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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Shigeru Fujita; Giuseppe Moscarini |
| Abstract: | Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) covering 1990-2011, we document that a surprisingly large number of workers return to their previous employer after a jobless spell and experience more favorable labor market outcomes than job switchers. Over 40% of all workers separating into unemployment regain employment at their previous employer; over a fifth of them are permanently separated workers who did not have any expectation of recall, unlike those on temporary layoff. Recalls are associated with much shorter unemployment duration and better wage changes. Negative duration dependence of unemployment nearly disappears once recalls are excluded. We also find that the probability of finding a new job is more procyclical and volatile than the probability of a recall. Incorporating this fact into an empirical matching function significantly alters its estimated elasticity and the time-series behavior of matching efficiency, especially during the Great Recession. We develop a canonical search-and-matching model with a recall option where new matches are mediated by a matching function, while recalls are free and triggered both by aggregate and job-specific shocks. The recall option is lost when the unemployed worker accepts a new job. A quantitative version of the model captures well our cross-sectional and cyclical facts through selection of recalled matches. |
| JEL: | E24 E32 J63 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19640&r=lab |
| By: | Emanuele Forlani (Department of Economics and Management, University of Pavia); Elisabetta Lodigiani (Department of Economics, University of Venice Ca' Foscari); Concetta Mendolicchio (Institute for Employment Research, IAB) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the literature on the impact of immigrants on native female labour supply. By segmenting the market by educational levels, we are able to investigate which native-born women are more affected by an increase of low-skilled immigrants working in the household service sector. We present a model of individual choice with home production and, using an harmonized dataset (CNEF), we test its main predictions. Our sample includes countries implementing different family policies. Our results suggest that the share of immigrants working in services in a given local labour market is positively associated with the probability of native-born women to increase their labour supply at the intensive margin (number of hours worked per week), if skilled, and at the extensive margin (participation decision), if unskilled. Moreover, they show that these effects are larger in countries with less family-supportive policies. |
| Keywords: | Female labour participation, international migration, family policy |
| JEL: | J22 J61 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pav:demwpp:demwp0058&r=lab |
| By: | Yuriy Gorodnichenko; Jae Song; Dmitriy Stolyarov |
| Abstract: | We analyze lifetime earnings histories of white males during 1960-2010 and categorize the labor force status of every worker as either working full-time, partially retired or fully retired. We find that the fraction of partially retired workers has risen dramatically (from virtually 0 to 15 percent for 60-62 year olds), and that the duration of partial retirement spells has been steadily increasing. We estimate the response of retirement timing to variations in unemployment rate, inflation and housing prices. Flows into both full and partial retirement increase significantly when the unemployment rate rises. Workers around normal retirement age are especially sensitive to variations in the unemployment rate. Workers who are partially retired show a differential response to a high unemployment rate: younger workers increase their partial retirement spell, while older workers accelerate their transition to full retirement. We also find that high inflation discourages full-time work and encourages partial and full retirement. Housing prices do not have a significant impact on retirement timing. |
| JEL: | E24 H55 J26 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19638&r=lab |
| By: | C. Kirabo Jackson; Henry S. Schneider |
| Abstract: | Moral hazard is endemic to employment relationships and firms often use performance pay and managerial control to address this problem. While performance pay has received much empirical attention, managerial control has not. We analyze data from a managerial-control field experiment in which an auto-repair firm provided detailed checklists to mechanics and monitored their use. Revenue was 20 percent higher under the experiment. We compare this effect to that of quasi-experimental increases in mechanic commission rates. The managerial-control effect is equivalent to that of a 10 percent commission increase. We find evidence of complementarities between the two, suggesting benefits from an all-of-the-above approach. We also find evidence of incentive gaming under performance pay. |
| JEL: | D0 D82 D86 H0 J0 J33 J41 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19645&r=lab |
| By: | Picchio, Matteo (Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona); Staffolani, Stefano (Marche Polytechnic University) |
| Abstract: | In Italy the reforms of the last twenty years shaped a dual labour market with different levels of employment protection for permanent jobs, on one side, and temporary jobs like apprenticeships and fixed-term contracts, on the other side. The main difference between apprentices and other types of temporary workers is that the former should receive firm-provided training. The firm incentive in hiring apprentices consists in the possibility to pay lower wages and in a reduction in labour taxes. Using an Italian administrative longitudinal dataset containing information on all the job contracts started between January 2009 and June 2012, we estimate hazard functions towards permanent jobs and contrast the ones of apprentices with those of other types of temporary workers. The hazard function estimates based on a regression discontinuity approach affirm that apprenticeships are sorts of "long entrance halls" towards open-ended contracts, especially within the same firm where the apprenticeship was performed. |
| Keywords: | apprenticeship, temporary work, permanent work, regression discontinuity, hazard function |
| JEL: | C36 C41 J24 J41 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7719&r=lab |
| By: | Günalp, Burak; Cilasun, Seyit Mümin; Acar, Elif Öznur |
| Abstract: | A gender differential in wages is considered to be discriminatory if the differential cannot be explained by gender differences in productivity. Numerous studies have been performed to measure the extent of gender wage discrimination in countries across the world, and most report a substantial amount of wage differential after adjusting for productivity differences. This differential has been attributed to labor market discrimination against women. Using data from 2003 and 2010 Household Budget Surveys conducted by Turkish Statistical Institute, this study examines the male-female earnings differentials and measures the extent of pay discrimination in Turkey. To analyze the components of the earnings gap, two methodologies are employed: The standard Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition method and the Juhn–Murphy–Pierce decomposition method. The results of the study indicate that in both years, a significant portion of the observed wage differential is attributable to wage discrimination which records a rise over the period. |
| Keywords: | Male-Female Earnings Differentials, Gender Wage Discrimination, Oaxaca–Blinder Decomposition, Juhn–Murphy–Pierce Decomposition |
| JEL: | J16 J31 J70 J71 O15 |
| Date: | 2013–11–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:51503&r=lab |
| By: | Kalfa, Eleni (University of Kent); Piracha, Matloob (University of Kent) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses immigrants' education-occupation mismatch as well as its impact on their wages in Spain. Using cross-sectional data from the National Immigrant Survey of Spain 2007, we estimate a probit model taking into account the possible problem of selection bias. We show that the incidence of immigrants' education-occupation mismatch in the Spanish labour market can largely be explained by the incidence of education-occupation mismatch in the last job held in the home country. The probability of having been over-educated at home shows to have a higher effect on the probability of being over-educated in the first job upon arrival where work experience gained in the home country shows to be highly valued by Spanish employers. In addition, our results show that those who were over-educated in their first job after arrival are more likely to continue in being overeducated in their current/last job in Spain. Furthermore, we analyse the performance of immigrants in Spain by estimating the wage penalty of over-education. Using log wage equation as well as predicted and counterfactual values distinguishing between immigrants being in the correctly matched occupation and those who are over-educated, we show that over-educated immigrants earn significantly lower wage compared to their correctly-matched counterparts, while over-educated immigrants' would have earned an even larger amount if the same individuals were employed in a correctly matched job instead. Significant differences are also apparent when restricting the models to the level of education. |
| Keywords: | sample selection, education-occupation mismatch, immigration |
| JEL: | C34 J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7721&r=lab |
| By: | Cosar, A. Kerem (University of Chicago Booth School of Business); Guner, Nezih (MOVE, Barcelona); Tybout, James (Pennsylvania State University) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the combined effects of reductions in trade frictions, tariffs, and firing costs on firm dynamics, job turnover, and wage distributions. It uses establishment-level data from Colombia to estimate an open economy dynamic model that links trade to job flows in a new way. The fitted model captures key features of Colombian firm dynamics and labor market outcomes, as well changes in these features during the past 25 years. Counterfactual experiments imply that integration with global product markets has increased both average income and job turnover in Colombia. In contrast, the experiments find little role for this country's labor market reforms in driving these variables. The results speak more generally to the effects of globalization on labor markets in Latin America and elsewhere. |
| Keywords: | international trade, firm dynamics, size distribution, labor market frictions, inequality |
| JEL: | F12 F16 E24 J64 L11 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7718&r=lab |
| By: | Keisuke Kawata (Graduate School for International Development and Cooperation) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores an on-the-job search model with wage bargaining and mismatch. It considers two types of jobs and workers, and the instantaneous value of the job-worker match depends on their type. The most important assumption is that while the job type is fixed throughout its life, the worker type changes in accordance with a stochastic process. This paper shows that although the workers turnover decision is privately efficient, this decision may be socially inefficient because of the hold-up problem. |
| Keywords: | On-the-job search, Wage bargaining, Mismatch, Holdup problem |
| JEL: | J63 J81 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hir:idecdp:3-6&r=lab |
| By: | Barbara Liberda (Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw); Joanna Tyrowicz (Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw; National Bank of Poland); Magdalena Smyk (Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw) |
| Abstract: | One could expect that in the so-called talent occupations, while access to these professions may differ between men and women, gender wage gap should be actually smaller due to high relevance of human capital quality. Wage regressions typically suggest an inverted U-shaped age-productivity pattern. However, such analyses confuse age, cohort and year effects. Deaton (1997) decomposition allows to disentangle these effects. We apply this method to inquire the age-productivity pattern for the so-called “talent†occupations. Using data from a transition economy (Poland) we find that indeed talent occupations have a steeper age-productivity pattern. However, gender differences are larger for talent occupations than for general occupations. |
| Keywords: | age-productivity pattern, gender wage gap, transition |
| JEL: | J24 J31 I20 J71 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:war:wpaper:2013-27&r=lab |
| By: | Schirle, Tammy |
| Abstract: | I study the effect of a universal child-related income transfer on the labour supply of married individuals. Using a difference-in-differences estimator, I find the Canadian Universal Child Care Benefit has significant negative income effects. The likelihood of lower-educated mothers to participate in the labour force is reduced 3.3 percentage points when receiving the benefit. Median hours worked per week among lower-educated mothers is reduced by 2.3 hours. The effects on higher-educated mothers are also substantial, though an effect on hours may reflect greater flexibility in hours worked while mothers enjoy job protection and employment benefits until children reach 12 months of age. For men, the evidence suggests small, significant income effects that are consistent with the literature on labour supply elasticities. |
| Keywords: | Labour supply, public policy, child benefits, demogrant |
| JEL: | J22 J18 |
| Date: | 2013–09–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2013-43&r=lab |
| By: | Ci, Wen; Galdo, José; Voia, Marcel; Worswick, Christopher |
| Abstract: | Using longitudinal data for Canada, the probability of participating in employer supported course enrollment for mid career workers and the wage impacts of those adult educational investments are analyzed. Probability of participation in employer supported course enrollment is increasing with age, job tenure and education, and is lower for visible minority workers. Using a parametric difference-in-differences model to minimize the effects of selection into training, we find strong positive effects of employer supported course enrollment on wage changes over time. The estimated effect ranges from 6.8 to 7.7 percent wage growth for men and 7.5 to 9.3 percent wage growth for women. When the linear specification of the outcome equation is relaxed and an empirical common support is implemented through semiparametric difference-in-differences matching methods, the average treatment effect on the treated estimates from the log wage change models were smaller in magnitude than the corresponding parametric estimates but were typically still statistically significant and in the range of 4.2 to 7.6 percent for men and 7.6 to 7.1 percent for women. An analysis of respondents’ health outcomes shows no clear relationship with participation in employer supported course enrollment. |
| Keywords: | return to adult training, employer sponsored training, difference-in-differences models, propensity score matching |
| JEL: | C14 J24 J31 M53 |
| Date: | 2013–09–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2013-42&r=lab |
| By: | Thibault Darcillon (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - CNRS : UMR8174 - Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne, EEP-PSE - Ecole d'Économie de Paris - Paris School of Economics - Ecole d'Économie de Paris) |
| Abstract: | Using fixed effects panel data models on a sample of 15 OECD countries over the period 1970-2007, this article explores the linkages between labor-market volatility, financial development and welfare state institutions. We analyze the interacted impact of financial development on the one hand and welfare state institutions (i.e., overall social spending) on the other hand on volatility of hours worked and volatility of wages. Our results indicate that financial development is associated with higher volatility on labor-markets. Estimates of the marginal effects show that overall social spending increasingly reduces labor-market volatility with the degree of financial development, and more specifically for low-skilled workers through compensation mechanisms. Finally, we control for potential reversed causality by running IV-GMM estimations suggesting that increasing financial development has not threatened the governments' ability to play an active role in cushioning fluctuations on labor markets. |
| Keywords: | Labor-market volatility; financial development; social security expenditure; compensation hypothesis |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-00881198&r=lab |
| By: | Bruno, Giovanni S. F. (Bocconi University); Caroleo, Floro Ernesto (University of Naples Parthenope); Dessy, Orietta (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore) |
| Abstract: | The Italian process of flexibilization of the labour market has created a dual market populated by protected permanent employees and unprotected temporary workers. The latter comprises not only temporary employment relationships but also autonomous collaborations used by firms as low-cost de facto temporary employment relationships. Little is known about the quality of these temporary jobs, particularly widespread among young workers. We estimate a regression model of perceived overall job satisfaction of young workers, based on the ISFOL-PLUS 2006-2008-2010 panel. We control for the various temporary contracts and for perceived satisfactions in nine aspects of the job. We find that lack of job stability is the most serious cause of lower satisfaction for both temporary employees and autonomous collaborators. But while temporary employees compensate concerns of job stability with other job aspects, attaining satisfaction levels comparable to those of permanent employees, autonomous collaborators do not and are thus significantly the least satisfied. |
| Keywords: | flexicurity, job satisfaction, de facto temporary employment |
| JEL: | J28 J81 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7716&r=lab |
| By: | Sari Pekkala Kerr (Wellesley College); William R. Kerr (Harvard Business School, Entrepreneurial Management Unit); William F. Lincoln (John Hopkins University) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact of skilled immigrants on the employment structures of U.S. firms using matched employer-employee data. Unlike most previous work, we use the firm as the lens of analysis to account for a greater level of heterogeneity and the fact that many skilled immigrant admissions are driven by firms themselves (e.g., the H-1B visa). OLS and IV specifications find rising overall employment of skilled workers with increased skilled immigrant employment by firm. Employment expansion is greater for younger natives than their older counterparts, and departure rates for older workers appear higher for those in STEM occupations compared to younger worker. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Employment, Firms, Age, Scientists, Engineers, Inventors, H-1B. |
| JEL: | F15 F22 J44 J61 O31 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hbs:wpaper:14-040&r=lab |
| By: | Hogrefe, Jan; Wrona, Jens |
| Abstract: | We offer a theoretical explanation and empirical evidence for a positive link between increased offshoring and individual skill upgrading. Skill upgrading takes the form of on-the-job training, complementing the existing literature, which mainly focuses on the retraining of workers after a direct job displacement through offshoring. To establish a link between offshoring and on-the-job training, we introduce an individual skill upgrading margin into the small-open-economy version of the Grossman and Rossi-Hansberg (2008) model of offshoring. In our model offshoring, by scaling up workers' wages, creates previously unexploited skill upgrading possibilities and, thus, leads to more on-the-job training. Using data from German manufacturing, we find strong empirical support for the prediction that increased offshoring is positively related to individual on-the-job training participation. -- |
| Keywords: | Offshoring,Tasks,Skill upgrading,On-the-job training |
| JEL: | F10 F16 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:tuewef:64&r=lab |
| By: | Felfe, Christina; Lechner, Michael; Thiemann, Petra |
| Abstract: | Does after-school care provision promote mothers’ employment and balance the allocation of paid work among parents of schoolchildren? We address this question by exploiting variation in cantonal (state) regulations of after-school care provision in Switzerland. To establish exogeneity of cantonal regulations with respect to employment opportunities and preferences of the population, we restrict our analysis to confined regions along cantonal borders. Using semi-parametric instrumental variable methods, we find a positive impact of after-school care provision on mothers’ full-time employment, but a negative impact on fathers’ full-time employment. Thus, the supply of after-school care fosters a convergence of parental working hours. |
| Keywords: | Childcare, parents’ labor supply, semi-parametric estimation methods |
| JEL: | J13 J22 C14 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:econwp:2013:34&r=lab |
| By: | Friedrich Schneider |
| Abstract: | In this paper the main focus lies on the shadow economy labor force in OECD, developing and transition countries. Besides informal employment in the rural and non-rural sector also other measures of informal employment like the share of women and men are shown. The most influential factors on the shadow economy labor force are tax policies and state regulation, which, if they rise, increase both. Furthermore the discussion of the recent micro studies underline that economic opportunities, the overall burden of the state (taxes and regulations), the general situation on the labor market, and unemployment are especially crucial for an understanding of the dynamics the shadow labour force. |
| Keywords: | Shadow economy work, undeclared work, shadow labor force, tax pressure, state regulation, labor market |
| JEL: | K42 H26 D78 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jku:econwp:2013_18&r=lab |
| By: | Li, Kun; Peters, Michael; Xu, Pai |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a dynamic extension of Peters (2010) directed search model. The point is to characterize the evolution of wage outcomes over time. The primary result of that paper, which is reproduced here, is that workers use random application strategies when they are searching for new jobs. As a consequence, matching markets will be characterized by kind of mismatch of worker and firm types. This mismatch varies in a systematic way with worker types, making it possible to look for evidence of this mismatch in market data. The main predictions are that lower worker types should have a larger variance of lifetime income than high types do, and that there should be a limit on the auto correlation of lifetime income. In particular, these predictions make it possible to distinguish between the model presented here and earlier models, like Peters (2001) where market outcomes are uncorrelated over time, or Eeckhout and Kircher (2010) where outcomes are perfectly correlated over time. The paper then explores a dataset on the executive labor market from 1993 to 2009. Using wage histories to identify the unobservable types of the various workers, the paper proceeds to check some of the main predictions of the model. In addition, the 'type' information recovered from the data can be used to increase the explanatory power of the wage equation by up to 22 percentage points relative to what is is accomplished using observable characteristics alone. |
| Date: | 2013–04–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:pmicro:michael_peters-2013-18&r=lab |
| By: | Bossler, Mario (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "I study the recruiting behaviour of German establishments with regard to the use of foreign labour markets. Applying instrumental variable strategies, I find foreign affinity and labour market scarcity to stimulate the use of foreign markets. Regional labour market scarcity is particularly relevant to small firms, and the effect of foreign affinity is largely driven by the share of foreigners in leading positions in large establishments. The results indicate that shortages are functional and foster the use of foreign labour markets, but the large effect of foreign affinity also reveals that the potential of immigrant workers is used selectively." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| JEL: | F22 J23 J61 M51 |
| Date: | 2013–11–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201319&r=lab |
| By: | Biavaschi, Costanza (IZA); Giulietti, Corrado (IZA); Siddique, Zahra (University of Reading) |
| Abstract: | We examine the impact of the Americanization of names on the labor market outcomes of migrants. We construct a novel longitudinal data set of naturalization records in which we track a complete sample of migrants who naturalize by 1930. We find that migrants who Americanized their names experienced larger occupational upgrading. Some, such as those who changed to very popular American names like John or William, obtained gains in occupation-based earnings of at least 14%. We show that these estimates are causal effects by using an index of linguistic complexity based on Scrabble points as an instrumental variable that predicts name Americanization. We conclude that the tradeoff between individual identity and labor market success was present since the early making of modern America. |
| Keywords: | Americanization, names, assimilation, migration |
| JEL: | J61 J62 Z1 N32 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7725&r=lab |
| By: | Abbott, Michael G.; Beach, Charles M. |
| Abstract: | This Study examines the earnings mobility of Canadian immigrants using the large IMDB microdata file. We examine earnings transition matrices of immigrants over ten years after landing in Canada for three landing cohorts – 1982, 1988, and 1994. Immigrants also arrive under four separate admission classes: independent economic, other economic, family class, and refugees. The study reports five major empirical findings. First, overall earnings mobility was slightly greater for male immigrant earners than for male workers as a whole in the Canadian labour market, but was considerably greater for female immigrant earners than for all female earners in Canada. But both male and female immigrants over their first decade in Canada were much more likely to experience downward earnings mobility than were all earners of the same gender in Canada. Second, across the four immigrant admission classes, independent economic immigrants have markedly the highest average probability of moving up and the lowest probability of moving down the earnings distribution. Third, overall earnings mobility is slightly higher for female than male immigrants – opposite to the situation for workers as whole in Canada. Fourth, the degree of immigrant earnings mobility declines over immigrants’ first ten post-landing years in Canada as they integrate into the Canadian labour market. Fifth, overall earnings mobility across landing cohorts has shown only minor changes between the 1982 and 1994 cohorts, where the average probability of moving up has significantly increased and the average probability of moving down has significantly decreased. The early 1990s economic recession is seen to have had substantial negative or dampening effects on immigrant earnings mobility for the 1988 landing cohort. |
| Keywords: | Immigrant earnings, transition matrices, Canadian immigrants |
| JEL: | J31 J61 |
| Date: | 2013–10–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2013-47&r=lab |
| By: | Tymula, Agnieszka |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of competition on the structure of incentive schemes, workforce composition and the degree of cooperation within firms. We show that in equilibrium high-ability workers, in order to distinguish themselves from the less able workforce, choose the incentive schemes that strongly rely on their own as well as their teammates' performance. They work harder on their own task and are more team-oriented than less skilled workers. Our paper stresses the sorting role of the incentives and provides a rationale for the emergence of different corporate teamwork practices. |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:syd:wpaper:2123/9543&r=lab |
| By: | Di Paolo, Antonio (University of Barcelona); Tansel, Aysit (Middle East Technical University) |
| Abstract: | Foreign language skills represent a form of human capital that can be rewarded in the labor market. Drawing on data from the Adult Education Survey of 2007, this is the first study estimating returns to foreign language skills in Turkey. We contribute to the literature on the economic value of language knowledge, with a special focus on a country characterized by fast economic and social development. Although English is the most widely spoken foreign language in Turkey, we initially consider the economic value of different foreign languages among the employed males aged 25 to 65. We find positive and significant returns to proficiency in English and Russian, which increase with the level of competence. Knowledge of French and German also appears to be positively rewarded in the Turkish labor market, although their economic value seems mostly linked to an increased likelihood to hold specific occupations rather than increased earnings within occupations. Focusing on English, we also explore the heterogeneity in returns to different levels of proficiency by frequency of English use at work, birth-cohort, education, occupation and rural/urban location. The results are also robust to the endogenous specification of English language skills. |
| Keywords: | foreign languages, returns to skills, heterogeneity, Turkey |
| JEL: | I25 J24 J31 O15 O53 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7724&r=lab |
| By: | Huber, Peter (Austrian Institute of Economic Research); Oberhofer, Harald (University of Salzburg); Pfaffermayr , Michael (University of Innsbruck) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes econometric models of the Davis, Haltiwanger and Schuh (1996) job creation rate. In line with the most recent job creation literature, we focus on employment-weighted OLS estimation. Our main theoretical result reveals that employment-weighted OLS estimation of DHS job creation rate models provides biased marginal effects estimates. The reason for this is that by definition, the error terms for entering and exiting firms are non-stochastic and non-zero. This violates the crucial mean independence assumption requiring that the conditional expectation of the errors is zero for all firms. Consequently, we argue that firm entries and exits should be analyzed with separate econometric models and propose alternative maximum likelihood estimators which are easy to implement. A small-scale Monte Carlo analysis and an empirical exercise using the population of Austrian firms point to the relevance of our analytical findings. |
| Keywords: | DHS job creation rate; firm size; firm age; maximum likelihood estimation; three-part model; multi-part model; Monte Carlo simulation |
| JEL: | C18 C53 D22 E24 L25 L26 M13 |
| Date: | 2013–11–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:sbgwpe:2013_005&r=lab |
| By: | Francesco Zanetti; Federico S. Mandelman |
| Abstract: | Recent empirical evidence establishes that a positive technology shock leads to a decline in labor inputs. Can a flexible price model enriched with labor market frictions replicate this stylized fact? We develop and estimate a standard flexible price model using Bayesian methods that allows, but does not require, labor market frictions to generate a negative response of employment to a technology shock. We find that labor market frictions account for the fall in labor inputs. |
| Keywords: | Technology shocks, employment, labor market frictions |
| JEL: | E32 |
| Date: | 2013–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oxf:wpaper:683&r=lab |
| By: | S. BAERT; F. HEYLEN; D. ISEBAERT |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of housing tenure choice on unemployment duration in Belgium using EU-SILC micro data. We contribute to the literature in distinguishing homeowners with mortgage payments and outright homeowners. We simultaneously estimate unemployment duration by a mixed proportional hazard model, and the probability of being an outright homeowner, a homeowner with mortgage payments or a tenant by a mixed multinomial logit model. To be able to correctly identify the causal influence of different types of housing tenure on unemployment duration, we use instrumental variables. Our results show that homeowners with a mortgage exit unemployment first. Outright owners stay unemployed the longest. Tenants take an intermediate position. Moreover, our results reveal the different share of mortgage holders within the group of homeowners as a possible explanation for the discrepancy between former contributions to this literature. |
| Keywords: | unemployment, housing tenure, duration analysis |
| JEL: | C41 J64 R2 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rug:rugwps:13/858&r=lab |
| By: | Mathieu Bunel (University of Caen Basse-Normandie, CREM CNRS UMR 6211 and TEPP (FR CNRS n°3435)); Emilia Ene (University of Paris-Est Marne la Vallée, ERUDITE and TEPP (FR CNRS n°3435)); Yannick L’horty (University of Paris-Est Marne la Vallée, ERUDITE and TEPP (FR CNRS n°3435)); Pascale Petit (Université d’Evry Val d’Essonne, EPEE and TEPP (FR CNRS n°3435)) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to assess the degree of employment discrimination against young people in the Ile-de-France region according to their place of residence by considering several spatial scales in order to measure the effect of the reputation of the administrative department or county (specifically Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis), the town or municipality, and of the local neighborhood. The evaluation is carried outusing experimental testing-type data that we developed following a protocol that allows us toexamine the specific effects associated with each of these three spatial scales on access to employment, as well as their combined effects. We are interested in discrimination regarding two specific occupations within the restaurant/catering industry, namely waiters and cooks, and we consider the impact of two levels of qualification. For each of these profiles, we constructed six fictional candidacies consisting of young men who were similar with the exception of the testing feature which differentiates them, namely their place of residence. Between October 2011 and February 2012, we studied 2,988 candidacies that were submitted in response to 498 job offers posted in the Ile-de-France region. This study consists of a statistical and econometric analysis of the responses that we obtained to these applications. |
| Keywords: | access to employment, discrimination, testing, neighbourhood effects, experiments |
| JEL: | C81 C93 J15 J71 |
| Date: | 2013–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:201337&r=lab |
| By: | Vanleenhove, Pieter |
| Abstract: | According to many studies, childcare is important for its pedagogical, economical and social function for both children and parents. However, many households are still confronted with availability constraints in childcare. In the recent past, many governments implemented policy reforms in order to increase the coverage rate of childcare. The empirical part of this paper focuses on the Flemish childcare market and analyzes how maternal labour supply and childcare usage is affected by a new Flemish decree which provides full childcare coverage. This paper adopts a modeling framework for analyzing labour supply developed by Aaberge, Colombino and Strøm (1999) and Dagsvik (1994). To account for the possible interaction between labour supply and childcare choices the model also treats childcare type as an endogenous variable. The results of the policy reform analysis show that households switch to formal childcare when confronted with higher childcare availability. Total labour supply also increases but these effects are less pronounced as some households also reduce working hours. |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ner:leuven:urn:hdl:123456789/420722&r=lab |
| By: | Junankar, Pramod N. (Raja) (University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to analyse the possible trade-off between employment and productivity using panel data on world economies, developed and developing. We begin with the importance of productivity growth for developing countries, followed by a brief discussion of the concept of productivity and how it is measured. We discuss the concept of "decent work" and provide an index to measure decent work, and study its changes over time. First we provide some simple descriptive statistics and then carry out an econometric investigation using alternative estimation techniques. Our broad results suggest that there is a trade-off between employment and productivity. |
| Keywords: | employment, productivity, trade-off, economic development |
| JEL: | O11 O47 O17 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7717&r=lab |