:892&r=lab |
| By: | Irene Mosca (Trinity College Dublin); Robert Wright (Department of Economics, University of Strathclyde) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines empirically the relationship between under-employment and migration amongst five cohorts of graduates of Scottish higher education institutions with micro-data collected by the Higher Education Statistical Agency. The data indicate that there is a strong positive relationship between migration and graduate employment—those graduates who move after graduation from Scotland to the rest of the UK or abroad have a much higher rate of graduate employment. Versions of probit regression are used to estimate migration and graduate employment equations in order to explore the nature of this relationship further. These equations confirm that there is a strong positive relationship between the probability of migrating and the probability of being in graduate employment even after other factors are controlled for. Instrumental variables estimation is used to examine the causal nature of the relationship by attempting to deal with the potential endogeneity of migration decisions. Overall the analysis is consistent with the hypotheses that a sizeable fraction of higher education graduates are leaving Scotland for employment reasons. In turn this finding suggests the over-education/under-employment nexus is a serious problem in Scotland. |
| Keywords: | Scotland, under-employment, over-education, higher education graduates |
| JEL: | I23 J24 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:str:wpaper:1135&r=lab |
| By: | Wei Chi; Richard B. Freeman; Hongbin Li |
| Abstract: | China’s emerging labor market was buffeted by changes in demand and supply and institutional changes in the last two decades. Using the Chinese Urban Household Survey data from 1989 to 2009, our study shows that the market responded with substantial changes in the structure of wages and in employment and types of jobs that workers obtained that mirrors the adjustments found in labor markets in advanced economies. However, the one place where the Chinese labor market appears to diverge from the labor markets in advanced countries is the rapid convergence in earnings and occupational positions of cohorts who entered the job market under more or less favorable conditions. On this dimension, China’s labor market seems more flexible than those in other countries. Three related factors may explain this pattern: (1) the rapid growth of China’s economy; (2) the high rate of employee turnover; (3) the relative weakness of internal labor markets in China. Bottom line, the Chinese labor market has responded about as well as one could expect to the changes in the demand and supply factors and institutional shocks in this critical period in Chinese economic history. |
| JEL: | J3 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17721&r=lab |
| By: | Grönqvist, Hans (Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University); Hall, Caroline (Institute for Labor Market Policy Evaluation (IFAU) and Uppsala Center for Labor Studies (UCLS)) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies effects of education policy on early fertility. We study a major educational reform in Sweden in which vocational tracks in upper secondary school were prolonged from two to three years and the curricula were made more academic. Our identification strategy takes advantage of cross-regional and cross-time variation in the implementation of a pilot scheme preceding the reform in which several municipalities evaluated the new policy. The empirical analysis draws on rich population micro data. We find that women who enrolled in the new program were significantly less likely to give birth early in life and that this effect is driven by women with higher opportunity costs of child rearing. There is however no statistically significant effect on mens fertility decisions. Our results suggest that the social benefits of changes in education policy may extend beyond those usually claimed. |
| Keywords: | Schooling reform; teenage childbearing; fertility |
| JEL: | I20 J13 |
| Date: | 2011–12–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sofiwp:2011_014&r=lab |
| By: | Jeremy Greenwood; Nezih Guner; Georgi Kocharkov; Cezar Santos |
| Abstract: | Marriage has declined since 1960, with the drop being bigger for non-college educated individuals versus college educated ones. Divorce has increased, more so for the non-college educated vis-à-vis the college educated. Additionally, assortative mating has risen; i.e., people are more likely to marry someone of the same educational level today than in the past. A unified model of marriage, divorce, educational attainment and married female labor-force participation is developed and estimated to fit the postwar U.S. data. The role of technological progress in the household sector and shifts in the wage structure for explaining these facts is gauged. |
| JEL: | E13 J12 J22 O11 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17735&r=lab |
| By: | Yezid HERNÁNDEZ LUNA |
| Abstract: | This article analyses the impact of imports and exports, from and towards the most important Colombian trade partners (United States, European Union, China, Andean Community of Nations, Venezuela, Brazil and Mexico), on employment in the manufacturing sector during 2000 ‐ 2007. We use the System GMM methodology to estimate an equation of labor demand as a function of capital, wage, and a measure of imports and exports. Additionally, we estimate the effects of the share of trade with each trade partner over the labor demand, and compute interaction variables to analyze changes in the effects of international trade across the categories of workers (high and low skilled). Econometric estimations produced, for this period, evidence on inertia in the Colombian labor market. In addition, a substitution relationship between capital and labor was also found. Imports showed no or a negative effect over employment depending on the index of imports used. Analyses by destiny and origin of trade showed that exports to Venezuela and Andean Community of Nations had a negative correlation to employment. Likewise, we found that only commerce with China had some impact on each manufacturing subsector employment, depending on the characteristics of the workers (high or low skilled). |
| Date: | 2011–10–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000118:009227&r=lab |
| By: | Danielle Venn |
| Abstract: | Eligibility criteria for unemployment benefits, which require recipients to actively look for work, take up suitable job offers or take part in active labour market programmes (ALMPs), or risk benefit sanctions, can play an important role in offsetting the negative impact of generous unemployment benefits on employment incentives. This paper presents information on the strictness of eligibility criteria for unemployment benefits for 36 OECD and/or EU member countries. It covers entitlement conditions (employment and/or contribution requirements to gain access to benefits and sanctions for voluntary unemployment), job-search requirements (availability requirements during ALMPs and suitable work criteria), monitoring of job-search effort and sanctions for refusing a job offer or ALMP placement. These qualitative data are then used to compile a composite indicator of the strictness of eligibility criteria and some comparisons are made with the results of a similar exercise for earlier periods. This indicator complements existing cross-country indicators relating to unemployment benefits, such as net replacement rate data from the OECD Tax and Benefits database and data on ALMP expenditure compiled annually by Eurostat and the OECD.<BR>Les critères d’éligibilité aux allocations de chômage, comme l’obligation de chercher activement un emploi, d’accepter les offres d’emploi convenables ou de participer à des programmes actifs du marché du travail (PAMT), ou bien le risque de sanction par rapport aux prestations, peuvent jouer un rôle important pour compenser l’effet négatif des allocations de chômage généreuses sur les incitations à l’emploi. Ce document présente des informations sur la rigueur des conditions d’éligibilité pour les allocations de chômage dans 36 pays de l’OCDE et/ou membres de l’UE. Il décrit les conditions d’accès aux prestations (période d’emploi et/ou de contribution requise et sanctions en cas de chômage volontaire), les obligations de recherche d’emploi (disponibilité pour les participants aux PAMT et critère d’emploi convenable), le contrôle des efforts de recherche d’emploi et les sanctions en cas de refus d’une offre d’emploi ou d’une proposition de participation à une mesure active du marché du travail. Ces données qualitatives sont ensuite utilisées pour construire un indicateur composite de la rigueur des critères d’éligibilité et effectuer des comparaisons avec des résultats d’exercices similaires pour des périodes antérieures. Cet indicateur complète les autres indicateurs disponibles relatifs aux prestations de chômage, tel les taux de remplacement issus de la base de données de l’OCDE prestations et salaires et les données sur les dépenses publiques des PAMT compilées annuellement par Eurostat et l’OCDE. |
| Date: | 2012–01–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaab:131-en&r=lab |
| By: | V. Nellas; E. Olivieri |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the pattern of job opportunities over the last two decades in European countries. We find that the share of high-skilled jobs have been expanding over time, while the share of medium- skilled jobs have been declining. These changes are in line with the US patterns and, according to the previous literature, they come from recent technological changes. However, our data show an interesting difference between the US and Europe: in Europe there is not any increase in the share of low-skilled employment. Moreover, we find that the difference between the proportion of employment hired in low-skilled and medium-skilled jobs is negatively correlated with both the unemployment rate and the degree of employment protection in the labour market. We propose a theoretical model to study the effects of a technological shock on the employment structure in a unionized economy. By accounting for the collective bargaining process, our model may fit Continental Europe better than the previous ones. We conclude that the definition of the union policy is crucial in order to explain observed cross-country heterogeneity in low-skilled employment. |
| JEL: | J2 J51 O3 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp804&r=lab |
| By: | Amine Ouazad; Lionel Page |
| Abstract: | We put forward a new experimental economics design with monetary incentives to estimate students' perceptions of grading discrimination. We use this design in a large field experiment which involved 1,200 British students in grade 8 classrooms across 29 schools. In this design, students are given an endowment they can invest on a task where payoff depends on performance. The task is a written verbal test which is graded non anonymously by their teacher, in a random half of the classrooms, and graded anonymously by an external examiner in the other random half of the classrooms. We find significant evidence that students' choices reflect perceptions of biases in teachers' grading practices. Our results show systematic gender interaction effects: male students invest less with female teachers than with male teachers while female students invest more with male teachers than with female teachers. Interestingly, female students' perceptions are not in line with actual discrimination: Teachers tend to give better grades to students of their own gender. Results do not suggest that ethnicity and socioeconomic status play a role. |
| Keywords: | Teacher biases, educational achievement |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:ceedps:0133&r=lab |
| By: | Gerald Eisenkopf; Ansgar Wohlschlegel |
| Abstract: | We analyze educational institutions incentives to set up demanding or lax curricula in duopolistic markets for education with endogenous enrolment of students. We assume that there is a positive externality of student achievement on the local economy. Comparing the case of regulated tuition fees with an unregulated market, we identify the following inefficiencies: Under regulated tuition fees schools will set up inefficiently lax curricula in an attempt to please low-quality students even if schools internalize some of the externality. On the other hand, unregulated schools set up excessively differentiated curricula in order to relax competition in tuition fees. Deregulation gets more attractive if a larger fraction of the externality is internalized. |
| Keywords: | Education, Local Externalities, Produkt Differentiation, Price Competition, Vouchers |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:twi:respas:0064&r=lab |
| By: | Raj Chetty; John N. Friedman; Jonah E. Rockoff |
| Abstract: | Are teachers’ impacts on students’ test scores (“value-added”) a good measure of their quality? This question has sparked debate largely because of disagreement about (1) whether value-added (VA) provides unbiased estimates of teachers’ impacts on student achievement and (2) whether high-VA teachers improve students’ long-term outcomes. We address these two issues by analyzing school district data from grades 3-8 for 2.5 million children linked to tax records on parent characteristics and adult outcomes. We find no evidence of bias in VA estimates using previously unobserved parent characteristics and a quasi-experimental research design based on changes in teaching staff. Students assigned to high-VA teachers are more likely to attend college, attend higher- ranked colleges, earn higher salaries, live in higher SES neighborhoods, and save more for retirement. They are also less likely to have children as teenagers. Teachers have large impacts in all grades from 4 to 8. On average, a one standard deviation improvment in teacher VA in a single grade raises earnings by about 1% at age 28. Replacing a teacher whose VA is in the bottom 5% with an average teacher would increase students’ lifetime income by more than $250,000 for the average classroom in our sample. We conclude that good teachers create substantial economic value and that test score impacts are helpful in identifying such teachers. |
| JEL: | I2 J24 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17699&r=lab |
| By: | B. COCKX; M. DEJEMEPPE; A. LAUNOV; B. VAN DER LINDEN |
| Abstract: | We develop and estimate a non-stationary job search model to evaluate a scheme that monitors job search effort and sanctions insured unemployed whose effort is deemed insuffcient. The model reveals that such schemes provide incentives to the unemployed to front-load search effort prior to monitoring. This causes the job finding rate to increase above the post sanction level. After validating the model both internally and externally, we conclude that the scheme is effective in raising the job finding rate with minor wage losses. A basic cost-benefit analysis demonstrates that welfare losses for the unemployed are compensated by net eciency gains for public authorities and society. |
| Keywords: | Monitoring, sanctions, non-stationary job search, unemployment benets, structural estimation. |
| JEL: | J64 J68 C41 |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:11/761&r=lab |
| By: | John Schmitt; Janelle Jones |
| Abstract: | The official concept of “long-term unemployment,” while useful, is incomplete and, in some cases, even potentially misleading. As tracked by government statistics, the long-term unemployed are only a relatively small part of the population facing extended, sometimes permanent, spells without work. This report proposes rethinking our understanding of long-term unemployment in two ways. First, we encourage shifting from a narrow focus on long-term unemployment toward a broader concept of “long-term hardship” in the labor market. Many workers or potential workers who do not fit the official definition of long-term unemployment – including “discouraged” and “marginally attached” workers and those involuntarily working part-time jobs – face long-term hardship in the labor market, but are not captured in the standard measure of long-term unemployment. Second, we suggest complementing the standard measure of long-term unemployment, which reports the share of the unemployed who have been out of work for 6 months or more, with an alternative measure, which reports the share of the total labor force that has been unemployed for 6 months or more. This alternative measure avoids some counter-intuitive properties of the standard statistic and is better for making comparisons across demographic groups. |
| Keywords: | unemployment, long-term unemployment, discouraged workers, marginally attached workers, part time for economic reasons |
| JEL: | J J0 J01 J6 J64 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:epo:papers:2012-01&r=lab |
| By: | Emmanuel Duguet; Christine le Clainche |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether chronic illnesses and injuries have a significant impact on the individual’s performance in the labor market. We use the “Santé et Itinéraires Professionnels” (SIP, “Health and Labor Market Histories”) survey, conducted in France in 2006-2007. We use the propensity score method in order to evaluate the impact of chronic illnesses and accidents on labor market participation and earnings. We find that both health events have a negative effect on professional careers and earnings, and that accidents have a greater impact on women’s earnings |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lam:wpaper:12-02&r=lab |
| By: | Ana María Ibáñez L.; Manuel Fernández; Ximena Peña |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the use of labor markets to mitigate the impact of violent shocks on households in rural areas in Colombia. It examines changes in the labor supply from on-farm to off-farm labor as a means of coping with the violent shock and the ensuing redistribution of time within households. It identifies the heterogeneous response by gender. Because the incidence of violent shocks is not exogenous, the analysis uses instrumental variables that capture several dimensions of the cost of exercising terror. As a response to the violent shocks, households decrease the time spent on on-farm work and increase their supply of labor to off-farm activities (non-agricultural ones). Men carry the bulk of the adjustment in the use of time inasmuch as they supply the most hours to off-farm non-agricultural work and formal labor markets. Labor markets do not fully absorb the additional labor supply. Women in particular are unable to find jobs in formal labor markets and men have increased time dedicated to leisure and household chores. Additional off-farm supply does not fully cover the decrease in consumption. The results suggest that in rural Colombia, labor markets are a limited alternative for coping with violent shocks. Thus, policies in conflict-affected countries should go beyond short-term relief and aim at preventing labor markets from collapsing and at supporting the recovery of agricultural production. |
| Date: | 2011–11–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000089:009246&r=lab |
| By: | Benoit Dostie (IEA, HEC Montréal); Pierre Thomas Léger (IEA, HEC Montréal) |
| Abstract: | We use longitudinal linked employer-employee data and find that the probability of participating in firm-sponsored classroom training diminishes rapidly for workers aged 45 years and older. Although the standard human capital investment model predicts such a decline, we also consider the possibility that returns to training decline with age. Taking into account endogenous training decisions, we find that the training wage premium diminishes only slightly with age. However, estimates of the impact of training on productivity decrease dramatically with age, suggesting that incentives for firms to invest in classroom training are much lower for older workers. |
| Date: | 2011–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iea:carech:1106&r=lab |
| By: | Elisabetta Croci Angelini; Francesco Farina |
| Abstract: | Differently from the presumption of standard economic theory, empirical evidence suggests that returns to education do not play the most relevant role in tertiary education enrolment. On the whole, the results of our investigation conducted on a probit regression model indicates that the cultural family background has a great influence on the young’s decision to go to university. The offspring’s own income is also very significant in all models, as the p-values are very good in both countries. The main difference between the two countries is that the influence of the father is much lower in France than in Italy, where the coefficient for the father’s education is relevant on average to the same extent than the mother’s education one. |
| Keywords: | human capital formation, intergenerational mobility, income and educational inequality. |
| JEL: | I21 J24 D63 |
| Date: | 2011–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:depfid:0111&r=lab |
| By: | C. Kirabo Jackson |
| Abstract: | Unlike in elementary schools, high school teacher effects may be confounded with unobserved track-level treatments (such as the AVID program) that are correlated with individual teachers. I present a strategy that exploits detailed course-taking information to credibly estimate the effects of 9th grade Algebra and English teachers on test scores. I document substantial bias due to track-specific treatments and I show that traditional tests for the existence of teacher effects are flawed. After accounting for bias, I find sizable algebra teacher effects and little evidence of English teacher effects. I find little evidence of teacher spillovers across subjects. |
| JEL: | H0 I20 J00 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17722&r=lab |
| By: | Jan K. Brueckner (University of California, Irvine); David Neumark (University of California, Irvine & National Bureau of Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | The absence of a competitive market and the presence and strength of public-sector labor unions make it likely that public-sector pay reflects an element of rent extraction by government workers. In this paper, we test a specific hypothesis that connects such rent extraction to the level of local amenities. Specifically, although migration of taxpayers limits the extent of rent-seeking, public-sector workers may be able to extract higher rents in regions where high amenities mute the migration response. We develop a theoretical model that predicts such a link between public-sector wage differentials and local amenities, and we test the model’s predictions by analyzing variation in these wage differentials and amenities across states. The evidence reveals that public-sector wage differentials are, in fact, larger in the presence of high amenities, with the effect being stronger for unionized public-sector workers, who are likely better able to exercise political power in extracting rents. |
| Keywords: | Public-sector pay, unions, amenities |
| JEL: | J3 J45 R12 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2012/1/doc2011-42&r=lab |
| By: | Harold E. Cuffe (University of Oregon, 1285 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States); William T. Harbaugh (University of Oregon, 1285 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States); Jason M. Lindo (University of Oregon, 1285 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States); Giancarlo Musto (Université de Lyon, Lyon, F-69007, France ; CNRS, GATE Lyon St Etienne, Ecully, F-69130, France); Glen R. Waddell (University of Oregon, 1285 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, United States) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the effects of a school-based incentive program on children’s exercise habits. The program offers children an opportunity to win prizes if they walk or bike to school during prize periods. We use daily child-level data and individual fixed effects models to measure the impact of the prizes by comparing behavior during prize periods with behavior during non-prize periods. Variation in the timing of prize periods across different schools allows us to estimate models with calendar date fixed effects to control for day-specific attributes, such as weather and proximity to holidays. On average, we find that being in a prize period increases riding behavior by sixteen percent, a large impact given that the prize value is just six cents per participating student. We also find that winning a prize lottery has a positive impact on ridership over subsequent weeks ; consider heterogeneity across prize type, gender, age, and calendar month ; and explore differential effects on the intensive versus extensive margins. |
| Keywords: | health, exercise, children, school, incentives, active commuting |
| JEL: | I12 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gat:wpaper:1137&r=lab |
| By: | Sandrine Cazes (International Labour Office, Employment Analysis and Research Unit); Sher Verick (ILO Decent Work Team for South Asia and ILO Country Office for India); Fares Al-Hussami |
| Abstract: | The global financial crisis deeply impacted labour markets around the globe, particularly in a number of OECD countries. However, in such cases as the United States, some commentators have argued that the subsequent rise in unemployment has exceeded previous estimates of the elasticity of the unemployment rate with respect to output growth, a statistical relationship known as Okun’s law. In line with the literature on this topic, the estimates of Okun’s coefficients presented in this paper display considerable variation across countries, which captures the heterogeneity in the responsiveness of unemployment to the global financial crisis. In the United States, Canada, Spain and other severely affected economies, the coefficient increased sharply, departing from pre-crisis levels in the 2000s. In other countries where unemployment has remained subdued, namely Germany and the Netherlands, the coefficient has fallen dramatically. While different factors can potentially explain how the crisis has been transmitted to the labour market, the role of labour market institutions is the focus of this paper. In this regard, empirical evidence exploring the relationship between the shift in Okun’s coefficients and such institutions confirms that the responsiveness in the unemployment rate during the Great Recession was lower in countries where workers are afforded greater employment protection (such as Germany). |
| Keywords: | unemployment / employment / employment security / labour legislation / comment / economic recession / OECD countries / USA |
| Date: | 2012 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:emwpap:2012-106&r=lab |
| By: | Stefan Boeters |
| Abstract: | <p>This paper reviews options of labour market-modelling in a CGE framework. </p><p>On the labour-supply side, two principal modelling options are distinguished and discussed: aggregated, representative households and microsimulation based on individual household data.</p><p>On the labour-demand side, we focus on the substitution possibilities between different types of labour in production.</p><p>With respect to labour-market coordination, we discuss several wage-forming mechanisms and involuntary unemployment.<br /> </p> |
| JEL: | C68 D58 J20 J64 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:201&r=lab |
| By: | Pedro Gomis-Porqueras (Department of Economics, University of Miami); Oscar Mitnik (Department of Economics, University of Miami); Adrian Peralta-Alva (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis); Maximilian D. Schmeiser (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses whether a causal relationship exists between recent increases in female labor force participation and the increased prevalence of obesity amongst women. The expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) in the 1980s and 1990s have been established by prior literature as having generated variation in female labor supply, particularly amongst single mothers. Here, we use this plausibly exogenous variation in female labor supply to identify the effect of labor force participation on obesity status. We use data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and replicate labor supply effects of the EITC expansions found in previous literature. This validates employing a difference-in-differences estimation strategy in the NHIS data, as has been done in several other data sets. Depending on the specification, we find that increased labor force participation can account for at most 19% of the observed change in obesity prevalence over our sample period. Our preferred specification, however, suggests that there is no causal link between increased female labor force participation and increased obesity. |
| Keywords: | Female Labor Force Participation, Obesity, Earned Income Tax Credit |
| JEL: | H31 I12 J22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mia:wpaper:2011-16&r=lab |
| By: | Maria K. Humlum (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University, Denmark); Jannie H.G. Kristoffersen (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University, Denmark); Rune Vejlin (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University, Denmark) |
| Abstract: | It is likely that the extent of progression in the educational system a ects whether or not one decides to start a family at a given point in time. We estimate the e ect of enrolling in college in the year of application on later family formation decisions such as the probability of being a parent at a certain age. Using college admission data, we nd that individuals who are above the grade requirement for their preferred college program are more likely to enroll in college in a given year. Employing an IV strategy based on this idea, we nd that delays in college enrollment postpone family formation decisions. For example, we nd that the effect of enrolling in college on the probability of being a parent at age 27 is about 9 percentage points, corresponding to an increase of about 70 percent. |
| Keywords: | fertility, education |
| JEL: | I2 J12 J13 |
| Date: | 2012–01–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:aarhec:2012-01&r=lab |
| By: | Alex Bryson; Richard Freeman; Claudio Lucifora; Michele Pellizzari; Virginie Perotin |
| Abstract: | We present new comparable data on the incidence of performance pay schemes in Europe and the USA. We find that the percentage of employees exposed to incentive pay schemes ranges from around 10-15 percent in some European countries to over 40 percent in Scandinavian countries and the US. Individual pay and profit/gain sharing schemes are widely diffused, whereas share ownership schemes are much less common, particularly in Europe. We document a number of empirical regularities. Incentive pay is less common in countries with a higher share of small firms. Higher product and labour market regulation are associated with lower use of incentive pay. Capital market development is a necessary requirement for a wider diffusion of incentive pay, particularly sharing and ownership schemes. When we control for a large set of individual characteristics and company attributes, we find that the probability that a worker is covered by an incentive scheme is higher in large firms and in high-skilled occupations, while it is much lower for females. |
| Keywords: | performance pay, financial participation, institutions |
| JEL: | J24 J33 D31 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1112&r=lab |
| By: | Tim Krieger (University of Paderborn); Jens Ruhose (Ifo Institut) |
| Abstract: | Intergenerational conflicts may arise when interests of different age groups do not align. We examine cross-country data to find evidence for this conflict in OECD countries. We derive our results from a FGLS estimation model, which is complemented by a System-GMM estimation. Data covers a panel of 22 OECD countries over the time period 1985-2005. We find little support for intergenerational conflict in general; however, those who are close to (statutory) retirement age dislike public expenditure for families and education because, once they retire, they have to adapt to lower retirement income levels compared to previous work income. This effect lasts for a transitory period only. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational Conflict, Family Benefits, Population Ageing, Education Expenditure, Voting, Retirement Income Shock. |
| JEL: | D72 H50 J13 J14 I22 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pdn:wpaper:46&r=lab |
| By: | Scott A. Imberman; Adriana D. Kugler |
| Abstract: | In response to low take-up, many public schools have experimented with moving breakfast from the cafeteria to the classroom. We examine whether such a program increases performance as measured by standardized test scores, grades and attendance rates. We exploit quasi-random timing of program implementation that allows for a difference-in-differences identification strategy. Our main identification assumption is that schools where the program was introduced earlier would have evolved similarly to those where the program was introduced later. We find that in-class breakfast increases both math and reading achievement by about one-tenth of a standard deviation relative to providing breakfast in the cafeteria. Moreover, we find that these effects are most pronounced for low performing, free-lunch eligible, Hispanic, and low BMI students. We also find some improvements in attendance for high achieving students but no impact on grades. |
| JEL: | I10 I21 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17720&r=lab |
| By: | Holter, Hans A (Uppsala Center for Fiscal Studies) |
| Abstract: | I document a strong negative cross-country correlation between intergenerational earnings persistence and tax progressivity, and between intergenerational earnings persistence and public expenditure on tertiary education. To explain these correlations I then develop an intergenerational life-cycle model of human capital accumulation and earnings, which features, progressive taxation, public education expenditure, and borrowing constraints among the determinants of earnings persistence. I calibrate the model to US data and use it to decompose the contributions to earnings persistence from different model elements and to quantify how earnings persistence in the US changes as I introduce tax- and eduction expenditure policies from other countries. I find that individual investments in human capital accounts for 62% of the estimated intergenerational earnings persistence in the US. Taxation, through its impact on investments in human capital, can explain 25% of the difference between the US and 10 other countries, whereas borrowing constraints have a limited impact on earnings persistence. |
| Keywords: | Intergenerational Earnings Persistence; Taxation; Public Education Expenditure |
| JEL: | E24 E62 H31 H52 J62 J68 |
| Date: | 2011–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:uufswp:2011_014&r=lab |
| By: | Gwendolyn R. Tecson (School of Economics, University of the Philippines Diliman) |
| Abstract: | Grades are used to evaluate students as well as to compare their scholastic achievements. They are used by graduate schools as well as business firms to discriminate between students. But when grades are inflated, they cease to be an objective measure. We therefore wish to examine the trend in grades in the UP School of Economics. In particular, we would like to find out if the explosion in Latin honors (cum laudes and magna cum laudes) in recent years is due to the Revitalized General Education Program (RGEP). Through regression analysis, we found that GWA is determined by the RGEP (as well as the EWA). Except for a few subjects, there is no grade inflation in RGEP courses. |
| Date: | 2011–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phs:dpaper:201102&r=lab |
| By: | Christian Dustmann (UCL and CReAM); Tommaso Frattini (University of Milan, LdA, CReAM and IZA) |
| Abstract: | This paper first presents a brief historical overview of immigration in Europe. We then provide (and distinguishing between EU and non-EU immigrants) a comprehensive analysis of the skill structures of immigrants and their labor market integration in the different European countries, their position in the wage distribution, and the situation of their children, and discuss the disadvantage of immigrants and their children relative to natives. We show that immigrants – in particular those from non-EU countries – are severely disadvantaged in most countries, even if we compare them to natives with the same measurable skills. We conclude with a discussion of the role of regulations and institutions as one possible mechanism for these findings, and suggest directions for future research. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Europe, Integration, Institutions. |
| JEL: | J15 J61 J62 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2012001&r=lab |
| By: | B. MERLEVEDE; G. RAYP; S. VAN PARYS; T. VERBEKE |
| Abstract: | Empirical research on international tax competition has mainly considered cor- porate taxation. Because of the limited international mobility of labour, labour tax competition tends to be overlooked. This may be unjusti ed. The tax base in labour taxation is the wage mass that depends on employment. While labour is largely in- ternationally immobile, jobs are certainly not because of the international mobility of goods. Given the higher share of labour tax in government revenues, labour tax competition could also have more important welfare consequences than corporate tax competition. We model the possibility of labour tax competition using a standard Dixit-Stiglitz two-country model with immobile rms and workers and transportation costs in exporting goods. The model is extended with the assumptions of non-clearing labour markets and income redistribution by the government, nanced by a labour tax. The model results in an empirical speci cation of the labour tax reaction function in the form of a spatial lag panel. The tax reaction function is then estimated for the EU15 member states using an instrumental variable approach. Our results point to the presence of small, but signi cant labour tax competition within the EU15. |
| Keywords: | tax competition, labour tax, spatial autocorrelation, strategic interactions. |
| JEL: | H0 H25 H77 |
| Date: | 2011–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:11/750&r=lab |
| By: | Christoph Basten, Andreas Fagereng and Kjetil Telle (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | Using administrative panel data from Norway, we investigate the development of household labor income, financial wealth and asset holdings over a nine-year period surrounding job loss. Consistent with a simple theoretical model, the data show precautionary saving and a shift toward safer assets in the years leading up to unemployment, and depletion of savings during unemployment. This suggests that at least some households can foresee and prepare for upcoming unemployment, which indicates that private savings can complement publicly provided unemployment insurance. |
| Keywords: | unemployment; precautionary saving; consumption smoothing; household portfolios; portfolio allocation; optimal unemployment insurance |
| JEL: | D12 E21 E24 G11 J65 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:672&r=lab |
| By: | David M. Cutler; Adriana Lleras-Muney |
| Abstract: | In this review we synthesize what is known about the relationship between education and health. A large number of studies from both rich and poor countries show that education is associated with better health. While previous work has thought of the effect of education separately for rich and poor countries, we argue that there are insights to be gained by integrating the two. For example, education is associated with lower malnutrition in most countries, but in richer countries the educated have lower BMIs whereas in poor countries the educated have higher BMIs. This suggests that the behaviors associated with better health differ depending on the level of development. We illustrate this approach by comparing the effects of education on various health and health behaviors around the world, to generate hypotheses about why education is so often (but not always) predictive of health. Finally, we review the empirical evidence on the relationship between education and health, paying particular attention to causal evidence and evidence on mechanisms linking education to better health. |
| JEL: | I1 I12 I15 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:17738&r=lab |
| By: | Dag Kolsrud and Ragnar Nymoen (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | A standard model of equilibrium unemployment consists of static equations for real wage ambitions (wage curve) and real wage scope (price curve), which jointly determine the NAIRU. The heuristics of the model states that unless the rate of unemployment approaches the NAIRU from any given initial value, inflation will be increasing or decreasing over time. We formalize this influential heuristic argument with the aid of a dynamic model of the wage-price spiral where the static theory's equations are re-interpretated as attractor relationships. We show that NAIRU unemployment dynamics are sufficient but not necessary for inflation stabilization, and that the dynamic wage-price spiral model generally has a dynamically stable solution for any pre-determined rate of unemployment. We also discuss a restricted version of the model that conforms to the accelerationist view that inflation increases/falls if unemployment is not at its ‘natural rate’. |
| Keywords: | AS-AD; equilibrium-correction; imperfect competition; macroeconomics; NAIRU; Phillips curve; unemployment; wage-price spiral. |
| JEL: | E24 E30 J50 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:671&r=lab |
| By: | Joachim Wagner (Institute of Economics, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Empirical investigations with enterprise level data from official statistics often use the average wage as a proxy variable for the qualification of the workforce, mostly due to the lack of detailed information on the qualification of the employees. This paper uses unique newly available data for German enterprises from the KombiFiD project that for the first time combine information from the statistics of employees covered by social security and information from surveys performed by the Statistical Offices to look at the quality of this proxy variable by investigating the link between the average wage in a firm and the qualification of the workforce. Furthermore, it demonstrates that detailed information on the qualification of the workforce sheds new light on the role of highly qualified employees for success on export markets that is not revealed by the average wage as a proxy variable. Based on the results of this paper it is argued that combined firm level data that stem from different data producers should be widely accessible for research. |
| Keywords: | Qualification of workforce, average wage, export, firm level data |
| JEL: | C81 F14 J31 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lue:wpaper:224&r=lab |
| By: | Glenn Dutcher |
| Abstract: | This study examines how employees internalize differences in social distance between themselves and their managers when they are competing for a reward given by the manager. In an employer/employee relationship, this difference in social distance between the employer and the various employees leads to a disadvantageous situation for the socially distant workers when raises, promotions, special considerations etc. are given. Since social distance is present in most organizations, understanding how employees work effort changes in response to changes in social distance is of upmost importance. In prior literature, this disadvantage has always been assumed/shown to lead to lower effort than the advantaged worker. The results partially back up this claim and show that females who are socially distant from their manager contribute much less than females who are socially closer or males regardless of the social distance. |
| Keywords: | Experiment, Social distance |
| JEL: | C91 C92 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inn:wpaper:2011-29&r=lab |
| By: | Ngo Van Long; Antoine Soubeyran; Raphael Soubeyran |
| Abstract: | We develop a simple model of task allocation for knowledge workers over their career within an organization. The human capital theory initiated by Becker (1962, 1964) has o¤ered a rich analysis of an individuals life cycle investment in human capital. One of the main result of this literature states that human capital investments are undertaken at the early stage of the career because workers have then a longer period of time over which they can bene t from the return of their investments. In this paper, we consider a knowledge accumulation problem within an organization that cannot prevent the worker from quitting and using the knowledge outside the organization. In the rst best situation, we show a similar result as in the human capital theory, i.e. the share of time allocated to knowledge creation tasks decreases over time. We then ask how this pattern is a¤ected when the knowledge worker can leave the organization and bene t from this knowledge outside the organization. In this case, we obtain the novel result that the time path of the fraction of working time allocated to knowledge creation tasks is non-monotone. This fraction is highest at the early career stage, falls gradually, then rises again, before falling nally toward zero. We also show that an increase in the rm-speci city of knowledge can increase or decrease the life-time income of the knowledge worker. |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lam:wpaper:12-03&r=lab |
| By: | Ekrame Boubtane; Dramane Coulibaly; Christophe Rault |
| Keywords: | Immigration, GROWTH, unemployment, Granger causality |
| JEL: | E20 F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cii:cepidt:2011-29&r=lab |
| By: | Andres Redchuk (Department of Statistics and Operations Research, Rey Juan Carlos University); Javier M. Moguerza (Department of Statistics and Operations Research, Rey Juan Carlos University); Clara Laura Cardone Riportella (Department of Business Administration, Universidad Pablo de Olavide) |
| Abstract: | This paper applies a new quality measurement methodology to measure the quality of the postgraduate courses. The methodology we propose is the Academic Quality Measurement (AQM). The model is applied to several simulated data sets where we know the true value of the parameters of the model. A nonparametric model, based in Nearest Neighbours combined with Restricted Least Squared methods, is developed in which students evaluate the overall academic programme quality and a set of dimensions or attributes that determine this quality. The database comes from a Spanish Public University post graduate programme. Among the most important conclusion we say the methodology presented in this work has the following advantages: Knowledge of the attribute weights allow the ordering of the attributes according to their relative importance to the student, showing the key factors for improving quality. Student weights can be related to student characteristics to make market segmentation directly linked to quality objectives. The relative strengths and weaknesses of the service (high educations) can be determined by comparing the mean value of the attributes of the service to the values of other companies (Benchmark process or SWOT analysis). |
| Keywords: | Quality Measurement, Postgraduate Programme, Nonparametric Model. |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pab:wpbsad:11.07&r=lab |
| By: | Chiara Criscuolo; Ralf Martin; Henry G. Overman; John Van Reenen |
| Abstract: | Business support policies designed to raise productivity and employment are common worldwide, but rigorous micro-econometric evaluation of their causal effects is rare. We exploit multiple changes in the area-specific eligibility criteria for a major program to support manufacturing jobs ("Regional Selective Assistance"). Area eligibility is governed by pan-European state aid rules which change every seven years and we use these rule changes to construct instrumental variables for program participation. We match two decades of UK panel data on the population of firms to all program participants. IV estimates find positive program treatment effect on employment, investment and net entry but not on TFP. OLS underestimates program effects because the policy targets underperforming plants and areas. The treatment effect is confined to smaller firms with no effect for larger firms (e.g. over 150 employees). We also find the policy raises area level manufacturing employment mainly through significantly reducing unemployment. The positive program effect is not due to substitution between plants in the same area or between eligible and ineligible areas nearby. We estimate that "cost per job" of the program was only $6,300 suggesting that in some respects investment subsidies can be cost effective. |
| Keywords: | industrial policy, regional policy, employment, investment, productivity |
| JEL: | H25 L52 L53 O47 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1113&r=lab |
| By: | Jean-Claude Barbier (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne) |
| Abstract: | What has been analysed in France mainly under the term "précarité de l'emploi" over the past 30 years was mostly dealt with differently in other countries (atypical, non-standard employment). Research on these issues dates back to the 1970s in sociology and institutional economics. More recently some political scientists have endeavoured to link up the labour market theme with developments in systems of social protection and they are talking about "dualism" and "dualization". Despite the constant intellectual investment put into the topic, it is striking that indicators for comparative measurement of the phenomenon have remained rather unsophisticated, as the basic opposition between what Eurostat names "temporary contracts" and "open-ended contracts". On the other hand, because of the spreading of the effects of work and employment flexibilisation into new countries, new categories are appearing since the early 2000s (Prekariat, vulnerable workers, and even "precarity"). |
| Keywords: | Precariousness, non-standard work, internal labour markets, a-typical employment, dualization, Europeanization. |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00654370&r=lab |
| By: | Mehlhorn, Joey; Roberts, Jason; Cain, Amanda; Parrott, Scott |
| Abstract: | Undergraduate students can benefit from a research experience with a faculty mentor. Students perceived the research project and faculty mentorship as more beneficial than directed coursework. Mentoring is key to enhancing undergraduate research experiences, but the impact on time should be considered. Linkages between coursework and application should also be considered. |
| Keywords: | student mentor, undergraduate research, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, Q1, |
| Date: | 2012–02–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea12:119556&r=lab |
| By: | Christian Dustmann (Department of Economics, University College London); Albrecht Glitz (Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate how changes in the skill mix of local labor supply are absorbed by the economy. We distinguish between three adjustment mechanisms: through factor prices, through an expansion in the size of those production units that use the more abundant skill group more intensively, and through more intensive use of the more abundant skill group within production units. We investigate which of these channels is dominant. We contribute to the existing literature by analyzing these adjustments on the level of firms, rather than industries, and by assessing the role of new firms in the absorption process of labor supply shocks. Our analysis is based on administrative data, comprising the entirety of firms in Germany over a 10 year period. We find that, while factor price adjustments are important in the non-tradable sector, labor supply shocks do not induce factor price changes in the tradable sector. In this sector, most of the adjustment to changes in relative factor supplies takes place within firms by changing relative factor intensities. Given the non-response of factor prices, this finding points towards changes in production technology. Our results further show, that firms that enter and exit the market are an important additional channel of adjustment. Finally, we demonstrate that an industry level analysis is likely to over-emphasize technology-based adjustments. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Endogenous Technological Change, Firm Structure |
| JEL: | F1 J2 J61 L2 O3 |
| Date: | 2012–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2012002&r=lab |
| By: | Rubén Castro (Facultad de Economía y Empresa, Universidad Diego Portales) |
| Date: | 2011–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ptl:wpaper:19&r=lab |
| By: | Marco Vivarelli |
| Abstract: | This paper critically discusses the theoretical and empirical literature on the quantitative and qualitative employment impact of technological change, compares the relative explanatory power of the competing theories, and explains in detail the macro and micro evidence on the issue, with reference both to the advanced economies and the developing countries (DCs). |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology :: New Technologies, Science & Technology, Technology, innovation, employment, skill, skill-biased technological change |
| JEL: | O33 |
| Date: | 2011–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:61058&r=lab |
| By: | Anna Baranowska (Institute of Statistics and Demography, Warsaw School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Poland stands out in international comparisons as a country where leaving parental home is remarkably delayed. There are many economic and institutional factors which contribute to postponing residential independence among youth, such as housing shortages, the limited share of rental housing or limited social assistance for young people. However, in the public debate there is little discussion about re-designing social policy support for youth or improvement of situation on the housing market. What attracts attention instead is the role of flexibilisation of contractual arrangements on the Polish labour market. In the media discourse, fixed-term contracts have been labelled as “trash contracts” and all the problems that young people in Poland face when making transition to adulthood, have been attributed to the spread this specific employment form. This article aims to find out whether fixed-term contracts indeed hinder residential independence of youth. Models of leaving parental home are estimated based on panel data from EU-SILC. The results show no significant negative impact of temporary employment on probability of establishing one’s own household among youth. What matters is whether young people have jobs, whereas the type of contracts that they receive from employers seems to be of little importance. |
| Keywords: | fixed-term contracts, temporary employment, leaving parental home, transition to adulthood |
| JEL: | J12 J13 |
| Date: | 2011 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:isd:wpaper:44&r=lab |
| By: | Claudia Sanhueza (Facultad de Economía y Empresa, Universidad Diego Portales); Ricardo Mayer (Facultad de Economía y Empresa, Universidad Diego Portales) |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ptl:wpaper:6&r=lab |