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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Caliendo, Marco (University of Potsdam); Künn, Steffen (Maastricht University); Mahlstedt, Robert (University of Copenhagen) |
| Abstract: | Subsidizing the geographical mobility of unemployed workers may improve welfare by relaxing their financial constraints and allowing them to find jobs in more prosperous regions. We exploit regional variation in the promotion of mobility programs along administrative borders of German employment agency districts to investigate the causal effect of offering such financial incentives on the job search behavior and labor market integration of unemployed workers. We show that promoting mobility - as intended - causes job seekers to increase their search radius, apply for and accept distant jobs. At the same time, local job search is reduced with adverse consequences for reemployment and earnings. These unintended negative effects are provoked by spatial search frictions. Overall, the unconditional provision of mobility programs harms the welfare of unemployed job seekers. |
| Keywords: | job search, active labor market policy, labor market mobility, unintended consequence, search frictions |
| JEL: | J61 J68 D04 C21 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15011&r= |
| By: | Demirci, Murat (Koc University); Kirdar, Murat G. (Bogazici University) |
| Abstract: | Turkey hosts the largest population of refugees globally; however, we know little about their labor market outcomes at the national level. We use the 2018 round of the Turkey Demographic and Health Survey, which includes a representative sample of Syrian refugees in Turkey for the first time, to examine a rich set of labor market outcomes. We find that the native-refugee gap in men's employment in Turkey (in favor of natives) is much smaller than that reported for most developed countries. Moreover, men's employment peaks quite early (one year) after arrival and remains there, whereas women's employment is lower to begin with and changes little over time. Once we account for demographic and educational differences, the native-refugee gap in men's (women's) paid employment reduces to 4.7 (4.0) percentage points (pp). These small gaps conceal the fact that refugees' formal employment is much lower. Even after accounting for the covariates, refugee men's formal employment rate is 58 pp lower. In addition, the native-refugee gap is the smallest in manufacturing for men and in agriculture for women, and the gap is also much smaller in wage-employment than self-employment and unpaid family work for both genders. Young refugees are more likely to work than natives, whereas the gap favors natives among the prime-age working people. Moreover, the native-refugee gap in employment widens for more educated refugees. Finally, accounting for the differences in covariates, the native-refugee gap in men's employment vanishes for Turkish-speaking refugees but persists for Arabic- and Kurdish-speaking refugees. |
| Keywords: | Syrian refugees, labor market integration, employment, Turkey |
| JEL: | F22 J21 J61 O15 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14973&r= |
| By: | Aslund, Olof (Uppsala University); Bratu, Cristina (Aalto University); Lombardi, Stefano (VATT, Helsinki); Thoresson, Anna (IFAU) |
| Abstract: | We study the role of firm productivity in explaining earnings disparities between immigrants and natives using population-wide matched employer-employee data from Sweden. We find substantial earnings returns to working in firms with higher persistent productivity, with greater gains for immigrants from non-Western countries. Moreover, the pass-through of within-firm productivity variation to earnings is stronger for immigrants in low-productive, immigrant-dense firms. But immigrant workers are underrepresented in high-productive firms and less likely to move up the productivity distribution. Thus, sorting into less productive firms decreases earnings in poor-performing immigrant groups that would gain the most from working in high-productive firms. |
| Keywords: | firm productivity, immigrant-native earnings gaps, wage inequality |
| JEL: | J15 J31 J62 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14960&r= |
| By: | Jia, Ning (Central University of Finance and Economics); Molloy, Raven (Federal Reserve Board of Governors); Smith, Christopher L. (Federal Reserve Board of Governors); Wozniak, Abigail (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis) |
| Abstract: | We review developments in research on within-country migration, focusing on internal migration in the U.S. We begin by describing approaches to modelling individuals' migration decisions and equilibrium outcomes across local areas. Next, we summarize evidence regarding the impact of migration on individuals' outcomes, implications of migration for local labor market adjustment, and interactions between migration and housing markets. Finally, we discuss evidence on the efficacy of policies aimed at encouraging migration and conclude by highlighting important unanswered questions that are critical for informing migration-related policy. |
| Keywords: | migration, internal migration, labor market adjustment, housing markets, migration policy, migration theory |
| JEL: | J61 J68 J11 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15047&r= |
| By: | Bertheau, Antoine (University of Copenhagen); Acabbi, Edoardo (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid); Barcelo, Cristina (Bank of Spain); Gulyas, Andreas (University of Mannheim); Lombardi, Stefano (VATT, Helsinki); Saggio, Raffaele (University of British Columbia) |
| Abstract: | We document the consequences of losing a job across countries using a harmonized research design. Workers in Denmark and Sweden experience the lowest earnings declines following job displacement, while workers in Italy, Spain, and Portugal experience losses three times as high. French and Austrian workers face earnings losses somewhere in-between. Key to these differences is that Southern European workers are less likely to find employment following displacement. Loss of employer-specific wage premiums accounts for 40% to 95% of within-country wage declines. The use of active labor market policies predicts a significant portion of the cross-country heterogeneity in earnings losses. |
| Keywords: | job loss costs, wage dynamics, labor turnover, layoffs, labor market institutions, cross-country matched employer–employee dataset |
| JEL: | J30 J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15033&r= |
| By: | Hamark, Jesper (Department of Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University); John, Lapidus (Department of Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University) |
| Abstract: | How do unions who support universal welfare such as public employment insurance reason when they introduce private solutions such as obligatory complementary income insurance (OCII)? Unions are important actors in shaping the welfare model. Their actions and arguments tell a lot about how and why welfare state changes take place. In this paper, we seek answers to how the unions have acted and argued on OCII, how these actions and arguments have changed over time and whether there are differences across unions within the same confederation and across different confederations. The material includes congressional minutes and other internal documents for the period 2000–2020. Further, a number of newspapers and union magazines are studied. What we find and systematise is a myriad of arguments for and against OCII, some of them referring to the eroded public unemployment insurance and others pointing towards sharp competition between unions to keep or to recruit new members. |
| Keywords: | Unions; public unemployment insurance; obligatory complementary income insurance; welfare models; Swedish welfare model |
| JEL: | I30 J51 J65 |
| Date: | 2022–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:gunhis:0029&r= |
| By: | Bertheau, Antoine (University of Copenhagen); Vejlin, Rune Majlund (Aarhus University) |
| Abstract: | The rate at which workers switch employers without experiencing a spell of unemployment is one of the most important labor market indicators. However, Employer-to-Employer (EE) transitions are hard to measure in widely used matched employer-employee datasets such as those available in the US. We investigate how the lack of the exact start and end dates for job spells affect the level and cyclicality of EE transitions using Danish data containing daily information on employment relationships. Defining EE transitions based on quarterly data overestimates the EE transition rate by approximately 30% compared to daily data. The bias is procyclical and is reduced by more than 10% in recessions. We propose an algorithm that uses earnings and not just start and end dates of jobs to redefine EE transitions. Our definition performs better than definitions used in the literature. |
| Keywords: | measurement problems, employer-to-employer transitions, labor market flows, time aggregation bias |
| JEL: | E24 E32 J63 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15030&r= |
| By: | Jaschke, Philipp (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg); Sardoschau, Sulin (Humboldt University Berlin); Tabellini, Marco (Harvard Business School) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effects of threat on convergence to local culture and on economic assimilation of refugees, exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in their allocation across German regions between 2013 and 2016. We combine novel survey data on cultural preferences and economic outcomes of refugees with corresponding information on locals, and construct a threat index that integrates contemporaneous and historical variables. On average, refugees assimilate both culturally and economically. However, while refugees assigned to more hostile regions converge to local culture more quickly, they do not exhibit faster economic assimilation. We provide evidence consistent with the hypothesis that refugees exert more assimilation effort in response to local threat, but fail to successfully integrate because of higher discrimination by locals in more hostile regions. |
| Keywords: | migration, refugees, culture, assimilation, identity |
| JEL: | F22 J15 Z10 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14962&r= |
| By: | Dicarlo, Emanuele (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | The quality of workers in a country positively relates to productivity of firms, adoption of new technologies, and growth. This paper studies adjustments of Italian firms to negative labor supply shocks in the context of workers' outflows from Italy to Switzerland. My diff-in-diff leverages the implementation of a policy in which Switzerland granted free labor market mobility to EU citizens and different treatment intensity of Italian firms based on their distance to the Swiss border. Using detailed social security data on the universe of Italian firms and workers, I document large (12 percentage points higher) outflows of workers and fewer (2.5 percentage points) surviving firms in the treatment group relative to control. Despite replacing workers and becoming more capital intensive, treated firms are less productive and pay lower wages. I investigate this evidence through the lens of a simple production function with high and low-skilled labor within a heterogeneity analysis based on the skill intensity of the industry of each firm. In line with the brain drain literature, I show how adverse effects of large outflows of workers operate through firms that workers leave. I provide suggestive evidence that high-skill intensive firms are the main driver of the negative results on wages and productivity. I also show that low skill intensive firms instead suffer less from losing workers and provide new job opportunities for the workers who do not migrate. |
| Keywords: | migration, labor supply, skills, firms |
| JEL: | F22 J22 J24 J61 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14994&r= |
| By: | Çakır, Selcen (Bogazici University); Erbay, Elif (Istanbul University); Kirdar, Murat G. (Bogazici University) |
| Abstract: | Turkey hosts the highest number of refugees in the world. The arrival of Syrian refugees has significantly changed the relative abundance of different skill groups in Turkey and the labor market conditions. This paper examines how this massive refugee influx affects native working-age children's school enrollment and employment outcomes using a difference-indifferences IV methodology. We find that employment of both boys and girls falls substantially, but a large fraction of this fall stems from the transition of children who used to combine school and work into school only. School enrollment increases only for boys, and this is stronger for boys with more educated parents. The incidence of being neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET) increases among girls, particularly for those with less-educated parents, but not among boys. In fact, the NEET incidence drops for boys with more-educated parents. |
| Keywords: | syrian refugees, school enrollment, employment, child work, education, NEET, Turkey |
| JEL: | I25 J61 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14972&r= |
| By: | Sterkens, Philippe; Baert, Stijn; Moens, Eline; Derous, Eva; Wuyts, Joey |
| Abstract: | The existing burnout literature has predominantly focussed on the determinants of burnout, whereas its consequences for individual careers have received little attention. In this study, we investigate whether recently burned-out individuals and persons with a very high risk of clinical burnout differ in job preferences from non-burned-out workers. Moreover, we link these differences in preferences with (1) diverging perceptions of job demands and resources in a job, as well as (2) distinct weighting of such perceptions. To this end, a highquality sample of 582 employees varying in their history and current risk of burnout judged fictitious job offers with experimentally manipulated characteristics in terms of their willingness to apply as well as perceived job demands and resources. We find that recently burned-out employees appreciate possibilities to telework and fixed feedback relatively more, while being relatively less attracted to opportunities for learning on the job. Moreover, employees with a very high risk of burnout are more attracted to part-time jobs. These findings can be partially explained by differences in the perceived resources offered by jobs. |
| Keywords: | burnout,labour market,job search,job preference,factorial survey experiment |
| JEL: | J62 I12 C91 C83 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1036&r= |
| By: | Doruk, Ömer Tuğsal (Adana Alpaslan Türkeş Science and Technology University); Pastore, Francesco (Università della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli) |
| Abstract: | In this study, for the first time, to our knowledge, we use the propensity score matching algorithm to estimate the probability to remain 'stuck in the status-quo ante' across generations in Egypt. We use repeated cross-sectional data relative to a 20-year period from 1998 to 2018 to build transition matrices of intergenerational occupational mobility. The findings of the econometric analysis hint at a low degree of occupational mobility, with children of fathers in the agricultural sector or holding a blue- or white-collar job remaining linked to the profession of their fathers in most cases and experiencing only rarely upward mobility from agricultural to blue- and white-collar jobs. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational occupational mobility, status quo bias, propensity score matching, Egypt |
| JEL: | C35 D64 J24 J62 L16 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15003&r= |
| By: | Bhalotra, S (University of Warwick, CEPR, IEA, IZA, CAGE); Clarke, D (University of Chile and IZA); Mühlrad, H (Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy (IFAU)); Palme, M (Stockholm University) |
| Abstract: | IVF allows women to delay birth and pursue careers, but IVF massively increases the risk of twin birth. There is limited evidence of how having twins influences women’s post-birth careers. We investigate this, leveraging a single embryo transfer (SET) mandate implemented in Sweden in 2003, following which the share of twin births showed a precipitous drop of 70%. Linking birth registers to hospitalization and earnings registers, we identify substantial improvements in maternal and child health and women’s earnings following IVF birth, alongside an increase in subsequent fertility. We provide the first comprehensive evaluation of SET, relevant given the secular rise in IVF births and growing concerns over twin birth risk. We contribute new estimates of the child penalty imposed by twin as opposed to singleton birth, relevant to the secular rise in the global twin birth rate. |
| Keywords: | twins, IVF, single embryo transfer, career costs of children, child penalty, gender wage gap, fertility, maternal health, neonatal health, gender JEL Classification:J13, I11, I12, I38, J24 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:602&r= |
| By: | Rauh, C.; Santos, M. R. |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the impact of existing and universal transfer programs on vacancy creation, wages, and welfare using a search-and-matching model with heterogeneous agents and on-the-job human capital accumulation. We calibrate the general equilibrium model to match key moments concerning unemployment, wage and wealth distributions, as well as the distribution of EITC and transfers. In addition, unemployment insurance benefits are related to pre-unemployment earnings and subject to exhaustion, after which agents can only rely on transfers and savings. First, we show that existing transfers hamper economic activity but provide sizeable welfare gains. Next, we show that a universal basic income of nearly $12,500 to each household per year, which replaces all existing transfer programs and unemployment benefits, can lead to small aggregate welfare gains. These welfare gains mostly accrue to less skilled individuals despite their sizable fall in wages, and the overall rise in skill premia and wage inequality. Albeit the extra burden of higher taxes to finance UBI, we show that the increased action in hiring is a key channel though which outcomes for low education groups improve with the reform. However, if we keep the UI benefits in place, the positive effects on job creation vanish and UBI does not improve upon the current system. |
| Keywords: | Transfer programs, EITC, Means-tested transfers, Welfare programs, Labor supply, On-the-job human capital accumulation, Life cycle, Inequality, Universal basic income, UBI, Unemployment, General equilibrium |
| Date: | 2022–01–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camjip:2205&r= |
| By: | Bradley, Jake (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | There has been a substantial body of work modeling the co-movement of employment, vacancies, and output over the business cycle. This paper builds on this literature, and informed by empirical investigation, models worker and firm search and hiring behavior in a manner consistent with recent micro-evidence. Consistent with empirical findings, for a given vacancy, a firm receives many applicants, and chooses their preferred candidate amongst the set. Similarly, workers in both unemployment and employment, can evaluate many open vacancies simultaneously and choose to which they make an application. Business cycles are propagated through turbulence in the economy. Structural parameters of the model are estimated on U.S. data, targeting aggregate time series. The model can generate large volatility in unemployment, vacancies, and worker flows across jobs and employment state. Further, it provides a theoretical mechanism for the shift in the Beveridge curve after the 2008 recession - a phenomenon often referred to as the jobless recovery. That is, persistently low employment after the recession, despite output per worker and vacancies having returned to pre-crisis levels. |
| Keywords: | Beveridge curve, screening, jobless recovery |
| JEL: | J63 J64 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15017&r= |
| By: | Korsgren, Pontus (Leiden University); van Lent, Max (Leiden University) |
| Abstract: | Earmarked paternity leave has been introduced in an attempt to increase fathers’ involvement in child rearing and to achieve gender equality in the labor market and at home. So far well-being effects of such policies are unexplored. This paper takes a first step in that direction by studying the impact of earmarked paternity leave quota on life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and work-life balance using several policy changes in Europe over the period 1993-2007. We find that earmarked paternity leave increases life satisfaction by 0.18 on a 10 point scale which is equivalent to a 10.8 percentage point increase even decades later. Both fathers and mothers benefit, though the increase in life satisfaction for mothers is nearly 30% higher than that of fathers. Perhaps surprisingly, the impact on job satisfaction and work-life balance is close to zero. Hence even when the impact of paternity leave quota on the labor market are small, the increases in life satisfaction may still justify the existence of such policies. |
| Keywords: | family leave policies, paternity leave, quota, well-being, life satisfaction |
| JEL: | J12 J13 J16 J18 I31 I38 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15022&r= |
| By: | Baskaran, Thushyanthan (University of Siegen); Hessami, Zohal (Ruhr University Bochum) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents an important but mostly overlooked reason for female underrepresentation in politics: gender gaps in the recontest likelihood of candidates. Using hand-collected data on 116,185 candidates in four consecutive local council elections (2001-2016) in a German state, we provide evidence for a gender recontest gap among both incumbent and non-incumbent candidates. Female candidates are 4 to 5 percentage points less likely than male candidates to run again conditional on previous candidacy. Studying mechanisms, we find that women are likely held back by incompatibilities between family obligations and political duties as well as a culture of male dominance in local politics. |
| Keywords: | gender, political selection, persistence, local councils, candidacy |
| JEL: | D72 D78 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14981&r= |
| By: | Bhalotra, Sonia R. (University of Warwick); Brito, Emilia (Brown University); Clarke, Damian (University of Chile); Larroulet, Pilar (Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile); Pino, Francisco J. (University of Chile) |
| Abstract: | We leverage staggered implementation of lockdown across Chile's 346 municipalities, identifying dynamic impacts on domestic violence (DV). Using administrative data, we find lockdown imposition increases indicators of DV-related distress, while decreasing DV reports to the police. We identify male job loss as a mechanism driving distress, and female job loss as driving decreased reporting. Stimulus payments to poor households act on both margins, their impacts partially differentiated by lockdown status. Once lockdown is lifted, police reports surge but we see a ratchet effect in distress. Our findings accentuate the controversy around welfare impacts of lockdown mandates. |
| Keywords: | public health, social safety net, domestic violence, COVID-19 |
| JEL: | J12 I38 H53 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14958&r= |
| By: | Braga, Breno (Urban Institute); Butrica, Barbara A. (Urban Institute); Mudrazija, Stipica (Urban Institute); Peters, H.E. |
| Abstract: | Since 2004 six states plus Washington, DC have implemented laws that provide paid leave benefits to workers caring for family members who have a disability or serious medical condition. Focusing on the most established state programs—California and New Jersey—this paper investigates whether paid family leave (PFL) policies facilitate greater labor supply, caregiving, and improvements in health outcomes for those likely to provide family care. Using our preferred estimation method, we find that women with a spouse in poor health are 7.4 percentage points more likely to work while providing care after the implementation of PFL compared to those not living in a PFL state. Similarly, women living within 10 miles of a parent in poor health are more likely to work while providing care (5.6 percentage points) after PFL. The implementation of state PFL also leads to improvements in mental health outcomes for these two groups of women. We fail to find strong evidence that PFL affects labor and care decisions for women living more than 10 miles from a parent in poor health. PFL also has less consistent effects on men. |
| Keywords: | family leave, older workers, caregiving |
| JEL: | I38 J14 J16 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15007&r= |
| By: | Choe, Chung (Konkuk University); Jungy, SeEun (Inha University); Oaxaca, Ronald L. (University of Arizona) |
| Abstract: | Laboratory experiments involving a real effort task are conducted to examine the importance of gender differences in competition aversion for generating gender wage gaps. Cross-subject design treatment and control experiments suggest that gender differences in risk aversion play no significant role in competitive (tournament) vs. piece-rate job choices and consequent gender wage gaps. Subjects in the treatment experiments are sorted into relatively more and relatively less risk averse groupings. Relatively less risk averse subjects are assigned to a risky job track involving a known constant probability of unemployment in each period. The gender wage gap contribution of gender differences in competition aversion compared with the contribution of gender differences in performance is especially large for relatively less risk averse subjects. |
| Keywords: | gender wage gaps, wage decompositions, competition preferences, risk aversion, lab experiments |
| JEL: | J16 J31 C91 D91 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15048&r= |
| By: | Sonia Bhalotra (University of Warwick); Atheendar Venkataramani (University of Pennsylvania); Selma Walther (University of Sussex) |
| Abstract: | We investigate women’s fertility, labor and marriage market responses to large declines in child mortality. We find delayed childbearing, with lower intensive and extensive margin fertility, a decline in the chances of ever having married, increased labor force participation and an improvement in occupational status. This constitutes the first evidence that improvements in child survival allow women to start fertility later and invest more in the labor market. We present a new theory of fertility that incorporates dynamic choices and reconciles our findings with existing models of behavior. |
| Keywords: | women’s labor force participation, fertility timing, childlessness, child mortality,medical innovation JEL Classification:J13, I18 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:599&r= |
| By: | Finn Schmieter |
| Abstract: | We construct a frictional search-and-matching model with on-the-match learning and rematching. Agents are ex-ante homogeneous, have idiosyncratic preferences, and receive news about the profitability of their current match following a Poisson process. We provide an infinite number of pointwise balance conditions and a finite number of aggregate balance conditions and prove their equivalence. We show that agents follow cutoff strategies in the unique steady-state equilibrium. If the profitability types inside a match have a strong positive (negative) correlation, then a faster learning rate is ex-ante welfare-increasing (decreasing) for the agents. |
| Keywords: | Search frictions, matching, on-the-job search, learning |
| JEL: | C78 D83 J64 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2022_327&r= |
| By: | Choi, Jung Ho (Stanford Graduate School of Business); Pacelli, Joseph (Harvard Business School); Rennekamp, Kristina M. (Cornell University); Tomar, Sorabh (Southern Methodist University) |
| Abstract: | We examine how information about the diversity of a potential employe r’s workforce affects individuals’ job-seeking behavior, and whether workers’ preferences explain corporate disclosure decisions. We embed a field experiment in job recommendation emails sent from a leading career advice agency in the US. The experimental treatment involves highlighting a diversity metric to jobseekers. Studying 267,494 unique jobseekers, we find that disclosing diversity scores in job postings increases the click-through rate of jobseekers for firms with higher diversity scores. These effects are more pronounced for fe male and entry-level jobseekers. We estimate that jobseekers update their willingness to pay (WTP) for a fi rm’s diversity by $1,463 when faced with a 10% increase in diversity scores relative to the interquartile range. We conduct a follow-up survey with jobseekers to better understand why diversity information was useful to them. Finally, we document that firms in industries characterized by higher jobseeker responsiveness to diversity information tend to voluntarily disclosure diversity metrics in their 10-Ks under new SEC disclosure requirements. That is , disclosure choices partially reflect ‘jobseeker materiality.’ Overall, our findings generate important insights regarding jobseekers’ demand for diversity information. |
| JEL: | C93 D40 D83 J64 M14 M41 |
| Date: | 2022–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:stabus:4010&r= |
| By: | Almeida, Rita K. (World Bank); Viollaz, Mariana (CEDLAS-UNLP) |
| Abstract: | With only 32% of active age women in the labor market, Guatemala is an upper middle-income country with one of the lowest rates of female labor force participation in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, and in the world. The rate of female labor participation is especially low in the poor regions of the North and the Northwest. We explore information from different micro data sets, including the most recent Population Census (2002 and 2018) to assess the drivers of the recent progress. Between 2002 and 2018, FLFP increased 5.7 percentage points, from an average of 26% to 32% nationwide. This increase was partly explained by the drastic increases in the school attainment of women, the reduction in fertility and the country’s structural transformation towards services. However, a large component remains unexplained. Exploring 2018 data, we show that social norms, attitudes towards women in the society and public policies are important determinants of these changes. The analysis suggests that, taken together, these factors can all become an important source of increased female labor force participation moving forward. |
| Keywords: | female labor force participation, gender, Guatemala |
| JEL: | J16 J21 J22 O12 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15029&r= |
| By: | Chen, Jie (Jiangsu University); Kanjilal-Bhaduri, Sanghamitra; Pastore, Francesco (Università della Campania Luigi Vanvitelli) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we report returns to education in India using unit level data from the nationwide Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2018-19. OLS estimates from the classical Mincerian equation are presented. Various econometric techniques (e.g., conventional IV and heteroskedasticity-based IV models) are used to address endogeneity and sample selection issue. For regular workers, compared to those with no formal education, an additional year of literacy education increases yearly return by 2.3%, primary education by 3.4%, middle school education by 3.7%, secondary school education by 4.5%, higher secondary education by 5.8%, graduate and diploma by 9.8%, and postgraduate and above level of education by 8.2%. We also find a widening of the wage distribution, with striking differences across social groups, sectors, locations. First, returns to middle-school and above level of education are higher for women than for men; second, returns to graduate and above level of education are higher for urban than for rural workers; third, returns to workers in the public sector are higher than returns in the private or third sectors; fourth, returns to the scheduled tribe are the highest across all the castes. Over the last decade, returns to education have reduced. We provide evidence showing that this may be because more people hold higher levels of education qualifications, while the demand for skills remains quite stable. Overall, our policy suggestion is that in India, as in other low- middle-income countries, especially in rural areas, it is important to increase primary and secondary level of education in rural areas, and the tertiary level in urban areas and to equalize the life chances of some social groups. |
| Keywords: | returns to education, endogeneity, sample selection, India |
| JEL: | I26 J15 J16 J30 C20 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15002&r= |
| By: | Black, Sandra E. (Columbia University); Devereux, Paul J. (University College Dublin); Landaud, Fanny (Norwegian School of Economics); Salvanes, Kjell G. (Norwegian School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Transfers from parents-either in the form of gifts or inheritances-have received much attention as a source of inequality. This paper uses administrative data for the population of Norway to examine the share of the Total Inflows (defined as the capitalized sum of net labor income, government transfers, and gifts and inheritances received over the period) accounted for by capitalized gifts and inheritances. We find that gifts and inheritances represent a small share of Total Inflows; this is true across the distribution of Total Inflows, as well as at all levels of net wealth. Gifts and inheritances are only an important source of income flows among those who have very wealthy parents. Additionally, gifts and inheritances have very little effect on the distribution of Total Inflows, suggesting that inheritance taxes may do little to mitigate wealth inequality. |
| Keywords: | intergenerational transmission, inheritances and gifts, wealth inequality |
| JEL: | G51 J01 J1 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15034&r= |
| By: | Eberhardt, Markus (University of Oxford); Facchini, Giovanni (University of Nottingham); Rueda, Valeria (University of Nottingham) |
| Abstract: | Academia, and economics in particular, faces increased scrutiny because of gender imbalance. This paper studies the job market for entry-level faculty positions. We employ machine learning methods to analyze gendered patterns in the text of 9,000 reference letters written in support of 2,800 candidates. Using both supervised and unsupervised techniques, we document widespread differences in the attributes emphasized. Women are systematically more likely to be described using "grindstone" terms and at times less likely to be praised for their ability. Given the time and effort letter writers devote to supporting their students, this gender stereotyping is likely due to unconscious biases. |
| Keywords: | gender, natural language processing, stereotyping, diversity |
| JEL: | J16 A11 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15055&r= |
| By: | Badura, Ondrej; Melecky, Ales; Melecky, Martin |
| Abstract: | Competitive passenger rail can help workers access new or better jobs. This paper studies the wider economic impacts on local unemployment of the liberalized passenger rail between Ostrava, the third-biggest city in the Czech Republic, and Prague, its capital. The local impacts are estimated at the LAU 1 level (administrative districts) using the difference-in-differences method. The liberalization motivated the entry of two new private providers. The resulting competition in ticket prices, the number of connections, and service quality had a strong beneficial effect on labor market connectivity. It significantly reduced unemployment in the districts along the line compared with the control districts. The effect weakens with the level of urbanization of the treated district. It could partly transmit through higher firm entry and lower firm exit in the local market, as well as better skill matching on the back of higher inward and outward migration. |
| Keywords: | Competition; difference in differences; districts; liberalization; local labor market; passenger transport; railways; unemployment; urbanization; EU country; OECD country |
| JEL: | J6 L40 R10 R40 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:111651&r= |
| By: | Fernández-Val, Iván (Boston University); van Vuuren, Aico (University of Gothenburg); Vella, Francis (Georgetown University); Peracchi, Franco (University of Rome Tor Vergata) |
| Abstract: | We analyze the role of selection bias in generating the changes in the observed distribution of female hourly wages in the United States using CPS data for the years 1975 to 2020. We account for the selection bias from the employment decision by modeling the distribution of the number of working hours and estimating a nonseparable model of wages. We decompose changes in the wage distribution into composition, structural and selection effects. Composition effects have increased wages at all quantiles while the impact of the structural effects varies by time period and quantile. Changes in the role of selection only appear at the lower quantiles of the wage distribution. The evidence suggests that there is positive selection in the 1970s which diminishes until the later 1990s. This reduces wages at lower quantiles and increases wage inequality. Post 2000 there appears to be an increase in positive sorting which reduces the selection effects on wage inequality. |
| Keywords: | wage inequality, wage decompositions, nonseparability, selection bias |
| JEL: | C14 I24 J00 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15028&r= |
| By: | Ponzo, Michela (University of Calabria); Scoppa, Vincenzo (University of Calabria) |
| Abstract: | Human capital investments at an early age appear crucial for individual outcomes. Family size might affect these investments influencing parental time and economic resources invested in children's education. This aspect is related to the children quantity-quality trade-off proposed by Becker that has been investigated only for a few countries because of data limitations. We investigate this issue for Italy – even in the absence of Census data relating family of origin to children's educational outcomes – using many waves of the Survey on Household Income and Wealth of the Bank of Italy and focusing on the educational attainments of 19-22 years old. We use twin births as an instrumental variable to identify exogenous variations in family size. In contrast with the results from other developed countries, we find a significant negative effect of family size on children's education. We show that these findings are robust to a number of checks. The effects appear stronger for women, for low income families and when spacing between births is limited, suggesting that both time and financial constraints are mechanisms at work. |
| Keywords: | educational outcomes, family size, quantity-quality children trade-off, twin births, instrumental variables |
| JEL: | J13 J24 I21 C36 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14983&r= |
| By: | Fenwick, Clare (Studio Europe Maastricht, RS: Studio Europa Maastricht, Research Centre for Educ and Labour Mark) |
| Abstract: | Freedom of movement is a fundamental principle of the European Union (EU) and yet this key pillar of European integration has become a topic of controversy as member states find their labour markets under pressure. This article examines key trends in intra-EU labour migration and explores what existing migration data has to offer researchers studying EU migration related research questions. |
| JEL: | J61 |
| Date: | 2022–02–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:umaror:2022001&r= |
| By: | Mbaye, Linguère Mously (African Development Bank); Okara, Assi (CNRS); Tani, Massimiliano (University of New South Wales) |
| Abstract: | We develop a theoretical model to investigate whether short-term mobility differentially affects innovation in product or process and carry out an empirical analysis with a focus on Africa using firm-level data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey, as well as complementary country level information collected by the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation, and the United Nations. We find that labor mobility positively affects innovation: on average, a 10% increase in the flow of international visits per 10,000 inhabitants is associated with a 0.4 increase in the probability to innovate in products/services or process, supporting the use of labor mobility as an effective mechanism to diffuse productive knowledge and foster innovation. The probability of innovation as a result of short-term mobility is 0.4 higher in Africa overall – especially in East Africa – vis-à-vis the rest of the world, and strongest in the case of innovation in products and services rather than process, suggesting limited capability to produce entirely within the continent. The results are robust to a variety of approaches controlling for endogeneity, which include a control function approach and the use of an instrumental variable based on a gravity model. Focusing only on arrivals for business and professional purposes, our findings show stronger evidence that African firms are more likely to innovate as a result of short-term mobility compared to the rest of the world. |
| Keywords: | innovation, labor mobility, Africa |
| JEL: | F20 F22 J24 J61 O14 O55 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15004&r= |
| By: | Bhowmik, Anuj; Sen, Arijit |
| Abstract: | What factors determine a minority group's extent/pattern of assimilation with the mainstream population in a country? We study this question in a dynamic multi-generation model, and formalize the sociological theory of segmented assimilation propounded by Portes and Zhou (1993). Our key assumptions are: there exists cultural heterogeneity within a minority group, minority members can shift their inherited culture traits to an extent, shifting culture traits closer to the mainstream culture increases economic opportunities, benefits from being close to the dominant local culture generate social interaction effects in minority and mainstream locations, and minority members are motivated by short-term goals. We show that specific features of the socio-economic environment -- regarding the extent of initial culture heterogeneity among the minority, and the influence of local social interaction effects on their payoffs -- lead to segmented assimilation in the long run: In a sequence of generations, some minority members -- those born with culture traits `close enough' to the mainstream culture -- move towards assimilating with the mainstream, while other members dissociate from the mainstream and become more entrenched in the traditional minority sub-culture. Such intertemporal segmentation, that arises in the absence of a minority preference for oppositional identities, can impose significant costs on the entire minority group in the long-run: poverty, inequality, and polarization. There can be hysteresis in the evolution of minority lineages. The efficacy of a policy intervention will depend on how it impacts the minority assimilation trajectory: an ill-timed affirmative-action policy can lower payoffs of all minority members in the long-run. |
| Keywords: | Assimilation, Minority, Polarization, Segmentation, Welfare |
| JEL: | I31 J15 Z13 |
| Date: | 2022–01–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:111655&r= |
| By: | Lippens, Louis (Ghent University); Vermeiren, Siel (Ghent University); Baert, Stijn (Ghent University) |
| Abstract: | Notwithstanding the improved integration of various minority groups in the workforce, unequal treatment in hiring still hinders many individuals' access to the labour market. To tackle this inaccessibility, it is essential to know which and to what extent minority groups face hiring discrimination. This meta-analysis synthesises a quasi-exhaustive register of correspondence experiments on hiring discrimination published between 2005 and 2020. Using a random-effects model, we computed pooled discrimination ratios concerning ten discrimination grounds upon which unequal treatment in hiring is forbidden under United States federal or state law. Our meta-analysis shows that hiring discrimination against candidates with disabilities, older candidates, and less physically attractive candidates is at least equally severe as the unequal treatment of candidates with salient ethnic characteristics. Remarkably, hiring discrimination against older applicants is even more outspoken in Europe than in the United States. Furthermore, unequal treatment in hiring based on sexual orientation seems to be prompted mainly by signalling activism rather than same-sex orientation in itself. Last, aside from a significant decrease in ethnic hiring discrimination in Europe, we find no structural evidence of recent temporal changes in hiring discrimination based on the various other grounds within the scope of this review. |
| Keywords: | hiring discrimination, unequal treatment, meta-analysis, correspondence experiment, audit study |
| JEL: | J71 J23 J14 J15 J16 |
| Date: | 2021–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14966&r= |