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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Casella, Alessandra; Cox, Adam |
| Abstract: | Temporary labor visa rules in the United States are criticized on three grounds: for failing to allocate visas efficiently, for failing to adequately protect domestic workers, and for exposing migrant workers to exploitation. We argue that it is possible to address all three problems by re-configuring the property rights associated with the visas and carefully designing the mechanism for allocating those rights. Our core insight is to unbundle the two rights that today are typically combined: the firm's right to employ a foreign worker, and the worker's right to reside and work in the country during that time. A three-pronged approach-auctioning abstract pre-contract visas to firms, allowing their trade on a secondary market, and transferring the visa's ownership to the worker upon signature of the employment contract-has the potential to improve the efficiency of visa allocation, to better shield domestic workers, and to protect foreign workers from exploitation. |
| Keywords: | immigration policy; Property rights; work visas |
| JEL: | F22 J08 J61 |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12287&r=lab |
| By: | Erik Lundquist; Hanna Eklööf |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to relate the issue of the Motherhood Wage Penalty to the institutional framework “Varieties of Capitalism.†Using data from the Luxembourg Income Study, we perform cross-national analyses on the discrepancy in wages between mothers with young children and females without children. The second step of the analysis entails four different measures with relevance to both the institutional framework and our applied gender focus. We find that when nations exhibit features in line with “coordinated market economies,†characterized by relatively stubborn employment protection, smaller degree of general inequality, more concentrated wage bargaining, and higher rate of unionization, mothers are relatively more penalized in monetary terms compared to “liberal market economies.†The results add valuable insight to the limited gender literature within the framework and propose follow-up questions for expanding the efforts of gendering the Varieties of Capitalism. |
| Keywords: | Varieties of Capitalism,Motherhood Wage Penalty,Gender Economics,Institutional theory,Labor Economics |
| JEL: | J16 J31 J50 D02 P10 |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lis:liswps:710&r=lab |
| By: | Francesco C. Billari; Osea Giuntella; Luca Stella |
| Abstract: | The spread of high-speed Internet epitomizes the digital revolution, affecting several aspects of our life. Using German panel data, we test whether the availability of broadband Internet influences fertility choices in a low-fertility setting, which is well-known for the difficulty to combine work and family life. We exploit a strategy devised by Falck et al. (2014) to obtain causal estimates of the impact of broadband on fertility. We find positive effects of highspeed Internet availability on the fertility of high-educated women aged 25 and above. Effects are not statistically significant both for men, low-educated women, and under 25. We also show that broadband access significantly increases the share of women reporting teleworking or part-time working. Furthermore, we find positive effects on time spent with children and overall life satisfaction. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that high-speed Internet allows high-educated women to conciliate career and motherhood, which may promote fertility with a “digital divide”. At the same time, higher access to information on the risks and costs of early pregnancy and childbearing may explain the negative effects on younger adults. |
| Keywords: | Internet, Low Fertility, Work and Family, Teleworking |
| JEL: | J11 J22 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp928&r=lab |
| By: | Creedy, John; Mok, Penny |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to explore alternative labour supply elasticity concepts in cross-sectional contexts and to present estimates for New Zealand. Emphasis is placed on the elasticity of hours worked with respect to a change in the gross wage rate, though it is shown that the gross wage elasticity is usually sufficient when considering labour supply responses to effective marginal tax rate changes. The elasticities presented here, for both intensive and extensive margins and for a range of demographic groups, are based on simulated labour supply responses to a proportional change in gross wage rates using the New Zealand Treasury’s behavioural microsimulation model, Taxwell-B. This uses a discrete-hours random-utility specification of preferences. Comparisons are made with the only previous estimates for NZ. As for other countries, elasticities at the extensive margin are found to be larger than at the intensive margin. |
| Keywords: | Labour supply, Gross wage elasticity, Behavioural microsimulation, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vuw:vuwcpf:6570&r=lab |
| By: | Héloïse Ruaudel; Susanna Morrison-Métois |
| Abstract: | Displacement is at a historic high, with over 65 million individuals currently displaced. The world is facing a refugee crisis that is unprecedented in scale. A large number of evaluations look at different aspects of programming in response to refugee crises in developing countries. This paper covers the key areas and priority topics related to forced displacement identified by the Development Assisstance Committee Temporary Working Group on Refugees and Migration. It draws from evaluation findings to highlight key lessons and recommendations for positive change going forward. Key topics covered in the paper include: lessons on bridging the gap between humanitarian and development programming; efforts to strengthen international response to protracted crises; lessons on whole-of-government approaches in refugee contexts; learning from work in urban settings; improving access to employment and quality education; new financing mechanisms for refugee crises in middle income countries; and lessons on financing in response to the Syria crisis. The paper highlights the evaluation work of DAC members and aims to help strengthen the evidence base to improve response to situations of displacement in developing countries. |
| Keywords: | Afghanistan, conflict and fragility, donors, drivers of conflict, education, evaluation, financing mechanisms, forced displacement, fragile states, funding channels, humanitarian and development nexus, Jordan, Lebanon, policy coherence, population movements, protracted displacement, refugee children, refugee crises in middle income countries, refugee crisis, refugee employment, refugees, resilience protracted crises, root causes of conflict, secondary displacement, Somalia, South Sudan, stabilisation, Syria, urban settings, whole-of-government |
| JEL: | F51 F53 F55 I31 J61 L31 L38 O15 O19 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–09–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:dcdaaa:37-en&r=lab |
| By: | Jenter, Dirk; Lewellen, Katharina A. |
| Abstract: | This paper revisits the relationship between firm performance and CEO turnover. We drop the distinction between forced and voluntary turnovers and introduce the concept of performance-induced turnover, defined as turnover that would not have occurred had performance been "good". We document a close link between performance and CEO turnover and estimate that between 38% and 55% of all turnovers are performance induced, with an even higher percentage early in tenure. This is significantly more than the number of forced turnovers identified in prior studies. We contrast the empirical properties of performance-induced turnovers with the predictions of Bayesian learning models of CEO turnover. Learning by boards about CEO ability appears to be slow, and boards act as if CEO ability (or match quality) was subject to frequent and sizeable shocks. |
| Keywords: | CEO turnover; CEO-firm matching; corporate governance; turnover-performance relationship |
| JEL: | D22 D23 G34 J63 M12 M51 |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12274&r=lab |
| By: | Alexander Konon; Alexander Kritikos |
| Abstract: | We address the question of whether media influences occupational choices. To theoretically examine media effects, we construct a dynamic Bayesian occupational choice model with sequential decisions under ambiguity due to imperfect information. We show that sufficiently intensive positive media articles and reports about entrepreneurship increase the probability of self-employment and decrease the probability of wage work. To test our model, we use an instrumental variable approach to identify causal media effects using US micro data and a country-level macro panel with two different media variables. We find that an increase in positive media articles and reports about entrepreneurs generates effects on choice probabilities that are consistent with our model. |
| Keywords: | Media, occupational choice, Bayesian learning, ambiguity aversion |
| JEL: | D81 D83 J62 L26 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1683&r=lab |