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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Dustmann, Christian (University College London); Schönberg, Uta (University College London); Stuhler, Jan (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid) |
| Abstract: | By exploiting a commuting policy that led to a sharp and unexpected inflow of Czech workers to areas along the German-Czech border, we examine the impact of an exogenous immigration-induced labor supply shock on local wages and employment of natives. On average, the supply shock leads to a moderate decline in local native wages and a sharp decline in local native employment. These average effects mask considerable heterogeneity across groups: while younger natives experience larger wage effects, employment responses are particularly pronounced for older natives. This pattern is inconsistent with standard models of immigration but can be accounted for by a model that allows for a larger labor supply elasticity or a higher degree of wage rigidity for older than for young workers. We further show that the employment response is almost entirely driven by diminished inflows of natives into work rather than outflows into other areas or non-employment, suggesting that "outsiders" shield "insiders" from the increased competition. |
| Keywords: | immigration, wage effects, labor supply elasticity, internal migration |
| JEL: | J21 J22 J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10114&r=lab |
| By: | Kai-Uwe Müller; Michael Neumann; Katharina Wrohlich |
| Abstract: | Since the millennium, the labor market participation of women and mothers is increasing across European countries. Several work/care policy measures underlie this evolution. At the same time, the labor market behavior of men and fathers, as well as their involvement in care work, is relatively unchanging, meaning that employed mothers are facing an increased burden with respect to gainful employment and providing care. We propose a family working time model that incentivizes fathers and mothers to both work in extended part-time employment. It provides a benefit in form of a lumpsum transfer or income replacement for each parent if, and only if, both parents work 30 hours per week. Thus, it explicitly addresses fathers and – contrary to most conventional family policies – actively promotes the dual earner/dual carer paradigm. Combining microsimulation and labor supply estimation, we empirically analyze the potential of the family working time model in the German context. The relatively small share of families already choosing the symmetric distribution of about 30 working hours would increase by 60 per cent. By showing that a lump-sum transfer especially benefits low-income families, we contribute to the debate about redistributive implications of family policies. The basic principles of the model generalize to other European countries where families increasingly desire an equal distribution of employment and care. In order to enhance the impact of such a policy, employers’ norms and workplace culture as well as the supply of high-quality childcare must catch-up with changing workforce preferences. |
| Keywords: | care work, gender equality, family policy, labor supply |
| JEL: | J22 J16 J38 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1603&r=lab |
| By: | Fackler, Daniel; Rippe, Lisa |
| Abstract: | Using German survey data, we investigate the relationship between involuntary job loss and regional mobility. Our results show that job loss has a strong positive effect on the propensity to relocate. We also analyze whether the high and persistent earnings losses of displaced workers can in part be explained by limited regional mobility. Our findings do not support this conjecture as we find substantial long lasting earnings losses for both movers and stayers. In the short run, movers even face slightly higher losses, but the differences between the two groups of displaced workers are never statistically significant. This challenges whether migration is a beneficial strategy in case of involuntary job loss. |
| Keywords: | job displacement,plant closure,regional mobility,earnings,SOEP |
| JEL: | J61 J63 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:262016&r=lab |
| By: | Regina T. Riphahn; Frederik Wiynck |
| Abstract: | We exploit the 1996 reform of the German child benefit program to identify the causal effect of heterogeneous child benefits on fertility. While generally the reform increased child benefits, the exact amount of the increase varied substantially by household income and sibship size. We use these heterogeneities to identify their causal effects on fertility in a difference-in-differences setting. We apply the large samples of the German Mikrozensus and the rich data of the German Socio-economic Panel (SOEP). The reform effects on low income couples are not robust or statistically significant. We find some support for positive fertility effects for higher as opposed to lower income couples deciding on a second birth. |
| Keywords: | child benefits, fertility, tax allowance, causal effect, difference-in-differences, Mikrozensus, SOEP |
| JEL: | J13 I38 C54 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bav:wpaper:164_riphahnwinyck&r=lab |
| By: | Ioana Marinescu; Ronald Wolthoff |
| Abstract: | How do employers attract the right workers? How important are posted wages vs. other job characteristics? Using data from the leading job board CareerBuilder.com, we show that most vacancies do not post wages, and, for those that do, job titles explain more than 90% of the wage variance. Job titles also explain more than 80% of the across-vacancies variance in the education and experience of applicants. Finally, failing to control for job titles leads to a spurious negative elasticity of labor supply. Thus, our results uncover the previously undocumented power of words in the job matching process. |
| JEL: | J31 J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22508&r=lab |
| By: | Peters, Jan Cornelius |
| Abstract: | In Germany, as in many other European countries, there will be a shift in the workforce age structure in the next decades. The number of older workers will increase, and the number of younger and middle aged workers will decline. This paper provides evidence how the shift in the relative labor supply affects labor productivity, taking into account that differently aged workers are suggested to be imperfect substitutes. Using a cross sectional linked employer-employee data set from 2012, translog cost functions are estimated. To control for the skill level of the workers a nested production structure is applied. This allows to analyze age complementarities within groups of workers that have a comparable skill level. Based on the estimated parameters, pairwise elasticities of complementarity and factor price elasticities are computed. The results indicate that workers that belong to different age groups are complementary factors. But the degree of complementarity differs, depending on the age and the skill level of the workers. The complementarities especially arise between younger and middle aged workers. The highest degree of complementarity is observed between younger and middle aged high skilled labor. Simulating how the expected shift in the age structure affects labor productivity indicates that the productivity of younger and middle aged workers will increase. In contrast, the productivity of older workers will significantly decline caused by their increasing share in the workforce. |
| Keywords: | age complementarities,demographic change,labor-labor substitution,linked employer-employee,translog |
| JEL: | C31 D24 J11 J31 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cauewp:201610&r=lab |
| By: | Okoampah, Sarah |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the effects of cohort size on wages, employment and work time for workers in Germany. The empirical findings suggest that male workers with medium and high degrees of occupational specialization who were born at the peak of the baby boom earn at least 5.3% lower wages than comparable workers born during the subsequent baby bust. Highly specialized females born into large cohorts earn 2.5% lower wages than their counterparts from small cohorts. Employment effects are detected only for highly specialized males. The effects on work time are mixed and invariably larger when actual work time is considered rather than contractual work time. It is argued that the restrictive labor market institutions in place are key in shaping the response pattern across the different economic outcomes. |
| Abstract: | Dieses Papier schätzt Kohortengrößeneffekte auf Löhne, Beschäftigungswahrscheinlichkeiten und Arbeitszeiten für Arbeitnehmer in Deutschland. Die empirischen Ergebnisse implizieren, dass männliche Arbeiter in Berufen mit mittleren und hohen Spezialisierungsgraden aus den geburtenstärksten Jahrgängen des Babybooms mindestens 5,3% geringere Löhne haben als vergleichbare Arbeiter, die während der nachfolgenden geburtenschwachen Jahre geboren wurden. Hochspezialisierte Frauen aus großen Kohorten verdienen 2,5% geringere Löhne als vergleichbare Frauen aus kleinen Kohorten. Beschäftigungseffekte können nur für hochspezialisierte Männer nachgewiesen werden. Die geschätzten Arbeitszeiteffekte sind gemischt und stets größer, wenn tatsächliche anstelle von vertraglicher Arbeitszeit betrachtet wird. Es wird argumentiert, dass die bestehenden restriktiven Arbeitsmarktbeschränkungen eine Schlüsselgröße für das Reaktionsmuster zwischen verschiedenen Arbeitsmarktergebnissen darstellen. |
| Keywords: | population aging,cohort size,labor market effects,labor market institutions |
| JEL: | J21 J31 J11 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:629&r=lab |
| By: | Boutin, Delphine (CERDI, University of Auvergne) |
| Abstract: | Does experiencing internal migration hasten the access to the labour market? This paper provides an answer by studying the gap in transition length to a first job between young people in Uganda that have ever migrated inside the country and never-migrants of the same age category. To take into the account the specific context of Uganda (some enters at a very young age, other before the end of school and other have never attended school), different starting points of transition are considered: from the date of birth, from the minimum legal age (14 years old) and from the date of school exit. Extended proportional hazards models shows that transition duration is shorter for migrants than for non-migrants (except for the school-to-work transition), although effects vary considerably according to the area of origin and destination and the reasons for migration. Decomposition in durations' gap reveals the importance of unobservable factors, especially the role of area of origin, gender, age cohort and access to education. |
| Keywords: | internal migration, school-to-work transition, job search, youth employment |
| JEL: | J15 J61 J64 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10119&r=lab |
| By: | Marchand, Joseph (University of Alberta, Department of Economics); Smeeding, Timothy (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Robert M. La Follette School of Public Affairs) |
| Abstract: | This chapter explores the relationship between poverty and aging, in terms of its measurement and trends, as well as its alleviation, with particular attention on the most vulnerable individuals at each end of the age distribution. The measurement addresses both the definition of poverty and its aggregation over various age groups. The trends highlight a significant reduction in poverty among the elderly and a gradual increase in poverty among children and working age individuals, both in the United States and across the greater developed world, over the past fifty years. The alleviation of poverty is attributed to the labor market and to social expenditure and its associated policies, which have been especially effective for the elderly. A summary of key contributions and a discussion follow that set forth an agenda for further research and policy. |
| Keywords: | aging; children; distribution; elderly; income support; labor market; poverty; public policy; social expenditure |
| JEL: | D30 D60 H50 I30 J10 J20 J30 |
| Date: | 2016–08–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:albaec:2016_011&r=lab |
| By: | Adermon, Adrian (IFAU); Lindahl, Mikael (University of Gothenburg); Waldenström, Daniel (Paris School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This study estimates intergenerational correlations in mid-life wealth across three generations, and a young fourth generation, and examines how much of the parent-child association that can be explained by inheritances. Using a Swedish data set we find parent-child rank correlations of 0.3–0.4 and grandparents-grandchild rank correlations of 0.1–0.2. Conditional on parents' wealth, grandparents' wealth is weakly positively associated with grandchild's wealth and the parent-child correlation is basically unchanged if we control for grandparents' wealth. Bequests and gifts strikingly account for at least 50 per cent of the parent-child wealth correlation while earnings and education are only able to explain 25 per cent. |
| Keywords: | multigenerational mobility, bequests, mid-life wealth |
| JEL: | D31 J62 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10126&r=lab |
| By: | Ira N. Gang (Rutgers University); Kseniia Gatskova; John Landon-Lane; Myeong-Su Yun |
| Abstract: | We examine vulnerability to poverty in Tajikistan during the global financial crisis, focusing on the roles played by international migration and remittances, using a formal, practical, and easily decomposable vulnerability measure. Our strategy is to estimate a Markov transition probability matrix with the aim of identifying the vulnerability of households to poverty. Importantly, by introducing the index of vulnerability as the weighted probability of a household falling into poverty over a given time horizon, we can use the estimated dynamics to assess the short, medium and long-run vulnerability. We find that during the “recession transition” almost all households were vulnerable to poverty while almost none were during the “recovery period”. Overall, urban households, more educated households and households receiving remittances from international labor migrants were less vulnerable to poverty. While households with a current or very recent migrant did not have a significantly lower measured vulnerability to poverty, those households receiving remittances from migrants had a lower vulnerability to poverty. Our findings stress that the international labor migration from Tajikistan may not be considered as a reliable means of welfare security for the households because external economic shocks and internal political decisions may negatively affect Russian economy and lead to a reduction of remittances flow to Tajikistan. |
| Keywords: | mobility measurement, vulnerability, poverty, inequality, measurement, Tajikistan |
| JEL: | J60 D63 I32 |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ost:wpaper:359&r=lab |
| By: | Musonera, Abdou (MIFOTRA-SPIU); Heshmati, Almas (Jönköping University, Sogang University) |
| Abstract: | This study examines the determinants of women's empowerment in Rwanda using data obtained from DHS 2010. A regression analysis is used to investigate the association between women's empowerment and its covariates. The study also uses a multinomial logistic regression to assess what determines households' decision-making and attitudes towards physical abuse of spouses. Variables of sources of empowerment such as education and media exposure were found to have a net positive association with women's empowerment while other variables such as residence and the age at first marriage were negatively associated with women's empowerment. Further analysis showed that the effects of education, age of the respondent, wealth and the number of children ever born remained strong conditions which effected households' decision-making and attitudes about physical abuse. In general, therefore, it seems that for women to fully realize their potential and rights, specific emphasis should be put on variables that increase their access to resources and knowledge such as education, employment for cash and media exposure but variables that are negatively associated with women's empowerment such as higher age at first marriage should also be taken into account. |
| Keywords: | women's empowerment, physical abuses, household decision-making, Rwanda |
| JEL: | D63 D91 I15 I25 J12 |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10131&r=lab |