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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Martins, Pedro S. (Queen Mary, University of London) |
| Abstract: | In most countries, the unemployed are entitled to unemployment benefits only if they have previously worked a minimum period of time. This institutional feature creates a sharp change at eligibility in the disutility from unemployment and may distort the duration of jobs. In this paper, we evaluate this eligibility effect using a regression discontinuity approach. Our evidence is based on longitudinal social security data from Portugal, where the unemployed are required to work a relatively long period to collect benefits. We find that monthly transitions from employment to unemployment increase by 10% as soon as the eligibility condition is met. This result is driven entirely by transitions to subsidised unemployment, which increase by 20%, as non-subsidised unemployment is not affected. The effects are even larger for the unemployed with high replacement ratios or those who meet the eligibility condition from multiple short employment spells. |
| Keywords: | unemployment insurance, moral hazard, employment duration, big data |
| JEL: | J65 J63 C55 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10262&r=lab |
| By: | Nikki Shure (Department of Social Science, University College London) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the recent German reform to increase primary school hours and the effect this has had on maternal labour supply. The introduction of Ganztagsschulen, or full day schools, has been one of the largest and most expensive reforms in the German education landscape over the past 15 years, but with little evaluation. While the impetus for the reform came from improving pupils' learning outcomes, it was also motivated by a desire to increase maternal labour supply, which had been traditionally low in Germany as compared to other countries. I exploit the quasi-experimental nature of reform to assess whether or not gaining access to a full day school increases the likelihood that mothers enter into the labor market or extend their working hours if already employed. I use the German Socio-Economic Panel data set (GSOEP) and link it to a school-level data set with geographical information software (GIS). Using a flexible difference-in-difference approach in my estimation of linear probability and logit models, I find that the policy has a statistically significant effect of approximately five percentage points at the extensive margin, drawing more women into the labor market. I find no significant impact of the policy at the intensive margin; women who were already working do not extend their hours and in some cases even shorten them. These results are robust to a variety of checks and comparable to previous findings in the literature on childcare and maternal labor supply. This is one of the few papers, however, to look at the relationship between primary school and maternal labor supply at the level of treatment. |
| Keywords: | Time Allocation and Labor Supply, Education: Government Policy, Economics of Gender |
| JEL: | J22 I28 J16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qss:dqsswp:1613&r=lab |
| By: | Magali Jaoul-Grammare; Faustine Perrin |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the interaction between economic, demographic and educational variables in post- World War II France. Based on the assumptions of the unified growth theory, we estimate a vector autoregression for data on fertility, GDP per capita, educational attainment, labor force participation and wages over the period 1962-2008. The methodology employed is based on VAR modeling, using a nonstructural approaches. Our findings are consistent with the statements of the theoretical literature and emphasize the importance of the role played by gender roles on demographic and economic developments. In particular, the analysis shows that relative wages endogenously adjust to the level of female education and fertility. The investigation of the effect of shocks through the analysis of impulse responses confirms these results. |
| Keywords: | Causality; Vector Auto-regression; Gender; Economic Growth; France. |
| JEL: | C32 J16 N34 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2016-42&r=lab |
| By: | Rachel Heath; Seema Jayachandran |
| Abstract: | This article describes recent trends in female education and labor force participation in developing countries. It also reviews the literature on the causes and effects of the recent changes in female education and employment levels. |
| JEL: | J16 O15 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:22766&r=lab |
| By: | Zachary Ward |
| Abstract: | I estimate the premium for speaking English and the rate of language acquisition in the early 20th century US using new linked data on over half a million migrants. Compared with today's migrants, early 20th century migrants arrived with much lower levels of proficiency, yet many acquired language skills rapidly after arrival. Learning to speak English was correlated with a small upgrade in occupational-based earnings (2 to 6%); the premium has at least doubled between 1900 and 2010, revealing that English fluency has become an increasingly large barrier to migration over time. |
| Keywords: | English fl uency, language, migrant assimilation |
| JEL: | F22 J24 J61 J62 N31 N32 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:hpaper:049&r=lab |
| By: | Broszeit, Sandra (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Fritsch, Ursula; Görg, Holger; Laible, Marie-Christine (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "Based on a novel dataset, the 'German Management and Organizational Practices' (GMOP) Survey, we calculate establishment specific management scores following Bloom and van Reenen as indicators of management quality. We find substantial heterogeneity in management practices across establishments in Germany, with small firms having lower scores than large firms on average. We show a robust positive and economically important association between the management score and establishment level productivity in Germany. This association increases with firm size. Comparison to a similar survey in the US indicates that the average management score is lower in Germany than in the US. Overall, our results point towards lower management scores being at least in part to blame for the differences in aggregate productivity between Germany and the US." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| JEL: | D24 L2 M2 |
| Date: | 2016–10–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201632&r=lab |
| By: | Costanza Biavaschi (University of Reading); Michal Burzynski (University of Luxembourg); Benjamin Elsner (Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)); Joël Machado (Fonds National de la Recherche, Luxembourg) |
| Abstract: | High-skilled workers are four times more likely to migrate than low-skilled workers. This skill bias in migration - often called brain drain - has been at the center of a heated debate about the welfare consequences of emigration from developing countries. In this paper, we provide a global perspective on the brain drain by jointly quantifying its impact on the sending and receiving countries. In a calibrated multi-country model, we compare the current world to a counterfactual with the same number of migrants, but those migrants are randomly selected from their country of origin. We find that the skill bias in migration significantly increases welfare in most receiving countries. Moreover, due to a more efficient global allocation of talent, the global welfare effect is positive, albeit some sending countries lose. Overall, our findings suggest that more - not less - high-skilled migration would increase world welfare. |
| Keywords: | migration, brain drain, global welfare |
| JEL: | F22 O15 J61 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1624&r=lab |
| By: | Chakraborty, Kamalika; Chakraborty, Bidisha |
| Abstract: | This paper builds an overlapping generations household economy model with learning by doing effect in unskilled work. We study the short run equilibrium of schooling, relationship between child schooling and parental schooling, long run dynamics of schooling and human capital and relative effectiveness of two domestic policies- child labour ban and education subsidy on schooling. We find some interesting results. If parents working in unskilled sector do not experience any schooling at their childhood, they will never send their children for schooling. But the relationship between parental schooling and child schooling may not be monotonic. This relationship depends on other factors like subsistence consumption expenditure, learning by doing effect, responsiveness of wage to human capital in skilled sector, efficiency of education technology. Existence of low level equilibrium trap for unskilled parent depends on the specific form of human capital accumulation function. For a certain range of parental schooling time path of child schooling will be oscillating in nature. Decrease in child wage increases steady state schooling only if the maximum possible adult unskilled wage exceeds the sum of the schooling cost and subsistence expenditure of the household. If unskilled adult wage is sufficiently small, education subsidy is more effective in enhancing schooling than banning child labour. |
| Keywords: | child labour, schooling, human capital, low level equilibrium trap, oscillation, child labour ban, education subsidy |
| JEL: | I21 J22 J24 J82 |
| Date: | 2016–10–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:74712&r=lab |
| By: | NAGORE GARCIA Maria desemparados; VAN SOEST Arthur |
| Abstract: | Using administrative data from Spanish Social Security, we compare the pattern and the determinants of individual unemployment durations and the stability of jobs found after unemployment before and during the recent crisis. We find particularly strong effects of the crisis on the hazards in the beginning of the unemployment spell. The groups hit hardest by the crisis are men, immigrants, older workers, and individuals with lower levels of education. The disadvantage of men is mainly due to the more pro-cyclical nature of men´s jobs. Decompositions show that the increase in average unemployment duration and the decrease in average duration of the new job during the crisis are not explained by changing characteristics of the individuals who become unemployed. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment durations; Job durations; Business cycle; Re-employment probability |
| JEL: | C41 E32 J64 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irs:cepswp:2016-14&r=lab |
| By: | Robertson, Raymond (Texas A&M University); Di, Hongyang (Texas A&M University); Brown, Drusilla (Tufts University); Dehejia, Rajeev (New York University) |
| Abstract: | Developing country labor practices and the working conditions that result from them are both generally poor and increasingly drawing attention from governments, corporations, and the popular media. This review provides an introduction to some of the leading academic literature and ideas that are important for understanding the persistence of poor labor practices and possible policies to address these conditions. The literature is reviewed with the goal of moving from the root causes of poor conditions to innovative solutions. Several such solutions, such as the Better Work program, are discussed. |
| Keywords: | apparel; personnel economics; working conditions |
| JEL: | F66 J80 |
| Date: | 2016–09–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0497&r=lab |
| By: | Casey Warman (Department of Economics Dalhousie University); Christopher Worswick (Dalhousie University) |
| Abstract: | Immigrants in many Western countries have experienced poor economic outcomes. This has led to a lack of integration of child immigrants (the 1.5 generation) and the second generation in some countries. However, in Canada, child immigrants and the second generation have on average integrated very well economically. We examine the importance of Canada's entry classes and determine if there is an additional benefit of the selection under the Economic Classes, and in particular the Skilled Workers Class, in terms of the earnings outcomes of the child immigrants (the 1.5 generation). Using administrative data on landing records matched with subsequent income tax records, we are able to identify the entry class of child immigrants, and then consider their economic outcomes in Canada. We find that the superior outcomes of the parents who entered as Skilled Workers extends to the children in terms of approximately 18 to 24 percent higher earnings than those whose parent entered under the Family Class of admission. In addition, we find that this earnings advantage persists (at 7 to 15 percent) even after we control for the education, language ability and detailed country of origin of the person's parent who had been the Principal Applicant. |
| Keywords: | Canada, Immigration, Earnings, 1.5 generation, Second generation, Childimmigrants, Integration, Points System, Skilled Workers, Economic Class |
| JEL: | J15 J13 J31 J61 J62 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1618&r=lab |
| By: | Diyi Li; Cory Koedel (University of Missouri) |
| Abstract: | We use data from the 2015-16 academic year to document faculty representation and wage gaps by race/ethnicity and gender in six fields at 40 selective, public universities. Consistent with widely available information, black, Hispanic, and female professors are underrepresented and white and Asian professors are overrepresented in our data. We show that disadvantaged-minority and female underrepresentation is driven predominantly by underrepresentation in STEM fields. A comparison of senior and junior faculty suggests a trend toward greater diversity in academia along racial/ethnic and gender lines, especially in STEM fields, because younger faculty are more diverse. However, black faculty are an exception; there is little indication that their representation is improving among young faculty. We decompose racial/ethnic and gender wage gaps and show that three observed factors account for most or all of the gaps: academic field, experience, and research productivity. We find no evidence of wage premiums for individuals who improve racial/ethnic and gender diversity, although for black faculty we cannot rule out a modest premium. |
| Keywords: | faculty diversity, faculty wage gaps, race wage gaps, gender wage gaps, stem faculty |
| JEL: | I20 J10 J30 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:umc:wpaper:1613&r=lab |
| By: | Cain Polidano (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Chris Ryan (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | While is it widely accepted that adults with poor reading skills have inferior labour market outcomes, little is known about whether low reading proficiency in school is a precursor to inferior labour market outcomes in adulthood. We fill this gap in the literature using education and labour market information to age 25 years for participants in the 2003 Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) who were tracked from age 15 in the 2003 Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth. We find no difference in full-time employment rates or earning capacity of jobs attained at age 25 between those who had low and medium reading proficiency at age 15. Supporting analysis suggests that high rates of participation and positive outcomes from vocational education and training (VET) among those with low reading proficiency helps them avoid any negative effects from poor achievement in school. These results highlight the role of accessible VET pathways in facilitating the labour market participation of youth who may become disengaged from learning in school. |
| Keywords: | Academic achievement, PISA, labour market |
| JEL: | I20 I26 J01 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2016n33&r=lab |
| By: | Lu, Ming (Asian Development Bank Institute); Xia, Yiran (Asian Development Bank Institute) |
| Abstract: | This report summarizes the characteristics of migration in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) after its reforms and opening up. Rapid urbanization in the PRC has resulted from recent decades of intense rural–urban migration. The scale of migration increased rapidly and long-term migration is the main characteristic. The population characteristics of migration are determined not only by a personal decision, but also a joint decision within households to send members with comparative advantages in manufacturing and services, usually male and young, to work in cities. Coastal regions where manufacturing and services are better developed, especially big cities, are the major destinations. The aspiration for higher-income and better job opportunities is the major force that drives migration, while public services and urban amenities also partly account for population flows. However, in the PRC, there are still major institutional barriers—especially the hukou system and related segmentation in the urban labor market, social security, and public services access—that hinder rural–urban and interregional migration. Facing the challenges of fast urbanization and growing urban diseases, local governments still rely on the current system to control the population flow into large cities. Controlling population growth by discriminative policies will lead to more social problems. Policy makers should reconsider the way to achieve efficient and harmonious urbanization by shifting to more pro-market policies and reducing the migration costs embedded in institutional constraints. |
| Keywords: | migration; rural-urban migration; PRC; urbanization; hukou system; People’s Republic of China; rapid urbanization |
| JEL: | J61 P25 R23 |
| Date: | 2016–10–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbiwp:0593&r=lab |
| By: | Sam Sims (Department of Social Science, University College London) |
| Abstract: | High teacher turnover damages pupil attainment (Borg et al., 2012; Ronfeldt et al., 2012). But while the effects of pupil and teacher characteristics on turnover are well documented, relatively little attention has been paid to the impact of the accountability system. This paper is the first to evaluate the effect on turnover of schools receiving different judgements from the English national schools inspectorate, Ofsted. Theoretically, the effects of inspection judgements are ambiguous. An 'Inadequate' rating may harm teachers' self-efficacy, increasing the chance of them leaving their current school. On the other hand, an 'Inadequate' rating provides a negative signal about the quality of teachers working in that school, decreasing the chance of them finding employment elsewhere. I use a difference in difference approach to estimate this empirically and find that an 'Inadequate' rating leads to an increase in turnover of 3.4 percentage points. By contrast, schools receiving an 'Outstanding' rating see no change in turnover. The results are robust to a number of specifications, sample restrictions and a placebo test. |
| Keywords: | Teacher turnover, high-stakes accountability, school inspection, efficacy, signalling |
| JEL: | I21 J44 J63 D82 |
| Date: | 2016–10–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qss:dqsswp:1614&r=lab |
| By: | Chabé-Ferret, Bastien (Université catholique de Louvain) |
| Abstract: | I analyze the interplay between culture and economic incentives in decision-making. To this end, I study birth timing decisions of second generation migrant women to France and the US. Only the probability to have three or more children increases with the home country fertility norm, whereas the timing of the first two births is either unaffected or negatively correlated. I propose a model that rationalizes these findings in which decisions are the result of a trade-off between an economic cost-benefit analysis and a cultural norm. The model predicts that decisions with a higher cost of deviation from the economic optimum should be less prone to cultural influence. This is consistent with substantial evidence showing that the timing of the first birth bears much larger costs for mothers in terms of labor market outcomes than that of subsequent births. |
| Keywords: | cultural norms, fertility, birth timing |
| JEL: | J13 J15 Z10 Z12 |
| Date: | 2016–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10269&r=lab |
| By: | Jan Marcus; Vaishali Zambre |
| Abstract: | We examine the consequences of compressing secondary schooling on students’ university enrollment. An unusual education reform in Germany reduced the length of academic high school while simultaneously increasing the instruction hours in the remaining years. Accordingly, students receive the same amount of schooling but over a shorter period of time, constituting an efficiency gain from an individual’s perspective. Based on a difference-indifferences approach using administrative data on all students in Germany, we find that this reform decreased enrollment rates. Moreover, students are more likely to delay their enrollment, to drop out of university, and to change their major. Our results show that it is not easy to get around the trade-off between an earlier labor market entry and more years of schooling. |
| Keywords: | University enrollment, G8, workload, difference-in-differences, education efficiency |
| JEL: | I28 J18 D04 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1613&r=lab |