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on Labour Economics |
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Issue of 2024‒05‒06
nineteen papers chosen by |
| By: | Créchet, Jonathan (University of Ottawa); Lalé, Etienne (York University, Canada); Tarasonis, Linas (Bank of Lithuania) |
| Abstract: | Cross-country employment differences are concentrated among women, the youth, and older individuals. In this paper, we document how worker flows between employment, unemployment, and out of the labor force vary by gender and age and contribute to aggregate employment differences across a large panel of European countries. We then build a life-cycle Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides model capturing the salient features of our data. Key elements of the model are an extensive margin (i.e., labor force participation) and intensive margin (i.e., variable intensity) of search effort. The model attributes a major role to the production technology in driving differences in aggregate employment, while labor-market policies play a minor role. Search effort substantially amplifies the effects of technology across gender and age groups and is a prominent proximate cause of the cross-country variation in aggregate employment. |
| Keywords: | employment, unemployment, labor force participation, life cycle, worker flows, labor market institutions |
| JEL: | E02 E24 J21 J64 J82 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16878&r=lab |
| By: | Koopmans, Pim (Leiden University); van Lent, Max (Leiden University); Been, Jim (University of Leiden) |
| Abstract: | The consequence of the arrival of children for the gender wage gap - known as the child penalty - is substantial and has been documented for many countries. Little is still known about the impact of having children beyond paid work in the labor market, such as home production. In this paper we estimate - deploying an event study with Dutch survey data - the child penalty in both home production and the labor market. In line with the literature we find no labor market effects for men. For women we find a strong reduction in work hours and lower wages. However, we find an increase in home production for women roughly similar to the decline in paid work. Consequently, time allocated to the labor market plus home production is roughly equal across gender before and after the arrival of children. This result rejects the hypothesis that women substitute paid work for leisure after the arrival of children. |
| Keywords: | gender gaps, child penalty, intra-household allocation, event study, home production |
| JEL: | C33 D12 D13 J16 J22 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16871&r=lab |
| By: | Carta, Francesca (Bank of Italy); Casarico, Alessandra (Bocconi University); De Philippis, Marta (Bank of Italy); Lattanzio, Salvatore (Bank of Italy) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores how firms respond to the exit of mothers from the labour market after childbirth. As an exogenous shifter in mothers' quits, we use a policy reform that extended the potential duration of unemployment benefits, which Italian mothers can receive also upon resigning within 12 months of giving birth. In response to the reform, we find that mothers have a higher probability of quitting in the first year after childbirth, a slightly decreased likelihood of being laid off, and a greater probability of remaining non-employed for at least 3 years following childbirth. Firms employing more exposed mothers respond by signicantly increasing net hiring and turnover, especially of young women. The surge in women's hiring primarily occurs through temporary contracts that are not converted into permanent ones, implying a persistent increase in the share of female temporary jobs. This outcome suggests the presence of statistical discrimination, manifesting through a decline in the quality of job opportunities available to women. |
| Keywords: | quits, hirings, separations, unemployment benets, statistical discrimination, child penalty |
| JEL: | J16 J23 J21 J38 J65 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16908&r=lab |
| By: | Joseph S. Briggs; Andrew Caplin; Søren Leth-Petersen; Christopher Tonetti |
| Abstract: | We develop a method to identify the individual latent propensity to select into treatment and marginal treatment effects. Identification is achieved with survey data on individuals' subjective expectations of their treatment propensity and of their treatment-contingent outcomes. We use the method to study how child birth affects female labor supply in Denmark. We find limited latent heterogeneity and large short-term effects that vanish by 18 months after birth. We support the validity of the identifying assumptions in this context by using administrative data to show that the average treatment effect on the treated computed using our method and traditional event-study methods are nearly equal. Finally, we study the effects of counterfactual changes to child care cost and quality on female labor supply. |
| JEL: | C32 C52 C83 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32309&r=lab |
| By: | Konstantins Benkovskis (Latvijas Banka); Olegs Tkacevs (Latvijas Banka); Karlis Vilerts (Latvijas Banka) |
| Abstract: | This study draws on employer-employee data for Latvia to investigate how participating in a job retention scheme (JRS) impacts the within-occupation composition of skills in participating firms. The findings of this research reveal that involvement in JRS positively affects the likelihood of employees retaining their employment with the same firm after the end of the programme. This positive effect is independent of the employee's skill level. However, individuals that perform higher-skilled tasks in the same occupation are less likely to participate in the JRS because of legal restrictions on the maximum amount of the benefit and the income replacement rate. Taken together, these findings suggest that JRSs may have a detrimental impact on the within-occupation composition of the skills of the workforce at the firms that participate in such schemes. |
| Keywords: | job retention scheme, short-term work scheme, Covid-19, employment, skills |
| JEL: | E24 H12 J62 J68 |
| Date: | 2024–04–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ltv:wpaper:202402&r=lab |
| By: | Parag Mahajan; Nicolas Morales; Kevin Shih; Mingyu Chen; Agostina Brinatti |
| Abstract: | We study how random variation in the availability of highly educated, foreign-born workers impacts firm performance and recruitment behavior. We combine two rich data sources: 1) administrative employer-employee matched data from the US Census Bureau; and 2) firm level information on the first large-scale H-1B visa lottery in 2007. Using an event-study approach, we find that lottery wins lead to increases in firm hiring of college-educated, immigrant labor along with increases in scale and survival. These effects are stronger for small, skill-intensive, and high-productivity firms that participate in the lottery. We do not find evidence for displacement of native-born, college-educated workers at the firm level, on net. However, this result masks dynamics among more specific subgroups of incumbents that we further elucidate. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, firm dynamics, productivity, H-1B visa, high-skilled migration |
| JEL: | F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:24-19&r=lab |
| By: | Delaney, Judith M. (University of Bath); Devereux, Paul J. (University College Dublin) |
| Abstract: | While gender differences in the decision of what to study at undergraduate level are much studied, there is relatively little attention paid to subsequent study decisions of graduates. Given the increased importance of graduate education in recent decades, these decisions can have major labour market implications. In this paper, we use administrative data from Ireland to study these choices. We find systematic and substantial differences by gender in choice of graduate field, even when taking account of the exact undergraduate programme attended and a large set of controls measuring academic interests and aptitudes. Female graduates are less likely to do further study in STEM fields and more likely to enter teaching and health programmes. When we explore the effect of these choices on early career gender gaps in earnings, we find that they tend to exacerbate earnings gaps. Even after accounting for the exact undergraduate programme and detailed school subject choices and grades, there is an 8% gender gap in earnings at age 33 for persons who pursued a graduate degree; the choice of graduate programme can explain about 15% of that gap. |
| Keywords: | gender gaps, graduate study, field of study, gender earnings gap, higher education |
| JEL: | J16 J24 I21 I23 I24 I26 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16918&r=lab |
| By: | Fasani, Francesco (University of Milan); Mazza, Jacopo (Utrecht University) |
| Abstract: | This paper contributes to the literature on the Covid-19 effects on workers and labor markets by focusing on the experience of migrant key workers in EU countries. Our analysis, based on survey data on more than 3 million workers, explores three main aspects. First, we document the over-representation of migrant workers in key occupations, particularly in low-qualified roles. Second, we examine the selection into key occupations. According to our estimates, women are more likely to be key workers, the relationship with education is V-shaped, and EU and Extra EU migrants are, respectively, 12 and 15 percent more likely to be key workers than comparable natives. Finally, we estimate the impact of Covid-19 on the labor market, showing that migrant key workers had to extend their working hours during the pandemic and, nevertheless, faced a 2-3 times higher probability of being laid off relative to natives. Our findings imply that migrant workers played a crucial role in the response to the pandemic, but endured a harsher fate than native workers. |
| Keywords: | migrant workers, COVID-19, essential occupations |
| JEL: | F22 J61 K37 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16884&r=lab |
| By: | Cardullo, Gabriele (University of Genova) |
| Abstract: | Although European institutions and national governments have long pushed for a more decentralized wage bargaining structure, in some countries company or establishment-level negotiations struggle to take place. This paper offers an interpretation for that based on workers' optimal choices in an strategic framework. I construct an equilibrium matching model that explains under which conditions it is best for workers to negotiate their entire wage at sectoral level (one-tier bargaining) or to let a fraction of their salary to be negotiated at company level (two-tier bargaining). Workers' strategies do not simply depend on their own characteristics or on those of their firm, but also on the decisions of all the other employees of the sector. Three alternative Nash equilibria may occur: one-tier bargaining for all workers; two-tier bargaining for all workers; two-tier bargaining for the most productive workers and one-tier bargaining for the others. The prevalence of a specific equilibrium over others hinges on some critical factors, notably the elasticity of the matching function and the properties of the productivity distribution. |
| Keywords: | bargaining structure, wage decentralization, collective bargaining, unions |
| JEL: | J50 J52 J31 J64 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp16870&r=lab |
| By: | Coskun, Sena (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany); Dauth, Wolfgang (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany); Gartner, Hermann (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany); Stops, Michael (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany); Weber, Enzo (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany ; Univ. Regensburg) |
| Abstract: | "This paper examines how the shift towards working from home during and after the Covid-19 pandemic shapes the way how labor market and locality choices interact. For our analysis, we combine large administrative data on employment biographies in Germany and a new working from home potential indicator based on comprehensive data on working conditions across occupations. We find that in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the distance between workplace and residence has increased more strongly for workers in occupations that can be done from home: The association of working from home potential and work-home distance increased significantly since 2021 as compared to a stable pattern before. The effect is much larger for new jobs, suggesting that people match to jobs with high working from home potential that are further away than before the pandemic. Most of this effect stems from jobs in big cities, which indicates that working from home alleviates constraints by tight housing markets. We find no significant evidence that commuting patterns changed more strongly for women than for men." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | IAB-Open-Access-Publikation ; Integrierte Erwerbsbiografien |
| JEL: | J61 R23 |
| Date: | 2024–04–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:20246&r=lab |
| By: | Aline Bütikofer; Deirdre Coy; Orla Doyle; Rita Ginja |
| Abstract: | Pregnancy loss is often a traumatic event which may impact both parents and subsequent children. Using Norwegian registry data, we exploit the random nature of single, early miscarriages to examine the impact of pregnancy loss on parental investment and family outcomes. We find that pregnancy loss improves maternal health investments in the subsequent pregnancy regarding supplement use, smoking, preventative healthcare, and physician choice. While a miscarriage negatively affects labor market attachment, it has limited effects on children born after the loss. This suggests that investment in the next pregnancy may offset the negative consequences of stress associated with pregnancy loss. |
| Keywords: | miscarriage, parental investment, healthcare use, household labor supply |
| JEL: | I12 J13 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11003&r=lab |
| By: | Najat Bazah; A. Jesús Sánchez Fuentes |
| Abstract: | In this article, we examine the maternity gap for the case of Spain. This is a phenomenon of great social and economic relevance that presents challenges for analysis, including adequate delimitation of the concept and the acquisition of quality quantitative data that enables dependable empirical measurement. We have drawn data from the three waves of the Fertility Survey conducted by Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (1985, 1999, and 2018) and find that, while the desire for maternity in Spain is not relatively low, the number of actual births is significantly lower. First, we propose alternative theoretical approaches that contribute to a comprehensive vision of this complex phenomenon. Next, we analyze the perceived barriers to maternity in Spain for each period, identifying the factors that influence them. Results indicate that women with higher levels of education are associated with larger gaps between the numbers of children desired and actual children, and that the maintenance of stable relationships and access to good health services contribute to reductions in the maternity gap. Finally, in a differentiated analysis for men and women using data collected in the 2018 wave, we find that the main results are similar for the two sexes, although distinct profiles do emerge depending on the professional status of a woman (when unemployed or inactive) and with respect to the importance of declared reasons for not having children, such as work and reconciliation with maternity (by women) and lacking a suitable partner (by men). |
| Keywords: | Fertility intention, fertility behavior, fertility gap, maternity gap, maternity penalty. |
| JEL: | J13 J16 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ise:remwps:wp03172024&r=lab |
| By: | RANI Uma; PESOLE Annarosa; GONZALEZ VAZQUEZ Ignacio (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | This report has been drafted jointly by the JRC and the International Labour Organization. The report is part of a series of four joint publications that together represent the main final outcomes of a 2.5-year joint research project on the changing nature of work at a global level. The objective of this study is to understand better the algorithmic management practices adopted by regular workplaces. We investigate the degree of penetration and impact of algorithmic management on work organisation, job quality and industrial relations focusing on the logistics and healthcare sectors. The research has been conducted in two European countries (Italy and France) and two non-European countries (India and South Africa), allowing for a comparative analysis across countries in the Global North and Global South. We show that algorithmic management is widely present in traditional sectors, with benefits in terms of streamlining and simplification of work processes and efficiency gains. The implications of these new forms of work for work organisation and working conditions are also discussed. We show significant challenges in terms of potential deterioration of job quality as well as concerns regarding the strong potential for intrusive worker surveillance. |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc136063&r=lab |
| By: | Vanda Almeida; Claire Hoffmann; Sebastian Königs; Ana Moreno Monroy; Mauricio Salazar-Lozada; Javier Terrero-Dávila |
| Abstract: | People’s ability to access essential services is key to their labour market and social inclusion. An important dimension of accessibility is physical accessibility, but little cross-country evidence exists on how close people live to the services facilities they need. This paper helps to address this gap, focusing on three types of essential services: Public Employment Services, primary schools and Early Childhood Education and Care. It collects and maps data on the location of these services for a selection of OECD countries and links them with data on population and transport infrastructure. This allows to compute travel times to the nearest service facility and to quantify disparities in accessibility at the regional level. The results highlight substantial inequalities in accessibility of essential services across and within countries. Although large parts of the population can easily reach these services in most countries, some people are relatively underserved. This is particularly the case in non-metropolitan and low-income regions. At the same time, accessibility seems to be associated with the potential demand for these services once accounting for other regional economic and demographic characteristics. |
| JEL: | H00 I24 J01 O18 R12 |
| Date: | 2024–04–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:elsaab:307-en&r=lab |
| By: | Mariano Kulish; James Morley; Nadine Yamout; Francesco Zanetti |
| Abstract: | We examine the relevance of Dutch Disease through the lens of an open-economy multisector model that features unemployment due to labor market frictions. Bayesian estimates for the model quantify the effects of both business cycle shocks and structural changes on the unemployment rate. Applying our model to the Australian economy, we find that the persistent rise in commodity prices in the 2000s led to an appreciation of the exchange rate and fall in net exports, resulting in upward pressure on unemployment due to sectoral shifts. However, this Dutch Disease effect is estimated to be quantitatively small and offset by an ongoing secular decline in the unemployment rate related to decreasing relative disutility of working in the non-tradable sector versus the tradable sector. The changes in labor supply preferences, along with shifts in household preferences towards non-tradable consumption that are akin to a process of structural transformation, makes the tradable sector more sensitive to commodity price shocks but a smaller fraction of the overall economy. We conclude that changes in commodity prices are not as relevant as other shocks or structural changes in accounting for unemployment even in a commodity-rich economy like Australia. |
| Keywords: | Dutch Disease, commodity prices, unemployment, structural change, structural transformation. |
| Date: | 2024–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:syd:wpaper:2024-08&r=lab |
| By: | TORREJON PEREZ Sergio (European Commission - JRC); FERNANDEZ MACIAS Enrique (European Commission - JRC); HURLEY John |
| Abstract: | We investigate shifts in employment structures during the first decades of the twenty-first century at a global scale, focusing on a diverse set of countries, including nine EU countries, Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Russia, India, and S.Korea. Using the jobs-based approach as the common underlying methodology enhances the comparability of results. The findings highlight a lack of a singular prevailing pattern in employment changes, revealing a variety of shift patterns across countries and time periods. Nonetheless, occupational upgrading emerges as the most frequently observed pattern. A sectoral analysis underscores the pivotal role of private services as the primary driver of employment growth across most countries. A distinct contrast is evident between the dynamics of private and public services. Private services tend to foster job polarization, while public services lean towards job upgrading, with some notable exceptions. Examining the gender dimension over the past two and a half decades reveals a marked improvement in the status of female workers. In many instances, there has been a feminization of employment, and women have experienced more occupational upgrading than their male counterparts. While this represents a general trend, significant exceptions exist. |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc136358&r=lab |
| By: | Scott Delhommer; Domonkos F. Vamossy |
| Abstract: | This paper presents the first quasi-experimental research examining the effect of both local and state anti-discrimination laws on sexual orientation on the labor supply and wages of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) workers. To do so, we use the American Community Survey data on household composition to infer sexual orientation and combine this with a unique panel dataset on local anti-discrimination laws. Using variation in law implementation across localities over time and between same-sex and different-sex couples, we find that anti-discrimination laws significantly reduce gaps in labor force participation rate, employment, and the wage gap for gay men relative to straight men. These laws also significantly reduce the labor force participation rate, employment, and wage premium for lesbian women relative to straight women. One explanation for the reduced labor supply and wage premium is that lesbian couples begin to have more children in response to the laws. Finally, we present evidence that state anti-discrimination laws significantly and persistently increased support for same-sex marriage. This research shows that anti-discrimination laws can be an effective policy tool for reducing labor market inequalities across sexual orientation and improving sentiment toward LGB Americans. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2404.03794&r=lab |
| By: | Seyberth, Lilo; Overwien, Anja |
| Abstract: | Unternehmertum ist eine wichtige wirtschaftliche Quelle für jedes Land. Allerdings ist der Anteil weiblicher Unternehmer immer noch gering und in den meisten Ländern besteht eine Kluft zwischen den Geschlechtern im Unternehmertum, was bedeutet, dass Wachstumspotential ungenutzt bleibt. Wir stützen uns auf frühere Erkenntnisse in der Literatur des (Frauen-)Unternehmertums, bauen auf der Theorie des sozialen Lernens (Bandura 1973) auf und argumentieren, dass Vorbilder positiv mit dem Ziel einer Person verbunden sind, Unternehmerin zu werden. Um das aktuelle Verständnis der Förderung von Unternehmertum durch Vorbilder zu erweitern, unterscheiden wir verschiedene Arten von Vorbildern. Wir gehen davon aus, dass unterschiedliche Vorbilder unterschiedliche Auswirkungen auf die unternehmerische Absicht und das unternehmerische Verhalten von Studentinnen haben. Um diese Hypothesen empirisch zu untersuchen, stützen wir uns auf Querschnittsbefragungsdaten von 2.237 Studierenden aus 127 Hochschulen in Deutschland. Unsere Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass unternehmerische Vorbilder dazu beitragen können, Geschlechterunterschiede zu verringern, und unterstreichen die Bedeutung unternehmerischer Vorbilder sowohl für die Absicht von Frauen, Unternehmerinnen zu werden, als auch dafür, dass sie dies tatsächlich umsetzen. Bei der Untersuchung verschiedener Vorbildtypen stellen wir außerdem fest, dass es einen größeren Effekt gibt, wenn unternehmerische Vorbilder innerhalb der Familie vorhanden sind, insbesondere bei engeren familiären Bindungen. |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurship is an important economic source for any country. However, the share of female entrepreneurs is still low with an entrepreneurial gender gap in most countries, meaning growth potential remains untapped. Relying on previous findings in the (women) entrepreneurship literature, we build on social learning theory (Bandura 1973) and argue that role models positively relate to an individual's aim to become an entrepreneur. To broaden the current understanding of role models' promotion of entrepreneurship, we distinguish different types of role models. We hypothesize that different role models have different effects on female students' entrepreneurial intention and behaviour. To investigate these hypotheses empirically, we rely on cross-sectional survey data of 2, 237 students from 127 higher education institutions in Germany. Our findings suggest that entrepreneurial role models can help reduce gender gaps, highlighting the importance of entrepreneurial role models for the intention of women to become entrepreneurs as well as them actually doing so. Investigating different role model types, we further find a larger effect for having entrepreneurial role models within the family, especially closer familial ties. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship, Gender, Germany, Role Models, Social Learning Theory |
| JEL: | D91 J16 L26 M13 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:umiodp:289597&r=lab |
| By: | Carlo Drago (University “Niccolò Cusano”, National Research Council of Italy – CNR, Institute for Studies on the Mediterranean – ISMed); Luisa Errichiello (National Research Council of Italy – CNR, Institute for Studies on the Mediterranean – ISMed) |
| Abstract: | COVID-19’s rapid shift to remote working has sparked interest in synthetizing the growing body of research in order to gain a comprehensive understanding into the scholarship structure of the field. This study explores the issue of pandemic-induced remote working from a multidisciplinary perspective, paving the way for further investigation and effective decision-making. A co-occurrence network analysis of keywords in scientific articles is employed to comprehensively analyze the international literature on pandemic-induced remote working. We use bibliometric analysis, network centrality measures, and community detection algorithms to identify key concepts, trends, and interconnections within the pandemic-induced research landscape. As a result of our literature review, several prominent themes and topics were identified, emphasizing distinct keyword communities. These communities address essential aspects of remote working, such as human resource management, well-being, technology adoption, leadership, and socioeconomic implications. Based on the extracted concepts, we propose directions for future research focusing on the prospects of remote work in the post-pandemic era. Additionally, we recommend policy implications for organizations and policymakers. |
| Keywords: | Remote work, telework, virtual work, covid-19, pandemic, bibliometric analysis |
| JEL: | J8 J80 C19 C38 |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fem:femwpa:2024.05&r=lab |