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on All new papers |
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Issue of 2014‒09‒08
seventeen papers chosen by Giuseppe Marotta Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia |
| By: | Fernández-Macías, Enrique; Muñoz de Bustillo, Rafael; Antón, José-Ignacio |
| Abstract: | This article presents an analysis of the evolution of job quality from 2000 to 2010 in the European Union 15, using a newly developed composite measure of job quality that is applied to the European Working Conditions Survey. After a careful study of the evolution of job quality across the different dimensions and components of our index, and a differentiation between changes in the composition and changes in the means, we do not detect any major decline during the period, even during the economic crisis. The most significant change is a small increase in job quality in peripheral European countries, suggesting some convergence. We discuss several hypotheses for explaining the remarkable stability of job quality during such turbulent times. |
| Keywords: | job quality; working conditions; measurement; economic crisis; transformation of work; Europe |
| JEL: | J00 J81 J82 |
| Date: | 2014–08–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:58148&r=eur |
| By: | Mircea Badescu (European Commission, Joint Reasearch Centre - JRC (ITALY) - European Commission, Joint Reasearch Centre - JRC (ITALY), JRC-IPSC - JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE - Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen - European Commission, Joint Reasearch Centre - JRC (ITALY)); Christelle Garrouste (European Commission, Joint Reasearch Centre - JRC (ITALY) - European Commission, Joint Reasearch Centre - JRC (ITALY), LEO - Laboratoire d'économie d'Orleans - CNRS : UMR7322 - Université d'Orléans); Massimo Loi (IRVAPP - Research Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies - Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies) |
| Abstract: | The importance of a highly skilled workforce has become increasingly relevant in the context of the European Union's new strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth -- 'Europe 2020'. Policies encouraging wide participation in continuing training are therefore an important component of lifelong learning strategies. This paper aims to investigate the determinants of adult education for the unemployed compared to workers using the two main European surveys on training, namely the Adult Education Survey (AES) and the Labour Force Survey (LFS). Our work demonstrates a significant difference in the capability of these two surveys to capture the participation in adult education programmes in Europe. After having estimated a probit model on both datasets, we find that, overall, unemployed adults in Europe tend to participate less in training than workers, especially in non-formal training. However, this result is statistically significant only for the estimates from the AES. Furthermore, both surveys highlight the key role played by country-specific institutional settings in determining the participation to adult training. Overall, this work shows that the AES is the more reliable data source for policy making in the field of adult participation to education and training |
| Keywords: | Distribution ; adult ; training among ; European unemployed ; recent survey |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01057667&r=eur |
| By: | Christelle Garrouste (LEO - Laboratoire d'économie d'Orleans - CNRS : UMR7322 - Université d'Orléans); Margarida Rodrigues (JRC-IPSC - JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE - Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen - European Commission, Joint Reasearch Centre - JRC (ITALY)) |
| Abstract: | Purpose - This paper aims at measuring the potential role of the field of education and the fact of having worked during studies on the employability of the higher educated (ISCED 5-6) cohort targeted by the ET2020 graduates' employability benchmark. Design/methodology/approach - Using the same data source as the benchmark (i.e., the annual LFS microdata from 2004 to 2010), and exploring the additional transition questions collected in the LFS 2009 ad-hoc module, we define and test four hypotheses using a probit approach on each EU country. Findings - The degree plays a significant role in the employability of young graduates across countries and time. In terms of probability of employment, the leading field is Health and welfare. In terms of type of contracts, the leading fields are Social sciences and Engineering. Moreover, what labour markets seem to value the most is the capacity of higher educated students to combine high level studies and work, i.e. a high workload capacity and intellectual flexibility. Practical implications - Reaching the new European target of a minimum of 82% of employment of young graduates will require countries to invest wisely in the most "employable" fields of education. This analysis will help policy makers in their future orientations towards that target. Originality/value - The originality of this work lies in its exploration of the exact same extraction of microdata used for the computation of the ET2020 Benchmark indictor and in its immediate political implications for the monitoring of this benchmark. |
| Keywords: | Employability benchmark ; Higher education ; Degree fields ; Work experience ; Contracts |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-01056703&r=eur |
| By: | Mendolia, Silvia (University of Wollongong) |
| Abstract: | This study investigates how maternal working hours are related to various outcomes in children aged 11 to 15 using a sample of mothers and adolescents in the British Household Panel Survey. Research that examines the effects of maternal employment on children has been motivated by the rapid increase of female participation rates in the labour market and increased shares of children living in female-headed or single-mother households. The existing literature on this issue is very limited, mostly based on American data, and provides conflicting results. Fixed effects have been used in the present analysis to control for characteristics of children and families that do not vary over time. The results suggest that full-time maternal employment (as opposed to part-time) has little or no effect on the propensity of adolescents to smoke, their life satisfaction, self-esteem, or intention to leave school at 16. These results are stable and consistent across various specifications of the model and different socio-economic status. |
| Keywords: | maternal working hours, adolescent well-being, children smoking |
| JEL: | I10 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8391&r=eur |
| By: | Federico Cingano; Marco Leonardi; Julián Messina; Giovanni Pica |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the causal impact of dismissal costs on capital deepening and productivity exploiting a reform that introduced unjust-dismissal costs in Italy for firms below 15 employees, leaving firing costs unchanged for larger firms. We show that the increase in firing costs induces an increase in the capital-labour ratio and a decline in total factor productivity in small firms relative to larger firms after the reform. Our results indicate that capital deepening is more pronounced at the low-end of the capital distribution - where the reform hit arguably harder - and among firms endowed with a larger amount of liquid resources. We also find that stricter EPL raises the share of high-tenure workers, which suggests a complementarity between firm-specific human capital and physical capital in moderate EPL environments. |
| Keywords: | Capital deepening, severance payments, regression discontinuity design, financial market imperfections, credit constraints |
| JEL: | J65 G31 D24 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:itt:wpaper:2014-4&r=eur |
| By: | Bernd Hayo (University of Marburg); Matthias Uhl (University of Marburg) |
| Abstract: | We study the influence of taxation on labour supply using a specifically designed representative survey of the German population. First, we investigate whether taxes generally matter for the labour supply decisions of our respondents. Around 41 per cent report taking taxes into consideration, which implies that the majority of the German population appears unresponsive to taxation. Second, we look at self-reported labour supply adjustments following a recently enacted payroll tax change. Only around 12 per cent of all respondents report an actual labour supply response, but we find evidence of an income, as well as a substitution, effect of the tax change. Our conclusion is that effects of taxes on labour supply in Germany are likely small. We analyse the correlation with economic and socio-demographic variables, and find that the self-employed are relatively more sensitive to taxation and that low interest rates reduce incentives for an expansion of the labour supply. |
| Keywords: | Taxation, Labour supply, Representative population survey Germany |
| JEL: | E62 H30 J22 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201438&r=eur |
| By: | Duncan Roth and (University of Marburg); John Moffat (University of Durham) |
| Abstract: | Will the projected decline in the youth share of European countries’ populations alleviate the currently high levels of youth unemployment in Europe? Economic theory predicts that in the absence of perfectly competitive labour markets, changes in the relative size of age groups will cause changes in age-specific unemployment rates. In light of the expected development of the youth population’s size over the coming decades, this paper utilises the existing heterogeneity in the structure of youth populations across European countries and regions to identify the effect of nationally and regionally defined age-cohort size on the probability of young individuals being unemployed. To account for the possibility that individuals self-select into areas of low unemployment, the empirical analysis employs an instrumental variables estimator to identify the causal effect of age-cohort size. The results show that individuals in larger cohorts are more likely to be unemployed and that this effect is more pronounced when analysis is conducted at the regional level. While shrinking youth cohorts therefore have the potential to contribute to improving the current youth unemployment situation, this mechanism should not be relied in isolation upon due to the relatively greater importance of changes in the macroeconomic environment. |
| Keywords: | Capacity Markets, Cohort size, unemployment, regional labour markets, causal effect, instrumental variables, EU-SILC |
| JEL: | J10 J21 R23 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201440&r=eur |
| By: | Lanouar Charfeddine; Rafik Jbir; Jihane Karboul |
| Abstract: | This paper examines empirically the electricity market integration process for Germany, France and Italy countries by investigating possible price convergence. Two empirical approaches have been considered to investigate this issue : cointegration analysis and state space model with time varying coefficients during the period 06 July 2009 to 15 April 2011. Using both methods, empirical results show that the Germany and France markets are highly integrated. For the Germany and Italy, and France and Italy pairs no price convergence has been detected when the cointegration analysis is employed and when using the time varying coefficients model, empiricl results show evidence for weak convergence. |
| Keywords: | Electricity market integration, Price convergence, cointegration, time varying coefficients model. |
| Date: | 2014–08–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipg:wpaper:2014-502&r=eur |
| By: | Kruppe, Thomas (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Lang, Julia (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "We analyse the impact of retraining for the unemployed on future labour market success, and estimate effects separately for different target occupations. We use German registry data and apply statistical matching methods. The results show that on average, after a period with strong lock-in effects, retraining increases the employment probability of women by more than 20 percentage points. Effects for male participants are somewhat weaker. Although we find differences in the effectiveness of retraining by target occupations, these differences cannot completely explain the observed gender differences. Healthcare occupations, which are the most important target occupations especially of female participants, are among those with the strongest effects. Despite differences between occupational fields, retraining in most of the considered occupations positively affects employment prospects of participants. Finally, sorting into different occupations seems to be present, as participants with different target professions also differ in their observable characteristics." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Umschulung, Arbeitslose, Zielberuf, Arbeitsmarktchancen, arbeitslose Frauen, arbeitslose Männer, Integrierte Erwerbsbiografien, arbeitsmarktpolitische Maßnahme, Wirkungsforschung |
| JEL: | J24 J68 C14 |
| Date: | 2014–08–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201420&r=eur |
| By: | Miriam Rehm; Kai Daniel Schmid; Dieter Wang |
| Abstract: | In this paper we explore the reasons for the trend reversal in the development of household market income inequality in Germany in the second half of the 2000s. We analyse to what extent the increasing relevance of capital income as well as the rising share of atypically employed persons have affected the development of income inequality over the last two decades. We use household data from the German Socio-Economic Panel from 1991-2011 and decompose market income into three income sources: (1) household labour income from full-time work, (2) household labour income from atypical work, and (3) household capital income. We apply the factor decomposition method suggested by Shorrocks (1982) to analyse the contribution of these income forms to overall inequality. Our results suggest that changes in the distribution of capital income were a key factor both in the strong increase of inequality in the first half of the 2000s and in the subsequent trend reversal. This finding contrasts with the reasoning that labour market developments were the main cause behind changes in inequality. |
| Keywords: | Market Income Inequality, Inequality Decomposition, SOEP |
| JEL: | D31 D33 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:wpaper:137-2014&r=eur |
| By: | Bergin, Adele (ESRI, Dublin); Kelly, Elish (Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin); McGuinness, Seamus (Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the impact that the 2009 Great Recession had on individual's transitions to and from unemployment in Ireland. The rate of transition from unemployment to employment declined between 2006 and 2011, while the rate from employment to unemployment increased. The impact of some of the factors identified as contributing to the likelihood of a transition taking place were found to have changed over this period. In particular, young people are much less likely to exit unemployment, but at the same time they have a lower risk of becoming unemployed. Education has become an increasingly important factor in both supporting unemployment exits and reducing the risk of becoming unemployed since the recession. The scarring impact of long-term unemployment appears to have fallen substantially in Ireland post-recession. The results from a decomposition analysis show that compositional changes are largely unimportant in explaining the change in the transition rates between 2006 and 2011. |
| Keywords: | labour market transitions, Great Recession, longitudinal data, decomposition techniques, Ireland |
| JEL: | J64 J88 |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp8401&r=eur |
| By: | Maja Savic (Department of Economics and International Development); Helen Lawton Smith (Department of Management, Birkbeck University of London); Ioannis Bournakis (Department of Management, Birkbeck University of London) |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:img:wpaper:18&r=eur |
| By: | Reinhold Kosfeld (University of Kassel); Mirko Titze (IWH) |
| Abstract: | Although the phase of euphoria seems to be over, policymakers and regional agencies have maintained their interest in cluster policy. Modern cluster theory provides reasons for positive external effects that may accrue from interaction in a group of proximate enterprises operating in common and related fields. While there is some progress in locating clusters, in most cases only limited knowledge on the geographical extent of regional clusters is established. The present paper presents a hybrid approach to cluster identification. While dominant buyer-supplier relations are derived by qualitative input-output analysis (QIOA) from national I-O tables, potential regional clusters are identified by spatial scanning. This procedure is employed to identify clusters of German R&D intensive industries. In a sensitivity analysis, good robustness properties of the hybrid approach are revealed with respect to variations in the quantitative cluster composition. |
| Keywords: | National cluster templates, regional clusters, qualitative input-output analysis (QIOA), spatial scanning |
| JEL: | R12 R15 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mar:magkse:201437&r=eur |
| By: | Bertrand-Cloodt D.A.M.; Cörvers F; Heijke J.A.M. (GSBE) |
| Abstract: | We investigate whether a creaming off of highly able students from Dutch universities is taking place. Therefore, we examine the relation between ability and the destination of recent graduates of Dutch universities. Students can choose to continue their academic career by investing in a PhD degree instead of working, taking into account that both options can be realized in the Netherlands as well as abroad. We also investigate whether these choices are affected by the climate in certain fields of study and universities. Using a data set of workers and PhD students who recently graduated from Dutch universities two probit equations are estimated simultaneously, one for the migration decision and one for the choice between working and pursuing a PhD. Our findings indicate that highly able graduates are significantly more likely than average graduates to go abroad. They invest more often in a PhD programme, which is positively correlated with their likelihood to go abroad. In addition, the climate promoting going abroad and starting PhD study is shown to have positive effects on the odds of going abroad and participating in a PhD programme. This particularly holds for the highly able. |
| Keywords: | International Migration; Higher Education and Research Institutions; |
| JEL: | I23 F22 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unm:umagsb:2014024&r=eur |
| By: | Horbach, Jens |
| Abstract: | "Despite the ongoing discussion on labor shortage in the German economy there is still a lack of empirical analyses of this problem based on adequate econometric methods. The paper explores the determinants of labor shortage in the environmental sector supplying products and services that help to reduce environmental impacts and energy use. Labor shortages occur when the price adjustment mechanism is too slow to balance labor demand and supply. The empirical analysis of labor shortage uses recent data of the establishment panel of the Institute for Employment Research in Nuremberg. A descriptive analysis shows that the environmental sector seems to be over-proportionally affected by labor shortage. Following the results of an econometric analysis innovative firms are significantly more likely to be characterized by labor shortage problems. For climate protection technologies, analytics/consulting or environmental research and development labor shortage seems to result from the respective innovative activities of the firms requiring highskilled and specialized staff whereas labor shortage in the recycling sector is due to a lack of low-paid personnel. Further econometric estimations show that firms characterized by labor shortage problems are significantly more likely to pay wages above average." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | Arbeitskräftebedarf, Fachkräfte, Arbeitskräftemangel, IAB-Betriebspanel, regenerative Energie, Umweltschutzindustrie, Ökologie |
| JEL: | J23 J63 Q55 C35 |
| Date: | 2014–08–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201422&r=eur |
| By: | Christine de la Maisonneuve; Christophe André; Clara García; Vincent Koen |
| Abstract: | Finland’s population is set to age rapidly in the coming decades. This will put pressure on public finances, while shrinking labour resources. Nonetheless, solutions exist to alleviate those pressures. Adjusting the pension age in line with the rise in life expectancy would reduce pension costs and increase older workers’ employment, provided it is accompanied by the removal of the pathways to early retirement. In order to allow people to work longer, labour market flexibility should be enhanced and lifelong training promoted further. Active labour market policies should be strengthened so as to increase the labour force participation of youth, childbearing age women and the long-term unemployed. Finally, ageing should not only be seen as a burden as it can also create opportunities for innovation and new markets and industries. Information and communications technologies, where Finland has a strong knowledge base, can help the elderly stay as autonomous as possible, which would contain long-term care costs and improve well-being. This Working Paper relates to the 2014 OECD Economic Survey of Finland (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/economicsurvey- finland.htm). Les conséquences économiques du vieillissement : Le cas de la Finlande La population de la Finlande est en passe de vieillir rapidement dans les décennies à venir. Ceci devrait mettre sous tension les finances publiques et réduire les ressources en main-d’oeuvre. Toutefois, des solutions existent pour alléger ces tensions. Ajuster l’âge du départ à la retraite pour tenir compte de l’allongement de l’espérance de vie permettrait de réduire les coûts des pensions et d’accroître l’emploi des travailleurs seniors, à condition d’être accompagné d’une suppression des passerelles vers la retraite anticipée. Pour que les individus puissent travailler plus longtemps, le marché du travail devrait être rendu plus flexible et la formation tout au long de la vie encouragée. Les politiques actives du marché du travail devraient être renforcées afin d’accroître le taux d’activité des jeunes, des femmes en âge de procréer et des chômeurs de longue durée. Enfin, le vieillissement de la population ne devrait pas être considéré comme un phénomène uniquement négatif, car il peut aussi est porteur de perspectives d’innovation et d’émergence de nouveaux marchés et de nouveaux secteurs d’activité. Les technologies de l’information et des communications, où la Finlande possède une solide base de connaissance, peuvent aider les personnes âgées à rester aussi autonomes que possible, ce qui permettrait de contenir les coûts des soins à long terme et d’améliorer le bien-être. Ce Document de travail se rapporte à l’Étude économique de l’OCDE de la Finlande, 2014 (www.oecd.org/fr/eco/etudes/etude-econom ique-finlande.htm). |
| Keywords: | public finances, ageing, health, Finland, labour market, pensions, older workers, santé, Finlande, marché du travail, finances publiques, vieillissement, retraites, travailleurs âgés |
| JEL: | H51 H55 J11 J14 J26 |
| Date: | 2014–06–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1120-en&r=eur |
| By: | Börjesson, Maria (KTH); Eliasson, Jonas (KTH); Hamilton, Carl (KTH) |
| Abstract: | Many cities have seen public support for congestion charges increase substantially after charges have been introduced. Several alternative explanations of this phenomenon have been suggested, but so far little evidence has been available to assess the relative importance of these explanations. We study attitudes to congestion pricing in Gothenburg before and after congestion charges were introduced in January 2013. Attitudes to the charges did indeed become more positive after the introduction, just as in previous cities. Using a two-wave postal survey, we are able to separate contributions to the attitude change from a number of sources: benefits and costs being different than anticipated, use of hypothecated revenues, reframing processes, and changes in related attitudes such as attitudes to environment, equity, taxation and pricing measures in general. We conclude that the dominant reason for the attitude change is status quo bias, rather than any substantial changes in beliefs or related attitudes, although some of these factors also contribute to some extent. Contrary to a common belief, nothing of the attitude change is due to benefits being larger than anticipated. |
| Keywords: | Congestion pricing; Acceptability; Attitudes; Gothenburg |
| JEL: | H23 H54 R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2014–08–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ctswps:2014_014&r=eur |