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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Jerome Adda (Institute for Fiscal Studies and European University Institute); Christian Dustmann (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London); Costas Meghir (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London); Jean-Marc Robin (Institute for Fiscal Studies and EUREQua, University of Paris 1) |
| Abstract: | <p><p>We evaluate the German apprenticeship system, which combines on-the-job training with classroom teaching, by modelling individual careers from the choice to join such a scheme and followed by their employment, job to job transitions and wages over the lifecycle. Our data is drawn from administrative records that report accurately job transitions and pay. We find that apprenticeships increase wages, and change wage profiles with more growth upfront, while wages in the non-apprenticeship sector grow at a lower rate but for longer. Non-apprentices face a much higher variance to the shocks of their match specific effects and a substantially larger variance in initial level of the offered wages. We find no evidence that qualified apprentices are harder to reallocate following job loss. The average life-cycle return to an apprenticeship career is about 14% and the return is mainly driven by the differences in the wage profile.</p></p> |
| Keywords: | Apprenticeship Training, Job Mobility, Labour Supply, Wages, Wage Determination, Matching, Wage Growth, Dynamic Discrete Choice, In-work Benefits, EITC, Education |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:10/13&r=lab |
| By: | Gorry, Aspen |
| Abstract: | Significant employment differences between the US and Europe are concentrated among young workers. This paper constructs a labor search model that accounts for age patterns of employment. Work experience reduces the probability that workers lose their jobs. By introducing minimum wages, the model explains empirical findings on the effects of minimum wage laws. In addition, the model shows that minimum wages can account for about half of the differences in youth employment between Europe and the United States. |
| Keywords: | Minimum wages; youth employment; France; United States |
| JEL: | E24 J64 |
| Date: | 2010–06–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:25296&r=lab |
| By: | Colette Muller |
| Abstract: | Using nationally representative household survey data from 1995 to 2006, this paper explores heterogeneity among female part-time wage (salaried) workers in post-apartheid South Africa, specifically distinguishing between individuals who choose to work part-time and part-time workers who report wanting to work longer hours. As in studies of voluntary and involuntary part-time employment in other countries, the findings show that involuntary part-time workers in South Africa are outnumbered by voluntary part-time workers. In contrast to other countries, however, involuntary underemployment in South Africa has not risen substantially over time, nor is there consistent evidence to suggest a positive correlation between involuntary underemployment and broad unemployment. Significant differences are found among part-time workers, with occupational characteristics specifically being identified as key correlates of involuntary part-time employment. The wage premium to female part-time employment in South Africa, identified in an earlier study, is shown to be robust also to a distinction among part-time workers, and involuntary part-time workers are found to have a stronger labour force attachment than women who choose to work part-time. |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:185&r=lab |
| By: | Longhi S (Institute for Social and Economic Research); Taylor M (Institute for Social and Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | We use the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) to analyse whether employed and unemployed job seekers are substitutes by comparing their individual characteristics and past (un)employment and job histories. Since the BHPS does not directly collect information on job search activities of employed workers, we combine it with the British Labour Force Survey to assign a probability that employed respondents in the BHPS engage in on-the-job search. Even after controlling for individual heterogeneity we find important differences between employed and unemployed job seekers, both in their qualification levels and past employment histories. |
| Date: | 2010–09–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:iserwp:2010-32&r=lab |
| By: | Liam Delaney (UCD Geary Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland); Colm Harmon (UCD Geary Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland); Cathy Remond (UCD Geary Institute, University College Dublin, Ireland) |
| Abstract: | Despite the increasing coverage and prevalence of equality legislation and the general alignment of key determining characteristics such as educational attainment, gender differentials continue to persist in labour market outcomes, including earnings. Recently, evidence has been found supporting the role of typically unobserved non-cognitive factors in explaining these gender differentials. We contribute to this literature by testing whether gender gaps in the earnings expectations of a representative group of Irish university students are explained by simultaneously controlling for gender heterogeneity across a wide array of cognitive and noncognitive factors. Non-cognitive factors were found to play a significant role in explaining the gender gap, however, gender differentials persist even after controlling for an extensive range of cognitive and non-cognitive factors. Nearly three-quarters of the short run and two-thirds of the long run differential could not be explained. |
| Keywords: | Gender, Education, Inequality, Discrimination, Earnings Expectations. |
| JEL: | C10 C11 C23 L11 L65 |
| Date: | 2010–09–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucd:wpaper:201038&r=lab |
| By: | Taryn Dinkelman; Vimal Ranchhod (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | What happens when a previously uncovered labor market is regulated? We exploit the introduction of a minimum wage in South Africa and variation in the intensity of this law to identify increases in wages and formal contract coverage, and no significant effects on employment on the intensive or extensive margins for domestic workers. These large, partial responses to the law are somewhat surprising, given the lack of monitoring and enforcement in this informal sector. We interpret these changes as evidence that external sanctions are not necessary for new labor legislation to have a significant impact on informal sectors of developing countries, at least in the short-run. |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:44&r=lab |
| By: | Boudarbat, Brahim; Lemieux, Thomas |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we show that the decline in the relative wages of immigrants in Canada is far from homogenous over different points of the wage distribution. The well-documented decline in the immigrant-Canadian born mean wage gap hides a much larger decline at the low end of the wage distribution, while the gap hardly changed at the top end of the distribution. Using standard OLS regressions and new unconditional quantile regressions, we show that both the changes in the mean wage gap and in the gap at different quantiles are well explained by standard factors such as experience, education, and country of origin of immigrants. Interestingly, the most important source of change in the wages of immigrants relative to the Canadian born is the aging of the baby boom generation that has resulted in a relative increase in the labour market experience, and thus, in the wages, of Canadian born workers relative to immigrants. |
| Keywords: | Canada; Immigration; Wages distribution; Unconditional quantile regression |
| JEL: | J31 J61 C21 |
| Date: | 2010–09–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2010-27&r=lab |
| By: | Gorry, Aspen |
| Abstract: | This paper extends the literature on learning in labor markets by parameterizing the amount of learning that transfers across jobs. Previous models have assumed that learning is either job specific as in Jovanovic (1979) or perfectly transferable across jobs as in Gibbons et al. (2005). By allowing some but not all learning to be transferred, this model generates novel predictions of a decline in job finding rates with age and a decline in the variance of wages with experience that are consistent with observed worker outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Job finding rate; job separation rate; experience; wage volatility |
| JEL: | E24 J31 J64 |
| Date: | 2010–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:25298&r=lab |
| By: | Nicole Bosch; Bas van der Klaauw |
| Abstract: | Among OECD countries, the Netherlands has average female labor force participation, but by far the highest rate of part-time work. This paper investigates the extent to which married women respond to financial incentives. We exploit the exogenous variation caused by a substantial Dutch tax reform in 2001. Our main conclusion is that the positive significant effect of tax reform on labor force participation dominates the negative insignificant effect on working hours. Our preferred explanation is that women respond more to changes in tax allowances than to changes in marginal tax rates. |
| Keywords: | uncompensated wage elasticity; labor force participation; working hours; endogeneity; |
| JEL: | H24 J22 J38 |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:155&r=lab |
| By: | Justine Burns (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Lawrence Edwards (School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Karl Pauw (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | Wage or employment subsidies have been used in both developed and developing countries to raise employment levels. Various advisers to the South African government have endorsed wage subsidies as a policy measure to deal with this country’s massive unemployment problem. This paper takes stock of the international literature and conducts an economywide macro-micro analysis to obtain insights into wage subsidy design and implementation issues facing developing countries. It also investigates whether this policy measure is appropriate in dealing with South Africa’s particular sources of unemployment. We argue that although wage subsidies may be successful at creating jobs in South Africa, they should not be seen as the primary or dominant policy instrument for dealing with the broader unemployment problem. To enhance the effectiveness of wage subsidies, they should preferably be linked to structured workplace training, be targeted to industries where employment will be responsive to changes in labor costs, and be focused on the youth. In the long run, addressing unemployment in South Africa requires policies that improve economic growth and the economy’s employment absorption capacity, that raise skills of new labor market entrants, that reduce labor market rigidities, and that promote effective job search, especially among the youth. |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:45&r=lab |
| By: | Yvette Grelet (CEREQ - Centre d'études et de recherches sur les qualifications - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche - ministère de l'Emploi, cohésion sociale et logement, ESO - Espaces et Sociétés - CNRS : UMR6590 - Université de Caen - Université d'Angers - Université du Maine - Université de Nantes - Université Rennes 2 - Haute Bretagne); Claudine Romani (CEREQ - Centre d'études et de recherches sur les qualifications - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche - ministère de l'Emploi, cohésion sociale et logement); Joaquim Timoteo (CEREQ - Centre d'études et de recherches sur les qualifications - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l'Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche - ministère de l'Emploi, cohésion sociale et logement, LEO - Laboratoire d'économie d'Orleans - CNRS : UMR6221 - Université d'Orléans, LABORATOIRE D'ECONOMIE D'ORLéANS éQUIPE TEOS - Travail Emploi Organisations Savoirs - CNRS : UMR6621) |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to compare the pathways in education and the access to employment of young French graduates from the two principal tertiary short vocational tracks: the Advanced Technical Courses (STS ) and the Technological University Institutes (IUT). The originality of this comparison lies in its re-examination of these educational pathways in the light of individual trajectories onto the labour market, and the perspectives that emerge. Not only course changes, dropouts or academic failures but also successfully completed studies are viewed here as elements in the increasing complexity of training pathways, based on which career guidance upstream and its effect on the transition options from education to employment downstream will be examined. The comparison of pathways during and following higher education revolves around three key questions: - What similarities and differences can be observed between the careers strategies and the academic profiles of students following IUT and STS tracks? - What progress is made by enrolees to these tracks during higher education and what determining factors explain the different structures? - In what ways do these differentiated educational pathways result in more or less effective access into the labour market? |
| Date: | 2010–09–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00520025_v1&r=lab |
| By: | Sylvain Dessy; Tiana Rambeloma |
| Abstract: | This paper reassesses the case for temporary emigration of unskilled workers as a solution to the child labor problem, based upon a general equilibrium model of migrant remittances, parental investment in child schooling, and intersectoral allocation of capital. Counterfactual simulations uncover a U-shape effect of temporary emigration on the incidence of child labor, suggesting that the case for temporary emigration as a solution to the child labor problem may be weak. |
| Keywords: | Migration, remittances, general equilibrium |
| JEL: | O11 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:lacicr:1037&r=lab |
| By: | Thomas Breda |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I study the wage differential between firms' union representatives and their coworkers using a linked employer-employee dataset. On the employee side of the data, the surveyed workers are asked if they are unionized but we do not know which unionized workers are union representatives. On the employer side of the data, I have access to the number of union representatives and unionized workers in each firm. I use this information to construct an indicator of the firm-level probability for a randomly drawn unionized worker to be union representative. This indicator is then used to split the directly observable wage differential between unionized and non-unionized workers into two differentials: one between union representatives and non-unionized workers and another one between unionized workers who are not a union representative and non-unionized workers. Estimates that control for individual characteristics and firm-level fixed effects show that union representatives' wages are 10% lower than those of other unionized workers and non-unionized workers. Additional tests suggest that this gap can be understood as the result of a non-cooperative strategic interaction between employers and union representatives. |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pse:psecon:2010-26&r=lab |
| By: | Donna K. Ginther (Department of Economics, The University of Kansas) |
| Abstract: | Currently, the U.S. population is undergoing major racial and ethnic demographic shifts that could affect the pool of individuals interested in pursuing a career in biomedical research. To achieve its mission of improving health, the National Institutes of Health must recruit and train outstanding individuals for the biomedical workforce. In this study, we examined the educational transition rates in the biomedical sciences by gender, race, and ethnicity, from high school to academic career outcomes. Using a number of educational databases, we investigated gender and racial/ethnic representation at typical educational and career milestones en route to faculty careers in biomedicine. We then employed multivariate regression methods to examine faculty career outcomes, using the National Science Foundation’s Survey of Doctorate Recipients. We find that while transitions between milestones are distinctive by gender and race/ethnicity, the transitions between high school and college and between college and graduate school are critical points at which underrepresented minorities are lost from the biomedical pipeline, suggesting some specific targets for policy intervention. |
| Keywords: | Scientific labor force, race, gender, diversity, career outcomes, science policy. |
| JEL: | J4 J71 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kan:wpaper:201006&r=lab |
| By: | Jeff Thompson; John Schmitt |
| Abstract: | The authors demonstrate that the average state or local government worker earns higher wages than the average private-sector worker—but only because they are, on average, older and substantially better educated.<br /> <p>More than half of state and local government employees in New England have a four-year college degree or more, and 30% have an advanced degree. By contrast, only 38% of private-sector workers have a four-year college degree or more; and only 13% have an advanced degree.</p> <p>The wage gap becomes more significant at higher-paid professional levels. The lowest paid government workers do earn slightly more than their private counterparts, but for high-wage workers, the wage penalty for working for a New England state or local governments rises to almost 13%. And while state and local workers on average do indeed receive more valuable benefits than private-sector workers, the difference only reduces the wage penalty for the average state and local government worker.</p> |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uma:periwp:wp233&r=lab |
| By: | Card, David; Dooley, Martin; Payne, Abigail |
| Abstract: | The province of Ontario has two publicly funded school systems: secular schools (known as public schools) that are open to all students, and separate schools that are limited to children with Catholic backgrounds. A simple model of inter-system competition predicts that incentives for effort are higher in areas where there are more Catholic families who are relatively uncommitted to one system or the other. We measure the willingness of Catholic families to switch systems by studying the effect of school openings on enrollment at nearby schools in the competing system. The results suggest that families in rapidly growing areas have the weakest attachment to a particular system. We then relate student test score gains between 3rd and 6th grade to measures of potential cross-system competition. We find that competition for Catholic students has a significant effect on test outcomes in both systems, particularly in fast-growing areas. Our estimates imply that expanding competition to all students would raise average test scores in 6th grade by 6-8% of a standard deviation. |
| Keywords: | School Competition, School Choice, Student Performance |
| JEL: | I20 I21 H41 |
| Date: | 2010–09–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ubc:clssrn:clsrn_admin-2010-28&r=lab |
| By: | Jan Babecký (Czech National Bank); Philip Du Caju (National Bank of Belgium); Theodora Kosma (Bank of Greece); Martina Lawless (Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland); Julián Messina (World Bank and University of Girona); Tairi Rõõm (Bank of Estonia) |
| Abstract: | It has been well established that the wages of individual workers react little, especially downwards, to shocks that hit their employer. This paper presents new evidence from a unique survey of firms across Europe on the prevalence of downward wage rigidity in both real and nominal terms. We analyse which firm-level and institutional factors are associated with wage rigidity. Our results indicate that it is related to workforce composition at the establishment level in a manner that is consistent with related theoretical models (e.g. efficiency wage theory, insider-outsider theory). We also find that wage rigidity depends on the labour market institutional environment. Collective bargaining coverage is positively related with downward real wage rigidity, measured on the basis of wage indexation. Downward nominal wage rigidity is positively associated with the extent of permanent contracts and this effect is stronger in countries with stricter employment protection regulations. |
| Keywords: | J30, J31, J32, C81, P5. |
| Date: | 2010–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bog:wpaper:110&r=lab |
| By: | Thomas Breda |
| Abstract: | In this paper, I study the wage premium associated with firm-level union recognition in France and show that this premium is due to a rent-extraction phenomenon. Using a large matched employer-employee dataset from a 2002 survey in France, I first estimate a series of wage determination models that control for individual and firm-level characteristics. I find that union recognition is associated with a 2-3% wage premium. To show that this premium results from a non-competitive phenomenon, I construct a bargaining model and estimate it empirically using a smaller but very detailed matched employer-employee dataset for 2004. The model predicts in particular that the wage premium obtained by unions should increase both with their bargaining power and with the amount of quasi-rents available in the firms they organize. These predictions are validated empirically when I use the firms market share as a proxy for their quasi-rents and the percentage of unionized as a proxy for the unions bargaining power. All the results remain valid when I control for the firm-level workers average productivity. |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pse:psecon:2010-25&r=lab |
| By: | Krebs, Tom; Scheffel, Martin |
| Abstract: | We develop a tractable macroeconomic model with employment risk and labor market search in order evaluate the effects of labor market reform on unemployment, growth, and welfare. The model has a large number of risk-averse households who can invest in risk-free physical capital and risky human capital. Unemployed households receive unemployment benefits and decide how much search effort to exert. We present a theoretical characterization result that facilitates the computation of equilibria substantially. We calibrate the model to German data and use the calibrated model economy to simulate the macroeconomic effects of the German labor market reforms of 2005 and 2006 (Hartz Reforms). We find that the 2005-reform had large employment effects: the equilibrium unemployment rate has been reduced by approximately 1.1 percentage points from 7.5 to 6.4 percent. Moreover, the drop in unemployment has led to substantial output gains. Finally, employed and short-term unemployed households experienced significant welfare gains, whereas the long-term unemployed have lost in welfare terms. The effects of the 2006-reform are qualitatively similar, but quantitatively much smaller. We also show that the social welfare maximizing replacement rate is lower than the current (post-reform) replacement rate in Germany. However, implementing the optimal unemployment benefit system generates only small welfare gains. -- |
| Keywords: | dynamic general equilibrium,heterogenous agents,human capital,labor market search,unemployment insurance,German labor market reform |
| JEL: | E24 E60 J64 J65 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:10050&r=lab |
| By: | H. Lehmann; A. Muravyev |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the relationship between labor market institutions and policies and labor market performance using a new and unique dataset that covers the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which in the last two decades experienced radical economic and institutional transformations. We document a clear trend towards liberalization of labor markets, especially in the countries of the former Soviet Union, but also substantial differences across the countries studied. Our econometric analysis implies that institutions matter for labor market outcomes, and that deregulation of labor markets improves their performance. The analysis also suggests several significant interactions between different institutions, which are in line with the idea of beneficial effects of reform complementarity and broad reform packages. Finally, we show that there are important advantages of focusing on a broader set of labor market outcomes, and not only on the unemployment rate, which until now has been the main approach in the empirical literature. |
| JEL: | E24 J21 P20 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:714&r=lab |
| By: | Liam Delaney (University College Dublin); Martin Ryan (University College Dublin); Colm Harmon (University College Dublin) |
| Abstract: | This paper uses novel measures of individual differences that produce new insights about student inputs into the (higher) education production function. The inputs examined are lecture attendance and additional study-hours. The data were collected through a web-survey that the authors designed. The analysis includes the following measures: willingness to take risks, consideration of future consequences and non-cognitive ability traits. Besides age, gender and year of study, the main determinants of lecture attendance and additional study-hours are attitude to risk, future-orientation and conscientiousness. In addition, future-orientation, and in particular conscientiousness, determine lecture attendance to a greater extent than they determine additional study. Finally, we show that family income and financial transfers (from both parents and the state) do not determine any educational input. This study suggests that non-cognitive abilities may be more important than financial constraints in the determination of inputs related to educational production functions. |
| Keywords: | higher education, education inputs, lecture attendance, hours of study, future-orientation, attitude to risk, non-cognitive ability, conscientiousness |
| Date: | 2010–09–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201025&r=lab |
| By: | Perales F (Institute for Social and Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | Research has consistently demonstrated a negative and significant relationship between occupational feminization and wages. This has traditionally been attributed to societal mechanisms undervaluing the work mainly performed by women. More recently, empirical evidence from the US and Europe has supported theories based on the concept of specialized human capital. We examine whether lower wages in female-dominated occupations in Britain are explained by differences in specialized human capital, allowing for other potentially mediating factors. We also explore the functional form of the relationship between occupational feminization and wages and estimate the contribution of occupational sex-segregation to the gender pay-gap. |
| Date: | 2010–09–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ese:iserwp:2010-31&r=lab |
| By: | Bernard Fortin; Nicolas Jacquemet; Bruce Shearer |
| Abstract: | We develop and estimate a generalized labour supply model that incorporates work effort into the standard consumption-leisure trade-off. We allow workers a choice between two contracts: a piece rate contract, wherein he is paid per unit of service provided, and a mixed contract, wherein he receives an hourly wage and a reduced piece rate. This setting gives rise to a non-convex budget set and an efficient budget constraint (the upper envelope of contract-specific budget sets). We apply our model to data collected on specialist physicians working in the Province of Quebec (Canada). Our data set contains information on each physician’s labour supply and their work effort (clinical services provided per hour worked). It also covers a period of policy reform under which physicians could choose between two compensation systems: the traditional fee-for-service, under which physicians receive a fee for each service provided, and mixed remuneration, under which physicians receive a per diem as well as a reduced fee-for-service. We estimate the model using a discrete choice approach. We use our estimates to simulate elasticities and the effects of ex ante reforms on physician contracts. Our results show that physician services and effort are much more sensitive to contractual changes than is their time spent at work. Our results also suggest that a mandatory reform, forcing all physicians to adopt the mixed remuneration system, would have had substantially larger effects on physician behaviour than those observed under the voluntary reform. |
| Keywords: | Labour supply, effort, contracts, practice patterns of physicians, discrete choice econometric models, mixed logit |
| JEL: | C25 J22 J33 I10 J44 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lvl:lacicr:1034&r=lab |
| By: | Bernard Fortin; Nicolas Jacquemet; Bruce S. Shearer |
| Abstract: | We develop and estimate a generalized labour supply model that incorporates work effort into the standard consumption-leisure trade-off. We allow workers a choice between two contracts: a piece rate contract, wherein he is paid per unit of service provided, and a mixed contract, wherein he receives an hourly wage and a reduced piece rate. This setting gives rise to a nonconvex budget set and an efficient budget constraint (the upper envelope of contract-specific budget sets). We apply our model to data collected on specialist physicians working in the Province of Quebec (Canada). Our data set contains information on each physician’s labour supply and their work effort (clinical services provided per hour worked). It also covers a period of policy reform under which physicians could choose between two compensation systems: the traditional fee-for-service, under which physicians receive a fee for each service provided, and mixed remuneration, under which physicians receive a per diem as well as a reduced fee for service. We estimate the model using a discrete choice approach. We use our estimates to simulate elasticities and the effects of ex ante reforms on physician contracts. Our results show that physician services and effort are much more sensitive to contractual changes than is their time spent at work. Our results also suggest that a mandatory reform, forcing all physicians to adopt the mixed remuneration system, would have had substantially larger effects on physician behaviour than those observed under the voluntary reform. <P> |
| Keywords: | Labour supply, effort, contracts, practice patterns of physicians, discrete choice econometric models, mixed logit, |
| JEL: | C25 J22 J33 I10 J44 |
| Date: | 2010–09–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cir:cirwor:2010s-40&r=lab |
| By: | Leonard C. Smith; Vimal Ranchhod |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the impact of educational interventions made in the first-and second-year microeconomics courses on academic development students' final mark in the second-year course. It also addresses issues of methodology, specification, and statistical analysis with respect to other studies in the field. The results suggest that the educational interventions in the first year had a positive impact on the academic performance of the academic development cohort,relative to the mainstream cohort for the first period (2000-2002). The results also suggest that the educational interventions introduced in the second period (2003-2005), in the form of voluntary workshops for the academic development cohort, improved the academic performance of this cohort relative to that of mainstream students. |
| Keywords: | academic development, academic performance, economic education, educational interventions, microeconomics, multivariate analysis, propensity score matching, South Africa |
| JEL: | I21 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:186&r=lab |
| By: | Guertzgen, Nicole; Heinze, Anja |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the importance of employer-specific determinants in escaping low earnings in Germany. To address the initial conditions problem and the endogeneity of employer retention, we model (intra-firm) low-pay transitions using a multivariate Probit model that accounts for selection into low-wage employment and non-random employer drop-out. Using data from the LIAB Linked Employer-Employee panel, our results indicate that for male workers from the service sector the probability of escaping low-pay increases with employer size. This contrasts with female workers from the service sector, who rather benefit from collective bargaining coverage and local works councils. These findings are consistent with internal labour markets being an important ingredient of male within-firm wage growth, whereas the removal of asymmetric information appears to be more relevant in explaining female workers' wage transitions. -- Die vorliegende Studie untersucht die Bedeutung von betriebsspezifischen Charakteristika für die Lohnmobilität von Geringverdiener/innen. Besonderes Augenmerk gilt hierbei der Wirkung der Betriebsgröße sowie der industriellen Beziehungen auf die Aufstiegschancen. Von der Betriebsgröße sind zwei gegenläufige Effekte auf die Aufstiegswahrscheinlichkeit zu erwarten, so dass der Nettoeffekt a-priori uneindeutig ist. Zum einen weisen größere Arbeitgeber häufiger interne Arbeitsmärkte auf, was die Aufstiegschancen positiv beeinflussen sollte. Zum anderen treten in größeren Betrieben eher Informationsprobleme im Hinblick auf die wahre Produktivität der Beschäftigten auf, was im Gegenzug zu niedrigerer Lohnmobilität führen kann. Industrielle Beziehungen, insbesondere in Form von Betriebsräten, können diese Informationsprobleme aufgrund von Mitspracherechten bei der Beförderungen erheblich abmildern. Insgesamt deuten die Ergebnisse auf Basis von deutschen Linked Employer-Employee Daten darauf hin, dass die obigen Merkmale die Aufstiegswahrscheinlichkeiten von Geringverdiener/innen signifikant beeinflussen. Hierbei ergeben sich jedoch unterschiedliche Muster in Abhängigkeit vom Geschlecht. So haben Männer in größeren Betrieben signifikant höhere Aufstiegschancen, profitieren jedoch nicht von Betriebsräten und Tarifverträgen. Im Gegensatz hierzu profitieren Frauen insbesondere von der Existenz eines Betriebrates, jedoch nicht von der Betriebsgröße. Die Ergebnisse liefern somit Evidenz dafür, dass interne Arbeitsmärkte eine wichtige Determinante der Aufstiegschancen männlicher Geringverdiener sind. Für Frauen hingegen lassen sich hinsichtlich der Bedeutung interner Arbeitsmärkte keine eindeutigen Aussagen treffen. Hier lassen die Ergebnisse lediglich die Schlussfolgerung zu, dass der gegenläufige Effekt der Betriebsgröße infolge der Existenz asymmetrischer Information möglichen positiven Effekten stärker entgegenwirkt als bei männlichen Geringverdienern. In Kombination mit den unterschiedlichen Effekten der industriellen Beziehungen lässt dies darauf schließen, dass asymmetrische Informationen hinsichtlich der wahren Produktivität für Frauen ein relevanteres Aufstiegshemmnis darstellen als für Männer. |
| Keywords: | wage mobility,trivariate probit,linked employer-employee data |
| JEL: | C23 J31 J51 L13 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:10054&r=lab |
| By: | Britton Lombardi; Yukako Ono |
| Abstract: | More and more U.S. workers are counted as employees of firms that they do not actually work for. Among such workers are those who staffed by temporary help service (THS) agencies and leased employees who are on the payroll of professional employment organizations (PEOs) but work for PEOs’ client firms. While several papers study firms’ use of THS services, few examine firms’ use of PEO services. In this article, we summarize PEOs’ business practices and examine how the intensity of their use varies across industries, geographic areas, and establishment characteristics using both public and confidential data. |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:10-22&r=lab |
| By: | Manzi, Jorge; San Martin, Ernesto; Van Bellegem, Sébastien |
| Abstract: | Value-added analysis is a common tool in analysing school performances. In this paper, we analyse the SIMCE panel data which provides individual scores of about 200,000 students in Chile, and whose aim is to rank schools according to their educational achievement. Based on the data collection procedure and on empirical evidences, we argue that the exogeneity of some covariates is questionable. This means that a nonvanishing correlation appears between the school-specific effect and some covariates. We show the impact of this phenomenon on the calculation of the value-added and on the ranking, and provide an estimation method that is based on instrumental variables in order to correct the bias of endogeneity. Revisiting the definition of the value-added, we propose a new calculation robust to endogeneity that we illustrate on the SIMCE data. |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:23126&r=lab |
| By: | Yothin Jinjarak; Kanda Naknoi |
| Abstract: | This study proposes a new measure of tradability and examines its relationship with volatility of the sector-specic real exchange rate (RER). We derive degree of tradability from a model in which nal goods are produced from labor, capital and intermediate inputs. With free capital mobility, the share of labor in value added measures degree of nontradability. Then the RER is driven by changes in relative wage and those in seller's markup. The contribution of relative wage into RER variance is predicted to be increasing in nontradability. We provide evidence for our theory using U.S.-Canada monthly RERs and U.S.-Germany quarterly RERs. |
| Keywords: | real exchange rate; wage stickiness; tradability |
| JEL: | L12 L13 L22 L42 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pur:prukra:1255&r=lab |
| By: | Mark J. Kutzbach |
| Abstract: | This analysis attributes economies of agglomeration to either labor market pooling or employer-based productivity spillovers by distinguishing the effect of access to workers, measured by place-of-residence, from the effect of access to employers. New establishment location choices serve as a measure of productivity advantages, while census tract level data on access to same-industry employment, other-industry employment, and specialized workers, as well as metropolitan area fixed effects, measure sources of agglomeration and other locational characteristics. The four industries included are selected so that each relies on a workforce with a specialized occupation that is identifiable by place-of-residence, and that productivity and cost advantages are the primary drivers of location choice. The results show that both access to specialized workers and access to same-industry employers contribute to economies of agglomeration at an intra-urban spatial scale, and that the magnitude of the worker effect is large relative to employer-based productivity spillovers. |
| Keywords: | Economies of Agglomeration; Labor Market Pooling; Commuting |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:10-21&r=lab |
| By: | Stephen C. Smith; M. Shahe Emran (Department of Economics/Institute for International Economic Policy, George Washington University); Fenohasina Maret (Department of Economics, George Washington University) |
| Abstract: | Using household data from Vietnam, we provide evidence on the causal effects of education on freedom of spouse choice. We use war disruptions and spatial indicators of schooling supply as instruments. The point estimates indicate that a year of additional schooling reduces the probability of an arranged marriage by about 14 percentage points for an individual with 8 years of schooling. We also estimate bounds that do not rely on the exact exclusion restrictions (lower bound is 6-7 percentage points). The impact of education is strong for women, but much weaker for men. |
| Keywords: | Arranged Marriage, Education, Schooling, Freedom of choice, Development, Vietnam, Social Interactions |
| JEL: | I2 O12 D1 J12 |
| Date: | 2009–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2009-15&r=lab |
| By: | Leonard Smith (School of Economics, University of Cape Town); Vimal Ranchhod (SALDRU, School of Economics, University of Cape Town; School of Economics, University of Cape Town) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the impact of educational interventions made in the first- and second-year microeconomics courses on academic development students’ final mark in the second-year course. It also addresses issues of methodology, specification, and statistical analysis with respect to other studies in the field. The results suggest that the educational interventions in the first-year had a positive impact on the academic performance of the academic development cohort, relative to the mainstream cohort for the first period (2000-2002). The results also suggest that the educational interventions introduced in the second period (2003-2005), in the form of voluntary workshops for the academic development cohort, also improved the academic performance of this cohort relative to that of mainstream students. |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ldr:wpaper:46&r=lab |
| By: | Laura Crespo (CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros); Pedro Mira (CEMFI, Centro de Estudios Monetarios y Financieros) |
| Abstract: | We study the prevalence of informal caregiving to elderly parents by their mature daughters in Europe and the effect of intense (daily) caregiving and parental health on the employment status of the daughters. We group the data from the first two waves of SHARE into three country pools (North, Central and South) which strongly differ in the availability of public formal care services and female labour market attachment. We use a time allocation model to provide a link to an empirical IV-treatment effects framework and to interpret parameters of interest and differences in results across country pools and subgroups of daughters. We estimate the average effect of parental disability on employment and daily care-giving choices of daughters and the ratio of these effects which is a Local Average Treatment effect of daily care on labour supply under exclusion restrictions. We find that there is a clear and robust North-South gradient in the (positive) effect of parental ill-health on the probability of daily care-giving. The aggregate loss of employment that can be attributed to daily informal caregiving seems negligible in northern and central European countries but not in southern countries. Large and significant impacts are found for particular combinations of daughter characteristics and parental disability conditions. The effects linked to longitudinal variation in the health of parents are stronger than those linked to cross-sectional variation. |
| Keywords: | Informal care, employment, instrumental variables, treatment effects. |
| JEL: | J2 C3 D1 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cmf:wpaper:wp2010_1007&r=lab |
| By: | Agostino Consolo (University of Basel) |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces staggered right-to-manage wage bargaining into a New <br />Keynesian business cycle model. Our key result is that the model is able to gener- <br />ate persistent responses in output, inflation, and total labor input to both neutral <br />technology and monetary policy shocks. Furthermore, we compare the model’s dy- <br />namic behavior when calibrated to the US and to an European economy. We find <br />that the degree of price rigidity explains most of the differences in response to a <br />monetary policy shock. When the economy is hit by a neutral technology shock, <br />both price and wage rigidities turn out to be important. <br /><br /> |
| Keywords: | Business Cycles, Labor Market Search, Wage Bargaining, Inflation |
| JEL: | E24 E31 E32 J64 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bsl:wpaper:01/10&r=lab |
| By: | Rebecca Allen; Simon Burgess; Leigh McKenna |
| Abstract: | We analyse the initial impact of a major school admission reform in Brighton and Hove. The new system incorporated a lottery for oversubscribed places and new catchment areas. We examine the post-reform changes in school composition. We locate the major winners and losers in terms of the quality of school attended. We match similar cities and conduct a difference-in-difference analysis of the policy change. We see no significant change in student sorting: if anything, the point estimates suggest a rise in socio-economic segregation. We do see a significant weakening of the dependence of school attended on student’s prior attainment. |
| Keywords: | school lottery, segregation, school admissions reforms |
| JEL: | I20 I28 |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:10/244&r=lab |
| By: | Gerards Ruud; Muysken Joan; Welters Ricardo (METEOR) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the effectiveness of an employment program exclusively run by and in a private sector firm, in order to find out whether a private program without cream-skimming can be beneficial to (a) the individual private firm and (b) society at large by outperforming public employment programs. To answer these questions, we use a unique dataset on a private employment program covering 27 years of operations and a thousand participating unemployed. Using conservative estimates, we show that a private employment program is more effective at re-integrating the unemployed than public efforts, whilst providing tangible benefits to the involved firm. |
| Keywords: | labour economics ; |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dgr:umamet:2010041&r=lab |
| By: | Stephanie von Hinke Kessler Scholder; George Davey Smith; Debbie A. Lawlor; Carol Propper; Frank Windmeijer |
| Abstract: | Height has long been recognised as associated with better outcomes: the question is whether this association is causal. We use children’s genetic variants as instrumental variables (IV) to deal with possible unobserved confounders and examine the effect of child and adolescent height on a wide range of outcomes: academic performance, IQ, self-esteem, symptoms related to depression and behavioural problems, including hyperactivity, emotional, conduct and peer problems. OLS findings show that taller children have higher IQ scores, perform better in school tests, and are less likely to have emotional or peer problems. The IV results differ. They show that taller children have better cognitive performance but, in contrast to the OLS, indicate that taller children are more likely to have behavioural problems. The magnitude of these IV estimates is large. For example, the effect of one standard deviation increase in height on IQ is comparable to the IQ difference for children born approximately 6 months apart within the same school year, while the increase in hyperactivity is comparable to the raw difference in hyperactivity between boys and girls. |
| Keywords: | Child and adolescent height; human capital; mental health; behavioural outcomes; instrumental variables; Mendelian randomization; genetic variants; ALSPAC |
| JEL: | I1 J24 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bri:cmpowp:10/245&r=lab |
| By: | Andrew Coleman (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research); Hugh McDonald (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research) |
| Abstract: | Although much work has been done analysing the possible causes of the New Zealand-Australian income gap, to date there has been little analysis of the extent to which this gap differs by gender and age. Using New Zealand and Australian employment and census data we examine these differences and find that (1) over the last 25 years the incomes of New Zealand women have declined less rapidly than those of New Zealand men, relative to Australian incomes; (2) this poor relative performance of New Zealand males was felt most by those in middle age; and (3) the stronger relative income growth of New Zealand females appears to be largely driven by increased public sector wage growth, and as such, its long term sustainability is questionable. |
| Keywords: | dynamic optimisation, electricity spot market performance, stochastic fuel availability, storage options, climate change |
| JEL: | D4 D9 L1 L5 L9 |
| Date: | 2010–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:10_08&r=lab |
| By: | Orazio Attanasio (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London); Costas Meghir (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London); Ana Santiago (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Inter-American Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | <p><p><p>In this paper we use an economic model to analyse data from a major social experiment, namely PROGRESA in Mexico, and to evaluate its impact on school participation. In the process we also show the usefulness of using experimental data to estimate a structural economic model. The evaluation sample includes data from villages where the program was implemented and where it was not. The allocation was randomised for evaluation purposes. We estimate a structural model of education choices and argue that without such a framework it is impossible to evaluate the effect of the program and, especially, possible changes to its structure. We also argue that the randomized component of the data allows us to identify a more flexible model that is better suited to evaluate the program. We find that the program has a positive effect on the enrollment of children, especially after primary school; this result is well replicated by the parsimonious structural model. We also find that a revenue neutral change in the program that would increase the grant for secondary school children while eliminating for the primary school children would have a substantially larger effect on enrollment of the latter, while having minor effects on the former.</p></p></p> |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:10/14&r=lab |
| By: | Priya Deshingkar |
| Abstract: | Labour inspections could, in theory, improve labour standards and help countries move towards decent work goals and the elimination of chronic poverty. But, in practice, inspections are either not conducted or do not result in penalties for those who break the law. Using the case of India, and examining labour contracts and standards in selected informal agricultural and non-agricultural occupations, the author identifies the reasons for this state of affairs: corrupt and under-resourced labour departments; subcontracting arrangements where employer–employee relationships are difficult to prove; little political commitment to improving labour standards; and poor coverage of new categories of work by existing labour laws. The paper also documents how, in the absence of an effective labour inspection machinery, civil society organisations and the media have successfully mobilised consumers and NGOs in the West to put pressure on suppliers in global value chains to improve labour standards and eliminate child labour. [Working Paper No. 154] |
| Keywords: | India Labour inspections labour regulation informal sector agricultural labour |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2887&r=lab |
| By: | Muehler, Grit |
| Abstract: | Universal child care that is available, affordable and of good quality is regarded as a key instrument of a country's social and labor market policy. As full public involvement in the provision of child care is costly, licensing non-public providers can enlarges parental choice and relieve public funds. This paper analyzes the consequences of universal, mixed-market provision of child care for availability and quality by directly comparing public providers to various non-public providers such as welfare organizations, churches and commercial providers. Controlling for regional and socio-demographic differences in participation, results show that non-religious and in particular commercial providers serve the under three-year-olds and respond to the demand for full-day care. Furthermore, they employ more personnel with a tertiary education. Hence, commercial providers can - at least when covering rather low market shares - increase parental choice and contribute to the provision of high-quality child care. -- |
| Keywords: | universal child care,mixed industry,public and private sector |
| JEL: | J13 H44 L33 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:08077r&r=lab |
| By: | Urs Fischbacher; Gerald Eisenkopf; Franziska Föllmi-Heusi |
| Abstract: | There is well established empirical evidence that more redistribution occurs when luck rather than performance determines the earnings. We provide experimental evidence on how unequal access to performance enhancing education affects demand for redistribution. In this experiment, we can control the information about the role of luck and effort. We find that unequal opportunities evoke a preference for redistribution that is comparable to the situation when luck alone determines the allocation rather than performance. Furthermore, unequal opportunities reduce performance incentives. |
| Keywords: | Distribution, Inequality of opportunities, Negotiation, Education, Experiment |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:twi:respas:0057&r=lab |
| By: | Aker, Jenny C.; Ksoll, Christopher; Lybbert, Travis J. |
| Abstract: | We report the short-term results from a randomized evaluation of a mobile phone literacy program (ABC) in Niger, in which adult literacy students learned how to use mobile phones as part of a literacy class. Students in mobile phone literacy villages showed substantial gains in numeracy exam scores. There is also evidence of heterogeneity in program effects across regions, suggesting the impact is context dependent. These results were stronger in one region, for women and for participants younger than 45. There was also evidence of learning dynamics: six months after the end of the first year of classes, students in ABC villages retained what they had learned better than the non-ABC students. -- |
| Keywords: | Africa,education,information technology,returns |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:gdec10:62&r=lab |
| By: | David Marsden |
| Abstract: | The erosion of a number of national systems of employment relations, and the evidence fromlarge scale workplace surveys has brought attention to the considerable diversity ofemployment systems within major economies. This essay applies the theory of evolutionarygames to explain the diffusion of different employment systems within national economies,and how they interact with established sectoral and national level institutions. This also helpsto explain potential tipping points in their expansion and retreat. Evidence to support theargument is taken from the British and French workplace employment relations surveys andthe European Working Conditions Survey. |
| Keywords: | Labor-Management Relations, Labor Contracting |
| JEL: | J5 M55 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0998&r=lab |
| By: | Ghosh, Saibal |
| Abstract: | CEO compensation considerations have gained prominence in recent times, especially in the wake of the subprime turmoil. Using cross-section data on Indian manufacturing firms for 2007, the paper explores the association between executive compensation and firm performance and concludes that pay for performance sensitivity estimates are significant although small in magnitude. |
| Keywords: | CEO compensation; profits; manufacturing; India; |
| JEL: | L25 G30 |
| Date: | 2010–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:25451&r=lab |
| By: | D. Narayana |
| Abstract: | Early writers on fertility decline (Thompson 1929; Davis 1945 1955 1963; Notestein 1945; Feedman 1961-62) emphasized broad forces of modernization, such as urbanization, industridiization, shifts to non-agricultural labor, and increased literacy, as bringing about changes in traditional structures. The neoclassical theoreticians shifted the focus to the micro-level and translated the changes in macro conditions into individual and household calculations. Both these strands of theodcal work have come under attack in recent years. [Working Paper No. 268] |
| Keywords: | urbanization, industridiization, literacy, traditional, structures, neoclassical |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ess:wpaper:id:2883&r=lab |
| By: | Joachim Merz; Eva Österbacka; Cathleen D. Zick (LEUPHANA University Lüneburg,Department of Economic, Behaviour and Law Sciences, Research Institute on Professions (Forschungsinstitut Freie Berufe (FFB))) |
| Abstract: | Parents invest in their children’s human capital in several ways. We investigate the extent to which the levels and composition of parent-child time varies across countries with different welfare regimes: Finland, Germany and the United States. We test the hypothesis of parentchild time as a form of human capital investment in children using a propensity score treatment effects approach that accounts for the possible endogenous nature of time use and human capital investment. Result: There is considerable evidence of welfare regime effects on parent-child shared time. Our results provide mixed support for the hypothesis that non-care related parent-child time is human capital enriching. The strongest support is found in the case of leisure time and eating time. |
| Keywords: | parent-child time, comparative research, welfare regimes, Finland, Germany, USA, treatment effects, propensity score matching |
| JEL: | D1 J24 J22 H43 |
| Date: | 2010–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:leu:wpaper:83&r=lab |
| By: | Daniela Casale; Dorrit Posel |
| Abstract: | In this paper we explore the relationship between English language proficiency and earnings in South Africa, using new data from the first wave of the National Income Dynamics panel survey of 2008. Much of the literature on this topic has studied the impact on earnings of host country language acquisition among minority groups of immigrants to developed countries. In our study we analyse the returns to language skills in a developing country context where the dominant language of business, government and education is that of the former colony, although not more than one percent of the African majority population group speaks English as their home language. Our findings suggest large returns among Africans to reading and writing English very well, and particularly among those who have a tertiary education. We also briefly consider the implications of these results for language and education policy in South Africa in the post-apartheid period. |
| Keywords: | language proficiency, earnings, South Africa, language policy |
| JEL: | J24 J31 I21 |
| Date: | 2010 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rza:wpaper:181&r=lab |