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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Böhm, Michael |
| Abstract: | Over the last decades, the United States and other developed countries have experienced profound job polarization whereby employment in high-skill and low-skill occupations increased at the expense of employment in middle-skill occupations. This paper examines the wage effects of job polarization: first, have the relative wages of workers in middle-skill occupations declined as the prevalent demand-side explanation for job polarization predicts? Second, has the relative price paid per unit of effective labor in the middle-skill occupations dropped with polarization? Third, can job polarization explain the changes in the overall wage distribution over that time period? I answer these questions by comparing over time two representative cohorts of young workers in the United States for whom I can consistently measure relative skills in occupations. My results show that the answer to the first two questions is yes while the answer to the third question is partly yes and partly inconclusive. |
| JEL: | J21 J23 J24 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100547&r=lab |
| By: | Jahn, Elke; Hirsch, Boris; Schnabel, Claus |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the behaviour of employers' monopsony power and workers' wages over the business cycle. Using German administrative linked employer--employee data for the years 1985--2010 and an estimation framework based on duration models, we construct a time series of the firm-level labour supply elasticity and estimate its relationship to the aggregate unemployment rate. In line with theory, we find that firms possess more monopsony power during economic downturns, which shows to be robust to controlling for time-invariant unobserved worker heterogeneity. We also document that cyclical changes in workers' entry wages are of similar magnitude as those predicted under monopsonistic wage setting, suggesting that monopsony power should not be neglected when analysing wage cyclicality. |
| JEL: | J42 J31 J30 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100426&r=lab |
| By: | Beissinger, Thomas (University of Hohenheim); Baudy, Philipp (University of Hohenheim) |
| Abstract: | Focusing on the cost-reducing motive behind the use of temporary agency employment, this paper aims at providing a better theoretical understanding of the effects of temporary agency work on the wage-setting process, trade unions' rents, firms' profits and employment. It is shown that trade unions may find it optimal to accept lower wages to prevent firms from using temporary agency workers. Hence, the firms' option to use agency workers may affect wage setting also in those firms that only employ regular workers. However, if firms decide to employ agency workers, trade union wage claims will increase for the (remaining) regular workers. An intensive use of temporary agency workers in high-wage firms may therefore be the cause and not the consequence of the high wage level in those firms. Even though we assume monopoly unions that ascribe the highest possible wage-setting power to the unions, the economic rents of trade unions decline because of the firms' option to use temporary agency work, whereas firms' profits may increase. |
| Keywords: | trade unions, temporary agency work, wage-setting process, labour market segmentation, dual labour markets |
| JEL: | J51 J31 J23 J42 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8802&r=lab |
| By: | Boockmann, Bernhard (Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW)); Brändle, Tobias (Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW)) |
| Abstract: | Job search assistance and intensified counseling have been found to be effective for labor market integration by a large number of studies, but the evidence for older and hard-to-place unemployed individuals more specifically is mixed. In this paper we present key results from the evaluation of "Perspektive 50plus", a large-scale active labor market program directed at the older unemployed in Germany. To identify the treatment effects, we exploit regional variation in program participation. Based on survey evidence, we argue that participation of regions is not endogenous in the vast majority of cases. We use a combination of different evaluation estimators to check the sensitivity of the results to selection, substitution and local labor market effects. We find large positive effects of the program in the range of five to ten percentage points on integration into unsubsidized employment. However, there are also substantial lock-in effects, such that program participants have a higher probability of remaining on public welfare benefit receipt for up to one year after commencing the program. |
| Keywords: | evaluation, active labor market programs, long-term unemployment, older unemployed |
| JEL: | J68 J14 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8811&r=lab |
| By: | Tobias Brändle; Laszlo Goerke |
| Abstract: | A large number of articles have analysed ‘the one constant´ in the economic effects of trade unions, namely that union bargaining reduces employment growth by two to four percentage points per year. Evidence is, however, mostly related to Anglo- Saxon countries. We investigate whether a different institutional setting might lead to a different outcome, making the constant a variable entity. We use linked-employer- employee data for Germany and analyse the effect of collective bargaining coverage on employment growth in German plants. We find a robust and negative correlation between being covered by a sector-wide bargaining agreement or firmlevel contract and employment growth per annum of about 0.8 percentage points. Using various approaches, however, we cannot establish a causal interpretation of the effects, suggesting that the cross-section results are driven by selection. |
| Keywords: | collective bargaining, employment growth, job flows, trade unions |
| JEL: | J23 J52 J J63 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iaw:iawdip:116&r=lab |
| By: | Robert McClelland; Shannon Mok |
| Abstract: | Labor supply elasticities are often used to evaluate the effect of changes in tax rates on the total hours worked in the economy. Historically, married women have tended to have larger labor supply elasticities than their spouses because they were the secondary earners in a couple. However, those elasticities have fallen sharply in recent decades—a decline that has been attributed to greater labor force participation rates and increased career orientation among married women. Indeed, a growing share of wives earn more than their husbands, raising the question whether a person’s sex or |
| JEL: | H00 H31 J30 J20 |
| Date: | 2014–09–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cbo:wpaper:49433&r=lab |
| By: | Guzi, Martin (Masaryk University); Kahanec, Martin (Central European University); Kureková, Lucia Mýtna (Slovak Governance Institute) |
| Abstract: | The role of institutions in immigrant integration remains underexplored in spite of its essential significance for integration policies. This paper adopts the Varieties of Capitalism framework to study the institutional determinants of Immigrant-Native gaps in host labor markets. Using the EU LFS we first measure immigrant-native gaps in labor force participation, unemployment, low-skilled employment and temporary employment. We distinguish the gaps that can be explained by immigrant-native differences in characteristics from those that cannot be explained by such differences, as these require different integration policy approaches. In the second stage we measure the effects of institutional and contextual variables on explained and unexplained immigrant-native gaps. Our findings confirm that institutional contexts play a significant role in immigrant integration, and highlight the importance of tailoring policy approaches with regard to the causes of immigrant-native gaps. |
| Keywords: | labor market, discrimination, integration policy, immigrant integration, Varieties of Capitalism |
| JEL: | J15 J18 J61 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8847&r=lab |
| By: | van Ours, Jan C |
| Abstract: | The Great Recession is characterized by a GDP-decline that was unprecedented in the past decades. This paper discusses the implications of the Great Recession analyzing labor market data from 20 OECD countries. Comparing the Great Recession with the 1980s recession it is concluded that there is a high cross-country correlation of the unemployment rates over the two recessions indicating that some labor markets are more vulnerable to fluctuations in economic growth than others. Young workers are the most affected by the Great Recession both in terms of unemployment rates as well as employment rates. For prime age workers employment rates were also affected but for older workers the Great Recession did not have a large impact. To analyze how economic growth and labor market institutions have affected unemployment two types of models are estimated. The main conclusion is rather straightforward and has a "one size fits all" character: to reduce unemployment and create jobs economic growth is needed. |
| Keywords: | Employment; Great Recession; Unemployment |
| JEL: | J64 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10376&r=lab |
| By: | Andy Feng; Georg Graetz |
| Abstract: | How do firms respond to technological advances that facilitate the automation of tasks? Which tasks will they automate, and what types of worker will be replaced as a result? We present a model that distinguishes between a task's engineering complexity and its training requirements. When two tasks are equally complex, firms will automate the task that requires more training and in which labor is hence more expensive. Under quite general conditions this leads to job polarization, a decline in middle wage jobs relative to both high and low wage jobs. Our theory explains recent and historical instances of job polarization as caused by labor-replacing technologies, such as computers, the electric motor, and the steam engine, respectively. The model makes novel predictions regarding occupational training requirements, which we find to be consistent with US data. |
| Keywords: | Automation, job polarization, technical change, wage inequality, training |
| JEL: | E25 J23 J31 M53 O33 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1330&r=lab |
| By: | Steffen Ahrens; Nooshin Nejati; Philipp L. Pfeiffer |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the role of labor market institutions in business cycle fluctuations. We develop a DSGE model with search and matching frictions and incorporate a US unemployment insurance experience rating system. Layoff taxes based on experience rating finance the cost of unemployment benefits and create considerable employment adjustment costs. Our framework helps realign the search and matching model with the empirical properties of its most salient variables. The model reproduces the negative correlation between vacancies and unemployment, i.e., the Beveridge curve. Simulations show that the model generates more cyclical volatility in its key variable - the ratio of job vacancies to unemployment (labor market tightness). Moreover, layoff taxes reduce the excess sensitivity of job destruction found in Krause and Lubik (2007) and strengthen the negative correlation of job creation and job destruction. Thus, the model matches key labor market data while incorporating an important feature of the US labor market |
| Keywords: | search and matching, experience rating, unemployment insurance, Beveridge curve |
| JEL: | E24 J64 J65 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kie:kieliw:1988&r=lab |
| By: | Andreas Beerli; Ronald Indergand |
| Abstract: | A pervasive, yet little acknowledged feature of international migration to developed countries is that newly arriving immigrants are increasingly highly skilled since the 1980s. This paper analyses the determinants of changes in the skill composition of immigrants using a framework suggested by Grogger & Hanson (2011). We focus on Switzerland, which continuously showed very high immigration rates and dramatic changes in the skill composition of immigrants. In addition, the recent integration of Switzerland into the European labour market in 2002 serves as a policy experiment which allows analysing the influence of a reduction on immigration restrictions on immigrants from European countries in comparison to those from other countries. Our findings suggest that changes of education supply in origin countries and shifts to the relative demand for education groups stand out as the two most important drivers. Yet, while supply alone predicts only a modest increase in the case of highly educated workers and a large increase of middle educated workers, one particular demand channel, the polarisation of labour demand induced by the adoption of computer capital, is crucial to explain the sharp increase in highly educated workers and the mere stabilisation of the share of middle educated immigrant workers. The abolition of quotas for EU residents played a smaller role, yet may have slightly reduced the high skill share among immigrants relative to immigrants from other countries. |
| Keywords: | International migration; self selection; migration policy; job polarisation |
| JEL: | F22 J61 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ube:dpvwib:dp1501&r=lab |
| By: | Panos Pashardes; Alexandros Polycarpou |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a labour supply function that allows not only for backward-bending behaviour at high but also for forward-falling behaviour at low wage rates. The proposed model adheres to the fundamentals of consumer theory and encompasses all well-known and widely used semi-log labour supply models in the literature. It is applied to UK data to investigate female labour supply and, in particular, to demonstrate the importance of including a forward-falling segment in the empirical specification for accurate estimation of labour supply behaviour at the low end of the wage distribution. The policy implications of our empirical findings are considered in the context of a hypothesised minimum wage reform. |
| Keywords: | female labour supply, low-wage work behaviour, s-shaped labour supply, minimum wage reform. |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucy:cypeua:03-2015&r=lab |
| By: | Maxime Comeau; Denis Latulippe |
| Abstract: | Methodology to estimate effective retirement age from the labor market has been developed over the last 15 years and is now commonly used for experience review and policy development. However, both transition from work to retirement (including gradual retirement) and the socio-economic environment have evolved over this period which includes the 2008 economic crisis. This paper presents innovative ways to estimate retirement age, in order to better assess effective retirement from employment and not only focus on labor force participation rates. It also makes possible the distinction between retirement from full-time employment vs part-time employment. Results are presented for four countries (Austria and Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom) with rather diverging experience. |
| Keywords: | Retirement age, Work-retirement transition, Gradual retirement, Retirement experience, Older workers’employment, Retirement age estimation |
| JEL: | J26 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:criacr:1504&r=lab |
| By: | Dmytro Hryshko; Chinhui Juhn; Kristin McCue |
| Abstract: | We examine changes in inequality and instability of the combined earnings of married couples over the 1980-2009 period using two U.S. panel data sets: Social Security earnings data matched to Survey of Income and Program Participation panels (SIPP-SSA) and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Relative to male earnings inequality, the inequality of couples' earnings is both lower in levels and rises by a smaller amount. We also find that couples' earnings instability is lower in levels compared to male earnings instability and actually declines in the SIPP-SSA data. While wives' earnings played an important role in dampening the rise in inequality and year-to-year variation in resources at the family level, we find that marital sorting and coordination of labor supply decisions at the family level played a minor role. Comparing actual couples to randomly paired simulated couples, we find very similar trends in earnings inequality and instability. |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:15-04&r=lab |
| By: | Edoardo Di Porto (Università di Napoli Federico II, CSEF and UCFS, Uppsala University); Leandro Elia (Centre for Research on Impact Evaluation (CRIE), Econometrics and Applied Statistics Unit, European Commission - DG Joint Research Centre) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents estimates of the own-wage elasticity for undeclared labour demand and calculates the effects of undeclared work on declared wages of various skill levels. To identify the parameters of interest, we exploit a quasiexperimental setting created by three tax amnesty laws brought brought into force in 2002 in Italy. Our main results indicate that an upward shift in undeclared work decreases undeclared wages, increases declared wages, and reduces wage inequality in the declared sector. We find q-complementarity between undeclared workers and low to medium-skilled workers. |
| Date: | 2015–02–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sef:csefwp:389&r=lab |
| By: | Hyatt, Henry R. (U.S. Census Bureau); Spletzer, James R. (U.S. Census Bureau) |
| Abstract: | Rates of hiring and job separation fell by as much as a third in the U.S. between the late 1990s and the early 2010s. Half of this decline is associated with the declining incidence of jobs that start and end in the same calendar quarter, employment events that we call "single quarter jobs." We investigate this unique subset of jobs and its decline using matched employer-employee data for the years 1996-2012. We characterize the worker demographics and employer characteristics of single quarter jobs, and demonstrate that changes over time in workforce and employer composition explain little of the decline in these jobs. We find that the decline in these jobs accounts for about a third of the decline in the fraction of the population that holds a job in the private sector that occurred from the mid -2000s to the early 2010s. We also find little evidence that single quarter jobs are stepping stones into longer-term employment. Finally, we show that the inclusion or exclusion of these single quarter jobs creates divergent trends in average earnings and the dispersion of earnings for the years 1996-2012. To the extent that administrative records measure the volatile tail of the employment distribution better than conventional household surveys, these findings show that measurement of short duration jobs matters for economic analysis. |
| Keywords: | hires, separations, single quarter jobs, stepping stone jobs |
| JEL: | J21 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8805&r=lab |
| By: | Andini, Corrado (University of Madeira); Andini, Monica (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | The standard approach to the estimation of unemployment persistence assumes that quantile parameter heterogeneity does not matter. Using panel quantile autoregression techniques on state-level data for the United States (1980-2010), we suggest that it does. |
| Keywords: | quantile regression, unemployment, dynamic models |
| JEL: | C23 J64 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8819&r=lab |
| By: | Michael Fritsch; Alexander S. Kritikos; Alina Sorgner |
| Abstract: | Germany experienced a unique rise in the level of self-employment in the first two decades following unification. Applying the non-linear Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique, we find that the main factors driving these changes in the overall level of self-employment are demographic developments, the shift towards service sector employment, and a larger share of population holding a tertiary degree. While these factors explain most of the development in self-employment with employees and the overall level of self-employment in West Germany, their explanatory power is much lower for the stronger increase of solo self-employment and of self-employment in former socialist East Germany. |
| Keywords: | Self-employment, non-linear Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition technique, entrepreneurship, Germany |
| JEL: | L26 D22 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1447&r=lab |
| By: | Courtney Coile; Mark Duggan; Audrey Guo |
| Abstract: | We explore trends over time in the labor force participation of veterans and non-veterans and investigate whether these patterns are consistent with a rising role for the Veterans’ Affairs Disability Compensation (DC) program, which pays benefits to veterans with service-connected disabilities and has grown rapidly since 2000. Using 35 years of March CPS data, we find that veterans’ labor force participation declined over time in a way that coincides closely with DC growth and that veterans have become more sensitive to economic shocks. Our findings suggest that DC program growth has contributed to recent declines in veterans’ labor force participation. |
| JEL: | H56 J14 J22 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20932&r=lab |
| By: | Freier, Ronny (DIW Berlin); Schumann, Mathias (University of Hamburg); Siedler, Thomas (University of Hamburg) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the causal effects of graduating from university with an honors degree on subsequent earnings. While a rich body of literature has focused on estimating returns to human capital, few studies have analyzed returns at the very top of the education distribution. We highlight the importance of honors degrees for future labor market success in the context of German law graduates. Using a difference-in-differences research design combined with entropy balancing, we find that students of law who passed the state bar exam with an honors degree receive a significant earnings premium of about 14 percent. The results are robust to various sensitivity analyzes. |
| Keywords: | returns to education, difference-in-differences, entropy balancing, law graduates, earnings |
| JEL: | J01 J31 J44 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8825&r=lab |
| By: | Emin M. Dinlersoz; Henry R. Hyatt; Hubert P. Janicki |
| Abstract: | Compared with mature firms, young firms, most of which represent entrepreneurial activity, disproportionately hire younger, nonemployed individuals, and provide them with lower earnings. Furthermore, in recent years the number of young firms has been declining, along with their employment share, employee size, and worker earnings. To account for these facts, this paper introduces heterogeneous labor markets with search frictions to a dynamic model of entrepreneurship. Individuals differ in productivity and wealth. They can choose not to work, become entrepreneurs, or work in one of two sectors: a corporate versus an entrepreneurial sector. The sectoral differences in production technology and labor market frictions lead to sector-specific wages and worker sorting. Individuals with lower assets tend to take lower-paying jobs in the entrepreneurial sector. Empirical analysis indicates that this type of sorting is consistent with the average net worth of workers in young versus mature firms in the data. The model is used to explore potential mechanisms behind the recent decline in entrepreneurship in the U.S. |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:15-08&r=lab |
| By: | Seth G. Benzell; Laurence J. Kotlikoff; Guillermo LaGarda; Jeffrey D. Sachs |
| Abstract: | Will smart machines replace humans like the internal combustion engine replaced horses? If so, can putting people out of work, or at least out of good work, also put the economy out of business? Our model says yes. Under the right conditions, more supply produces, over time, less demand as the smart machines undermine their customer base. Highly tailored skill- and generation-specific redistribution policies can keep smart machines from immiserating humanity. But blunt policies, such as mandating open-source technology, can make matters worse. |
| JEL: | E22 E23 E24 J24 J31 O30 O40 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20941&r=lab |
| By: | Letizia Mencarini; Daniele Vignoli |
| Abstract: | A new generation of studies has called into question standard microeconomic predictions of a positive association between women’s economic independence and union dissolution, suggesting that it is necessary to include information about both partners’ contributions to paid and unpaid work when conducting empirical tests of the impact of women’s employment on union stability. In this study, we follow this strand of research and use data on couples from the 2003 and 2007 waves of the Italian “Family and Social Subject†survey, with the aim of investigating whether and how the gender division of labor channels the causal impact of women’s employment on union disruption. Utilizing techniques of mediation analysis, we suggest that women’s employment does not have a negative effect per se on union stability, and that women’s paid work becomes detrimental to the stability of the union only if the male partner’s contribution to unpaid work is limited. |
| JEL: | J12 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cca:wpaper:377&r=lab |
| By: | Hall, Robert E. (Stanford University); Schulhofer-Wohl, Sam (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis) |
| Abstract: | Matching efficiency is the productivity of the process for matching jobseekers to available jobs. Job-finding is the output; vacant jobs and active jobseekers are the inputs. Measurement of matching efficiency follows the same principles as measuring a Hicks-neutral index of productivity of production. We develop a framework for measuring matching productivity when the population of jobseekers is heterogeneous. The efficiency index for each type of jobseeker is the monthly job-finding rate for the type adjusted for the overall tightness of the labor market. We find that overall matching efficiency declined over the period, at just below its earlier downward trend. We develop a new approach to measuring matching rates that avoids counting short-duration jobs as successes. And we show that the outward shift in the Beveridge curve in the post-crisis period is the result of pre-crisis trends, not a downward shift in matching efficiency attributable to the crisis. |
| Keywords: | Matching efficiency; Job-finding rates; Beveridge curve |
| JEL: | E24 J63 |
| Date: | 2015–02–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedmwp:721&r=lab |
| By: | Florian Baumann; Tobias Brändle |
| Abstract: | This paper establishes a link between the extent of collective bargaining and the degree of productivity dispersion within an industry. In a unionised oligopoly model we show that for only small dierences in productivity levels. a sector-union can design a collective wage contract that covers a wide range of heterogeneous firms. In sectors with higher productivity dispersion, an industry union has an incentive to demand firm-level wage contracts with the most productive firms, so that they can prevent low-productivity firms from leaving collective coverage. However, such firm-level contracts may not prevent firms at the lower end of the productivity distribution from avoiding collective coverage in sectors with high productivity dispersion. We test the predictions of the model using German linked employer-employee data between 1996 and 2010 and find support for our theoretical results. |
| Keywords: | Collective bargaining; trade unions; heterogeneous rms; unionised oligopoly; linked employer-employee data |
| JEL: | D22 D43 J51 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iaw:iawdip:114&r=lab |
| By: | Brenzel, Hanna (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Müller, Anne (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "Labour shortages are a field of research that has been investigated quite thoroughly. The reactions of firms facing problems during the hiring process are, however, largely neglected in empirical literature. Our research will fill this empirical gap and shed light on the question of whether reactions according to the neoclassical theory or to the Reder Hypothesis are more common in reality. We make use of a unique dataset, the German Job Vacancy Survey, which allows us to observe the entire operational recruitment process including potential problems, concessions made by firms as well as characteristics of the hired candidate, the vacancy and the firm itself. Whether concessions are made mainly depends on the labour market situation and on the specific hiring problems of a firm. We also find that firms are rather flexible in their reactions in accordance with the specific hiring problem. Therefore, both theories seem to apply in reality." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Personalbeschaffung, Stellenbesetzung, IAB-Stellenerhebung, Konzessionsbereitschaft, Lohnhöhe, Qualifikationsanforderungen, ökonomische Theorie |
| JEL: | J33 J01 D22 |
| Date: | 2015–02–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201506&r=lab |
| By: | Bossler, Mario; Oberfichtner, Michael |
| Abstract: | We provide difference-in-differences evidence from Germany on the effect of deregulating weekday shop opening hours on employment in food retailing. Using data on the universe of German shops, we find that relaxing restrictions on business hours increased employment by 0.4 workers per shop corresponding to an aggregate employment effect of 3 to 4 per cent. The effect was driven by an increase in part-time employment while full-time employment was not affected. The statistical significance of these results hinges on assumptions on error correlation, and we hence report inference robust to clustering at different levels. A back-of-the-envelope calculation gives an employment increase by 0.1 workers per additional actual weekly opening hour. |
| JEL: | J23 L51 L81 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100506&r=lab |
| By: | Stüber, Heiko; Snell, Andy |
| Abstract: | Theoretical models of downward real wage rigidity generate asymmetric wage cyclicality with real wages being rigid in "bad" times but upwardly flexible during "good". In this paper we use an administrative panel dataset from Germany to establish that such asymmetries are very salient in Germany. We find that the semi elasticity of real wages with respect to unemployment is very close to zero when unemployment is above its long term average but large and highly significant when below. We also find that equal treatment - where new hires are exposed to the same cyclicality as incumbents - is supported in our data. Equal treatment is a central driver of downwardly rigid wages in many contracting models (e.g., Hall, 2005; Gertler and Trigari, 2009; Snell and Thomas, 2010). We find that an equal treatment model in which wages are smoothed by firms can generate the asymmetric wage cyclicality found in the panel data. The model also can match most of the properties of wages and unemployment. It cannot however match the persistence of the German unemployment rate. We conjecture that extending the model to allow for search frictions and/or adjustment costs may rectify this deficiency. |
| JEL: | E24 E32 C23 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100601&r=lab |
| By: | Lucht, Michael; Haas, Anette (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "Empirical evidence for the US shows that migrants increase the productivity of regions. To explain the impact of migrants on the average firm productivity we construct a general equilibrium model with monopolistic competition a la Melitz (2003). We consider heterogeneous firms with different productivity levels and imperfect substitutability between migrants and natives. This gives rise to wage differences between natives and migrants. As a consequence, firms with a higher share of migrants realize wage cost advantages. The heterogeneous distribution of migrants in our model fosters regional disparities. In equilibrium, it depends on the migrant share which kind of firms survives in the market. The only firms to stay in the market are those which are highly productive or able to compensate a lower productivity level through wage cost advantages. We show that a higher migrant share may explain a higher average productivity in a region. The welfare effects for natives are ambiguous." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| JEL: | R23 J15 J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2015–02–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201505&r=lab |
| By: | Daniel Possenriede; Wolter Hassink; Janneke Plantenga |
| Abstract: | In recent years many employees have gained more control over temporal and locational aspects of their work via a variety of flexible work arrangements, such as flexi-time and telehomework. This temporal and locational flexibility of work (TLF) is often seen as a means to combine work and private life and as such has been recommended as a policy to increase the labour supply part-time workers. To the best of our knowledge it has not been tested empirically yet, however, whether the presumed link between this type of worker-oriented flexibility and increasing working hours actually holds. We therefore analyse whether flexi-time and telehomework arrangements increase the number of actual, contracted and preferred working hours. Based on Dutch household panel data, our results indicate that the impact of TLF on working hours is quite limited. Telehomework is associated with moderate increases in actual hours, but not in contracted or preferred hours. Flexi-time generally seems to have an ambiguous effect on working hours. Despite positive effects of TLF on job satisfaction and working time fit, it does not seem to lead to an increase in labour supply. |
| Keywords: | flexi-time, labour supply, location flexibility, part-time work, telehomework, temporal flexibility |
| Date: | 2014–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:use:tkiwps:1411&r=lab |
| By: | Marc Lavoie; Eckhard Hein |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an extensive, but non-formalized, critique ofthe concept of the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment(NAIRU) and all similar concepts such as the steady-inflation rateof capacity utilization (SIRCU) which are used by mainstream economiststo argue that there is no alternative, and hence that labourmarkets must be made more flexible while governments must abstainfrom engaging in expansionary fiscal policies except underexceptional circumstances. This is followed by the presentation ofan alternative approach of the labour market, based on a more realisticview of the shape of the unit costs of firms, which argue s thatemployment is essentially determined by the extent of sales in thegoods market rather than by some profit-maximization constraint,and that higher real wages will normally generate a rise in domesticaggregate demand and hence a rise in employment. The paperends with a discussion of the implications of such a view for wagebargaining and macroeconomic policies. What is advocated here isa wage-led growth strategy. |
| Keywords: | NAIRU, unit costs, wage-led growth |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:wpaper:144-2015&r=lab |
| By: | Herstad , Sverre J. (NIFU Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education, Oslo); Sandven , Tore (NIFU Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education, Oslo) |
| Abstract: | Using Norwegian Community Innovation Survey (CIS) data linked to public employment registers covering the years 2004 - 2010, this paper investigates the relationship between employment growth prior to the event of innovation, innovation output, and growth performance after the event. Positive growth ex ante generally strengthens growth ex post. Moreover, it increases the likelihood that innovations are introduced during the intermediate period that strengthen employment performances further. This effect is present for all levels of growth only when new products, production processes and support functions are introduced in tandem. Standalone improvements of products, by contrast, influence only the probability of survival, whereas standalone improvements of production processes and support functions support ex post growth specifically in the upper tail of the distribution. Our findings challenge the common view that product innovations are more important to growth than process innovations, and reveal interdependencies between multi-faceted organizational capabilities, innovation output and employment performance. |
| Keywords: | Capabilities; innovation; employment growth; Norway |
| JEL: | J23 J24 O15 O33 |
| Date: | 2015–02–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2015_003&r=lab |
| By: | Barbero, Javier; Behrens, Kristian; Zofio, Jose L. |
| Abstract: | We investigate the geographical distribution of economic activity and wages in a general equilibrium model with many asymmetric regions and costly trade. As shown by extensive simulations on random networks, local market size better explains a region’s industry share, whereas accessibility better explains a region’s wage. The correlation between equilibrium wages and industry shares is low, thus suggesting that the two variables operate largely independently. The model replicates well the spatial distribution of industry using Spanish data, yet overpredict changes in that distribution due to changes in 'generalized transport costs'. The latter had only small impacts on changes in the geographical distribution of economic activity in Spain from 1980 to 2007. |
| Keywords: | generalized transport costs; industry location; size; trading networks; wages |
| JEL: | C63 F12 R12 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10411&r=lab |