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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Reichelt, Malte (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Haas, Anette (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "Over the past several decades, most industrialized countries have experienced a rise in commuting distances, spurring scholarly interest in its determinants. The primary theoretical explanation for longer commuting distances is based on higher wages; however, empirical evidence is minimal. We argue that commuting indeed often results from changes to jobs with higher wages. However, local labor market opportunities strongly moderate individuals' responsiveness to wage changes, resulting in diverse wage effects determined by the place of residence. Using German survey data linked to administrative information with a mixed-effects design, we find that when changing jobs the effect of wages on commuting distances rises substantially according to the local labor market density. While residents in the least dense areas do not adjust their commuting distance substantially in response to a wage change, residents in areas with the highest employment density are highly responsive. This result indicates the need to take into account the regional labor market structure when analyzing commuting patterns as local opportunities strongly influence the adjustment process of commuting distances. Particularly commuters from economic centers seem to adjust their distances to a great degree." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Pendler, Pendelwanderung - Determinanten, Pendelwanderung - Motivation, Lohnhöhe, zwischenbetriebliche Mobilität, Arbeitsplatzdichte, regionale Faktoren, Arbeitsweg, IAB-Datensatz Arbeiten und Lernen |
| JEL: | J61 J62 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2015–11–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201533&r=lab |
| By: | Julien Albertini; Jean Olivier Hairault; François Langot; Thepthida Sopraseuth |
| Abstract: | This paper extends Pissarides (1990)’s matching model by considering two sectors (routine and manual) and workers’ occupational choices, in the context of skill-biased demand shifts, to the detriment of routine jobs and in favour of manual jobs because of technological changes. The theoretical challenge is to investigate the reallocation process from the middle towards the bottom of the wage distribution. By using this framework, we shed light on the way in which labour market institutions affect the job polarization observed in the United States and Europe. The results of our quantitative experiments suggest that search frictions have non-trivial effects on the reallocation process and transitional dynamics of aggregate employment. |
| Keywords: | Search and matching, job polarization, reallocation, labor market institutions |
| JEL: | E24 J62 J64 O33 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2015-051&r=lab |
| By: | Blau, Francine D. (Cornell University) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines evidence on the role of assimilation versus source country culture in influencing immigrant women's behavior in the United States – looking both over time with immigrants' residence in the United States and across immigrant generations. It focuses particularly on labor supply but, for the second generation, also examines fertility and education. We find considerable evidence that immigrant source country gender roles influence immigrant and second generation women's behavior in the United States. This conclusion is robust to various efforts to rule out the effect of other unobservables and to distinguish the effect of culture from that of social capital. These results support a growing literature that suggests that culture matters for economic behavior. At the same time, the results suggest considerable evidence of assimilation of immigrants. Immigrant women narrow the labor supply gap with native‐born women with time in the United States, and, while our results suggest an important role for intergenerational transmission, they also indicate considerable convergence of immigrants to native levels of schooling, fertility, and labor supply across generations. |
| Keywords: | gender, immigration, labor supply, wages, social capital, culture, human capital |
| JEL: | J13 J16 J22 J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9534&r=lab |
| By: | Ivlevs, Artjoms (University of the West of England, Bristol); Veliziotis, Michail (University of the West of England, Bristol) |
| Abstract: | The 2004 European Union enlargement resulted in an unprecedented wave of 1.5 million workers relocating from Eastern Europe to the UK. We study how this migrant inflow affected life satisfaction of native residents in England and Wales. Combining the British Household Panel Survey with the Local Authority level administrative data from the Worker Registration Scheme, we find that higher local level immigration increased life satisfaction of young people and decreased life satisfaction of old people. This finding is driven by the initial 'migration shock' – inflows that occurred in the first two years after the enlargement. Looking at different life domains, we also find some evidence that, irrespective of age, higher local level immigration increased natives' satisfaction with their dwelling, partner and social life. |
| Keywords: | immigration, life satisfaction, United Kingdom, 2004 EU enlargement |
| JEL: | F22 J15 I31 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9513&r=lab |
| By: | Anja Deelen; Wouter Verbeek |
| Abstract: | Although wage rigidity is an important topic, there is no full consensus in the literature on how to measure downward nominal and real wage rigidity. We conceptually and empirically compare the three commonly used methods for estimating wage rigidity. The simple approach as developed by the International Wage Flexibility Project (IWFP), the model based IWFP approach and the Maximum Likelihood approach. We estimate the three models on administrative panel data at the individual level for the Netherlands (2006-2012). One main nding is that assumptions regarding the 'notional' wage change distribution (which would prevail in the absence of wage rigidity) are an important determinant of the level of wage rigidity measured. We conclude that the model-based IWFP approach is the preferred model of the three, for it has the most sophisticated method to address measurement error and the assumptions regarding the wage change distribution that would prevail in absence of wage rigidity are most plausible. Furthermore we have researched the correlation between wage rigidity and worker and rm characteristics. Although the methods do not agree on the amount of rigidity, they agree for a large part on what variables have a positive or negative relation with downward nominal or real wage rigidity. We nd that the presence of wage rigidity is unevenly distributed among groups of workers: downward nominal and real wage rigidity in the Netherlands are positively related to a higher age, higher education, open-end contracts, full-time contracts and to working in a rm that experiences zero or positive employment growth. The consistency in the ndings regarding the determinants of wage rigidity indicate that all three methods measure the same phenomenon, which implies that estimates of determinants of wage rigidity can be compared over countries using any of the three methods. However, for measuring the fraction of workers covered by downward nominal or real wage rigidity, the choice of the method matters. Besides, we contribute to the literature by providing accurate, internationally comparable estimates of wage rigidity in the Netherlands. The overall picture is that the Netherlands has a less than average amount of downward nominal wage rigidity but and an above average level of downward real wage rigidity, compared internationally. |
| JEL: | C23 J31 J5 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:315&r=lab |
| By: | Dennis Fredriksen; Nils Martin Stølen (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | Over the life course members of an insurance system normally will contribute by payments when in working age, and later receive pension benefits as e.g. disabled or old-age pensioners. Total expected discounted contributions from labour market earnings may be compared to the expected discounted sum of benefits from pensions received. The first cohorts covered with benefits from a pay-as-you go pension system will normally receive higher benefits than what follows from their contributions. Reforms of the pension system may also affect the ratio between discounted life time pension benefits and discounted life time contributions. In Norway the former National Insurance Scheme was introduced in 1967, and a reform of this system has been implemented from 2011. Budgetary and distributional effects are analysed by the dynamic micro simulation model MOSART. The aim of this paper is to analyse the distributional consequences between generations from implementation of the system in 1967 and the reform from 2011. Problems arising in this kind of analyses are discussed, and effects are presented for different groups of the population by birth cohort, gender, education and for natives versus immigrants. As expected the results show that the cohorts who established the pay-as-you-go system experienced a substantial gain by letting future generations pay. For later cohorts discounted value of benefits received is lower than the discounted value of contributions. With a positive net rate of interest the value of contributions as young is more worth than the corresponding value of benefits received as old. Over the life course the pension system distributes incomes from men to women, but women are more affected by the pension reform in 2011 than men. |
| Keywords: | Pension systems; Intergenerational distribution; Dynamic micro simulation |
| JEL: | D31 H55 J16 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:825&r=lab |
| By: | Meyer, Tobias (NIW Hannover, Leibniz Universität Hannover); Thomsen, Stephan L. (NIW Hannover, Leibniz Universität Hannover); Schneider, Heidrun (DZHW-German Centre for Research on Higher Education and Science Studies) |
| Abstract: | Most German states have reformed university preparatory schooling during the last decade by reducing its duration from 13 to 12 years without changing the graduation requirements. In this paper, we use nationwide data on high school graduates and apply a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate the reform effects on post-secondary education decisions. The results show that enrollment in university education in the first year after high school graduation is reduced in all analyzed states, while participation in voluntary service or staying abroad is increased. In some subgroups, depending on state, gender and family background, university enrollment is decreased additionally beyond the first year. |
| Keywords: | school duration, learning intensity, post-secondary education decisions, Germany |
| JEL: | I21 J18 C21 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9507&r=lab |
| By: | Fredriksson, Peter (Department of Economics, Stockholm University); Hensvik, Lena (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy); Nordström Skans, Oskar (Department of Economics, Uppsala University) |
| Abstract: | We examine the direct impact of idiosyncratic match quality on entry wages and job mobility using unique data on worker talents matched to job-indicators and individual wages. Tenured workers are clustered in jobs with high job-specific returns to their types of talents. We therefore measure mismatch by how well the types of talents of recent hires correspond to the talents of tenured workers performing the same jobs. A stylized model shows that match quality has a smaller impact on entry wages but a larger impact on separations and future wage growth if matches are formed under limited information. Empirically, we find such patterns for inexperienced workers and workers who were hired from non-employment, which are also groups where mismatch is more pronounced on average. Most learning about job-specific mismatch happens within a year. Experienced job-to-job movers appear to match under much less uncertainty. They are better matched on entry and mismatch have a smaller effect on their initial separation rates and later wage growth. Instead, match quality is priced into their starting wages. |
| Keywords: | Matching; Job search; Comparative advantage; Employer learning |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J62 J64 |
| Date: | 2015–11–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2015_026&r=lab |
| By: | Gobillon, Laurent (Paris School of Economics); Solignac, Matthieu (University of Pennsylvania) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the difference in homeownership rates between natives and first-generation immigrants in France, and how this difference evolves over the 1975-1999 period, by using a large longitudinal dataset. We find that the homeownership gap is large and has increased. Entries into the territory have a large negative effect on the evolution of homeownership rates for immigrants. Although entrants have on average better education than people staying in the territory for the entire period (i.e. stayers), they are younger and thus at an earlier stage in the wealth accumulation process. They are also located in large cities, where the homeownership rate is lower, and the returns to their characteristics are lower than those for stayers. Leavers have a positive effect on the evolution of homeownership rates for immigrants because they have a low access to homeownership and they exit the country. But this effect is only one-third that of entrants. For stayers, we show that returns to characteristics change in favor of immigrants, which is consistent with assimilation theories. However, among stayers who access homeownership, immigrants end up in owned dwellings that are of lesser quality than natives. |
| Keywords: | homeownership, immigrants, longitudinal data |
| JEL: | J15 R21 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9517&r=lab |
| By: | Åslund, Olof (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy); Blind, Ina (Institute for Housing and Urban Research (IBF)); Dahlberg, Matz (IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of commuter train access on individual labor market outcomes. Our study considers the introduction of a commuter train on a pre-existing railroad in Sweden, considerably decreasing commuting times by public transit and hence increasing access to the regional employment center. Using difference-in-differences matching techniques on comprehensive individual panel data spanning over a decade, our intention-to-treat estimates show that the reform essentially had no impact on the earnings and employment development among the affected individuals. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure investment; commuting; job access; labor market outcomes |
| JEL: | J22 J63 R23 |
| Date: | 2015–11–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ifauwp:2015_025&r=lab |
| By: | Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. (University of Melbourne); Moschion, Julie (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the source of the gender gap in third grade numeracy and reading. We adopt an Oaxaca-Blinder approach and decompose the gender gap in educational achievement into endowment and response components. Our estimation relies on unusually rich panel data from the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Children in which information on child development reported by parents and teachers is linked to each child's results on a national, standardized achievement test. We find that girls in low- and middle-SES families have an advantage in reading, while boys in high-SES families have an advantage in numeracy. Girls score higher on their third grade reading tests in large part because they were more ready for school at age four and had better teacher-assessed literacy skills in kindergarten. Boys' advantage in numeracy occurs because they achieve higher numeracy test scores than girls with the same education-related characteristics. |
| Keywords: | gender gaps, educational achievement, education, Australia |
| JEL: | J13 I21 I24 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9535&r=lab |
| By: | Pamela Campa; Michel Serafinelli |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the extent to which attitudes are affected by political regimes and government policies, and the channels of influence. We focus on gender-role attitudes and female attitudes toward work, exploiting the imposition of state-socialist regimes across Central and Eastern Europe, and the fact that the new regimes encouraged women's employment, for both ideological and instrumental reasons. We use two different identification strategies and datasets. First, we take advantage of the German partition into East and West after 1945 and restricted-access information on place of residence to execute a spatial regression discontinuity design. We find more positive attitudes toward work in the sample of women who used to live in East Germany. In terms of channels, we find evidence that the experience of employment, arguably one of the very few positive aspects of living under state-socialism in East Germany, changed women's attitudes. We do not find similar evidence for the role of propaganda. Second, we employ a difference-in-differences strategy that compares attitudes formed in Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) and Western European Countries (WECs), before and after the imposition of state socialism in CEECs. Gender-role attitudes formed in CEECs during the state socialist period appear to be significantly less traditional than those formed in WECs. Overall, our study addresses previous identification and data limitations and finds that attitudes are profoundly affected by politico-economic regimes. |
| Keywords: | gender-role attitudes, attitudes towards work, state-socialism, Central and Eastern Europe, spatial regression discontinuity design |
| JEL: | Z10 P51 J16 |
| Date: | 2015–11–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tor:tecipa:tecipa-553&r=lab |
| By: | Panos Mavrokonstantis |
| Abstract: | In this paper I investigate the intergenerational transmission of gender norms. The norm I focus on is the traditional view that it is the role of the mother to look after young children and the role of the father to be the breadwinner. I develop a model of identity formation where a child's gender norm is endogenous to two main sources of socialisation: her family on the one hand, and society at large on the other. Using data from the Next Steps survey and the International Social Survey Programme, I examine the intergenerational transmission of gender norms in England when the norms of the family, and the society it is embedded in, are oppositional. My findings indicate between-sex heterogeneity in the transmission of gender norms from parents to children. Boys raised in modern families (i.e. where the mother is the breadwinner) are less likely to develop traditional norms. However, compared to those in traditional families, girls raised in modern families are actually more likely to be traditional; in opposition to their family's but in line with society's norm. Examining further outcomes associated with gender norms, I find that girls raised in modern families are also less likely to state that being able to earn high wages is important for them, and are less likely to pursue a science degree at university level. I use my identity formation model to argue that these results can be explained by heterogeneity in preferences for conformity to the family, and present empirical evidence that indeed, girls in modern families are less conformist than those in traditional families. Using a regression discontinuity design, I further show that this weaker preference for conformity is in fact a result of the treatment of living in a modern family. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational transmission, gender norms, gender inequality |
| JEL: | D10 J16 Z13 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:stippp:27&r=lab |
| By: | Robert-Nicoud, Frédéric; Carrere, Céline; Grujovic, Anja |
| Abstract: | We develop a multi-country, multi-sector trade model with labor market frictions and equilibrium unemployment. Trade opening leads to a reduction in unemployment if it raises real wages and reallocates labor towards sectors with lower-than-average labor market frictions. We estimate sector-specific labor market frictions and trade elasticities using employment data from 25 OECD countries and worldwide trade data. We then quantify the potential unemployment and real wage effects of implementing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) or the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), and of eliminating trade imbalances worldwide. The unemployment and real wage effects work in conflicting directions for some countries under some trade regimes, such as the US under TTIP. We introduce a welfare criterion that accounts for both effects and splits such ties. Accordingly, US welfare is predicted to decrease under TTIP and increase under TPP. |
| JEL: | F15 F16 F17 J64 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gnv:wpaper:unige:77631&r=lab |
| By: | Peter Gal; Adam Theising |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a first set of updates and extensions of the large body of existing evidence about the aggregate labour market impact of structural policies, in the context of enhancing the OECD’s supply-side framework for the quantification of reform packages. In line with previous findings, elements of the tax benefit system, activation policies and wage setting institutions are found to be robust policy determinants of the aggregate employment and unemployment rates. Looking beyond the overall employment impact, outcomes for vulnerable groups such as the low educated, the youth and the elderly tend to be more affected by certain structural policies, including specific measures targeted at them. Finally, more competition-friendly product market regulations are also found to impact aggregate employment rates positively and significantly, although less robustly.<P>L'impact macroéconomique des politiques structurelles sur le marché du travail dans les pays de l'OCDE : Une mise à jour<BR>Cette étude vise à mettre à jour et compléter les résultats de la littérature existante concernant l'impact des politiques structurelles sur le marché du travail, et ceci dans le contexte de l’amélioration du cadre de modélisation pour la quantification de l’impact des réformes sur l’offre globale. Conformément aux résultats des études antérieures, nous trouvons que les éléments du système de prélèvements et de transferts fiscal, les politiques d'activation et les modes de détermination des salaires sont des déterminants robustes du taux d'emploi et du taux de chômage. Au-delà de l'impact global sur l'emploi, les résultats pour les groupes vulnérables tels que les travailleurs peu qualifiés, les jeunes et les travailleurs âgés ont tendance à être plus touchées par certaines politiques structurelles, y compris des mesures spécifiques ciblées sur eux. Enfin, nous trouvons aussi qu’une réglementation des marchés de produits moins restrictive pour la concurrence encourage le taux d'emploi de manière significative, bien que de façon moins robuste. |
| Keywords: | employment, unemployment, labour force, labour market policies, participation au marché du travail, politiques du marché du travail, emploi, chômage |
| JEL: | E24 J08 |
| Date: | 2015–11–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1271-en&r=lab |
| By: | Wagner, Valentin; Riener, Gerhard |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the result of a field experiment on the effectiveness of non-monetary incentives on pupils' achievement on a mathematical multiple choice test. Our sample consists of 2113 pupils of deprived and high-achieving secondary schools in Germany. Based on a pre-study, we compare the effectiveness of (i) a medal (ii) a letter of praise to the parents and (iii) a delegation of choice over incentives. The effect of non-monetary incentives depends on pupils' socio-economic background. While they constitute a potentially cost-effective and easily implementable method of motivation in Non-High Schools, predetermined non-monetary incentives crowd out intrinsic motivation for pupils in High Schools. In contrast, the endogenous choice of the reward increases pupils' willingness to prepare for the test and mitigates the negative effect of predetermined external rewards in High Schools. Additionally, in the delegation treatment, we find that low-achieving pupils typically choose a reward with a higher signaling value to their parents, independent of the school type. |
| Keywords: | non-monetary incentives,field experiment,education,incentive choice,effort,socio-economic background |
| JEL: | C93 I20 I21 J1 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:dicedp:203&r=lab |