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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Maurer, Raimond; Mitchell, Olivia S.; Rogalla, Ralph; Schimetschek, Tatjana |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates whether exchanging the Social Security delayed retirement credit, currently paid as an increase in lifetime annuity benefits, for a lump sum would induce later claiming and additional work. We show that people would voluntarily claim about half a year later if the lump sum were paid for claiming any time after the Early Retirement Age, and about two-thirds of a year later if the lump sum were paid only for those claiming after their Full Retirement Age. Overall, people will work one-third to one-half of the additional months, compared to the status quo. Those who would currently claim at the youngest ages are likely to be most responsive to the offer of a lump sum benefit. |
| Keywords: | annuity,lump sum,social security,delayed retirement,lifetime income,pension |
| JEL: | D04 D01 D12 D14 G22 H55 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:84&r=lab |
| By: | Adrian Chadi (Institute for Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the EU, University of Trier); Clemens Hetschko (School of Business and Economics, Freie Universitaet Berlin) |
| Abstract: | For representative German panel data, we document that voluntary job switching is associated with higher levels of life satisfaction, though only for some time, whereas forced job changes do not affect life satisfaction clearly. Using plant closures as an exogenous trigger of switching to a new employer, we find that job mobility turns out to be harmful for satisfaction with family life. By investigating people’s lives beyond their workplaces, our study complements research on the well-being impact of labour mobility, suggesting some positive welfare effects of flexible labour markets, but also a previously undocumented potential for negative implications. |
| Keywords: | life satisfaction, satisfaction with family life, job changes, honeymoon-hangover effect, employment protection legislation |
| JEL: | I31 J28 J61 J63 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iaa:dpaper:201502&r=lab |
| By: | Camille Hémet (Universidad de Barcelona & IEB) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores how diversity affects individuals’ employment prospects, using data from the French Labor Force Survey. Employment correlates positively with local labor market diversity, but negatively with neighborhood diversity. Using an instrumental variable approach to deal with local labor market diversity drives the positive correlation to zero, confirming the suspicion of self-selection. Regarding neighborhood diversity, I adopt the strategy of Bayer et al. (2008), taking advantage of the very precise localization of the data: the negative effect of diversity is reinforced. I also show that nationalitybased diversity matters more than parents’ origin-based diversity, giving insights on the underlying mechanisms. |
| Keywords: | Diversity, employment, neighborhood effects |
| JEL: | J15 J60 R23 Z13 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ieb:wpaper:2013/6/doc2015-4&r=lab |
| By: | Hugo Erken; Eric van Loon; Wouter Verbeek |
| Abstract: | The Great Recession has caused unemployment in the Netherlands to rise from 3.1% in 2008 to over 7% at the beginning of 2014. Structural imbalances caused by labour mismatch could be one of the explanations underlying this high rate. The goal of this paper is to examine this hypothesis. We adopt an eclectic approach to study if mismatch has increased during the Great Recession. First, we examine the development of the Beveridge curve. We estimate so-called “steady-state†Beveridge curves based on underlying labour market flows. Outward shifts of these curves are associated with decreasing matching efficiency. Second, we construct a mismatch index which enables us to calculate the contribution of sector mismatch to the unemployment level. Our analyses show little support for the hypothesis that mismatch currently is a problem on the Dutch labour market. At the aggregate level, the Beveridge curve has not shifted outwards. Furthermore, at most one-seventh of Dutch unemployment can be attributed to sector mismatch, which is comparable to or below periods prior to the Great Recession. |
| JEL: | E20 E24 J63 J69 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:303&r=lab |
| By: | Stefania Albanesi (Federal Reserve Bank of New York); Claudia Olivetti (Boston University and NBER) |
| Abstract: | Maternal mortality was the second largest cause of death for women in childbearing years up until the mid-1930s in the United States. For each death, twenty times as many mothers were estimated to suffer pregnancy related conditions, often leading to severe and prolonged disablement. Poor maternal health made it particularly hard for mothers to engage in market work. Between 1930 and 1960 there was a remarkable reduction in maternal mortality and morbidity. We argue that these medical advances, by enabling women to reconcile work and motherhood, were essential for the joint rise in married women's labor force participation and fertility over this period. We also show that the diffusion of infant formula played an important auxiliary role. |
| Keywords: | maternal mortality, female labor force participation, fertility, baby boom, human capital |
| JEL: | I15 J13 J22 N30 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hka:wpaper:2015-002&r=lab |
| By: | David Neumark (University of California–Irvine, National Bureau of Economic Research, and Institute for the Study of Labor); Joanne Song (State University of New York–Buffalo); Patrick Button (University of California–Irvine) |
| Abstract: | We explore the effects of disability discrimination laws on hiring of older workers. A concern with antidiscrimination laws is that they may reduce hiring by raising the cost of terminations and – in the specific case of disability discrimination laws – raising the cost of employment because of the need to accommodate disabled workers. Moreover, disability discrimination laws can affect nondisabled older workers because they are fairly likely to develop work-related disabilities, yet are not protected by these laws. Using state variation in disability discrimination protections, we find little or no evidence that stronger disability discrimination laws lower the hiring of nondisabled older workers. We similarly find no evidence of adverse effects of disability discrimination laws on hiring of disabled older workers. |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrr:papers:wp315&r=lab |
| By: | Thomas Joseph; Yaw Nyarko; Shing-Yi Wang |
| Abstract: | Using new data matching remittances and monthly payroll disbursals, we demonstrate how fluctuations in migrants' earnings in the United Arab Emirates affect their remittances. We consider three types of income fluctuations that are observable by families at home: seasonalities, weather shocks and a labor reform. Remittances move with all of these income changes. Remittances do not move with an individual's growth in earnings over time. The slope of the relationship between earnings and time in the UAE varies across individuals and is not easy to observe by families. Thus, a key characteristic that drives remittance behavior is the observability of income rather than other features of these fluctuations. The results are consistent with a private information model where remittances are viewed by the migrant worker as payments to their families in an income-sharing contract. |
| JEL: | F22 F24 J60 O15 O53 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20986&r=lab |
| By: | D'Amuri, Francesco (Bank of Italy); Giorgiantonio, Cristina (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | Italy is not immune from the long term process towards greater bargaining decentralization under way in Western Europe. The article surveys the main actions, either defined by social partners or by government intervention, which have attempted to encourage this process in recent years, without altering the relative importance of different levels of bargaining. Empirical evidence shows that firm-level bargaining has been associated with innovative managerial practices, but also that a significant share of firms would be willing to sign contracts that would grant higher wages or preserve occupational levels in order to obtain higher flexibility in the use of the workforce. From an institutional standpoint, the main obstacles preventing the adoption of such deals are: i) unresolved issues related to the measurement of trade unions' weight at the national level and to the coexistence of two different workers' representation systems, ii) limits to contract enforcement, iii) limited scope for action of second level bargaining in determining both wages and work organization. The effectiveness of tax breaks encouraging a closer link between wage and productivity at the firm level has been undermined by poor monitoring and frequent changes to the eligibility criteria. |
| Keywords: | industrial relations, labour law, salary structure |
| JEL: | J31 J41 J51 J53 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izapps:pp98&r=lab |
| By: | Emanuela Ciapanna (Bank of Italy); Marco Taboga (Bank of Italy); Eliana Viviano (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | We propose a structural model of two-sided matching and a semi-parametric procedure for its estimation that allow to analyze determinants of managers’ compensation such as firm’s and manager’s quality, production technology, bargaining power and inter-temporal preferences. We use the estimated model to study the stylized fact that managers in the financial sector receive higher compensation than their peers in other sectors. Our results suggest that a predominant portion of this wage gap is explained by differences in production technology, while differences in bargaining power, preferences and quality have a minor impact and are seldom statistically significant. |
| Keywords: | managers’ compensation, job matching |
| JEL: | C73 D31 J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_1000_15&r=lab |
| By: | Hippolyte d'Albis (Paris School of Economics - Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne); Ekrame Boubtane (CERDI, Université d'Auvergne et Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne); Dramane Coulibaly (EconomiX, Université Paris Ouest) |
| Abstract: | This paper quantitatively assesses the interaction between permanent immigration into France and France's macroeconomic performance as seen through its GDP per capita and its unemployment rate. It takes advantage of a new database where immigration is measured by the flow of newly-issued long-term residence permits, categorized by both the nationality of the immigrant and the reason of permit issuance. Using a VAR model estimation of monthly data over the period 1994-2008, we find that immigration flow significantly responds to France's macroeconomic performance: positively to the country's GDP per capita and negatively to its unemployment rate. At the same time, we find that immigration itself increases France's GDP per capita, particularly in the case of family immigration. This family immigration also reduces the country's unemployment rate, especially when the families come from developing countries |
| Keywords: | Immigration; Female and Family Migration; Growth; Unemployment; VAR Models |
| JEL: | E20 F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mse:cesdoc:15023&r=lab |
| By: | John Ameriks; Andrew Caplin; Minjoon Lee; Matthew D. Shapiro; Christopher Tonetti |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces the Vanguard Research Initiative (VRI), a new panel survey of wealthholders designed to yield high-quality measurements of a large sample of older Americans who arrive at retirement with significant financial assets. The VRI links survey data with a variety of administrative data from Vanguard. The survey features an account-by-account approach to asset measurement and a real-time feedback and correction mechanism that are shown to be highly successful in eliciting accurate measures of wealth. Specifically, the VRI data reflect unbiased and precise estimates of wealth when compared to administrative account data. The VRI sample has characteristics similar to populations meeting analogous wealth and Internet access eligibility conditions in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF). To illustrate the value of the VRI, the paper shows that the relationship between wealth and expected retirement date is very different in the VRI than in the HRS and SCF—mainly because those surveys have so few observations where wealth levels are high enough to finance substantial consumption during retirement. |
| JEL: | D91 E21 H31 J14 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20972&r=lab |
| By: | Alberto F. Alesina; Ugo Troiano; Traviss Cassidy |
| Abstract: | We evaluate the effect of a politician’s age on political governance, reelection rates,and policies using data on Italian local governments. Our results suggest that younger politicians are more likely to behave strategically in response to election incentives: they increase spending and obtain more transfers from higher levels of government in preelection years. We argue that is a sign of stronger career concerns incentives. The results are robust to adopting three different identification strategies: fixed-effects regression, standard regression discontinuity design, and an augmented regression discontinuity design that controls for residual heterogeneity. |
| JEL: | C21 D78 H72 H77 J18 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20977&r=lab |
| By: | Klaus Desmet; Ignacio Ortuño-Ortín; Romain Wacziarg |
| Abstract: | We investigate the empirical relationship between ethnicity and culture, defined as a vector of traits reflecting norms, attitudes and preferences. Using surveys of individual values in 76 countries, we find that ethnic identity is a significant predictor of cultural values, yet that within-group variation in culture trumps between-group variation. Thus, in contrast to a commonly held view, ethnic and cultural diversity are unrelated. We explore the correlates of cultural diversity and of the overlap between culture and ethnicity, finding that the level of economic development is positively associated with cultural diversity and negatively associated with the overlap between culture and ethnicity. Finally, although only a small portion of a country's overall cultural heterogeneity occurs between groups, this does not imply that cultural differences between groups are irrelevant. Indeed, we find that civil conflict becomes more likely when there is greater overlap between ethnicity and culture. |
| JEL: | D74 J15 P48 Z10 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20989&r=lab |
| By: | Thomas Goldring; Fabian Lange; Seth Richards-Shubik |
| Abstract: | We develop a flexible test for changes in the SES-mortality gradient over time that directly accounts for changes in the distribution of education, the most commonly used marker of SES. We implement the test for the period between 1984 and 2006 using microdata from the Census, CPS, and NHIS linked to death records. Using our flexible test, we find that the evidence for a change in the education-mortality gradient is not as strong and universal as previous research has suggested. Our results indicate that the gradient increased for females during this time period, but we cannot rule out that the gradient among males has not changed. Informally, the results suggest that the changes for females are mainly driven by the bottom of the education distribution. |
| JEL: | I14 J11 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20993&r=lab |
| By: | Bertrand, Marianne; Kamenica, Emir; Pan, Jessica |
| Abstract: | We examine causes and consequences of relative income within households. We show the distribution of the share of income earned by the wife exhibits a sharp drop to the right of 1/2, where the wife's income exceeds the husbands income. We argue that this pattern is best explained by gender identity norms, which induce an aversion to a situation where the wife earns more than her husband. We present evidence that this aversion also impacts marriage formation, the wife's labor force participation, the wife's income conditional on working, marriage satisfaction, likelihood of divorce, and the division of home production. Within marriage markets, when a randomly chosen woman becomes more likely to earn more than a randomly chosen man, marriage rates decline. In couples where the wife's potential income is likely to exceed the husband's, the wife is less likely to be in the labor force and earns less than her potential if she does work. In couples where the wife earns more than the husband, the wife spends more time on household chores; moreover, those couples are less satisfied with their marriage and are more likely to divorce. Those patterns hold both cross-sectionally and within couple over time. |
| Keywords: | gender gap; gender roles; marriage market |
| JEL: | D10 J12 J16 |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:10443&r=lab |