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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Gałecka-Burdziak, Ewa (Warsaw School of Economics); Góra, Marek (Warsaw School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | We examine the behaviour of unemployed older workers up to five years prior to the point at which they can transition out of unemployment because they become eligible to receive pension benefits. We use a unique dataset covering the unemployment histories (longitudinal data) of individuals born between 1940 and 1965 who were registered with any of the public employment offices in Poland. Thus, we study a whole population of individuals who experienced this type of transition over the time period 1996-2015. We examine the transition from unemployment to retirement as a multi-year process. We analyse multiple unemployment spells, identify transition pathways, and look for patterns in these transitions. Moreover, we estimate a conditional risk set model (a stratified Cox model). Our research proves that being close to the point at which they are eligible to receive pension benefits leads individuals 'wait' to fulfil these eligibility criteria. |
| Keywords: | elder workers unemployment, retirement, transition pathways, multiple unemployment spells, recurrent event data, longitudinal analysis |
| JEL: | C14 C41 H55 J14 J22 J26 J64 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10680&r=lab |
| By: | Bryson, Alex (University College London); Erhel, Christine (University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne); Salibekyan, Zinaïda (CNAM, Paris) |
| Abstract: | Using linked employer-employee data from two comparable surveys this article examines the links between non-pecuniary job quality and workplace characteristics in Britain and France – countries with very different employment regimes. The results show that job quality is better in Britain than it is in France, despite its minimalist regulatory regime. The difference is apparent for all dimensions of job quality (skill development, training participation, job autonomy, job insecurity, work-life balance and relations between employers and employees), except skills' match to a job. Firm size is negatively associated with non-pecuniary job quality in both countries but in France the association is confined to only the largest firms. Internal Labour Markets (ILMs) are associated with higher job quality in France, but not in Britain. |
| Keywords: | job quality, firm size, internal labour market, comparative, linked employer-employee data, Britain, France |
| JEL: | I31 J30 J81 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10659&r=lab |
| By: | Gottfries, Axel (University of Cambridge); Teulings, Coen (University of Cambridge) |
| Abstract: | A wide class of models with On-the-Job Search (OJS) predicts that workers gradually select into better-paying jobs. We develop a simple methodology to test predictions implied by OJS using two sources of identification: (i) time-variation in job-finding rates and (ii) the time since the last lay-off. Conditional on the termination date of the job, job duration should be distributed uniformly. This methodology is applied to the NLSY 79. We find remarkably strong support for all implications. The standard deviation of the wage offer distribution is about 15%. OJS accounts for 30% of the experience profile, 9% of total wage dispersion and an average wage loss of 11% following a lay-off. |
| Keywords: | on-the-job search, wage dispersion, job duration |
| JEL: | J31 J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10668&r=lab |
| By: | Cortes, Patricia (Boston University); Pan, Jessica (National University of Singapore) |
| Abstract: | Occupational differences by gender remain a common feature of labor markets. We begin by documenting recent trends in occupational segregation and its implications. We then review recent empirical research, focusing on new classes of explanations that emphasize the role of gender differences in psychological traits, preferences for non-pecuniary (family-friendly) job characteristics, personality traits, and skills. Using detailed data on occupational work content from O*NET linked to the American Community Survey (ACS), we examine how the various job attributes identified in the literature affect men and women's occupational choices and the gender wage gap. Finally, we consider the role of gender identity and social norms in shaping occupational choice and preferences for various job attributes. We conclude with policy implications and suggestions for future research. |
| Keywords: | gender, occupation, segregation, gender preferences, family-friendly, psychological traits, personality traits, identity |
| JEL: | J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10672&r=lab |
| By: | Bach, Ruben (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Eckmann, Stephanie |
| Abstract: | "Panel survey participation can bring about unintended changes in respondents' behavior and/or reporting of behavior. Using administrative data linked to a large panel survey, we analyze changes in respondents' labor market behavior. We estimate the causal effect of panel participation on the take-up of federal labor market programs using instrumental variables. Results show that panel survey participation leads to a decrease in respondents' take-up of these measures. These results suggest that panel survey participation not only affects the reporting of behavior, as previous studies have demonstrated, but can also alter respondents' actual behavior." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| JEL: | C83 J64 |
| Date: | 2017–04–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201715&r=lab |
| By: | Ana Tur-Prats |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the causal relationship between unemployment and intimate-partner violence (IPV) introducing a gender-identity approach. I argue that local social predominance of different family structures (stem vs nuclear) in the past shaped distinct present cultural norms regarding the appropriate role of men and women, and that as a result IPV responds differently to changes in relative unemployment rates of men vs women. Coresidence of younger couples with in-laws in stem families in the past reduced the burden of household work, allowing a higher contribution of the younger wife to nondomestic work. In nuclear families, conversely, wives’activities were more confined to the domestic sphere. I construct an exogenous measure of unemployment and find heterogeneous impacts: for individuals living in territories with a nuclear-family tradition, a decrease in female unemployment relative to male unemployment increases IPV, potentially because men feel their traditional breadwinner role threatened. These effects are offset, and sometimes even reversed, for individuals living in provinces where the stem family was socially predominant in the past. I propose a new rationale for IPV in which violence is a way to reinstate the loss of utility generated by what some men perceive as an insult, and provide evidence in favor of this novel explanation. |
| Keywords: | Historical family structure, cultural norms, persistence |
| JEL: | D03 J12 J16 J64 Z13 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:upf:upfgen:1564&r=lab |
| By: | McKenzie, David (World Bank) |
| Abstract: | Jobs are the number one policy concern of policymakers in many countries. The global financial crisis, rising demographic pressures, high unemployment rates, and concerns over automation all make it seem imperative that policymakers employ increasingly more active labor market policies. This paper critically examines recent evaluations of labor market policies that have provided vocational training, wage subsidies, job search assistance, and assistance moving to argue that many active labor market policies are much less effective than policymakers typically assume. Many of these evaluations find no significant impacts on either employment or earnings. One reason is that urban labor markets appear to work reasonably well in many cases, with fewer market failures than is often thought. As a result, there is less of a role for many traditional active labor market policies than is common practice. The review then discusses examples of job creation policies that do seem to offer promise, and concludes with lessons for impact evaluation and policy is this area. |
| Keywords: | active labor market policy, jobs, wage subsidies, vocational training, job search |
| JEL: | O15 J08 J68 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10655&r=lab |
| By: | Drupp, Moritz A.; Khadjavi, Menusch; Riekhof, Marie-Catherine; Voss, Rüdiger |
| Abstract: | The gender gap in risk-taking is often used to explain differences in labor market outcomes. Some studies, however, suggest that this gender gap does not extend to professional contexts. This paper examines potential drivers of the gender gap in risk-taking, comparing the professional context of academia to a private setting. We draw on identity economics, which posits that individuals form multiple identities that moderate behavior across contexts. In an online field experiment with 474 scientists we vary the salience of the professional or private identity. We find that the gender gap in risk-taking is mediated when the professional identity is salient. We identify the switching of identities by females as an explanation. Our results suggest that if the gender gap in risk-taking is driven by selection, the selection is not (only) along risk-aversion, but (also) along the ability to switch between identities and to adapt to prevailing norms. This provides new insights for the discussion on gender, risk-taking and labor market policies, and suggests an important role for mentoring programs. |
| Keywords: | gender,risk-taking,identity,priming,labor market,field experiment |
| JEL: | J16 D81 C93 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:2077&r=lab |
| By: | Daniel Bukstein; Néstor Gandelman |
| Abstract: | This paper presents evidence that female researchers have 7.1 percentage points lower probability of being accepted into the largest national research support program in Uruguay than male researchers. They also have lower research productivity than their male counterparts. Differences in observable characteristics explain 4.9 of the 7.1 percentage point gap. The gender gap is wider at the higher ranks of the program consistent with the existence of a glass ceiling. The results are robust to issues of bidirectionality (impact of research productivity on the probability of accessing the program and impact of the program on research productivity), joint determination and correlation of variables (e.g. having a Ph.D., publishing, and tutoring), and initial productivity effects (positive results at early stages may have long-term effects on career development). The paper presents three hypotheses for the gender gap (an original sin in the organization of the system, biases in the composition of evaluation committees, and differences in field of concentration) and finds some evidence for each. Glass ceilings are stronger in the fields where women are overrepresented among the applicants to the system: medical sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. Finally, it presents a counterfactual distribution of the program in the absence of discriminatory treatment of women and discusses the economic costs of the gender gap. |
| Keywords: | Female Researchers, gender discrimination, gender gap, Science and Technology Policy, Human Capital, Wage Gap, Wage Distribution, gender gap, female researchers, research |
| JEL: | J71 J4 J16 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:98457&r=lab |
| By: | Vahan Sargsyan |
| Abstract: | We conduct an empirical study in order to estimate the impact of naturalization on labor market integration of first generation immigrants in two European countries, France and Denmark. The study contributes to the existing literature by: (1) comparing the employment opportunities and incomes of naturalized and non-naturalized migrants in European labor markets to those of the native population, and (2) attempting to estimate the impact of characteristics of a country’s citizenship policy on this relationship. The results suggest the existence of high naturalization premiums and full socioeconomic integration of naturalized migrants in France, a country with relatively soft naturalization policies, but not for Denmark, which has strict naturalization policies. |
| Keywords: | citizenship policy; naturalization; naturalization premium; socioeconomic integration; |
| JEL: | J08 J15 J78 O15 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cer:papers:wp585&r=lab |
| By: | Charles Kenny, Dev Patel |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes six waves of responses from the World Values Survey to understand the determinants of beliefs about women’s roles in society and their relationship with the legal system and outcomes. Using survey data for 300,000 individuals, we find that characteristics of an individual’s home country only explain about a fifth of the variation in values, and a single individual can report strongly different norms about women’s equality across different domains. There is a strong correlation between norms, laws and female labor force participation and between norms and the proportion of legislators who are women—but not between norms and relative female tertiary education. There is some suggestive evidence that laws may be more significant than norms in determining female employment outcomes, but the available evidence does not allow for strong causal statements at the cross-country level. |
| Keywords: | Values, Economics of Gender, Human Development, Gender Law |
| JEL: | A13 J16 O15 |
| Date: | 2017–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:452&r=lab |
| By: | Cygan-Rehm, Kamila (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg); Kühnle, Daniel (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg); Oberfichtner, Michael (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) |
| Abstract: | An important, yet unsettled, question in public health policy is the extent to which unemployment causally impacts mental health. The recent literature yields varying findings, which are likely due to differences in data, methods, samples, and institutional settings. Taking a more general approach, we provide comparable evidence for four countries with different institutional settings – Australia, Germany, the UK, and the US – using a nonparametric bounds analysis. Relying on fairly weak and partially testable assumptions, our paper shows that unemployment has a significant negative effect on mental health in all countries. Our results rule out effects larger than a quarter of a standard deviation for Germany and half a standard deviation for the Anglo-Saxon countries. The effect is significant for both men and women and materialises already for short periods of unemployment. Public policy should hence focus on early prevention of mental health problems among the unemployed. |
| Keywords: | mental health, unemployment, bounds |
| JEL: | I12 J64 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10652&r=lab |
| By: | Bubonya, Melisa (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research); Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. (University of Sydney); Ribar, David C. (University of Melbourne) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the bilateral relationship between depressive symptoms and employment status. We find that severe depressive symptoms are partially a consequence of economic inactivity. The incidence of depressive symptoms is higher if individuals have been out of a job for an extended period. Men's mental health falls as they exit the labor force, while women's worsens only after they have been out of the labor force for a period of time. Entering unemployment is also associated with a substantial deterioration in mental health, particularly for men. We also find that severe depressive symptoms, in turn, lead to economic inactivity. Individuals are less likely to be labor force participants or employed if they experience severe depressive symptoms. Men's probability of being unemployed rises dramatically with the onset of depressive symptoms; women's unemployment is increased by protracted depressive symptoms. |
| Keywords: | mental health, unemployment, labor market status, HILDA survey, depressive symptoms, depression |
| JEL: | J01 J64 I14 |
| Date: | 2017–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10653&r=lab |