|
on Labour Economics |
|
Issue of 2013‒12‒15
thirty-one papers chosen by Erik Jonasson National Institute of Economic Research |
| By: | Henry S. Farber (Princeton University, NBER, IZA); Robert G. Valletta (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, IZA) |
| Abstract: | In response to the Great Recession and sustained labor market downturn, the availability of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits was extended to new historical highs in the United States, up to 99 weeks as of late 2009 into 2012. We exploit variation in the timing and size of UI benet extensions across states to estimate the overall impact of these extensions on unemployment duration, comparing the experience with the prior extension of benets (up to 72 weeks) during the much milder downturn in the early 2000s. Using monthly matched individual data from the U.S. Current Population Survey (CPS) for the periods 2000-2005 and 2007-2012, we estimate the eects of UI extensions on unemployment transitions and duration. We rely on individual variation in benet availability based on the duration of unemployment spells and the length of UI benets available in the state and month, conditional on state economic conditions and individual characteristics. We nd a small but statistically signicant reduction in the unemployment exit rate and a small increase in the expected duration of unemployment arising from both sets of UI extensions. The eect on exits and duration is primarily due to a reduction in exits from the labor force rather than a decrease in exits to employment (the job nding rate). The magnitude of the overall eect on exits and duration is similar across the two episodes of benet extensions. Although the overall eect of UI extensions on exits from unemployment is small, it implies a substantial eect of extended benets on the steady-state share of unemployment in the cross-section that is long-term. |
| Keywords: | unemployment insurance benefits, extensions, duration of unemployment, unemployment exit rate |
| JEL: | D19 E24 H31 J21 J64 |
| Date: | 2013–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:indrel:dsp01th83kz40p&r=lab |
| By: | Eliasson, Kent (Growth Analysis and Department of Economics, Umeå University); Hansson, Pär (Uppsala Center for Labor Studies) |
| Abstract: | Reduced trade barriers and lower costs of transportation and information have meant that a growing part of the economy has been exposed to international trade. In particular, this is the case in the service sector. We divide the service sector into a tradable and a non-tradable part using an approach to identify tradable industries developed by Jensen and Kletzer (2006). We examine whether the probability of displacement is higher and income losses after displacement greater for workers in tradable services and manufacturing (tradable) than in non-tradable services. We also analyze whether the probability of re-employment is higher for workers displaced from tradable services and manufacturing than from non-tradable services. We find that in the 2000s the probability of displacement is relatively high in tradable services in comparison to non-tradable services and manufacturing. On the other hand, the probability of re-employment is higher for those displaced from tradable services. The largest income losses are found for those who had been displaced from manufacturing. Interestingly, the income losses of those displaced from manufacturing seems mainly to be due to longer spells of non-employment, whereas for those displaced in tradable services lower wages in their new jobs compared to their pre-displacement jobs appears to play a larger role. |
| Keywords: | displacement COSTs; re-employment; earnings losses; tradable services |
| JEL: | F16 J62 |
| Date: | 2013–12–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:uulswp:2013_016&r=lab |
| By: | Orley Ashenfelter (Princeton University) |
| Abstract: | A real wage rate is a nominal wage rate divided by the price of a good and is a transparent measure of how much of the good an hour of work buys. It provides an important indicator of the living standards of workers, and also of the productivity of workers. In this paper I set out the conceptual basis for such measures, provide some historical examples, and then provide my own preliminary analysis of a decade long project designed to measure the wages of workers doing the same job in over 60 countries workers at McDonald’s restaurants. The results demonstrate that the wage rates of workers using the same skills and doing the same jobs differ by as much as 10 to 1, and that these gaps declined over the period 2000-2007, but with much less progress since the Great Recession. |
| Keywords: | wage rate, nominal wage, workers, living standards |
| JEL: | C81 C82 D24 J31 N30 O57 |
| Date: | 2012–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:indrel:dsp01t435gd01h&r=lab |
| By: | Renata Narita |
| Abstract: | Self employment comprises around thirty percent of the workforce in Latin America. Most self employed evade payroll taxes, have low education, and run small businesses requiring low skills. I develop and estimate a life cycle search model where workers can be wage earners in the formal or informal sector, self employed or unemployed. Firms in the formal sector pay payroll and severance taxes, and in the informal sector, they can be fined. The estimated model (i) reproduces well the composition of workers over the life cycle as observed in Brazilian Labour Force data, and (ii) shows that the job value of the self employed is similar to that of informal wage earners. The model is used as a tool to evaluate the welfare impact of labour market policies, where self employment may be an option. When simulating an increase in the cost of informality by ten percent, results showed (i) small impact on employment composition and informality; (ii) significant cost pass-through to wages in the informal sector, meaning a reduction in the lowest wages in the economy, hence higher wage inequality. On the other hand, (iii) it led to substantial improvement in the welfare of formal firms and of all workers. These results prove that taking into account labour market frictions is important in welfare analyses of policies in multisectoral labour markets. As simulations which increase the cost of informality suggest, stricter enforcement of labour regulations (at least to a certain degree) can be a way towards efficient labor markets. |
| Keywords: | Self employment; Occupational choice; Informal Sector; Job Search; Labour market welfare |
| JEL: | J30 J24 O17 J42 J60 |
| Date: | 2013–11–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2013wpecon21&r=lab |
| By: | Kodama, Naomi; Odaki, Kazuhiko |
| Abstract: | The theory of employee discrimination gives a possible explanation for the scarcity of female executive officers. This paper tests the employee discrimination hypothesis by measuring the wage premium received by employees working with female executives against their tastes for discrimination. Using a fixed effects analysis of establishment-level panel data on Japanese employees, we separate the discrimination premiums that would otherwise cause a bias from the establishment-level unobserved productivity and unobserved employee characteristics by gender of executives. Our findings reveal that both male and female employees receive small but significant wage premiums (0.6-0.9 percent) when working for female executives. |
| Keywords: | employee discrimination, female executive, compensating wage differential |
| JEL: | J31 J33 J71 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hit:cisdps:611&r=lab |
| By: | Doris, Aedin (National University of Ireland, Maynooth); O'Neill, Donal (National University of Ireland, Maynooth); Sweetman, Olive (National University of Ireland, Maynooth) |
| Abstract: | There is considerable debate about the role of wage rigidity in explaining unemployment. Despite a large body of empirical work, no consensus has emerged on the extent of wage rigidity. Previous attempts to empirically examine wage rigidity have been hampered by small samples and measurement error. In this paper we examine nominal wage flexibility in Ireland both in the build up to, and during the Great Recession. The Irish case is particularly interesting because it has been one of the countries most affected by the crisis. Our main analysis is based on earnings data for the entire population of workers in Ireland taken from tax returns, which are free of reporting error. We find a substantial degree of downward wage flexibility in the pre-crisis period. We also observe a significant change in wage dynamics since the crisis began; the proportion of workers receiving wage cuts more than doubled and the proportion receiving wage freezes increased substantially. However, there is considerable heterogeneity in wage changes, with a significant proportion of workers continuing to receive pay rises at the same time as other were receiving pay cuts. |
| Keywords: | wage flexibility, Great Recession |
| JEL: | J31 J38 D31 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7787&r=lab |
| By: | Rita Almeida; Pedro Carneiro, Renata Narita |
| Abstract: | There is an open debate on how governments can help the creation of higher quality jobs. This paper explores unique administrative data on the enforcement of labor market regulations across Brazilian cities between 1996 and 2006 to analyze this topic. We proxy job quality with several attributes going beyond wages and formality of the work contract. In the context of a strictly regulated labor market, we find robust evidence of (i) a strong trade-off between the provision of mandated non-wage benefits and wage levels, on the one hand, and the provision of optional job benefits on the other, and (ii) more formality leads to higher mean wages in the economy. We argue that enforcement policies can increase welfare depending on how workers value the benefits they get through formal channels vis-à-vis wages and optional benefits. |
| Keywords: | Enforcement of labor regulations; Informal sector; Job quality |
| JEL: | J2 J3 K31 O17 |
| Date: | 2013–11–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2013wpecon22&r=lab |
| By: | Gabriel Chodorow-Reich; Loukas Karabarbounis |
| Abstract: | The flow opportunity cost of moving from unemployment to employment consists of foregone public benefits and the foregone value of non-working time in units of consumption. Using detailed microdata, administrative data, and the structure of the search and matching model with concave and non-separable preferences, we document that the opportunity cost of employment is as procyclical as, and more volatile than, the marginal product of employment. The empirically-observed cyclicality of the opportunity cost implies that unemployment volatility in search and matching models of the labor market is far smaller than that observed in the data. This result holds irrespective of the level of the opportunity cost or whether wages are set by Nash bargaining or by an alternating-offer bargaining process. We conclude that appealing to aspects of labor supply does not help search and matching models explain aggregate employment fluctuations. |
| Date: | 2013–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qsh:wpaper:126541&r=lab |
| By: | Josef Montag |
| Abstract: | I study the effects of state-level differences in labor regulation on labor market outcomes of women in India. Using a representative sample of urban households from 2005, I find that labor regulation has a large negative effect on women’s economic activity, mainly employment. My estimates suggest that a one standard deviation increase in the labor regulation measure decreases the probability of a woman being economically active by 3% to 4%—the implied decrease in female labor force is between 15% and 18%. The effects on men’s participation are around zero. I do not find labor regulation to have a significant effect on male wages or on the gender wage gap. Finally, labor regulation is associated with women having less say at home and a lower sex ratio. |
| Keywords: | gender gap; labor regulation; India; |
| JEL: | J16 J21 K31 |
| Date: | 2013–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp488&r=lab |
| By: | Klara Kaliskova |
| Abstract: | Married couples file joint tax returns in many European countries. Nevertheless, research quantifying the effect of joint taxation on the work incentives of secondary earners is scarce thanks to a lack of recent policy changes. This study makes use of the introduction of joint taxation in the Czech Republic in 2005 to estimate its effect on married women's labor supply. Results based on difference-in-differences and on triple differences with several alternative control groups suggest that the introduction of joint taxation lead to a decline of about 3 percentage points in the employment rate of married women with children. Participation declines are twice as large when the tax work disincentives are highest-among women with high-income husbands. |
| Keywords: | joint taxation; female labor supply; difference-in-differences; |
| JEL: | J21 H24 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp496&r=lab |
| By: | Haaland, Venke Furre (UiS) |
| Abstract: | The labor market conditions that youth face at the typical age of labor market entry can impact their success in the labor market. Utilizing registry data for all Norwegian males born in 1961–1975, I demonstrate that local unemployment rates at the typical age of graduation from compulsory school (age 16) and high-school (age 19) have persistent, negative effects on males’ earnings, employment, and disability pension utilization when measured as late as age 35. With data on every male IQ, I am able to study how labor market conditions at age of graduation have varying effects for low- and high-ability males. As expected, low-ability males are particularly vulnerable to business cycles at the time of labor market entry. For low-ability youth, a 1 percentage point increase in the local unemployment rate at age 16 reduces earnings at age 35 by about 4 percent and increases the likelihood of being on disability pension by about 20 percent. |
| Keywords: | . |
| JEL: | A10 |
| Date: | 2013–12–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:stavef:2013_008&r=lab |
| By: | Caroleo, Floro Ernesto (University of Naples Parthenope); Pastore, Francesco (University of Naples II) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides the first available evidence on overeducation/overskilling based on AlmaLaurea data. We focus on jobs held 5 years after graduation by pre-reform graduates in 2005. Overeducation/overskilling are relatively high – at 11.4 and 8% – when compared to EU economies. Ceteris paribus they tend to be more frequent among children of parents with lower educational levels, through school tracking. Most arts degrees and social sciences, but also Geology and Biology are associated to both types of the educational mismatch. The quality of education is also a factor, suggesting that in addition to the low demand for skills, one should also reckon the inability of the educational system to provide work-related skills. Moreover, we find a non-conditional wage penalty of 20% and 16% and a conditional one of about 12% and of 7%, respectively. Heckit returns a sample selection corrected penalty slightly higher, supporting not only the job competition and job assignment models, but also the human capital model. |
| Keywords: | university-to-work transition, overeducation, overskilling, sample selection bias, AlmaLaurea, Italy |
| JEL: | C25 C26 C33 I2 J13 J24 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7788&r=lab |
| By: | Charlotte Bartels |
| Abstract: | Generous income support programs as provided by European welfare states have often been blamed to reduce work incentives for the lowskilled and to increase durations of unemployment. Standard studies measure work incentives based on annual income concepts. This paper analyzes work incentives inherent in the German tax-benefit system when extending the time horizon to three years (long-term). Participation tax rates are computed for 1-year and 3-year periods 1995-1997 and 2005-2007 to reveal potential effects of the labor market and tax reforms between 1999 and 2005. The results show that participation tax rates are significantly lower over a 3- year period pointing at an overestimation of the disincentives by standard measures. Reforms reduced participation tax rates, particularly for singles and low-income individuals. |
| Keywords: | Welfare, work incentives, unemployment, unemployment insurance |
| JEL: | H31 J65 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp609&r=lab |
| By: | Machado, C. Sofia (Instituto Politécnico do Cávado e do Ave); Portela, Miguel (University of Minho) |
| Abstract: | Using a panel of new firms and their employees, this paper studies the promotion opportunities for older workers within the same firm. Survival analysis suggests that younger employees experience shorter times to promotion than older workers and, therefore, the latter face a smaller likelihood of promotion. Although men are promoted more often than women, empirical results show that women have shorter survival times to promotion than men. Also, previous promotions are stronger determinants of subsequent ones and this finding provides support to the evidence on promotion "fast-tracks". |
| Keywords: | aging, older workers, employment relationships, promotion |
| JEL: | J14 J21 D21 J62 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7784&r=lab |
| By: | Eleonora Bottino; Cintia Goddio; Praveen Kujal |
| Abstract: | Society adopts institutions that can change incentives, reference points and entitlements for the economic agents. In this paper we look at two stylized wage setting institutions and their effect on wage offers and effort in the classic gift exchange experiments of Fehr, Kirchsteiger and Riedl (1993). The first one is the exogenously imposed minimum wage institution (first instituted in New Zealand in 1894). The second institution we look is an endogenous wage proposal institution where workers first make wage proposals. We find that the imposition of an exogenous minimum wage floor at the competitive outcome lowers average wage offers. However, workers do not negatively reciprocate and continue to offer high effort. In the second institution workers make non-binding (endogenous) minimum wage proposals. The introduction of endogenous minimum wage proposals marginally increases wage offers while, average effort decreases when wage proposals are not matched. Finally, relative to the baseline, overall efficiency with the non-binding minimum wage decreases, while, efficiency is only slightly higher under endogenous minimum wage proposals. We find that clear evidence that the institutional structure has important implications towards wage offers, effort and efficiency. |
| JEL: | J2 J3 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chu:wpaper:13-29&r=lab |
| By: | Torben M. Andersen (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University); Jonas Maibom (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University); Michael Svarer; Allan Sørensen (Department of Economics and Business, Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | Will the current employment crisis produce lost generations with permanently lower labour market attachment? Taking an explicit cohort perspective and based on Danish data we do not find strong persistence in employment rates at the cohort level. Younger workers tend to be more exposed to business cycle fluctuations than older workers, but importantly they recover more quickly from such set-backs than older workers for whom persistence is stronger. Moreover, no cohorts have been disproportionately affected by exposure to a sequence of adverse shocks. An explicit account of overlapping cohorts is shown to affect assessments of persistence in aggregate employment rates. |
| Keywords: | Persistence, lost generations, employment |
| JEL: | J6 E32 |
| Date: | 2013–12–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aah:aarhec:2013-26&r=lab |
| By: | Jinjing Li (National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM), University of Canberra); Alan S Duncan (Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin University); Riyana Miranti (National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM), University of Canberra) |
| Abstract: | Underemployment is a serious and pervasive problem both in terms of its impact on those individuals affected, and for the economy as a whole. International research has found that those who experience periods of underemployment are more likely to have lower job satisfaction, higher job turnover, poorer mental and physical health and persistently lower earnings. Labour markets with high rates of underemployment are at risk of underutilisation of important skills. This paper explores the patterns of underemployment for mature aged workers in Australia, and seeks in particular to determine the principal factors that contribute to a heightened risk of underemployment. Importantly, our results point to a significant path dependency whereby previous periods of underemployment increase the propensity towards underemployment in the current period. Length: 29 pages |
| Keywords: | underemployment, labour supply transitions, baby boomers, mature aged workers, discrete choice models |
| JEL: | J01 J11 J21 |
| Date: | 2013–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ozl:bcecwp:wp1301&r=lab |
| By: | Eva García-Morán; Zoë Kuehn |
| Abstract: | Grandparents are regular providers of free child care. Similar to other forms of child care, availability of grandparent-provided child care affects fertility and labor force participation of women positively. However, grandparent-provided child care requires residing close to parents or in-laws which may imply costly spatial restrictions. We find that mothers residing close to parents or in-laws have lower wages and that the probability of having to commute increases if relatives provide child care. We build a model of residence choice, fertility, and female labor force participation that can account for the observed relationships. We simulate our model to analyze how women's decisions would change if the availability of grandparent-provided child care or family policies were altered. We nd that if child care subsidies were raised to the Swedish level, fertility and mothers' labor force participation would increase, while mobility would remain unchanged. The absence of grandparents, on the other hand, would increase mobility, while it would only have limited negative e ects on aggregate fertility and labor force participation. |
| Keywords: | Grandparent-provided child care, fertility, labor force participation, spatial restrictions, regional labor markets |
| JEL: | J13 J61 H42 R23 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp610&r=lab |
| By: | Lakshmi Iyer; Xin Meng; Nancy Qian; Xiaoxue Zhao |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the policy determinants of economic transition and estimates the demand for labor in the infant private sector in urban China. We show that a reform that untied access to housing in urban areas from working for the state sector accounts for more than a quarter of the overall increase in labor supply to the private sector during 1986-2005. Using the reform to instrument for private-sector labor supply, we find that private-sector labor demand is very elastic. We provide suggestive evidence that the reform equalized wages across sectors and reduced private-sector rents. |
| JEL: | J2 O18 P2 P3 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19733&r=lab |
| By: | Uwe Jirjahn; Jens Mohrenweiser |
| Abstract: | Using representative data from the IAB Establishment Panel, we show that employees in establishments with active owners are less likely to introduce a works council. Moreover, we show that, in case of an introduction, the new works council is less likely to survive if active owners are present. Our findings conform to the hypothesis that active owners oppose codetermination because it reduces the utility they gain from being the ultimate bosses within the establishment. |
| Keywords: | Active Owner, Works Council Introduction, Works Council Dissolution, Liability of Newness, Employer Resistance to Change |
| JEL: | J50 J53 J54 M54 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trr:wpaper:201304&r=lab |
| By: | Tanja Hethey-Maier; Johannes F. Schmieder |
| Abstract: | Administrative datasets provide an excellent source for detailed analysis of establishment entries and exits on a fine and disaggregate level. However, administrative datasets are not without problems: restructuring and relabeling of firms is often poorly measured and can create large biases. Information on worker flows between establishments can potentially alleviate these measurement issues, but it is typically hard to judge how well correction algorithms based on this methodology work. This paper evaluates the use of the worker flow methodology using a dataset from Germany, the Establishment History Panel. We first document the extent of misclassification that stems from relying solely on the first and last appearance of the establishment identifier (EID) to identify openings and closings: Only about 35 to 40 percent of new and disappearing EIDs with more than 3 employees are likely to correspond to real establishment entries and exits. We provide 3 pieces of evidence that using a classification system based on worker flows is superior to using EIDs only: First, establishment birth years generated using the worker flow methodology are much higher correlated with establishment birth years from an independent survey. Second, establishment entries and exits which are identified using the worker flow methodology move closely with the business cycle, while events which are identified as simple ID changes are not. Third, new establishment entries are small and show rapid growth, unlike new EIDs that correspond to ID changes. |
| JEL: | C80 C81 C82 D22 L11 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:19730&r=lab |
| By: | Ragni Hege Kitterød; Marit Rønsen (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | The presence of children still tends to reinforce a traditional division of labour in couples in many countries. This paper explores possible changes in the relationship between parenthood and the division of labour in Norway from 1980 to 2010 – a period with reduced gender differences in time spent on paid and unpaid work and the implementation of several work-family policy reforms. Parenthood intensified a traditional division of labour less in 2010 than in 1980, but there was no linear time trend. In 1980, parents with children in all age groups had a more traditional division of labour than those with no resident children. In 2010, this was the case only for parents with very young children (0-1 years), and even for this group, the difference compared to people without resident children was more modest than previously. As for household work, the presence of children in most age groups still strengthened a traditional division of labour in 2010, although less so than before. |
| Keywords: | Gender equality; Paid and unpaid work; Time use; Work-family balance |
| JEL: | D13 J18 J22 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:757&r=lab |
| By: | Blomquist , Johan (AgriFood Economics Centre); Nordin, Martin (Department of Economics, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates the impact of agricultural subsidies (CAP) on unemployment and employment outside the agricultural sector. For the CAP subsidies to have an effect outside the agricultural sector, the subsidies must have a second-order effect. Thus, the Open Economy Relative Multiplier for Sweden is estimated with aggregate municipality data for the years 2001 to 2009. A side-effect of the decupling reform in 2005 was that Sweden was forced to introduce a grassland support which redistributed the payments among the regions. This exogenous redistribution of the CAP is the identifying assumption in this study. The subsidy creates private jobs at a cost of about $20,000 per job, which is consistent with earlier estimates based on US data. |
| Keywords: | Government Spending; Multiplier; Employment; Unemployment; CAP; Agricultural Subsidies |
| JEL: | E24 E62 Q18 |
| Date: | 2013–12–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2013_041&r=lab |
| By: | Clément Bosquet; Pierre-Philippe Combes (Groupement de Recherche en Économie Quantitative d'Aix-Marseille); Cecilia Garcia-Peñalosa |
| Abstract: | Differences in promotion across genders are still prevalent in many occupations.Recent work based on experimental evidence indicates that women participate less in or exert lower effort during contests. We exploit the unique features of the promotion system for French academics to look at women's attitudes towards competition in an actual labour market. Using data for academic economists over the period 1991-2008 we find that, conditional on entering the competition, there is no difference in promotions across the genders, which is difficult to reconcile with either discrimination or a poorer performance of women in contests. In contrast, women have a substantially lower probability than men to enter the promotion contest. Our data does not support that this gap is due to differences in costs or in preferences concerning department prestige, indicating that women are less willing than men to take part in contests. |
| Keywords: | gender gaps, promotions, academic labour markets |
| JEL: | J16 J7 I23 |
| Date: | 2013–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/6ggbvnr6munghes9oc99l12b6&r=lab |
| By: | Lindsey Macmillan (Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education, University of London); Claire Tyler (Department of Quantitative Social Science, Institute of Education, University of London); Anna Vignoles (Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge) |
| Abstract: | There is currently a debate in policy circles about access to "the upper echelons of power" (Sir John Major, ex Prime Minister, 2013). This research seeks to understand the relationship between family background and early access to top occupations. We find that privately educated graduates are a third more likely to enter into high status occupations than state educated graduates from similarly affluent families and neighbourhoods. A modest part of this difference is driven by educational attainment with a larger part of the story working through the university that the privately educated graduates attend. Staying on to do a Masters and higher degree is also a (smaller) part of the picture. We explore one potential mechanism which is often posited as a route in accessing top jobs: the role of networks. We find that although networks cannot account for the private school advantage, the use of networks provides an additional advantage over and above background and this varies by the type of top occupation that the graduate enters. A private school graduate who uses personal networks to enter into a top managerial position has a 1.5 percentage point advantage (on a baseline 6.1%) over a state school graduate who uses other ways to find their job. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational mobility, social mobility, networks |
| JEL: | J62 L14 |
| Date: | 2013–12–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qss:dqsswp:1315&r=lab |
| By: | Bogaard, Hein (George Washington University); Svejnar, Jan (Columbia University) |
| Abstract: | We exploit organizational reforms in a foreign-owned bank in Central-East Europe to study the implementation of modern HRM policies in an emerging market context. We have branch-level data and use our knowledge of the process that led to the adoption of the reforms to implement two estimators that address endogeneity bias in a complementary fashion: an IV approach and Generalized Propensity Score estimation. Our results show that some of the reforms had a positive impact on productivity, but they also underscore the risks of quantity-based incentives where quality is important. |
| Keywords: | insider econometrics, endogeneity of HRM policies, incentives, foreign ownership, banking, Central and Eastern Europe |
| JEL: | F23 G21 M52 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7800&r=lab |
| By: | Louis-Philippe Morin (Department of Economics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides new evidence of gender differences in response to increased competition, focusing on important life tasks performed in a regular social environment. The analysis takes advantage of a major education reform in Ontario that exogenously increased competition for university grades. Comparing students pre- and post-reform using rich administrative data, I find that male average grades and the proportion of male students graduating `on time' increased relative to females. Further, the evidence indicates that these changes were due to increased relative effort rather than self-selection. The findings have implications for the delivery of education and incentive provision more generally |
| Keywords: | competition, gender differences, higher education, performance, selection |
| JEL: | J16 I21 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ott:wpaper:e1305e&r=lab |
| By: | Verena Dill; Uwe Jirjahn |
| Abstract: | German works councils provide a highly developed mechanism for codetermination designed to increase trust and cooperation within firms. This study examines whether or not the functioning of works councils depends on the type of ownership. Comparing domestic- and foreign-owned firms in Germany, we find that works councils and managers in foreign-owned firms are less likely to cooperate. The finding fits the notion that the activities of foreign multinational companies can involve tensions with the institutional framework of the host country. |
| Keywords: | Corporate Globalization, Foreign Ownership, Works Council, Codetermination, Cooperation |
| JEL: | F23 J50 J53 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:trr:wpaper:201307&r=lab |
| By: | Brunello, Giorgio (University of Padova); De Paola, Maria (University of Calabria) |
| Abstract: | The reduction of early school leaving to less than 10 percent of the relevant population by 2020 is a headline target in the Europe 2020 strategy and one of the five benchmarks of the strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training. Designing adequate policies to combat early school leaving is a difficult task that requires both the identification of causal links and the measurement of costs and benefits. In this paper, we review the issues surrounding the measurement of the costs of early school leaving to individuals and societies, and examine several implemented policies that are expected to affect early school leavers. These include broad policies – such as changes in minimum school leaving age, tracking and school resources – as well as more targeted policies. While our focus is mainly on Europe, we also consider important evidence from across the Atlantic. |
| Keywords: | early school leaving, Europe, policy evaluation |
| JEL: | J24 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7791&r=lab |
| By: | De Paola, Maria (University of Calabria); Gioia, Francesca (University of Calabria); Scoppa, Vincenzo (University of Calabria) |
| Abstract: | We conducted a field experiment involving 720 Italian undergraduate students to investigate the existence of gender differences in performance in competitive settings and whether performance is affected by one's opponent gender. The experimental design was aimed at disentangling gender differences in taste for competition from other differences in psychological attitudes, such as self-confidence and risk aversion. Students were invited to undertake a midterm exam under a tournament scheme having as a prize some bonus points to add to the final grade. Students competed in pairs of equal predicted ability but different gender composition. We find that females are as likely as males to take part in the competition and to obtain a good performance. The gender of one's competitor does not play any role in shaping students' behavior. Men and women perform similarly both in the competitive and in the non-competitive environment. |
| Keywords: | gender differences, attitude toward competition, psychological differences, tournaments, field experiment, student achievements |
| JEL: | J16 J24 J70 C93 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7799&r=lab |
| By: | Jocelyn Donze; Trude Gunnes (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | This article studies how a firm fosters formal and informal interaction among its employees to create a collective identity and positively influence their effort. We develop an agency model, in which employees have both a personal and a social ideal for effort. The firm does not observe the personal ideals, which gives rise to an adverse selection problem, but can make its workforce more sensitive to the social ideal by allocating part of working hours to social interaction. We show that there are two reasons why the firm invests in social capital. First, it reinforces the effectiveness of monetary incentives. Second, by creating a shared identity in the workforce, the firm is able to reduce the adverse selection problem. We also show that the firm allocates more time to bonding activities when employees have low personal ideals for effort or when they are more heterogeneous as regards these ideals. |
| Keywords: | Agency theory; Social interaction; Social norms; norm regulation |
| JEL: | D2 D8 J3 M5 |
| Date: | 2013–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:760&r=lab |