|
on Unemployment, Inequality and Poverty |
|
Issue of 2017‒07‒09
six papers chosen by |
| By: | David Card; Ana Rute Cardoso; Jörg Heining; Patrick Kline |
| Abstract: | We synthesize two related literatures on firm-level drivers of wage inequality. Studies of rent sharing that use matched worker-firm data find elasticities of wages with respect to value added per worker in the range of 0.05 to 0.15. Studies of wage determination with worker and firm fixed effects typically find that firm-specific premiums explain 20% of overall wage variation. To interpret these findings we develop a model of wage setting in which workers have idiosyncratic tastes for different workplaces. Simple versions of this model can rationalize standard fixed effects specifications and also match the typical rent-sharing elasticities in the literature. |
| Keywords: | Rent sharing, two-way fixed effects, Monopsony |
| JEL: | D22 J31 J42 |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bge:wpaper:976&r=ltv |
| By: | Joan Costa-i-Font; Sarah Flèche |
| Abstract: | Parents whose sleep quality is reduced by young children waking them in the night are less likely to work, work shorter hours and/or earn less than otherwise similar people who enjoy a good night's sleep. The negative labour market effects of sleep disruption caused by children are particularly strong for low-skilled mothers. These are among the findings of research by Joan Costa-i-Font and Sarah Flèche, which uses data on 14,000 families in and around the city of Bristol in the UK to investigate the link between mothers' employment outcomes and their quality of sleep, measured by how much they are woken by their children at night. The researchers note that before now, the effects of sleep deprivation on economic activity have received surprisingly scant attention. |
| Keywords: | child sleep, sleep, maternal employment, working hours, job satisfaction |
| JEL: | J13 J22 I18 J28 |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepcnp:506&r=ltv |
| By: | Rodrik, Dani |
| Abstract: | Populism may seem like it has come out of nowhere, but it has been on the rise for a while. I argue that economic history and economic theory both provide ample grounds for anticipating that advanced stages of economic globalization would produce a political backlash. While the backlash may have been predictable, the specific form it took was less so. I distinguish between left-wing and right-wing variants of populism, which differ with respect to the societal cleavages that populist politicians highlight. The first has been predominant in Latin America, and the second in Europe. I argue that these different reactions are related to the relative salience of different types of globalization shocks. |
| Keywords: | Globalization; populism |
| JEL: | G02 |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12119&r=ltv |
| By: | Cahuc, Pierre; Carcillo, Stéphane; Minea, Andreea |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effects of the labor market experience of high school dropouts four years after leaving school by sending fictitious resumes to real job postings in France. Compared to those who have stayed unemployed since leaving school, the callback rate is not raised for those with employment experience, whether it is subsidized or non-subsidized, in the market or non-market sector, if there is no training accompanied by skill certification. In particular, we find no stigma effect associated with subsidized or non-market sector work experience. Moreover, training accompanied by skill certification improves youth prospects only when the local unemployment rate is sufficiently low, which occurs in one fifth of the commuting zones only. |
| Keywords: | Job subsidies; Training; youth unemployment |
| JEL: | J60 J68 |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12120&r=ltv |
| By: | Hunt, Jennifer |
| Abstract: | Using the National Survey of College Graduates, I investigate the degree to which holders of temporary work visas in the United States are mobile between employers. Holders of temporary work visas either have legal restrictions on their ability to change employers (particularly holders of intra-company transferee visas, L-1s) or may be reluctant to leave an employer who has sponsored them for permanent residence (particularly holders of specialty worker visas, H-1Bs). I find that the voluntary job changing rate is similar for temporary visa holders and natives with similar characteristics. For the minority of temporary workers who receive permanent residence, there is a considerable spike in voluntary moving upon receipt of permanent residence, suggesting mobility is reduced during the application period by about 20%. My analysis of reasons for moving suggests that applicants are prepared to pay a small but not large professional price for permanent access to the U.S. labor market. |
| Keywords: | Immigration; monopsony |
| JEL: | J61 |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12106&r=ltv |
| By: | A Brandolini; Stephen P Jenkins; John Micklewright |
| Abstract: | Tony Atkinson is universally celebrated for his outstanding contributions to the measurement and analysis of inequality, but he never saw the study of inequality as a separate branch of economics. He was an economist in the classical sense, rejecting any sub-field labelling of his interests and expertise, and he made contributions right across economics. His death on 1 January 2017 deprived the world of both an intellectual giant and a deeply committed public servant in the broadest sense of the term. This collective tribute highlights the range, depth and importance of Tony's enormous legacy, the product of over fifty years' work. |
| Keywords: | Atkinson |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:stippp:32&r=ltv |