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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Balsvik, Ragnhild (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration); Jensen, Sissel (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration); Salvanes, Kjell G. (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration) |
| Abstract: | We analyze whether regional labor markets are affected by exposure to import competition from China. We find negative employment effects for low-skilled workers, and observe that low-skilled workers tend to be pushed into unemployment or leave the labor force altogether. We find no evidence of wage effects. We partly expect this in a Nordic welfare state where firms are flexible at the employment margin, while centralized wage bargaining provides less flexibility at the wage margin. Our estimates suggest that import competition from China explains almost 10% of the reduction in the manufacturing employment share from 1996 to 2007 which is half of the effect found by Autor, Dorn and Hanson (2013) for the US. |
| Keywords: | Import Competition; Local Labor Markets; Norway. |
| JEL: | F16 H53 J23 J31 |
| Date: | 2014–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2014_025&r=lab |
| By: | Stefanie Hoherz |
| Abstract: | This research examines re-entry into the labour force for mothers after maternity leave. The empirical analysis focuses on the first twenty-two years of post-reunification Germany, using proportional hazards models. Results show that the re-entry into part-time employment is primarily affected by the mother's own resources and former career, the return to full-time work is more linked to the partner's resources. This behaviour is especially prevalent in families where the mother has a higher earning potential than the father, a group having the highest re-entry chances into full-time employment. The results concerning experiences of unemployment for the male partner show that mothers try to compensate uncertainties with increased labour force participation. |
| JEL: | D13 J22 J64 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp647&r=lab |
| By: | Clemens Hetschko; Andreas Knabe; Ronnie Schöb |
| Abstract: | Previous studies find that past unemployment reduces life satisfaction even after reemployment for non-monetary reasons (unemployment scarring). It is not clear, however, whether this scarring is only caused by employment-related factors, such as worsened working conditions, or increased future uncertainty as regards income and employment. Using German panel data, we identify non-employment-related scarring by examining the transition of unemployed people to retirement as a life event after which employment-related scarring does not matter anymore. We find evidence for non-employment-related non-monetary unemployment scarring for people who were unemployed for the first time in their life directly prior to retirement, but not for people with earlier unemployment experiences. |
| Keywords: | Unemployment scarring, life satisfaction, retirement |
| JEL: | I31 J26 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp652&r=lab |
| By: | Skedinger, Per (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | In response to high and enduring youth unemployment, large payroll tax cuts for young workers were implemented in two Swedish reforms in 2007 and 2009. This paper analyses the effects of the reforms on worker outcomes and firm performance in the retail industry, an important employer of young workers. In general, the estimated effects on job accessions, separations, hours and wages, are small. For workers close to the minimum wage the estimates suggest larger, but still modest, effects on the probability of job accession. There is also some evidence on increasing profits in a subsample of firms that employed relatively many young workers before the first reform, with estimated effects commensurate with small behavioural effects of the payroll tax cuts. The conclusion is that reducing payroll taxes is a costly means of improving employment prospects for the young. |
| Keywords: | Tax subsidy; Labour costs; Minimum wages; Retail industry |
| JEL: | H21 H25 H32 J38 |
| Date: | 2014–06–27 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1031&r=lab |
| By: | Elke Wolf |
| Abstract: | Despite the increasing incidence of part-time employment in Germany, the effects on wage rates are studied rarely. I therefore use SOEP panel data from 1984 to 2010 and apply different econometric approaches and definitions of part-time work to measure the socalled part-time wage gap of both, men and women in East and West Germany. A very robust finding is that part-time working men are subject to higher wage penalties than women. Accounting for all available observed as well as time-constant unobserved individual characteristics yields a wage cut of about 10 percent in East and West Germany. Furthermore, the type of contract makes a big difference. While marginal employees earn considerable lower wage rates, irrespective of region and sex, reduced working hours covered with social security do not seem to be to the detriment of women once differences in observed characteristics are taken into account. Fixed-effects panel estimates even yield slightly benefits from working part-time. Nonetheless, long part-time spells may cause financial drawbacks for women, because experience in part-time employment generates lower or even no positive returns. Another novel of my study is the look at the part-time wage gap over the years. The empirical evidence reveals that wage differentials in West-Germany increased over time. Since this trend disappears for men, as soon as individual fixed-effects are disentangled, I suppose that selection of men with progressively unfavourable labour market characteristics triggered this downward slope. In contrast, the downtrend of the female part-time wage gap seems to be caused by the increasing share of marginal employees, who exhibit a significant and larger wage cut compared to standard part-time women. |
| Keywords: | Part-time work, wage structure, working hours |
| JEL: | J2 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp663&r=lab |
| By: | Pedro S. Martins |
| Abstract: | Several countries extend collective bargaining agreements to entire sectors, therefore binding non-subscriber workers and employers. These extensions may address coordination issues but may also impose sector-specific minimum wages and other work conditions that are not appropriate for several workers and firms. In this paper, we analyse the impact of such extensions along several margins drawing on firm-level monthly data for Portugal, a country where extensions have been widespread until recently. We find that both formal employment and wage bills in the relevant sector fall, on average, by 2% - and by 25% more across small firms - over the four months after an extension is issued. These results are driven by both reduced hirings and increased firm closures. On the other hand, informal work, not subject to labour law or extensions, tends to increase. Our findings are robust to several checks, including a falsification exercise based on extensions that were announced but not implemented. |
| Keywords: | Collective agreements, Worker flows, Wage rigidity |
| JEL: | J31 J52 J23 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgs:wpaper:51&r=lab |
| By: | Bhuller, Manudeep (Statistics Norway); Mogstad, Magne (University of Chicago); Salvanes, Kjell G. (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration) |
| Abstract: | What do the education premiums look like over the life cycle? What is the impact of schooling on lifetime earnings? How does the internal rate of return compare with opportunity cost of funds? To what extent do progressive taxes attenuate the incentives to invest in education? This paper exploits Norwegian population panel data with nearly career long earnings histories to answer these important questions. We provide a detailed picture of the causal relationship between schooling and earnings over the life cycle, following individuals over their working lifespan. To account for endogeneity of schooling, we apply three commonly used identification strategies. Our estimates show that additional schooling gives higher lifetime earnings and steeper age-earnings profile, in line with predictions from human capital theory. These estimates imply an internal rate of return of around 10 percent, after taking into account income taxes and earnings-related pension entitlements. Under standard conditions, this finding suggests it was financially profitable to take additional schooling because the rates of return were substantially higher than the market interest rates. By comparison, Mincer regressions understate substantially the rates of return. We explore the reasons for this downward bias, finding that it is driven by Mincer’s assumptions of no earnings while in school and exogenous post-schooling employment. |
| Keywords: | Education premium; internal rate of return; life cycle earnings. |
| JEL: | J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2014–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2014_024&r=lab |
| By: | Christina Gathmann; Nicolas Keller |
| Abstract: | Immigrants in many countries have lower employment rates and earnings than natives. We study whether the option to naturalize improves immigrant assimilation. The empirical analysis relies on two major immigration reforms in Germany, acountry with a weak record of immigrant integration. Using discontinuities in the reforms' eligibility rules, we find few returns of citizenship for men, but substantial returns for women. Returns are also larger for more recent immigrants, but essentially zero for traditional guest workers. For immigrant women, access to citizenship accounts for 70% of the assimilation rate, i.e. the wage return of an additional year in Germany. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp656&r=lab |
| By: | McGuinness, Seamus; Byrne, Delma |
| Abstract: | This paper uses graduate survey data and econometric methods to estimate the incidence and wage/job satisfaction effects of over-education and overskilling among immigrants graduating from EU 15 based universities in 2005. Female immigrants with shorter durations of domicile were found to have a higher likelihood of overskilling. Newly arrived immigrants incurred wage penalties? which were exacerbated by additional penalties resulting from overskilling in the male labour market and overeducation in the female labour market. Established immigrants were found to enjoy wage premia, particularly within the male labour market, with no evidence of disproportionate wage impacts arising as a consequence of mismatch. Female immigrants were generally found to have a significantly lower probability of being job satisfied relative to native female graduates. |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp484&r=lab |
| By: | Hutter, Christian (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Weber, Enzo (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]) |
| Abstract: | "This paper investigates the role of mismatch between job seekers and job openings for the forecasting performance of a labor market matching function. In theory, higher mismatch lowers matching efficiency which increases the risk that the vacancies cannot be filled within the usual period of time. We investigate whether and to what extent forecasts of German job findings can be improved by a mismatch-enhanced labor market matching function. For this purpose, we construct so-called mismatch indicators that reflect regional, occupational and qualification-related mismatch on a monthly basis. In pseudo out-of-sample tests that account for the nested model environment, we find that forecasting models enhanced by the mismatch indicator significantly outperform their benchmark counterparts for all forecast horizons ranging between one month and a year. This is especially pronounced in the aftermath of the Great Recession where a low level of mismatch improved the possibility of unemployed to find a job again." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Keywords: | mismatch, offene Stellen, Arbeitslose, Qualifikationsanforderungen, Qualifikationsmerkmale, Prognoseverfahren, Stellenbesetzung - Dauer, Indikatorenbildung |
| JEL: | C22 C52 C53 C78 E24 E27 |
| Date: | 2014–06–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201416&r=lab |
| By: | Pedro S. Martins; Sofia Pessoa e Costa |
| Abstract: | Although activation services such as monitoring, training, job subsidies or workfare have been shown to increase exits from unemployment, there is no evidence about their effects during recessions. We address this policy-relevant question by evaluating a large activation programme introduced in Portugal in early 2012, a time of very high and still increasing unemployment. The programme was based on requiring specific unemployment benefit recipients to meet caseworkers in jobcentres and then participate in active labour market policies. Our analysis draws on rich longitudinal data, the targeted nature of the programme (namely of its component focused on those unemployed for at least six months), and fuzzy regression discontinuity methods. We find that, despite the weak labour market, the programme is very succesful as it doubles the monthly reemployment probability. Moreover, we find no effects in terms of income or transitions to non-employment. The results are robust to a number of checks, including a falsification exercise based on pre-programme data. |
| Keywords: | Public employment services, job search, public policy evaluation |
| JEL: | J64 J68 J22 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgs:wpaper:52&r=lab |
| By: | Epstein, Brendan (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.)); Kimball, Miles S. (University of Michigan) |
| Abstract: | We develop a theory that focuses on the general equilibrium and long-run macroeconomic consequences of trends in job utility. Given secular increases in job utility, work hours per capita can remain approximately constant over time even if the income effect of higher wages on labor supply exceeds the substitution effect. In addition, secular improvements in job utility can be substantial relative to welfare gains from ordinary technological progress. These two implications are connected by an equation flowing from optimal hours choices: improvements in job utility that have a significant effect on labor supply tend to have large welfare effects. |
| Keywords: | Labor supply; work hours; drudgery; income effect; substitution effect; job utility |
| JEL: | E24 J22 O40 |
| Date: | 2014–06–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgif:1106&r=lab |
| By: | Dawson, C G |
| Abstract: | Using UK data from 1991 to 2008 this paper investigates whether excessive optimism affects individual level self-employed job satisfaction. Within the context of this paper, excessive optimism refers to the inclination to overestimate the probability of good financial outcomes. Evidence is provided that conditional on self-employed performance, optimism is negatively and significantly associated with self-employed job satisfaction, especially satisfaction with pay. Moreover the detrimental effects of optimism on satisfaction are larger in self-employment than in paid-employment. The results indicate that the higher levels of satisfaction obtained by the self-employed do not result from the self-selection of optimists, suggesting previous studies may underestimate the positive effects of self-employment on utility. |
| Keywords: | optimism; self-employment; job satisfaction; expectations |
| Date: | 2014–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eid:wpaper:39313&r=lab |
| By: | Christina Boll; Julian Sebastian Leppin; Klaus Schömann |
| Abstract: | Overeducation is an often overlooked facet of untapped human resources. But who is overeducated and why? Relying on SOEP data 1984-2011, we use probit models for estimating the likelihood of entering overeducation and dynamic mixed multinomial logit models with random effects addressing state dependence and unobserved heterogeneity. As further robustness checks we use three specifications of the target variable, i.e. realized matches, self-assessment and twofold overeducation. We run separate analyses for men and women, East and West Germans and medium and highly educated persons. We find that overeducation is mainly state dependent. Nonetheless, even in the dynamic context staying employed proves to be risk-decreasing. By contrast, scars of past unemployment show up in a higher mismatch risk. Moreover, an employer change does not serve as a suitable exit strategy, and a dual qualification does not show up as a valid insurance against graduates' job mismatch. Overall, effects largely depend on the operationalization of overeducation. We conclude that to combat overeducation, focusing on continuous employment careers and circumventing unintentional withdrawals from the current job is crucial. Moreover, institutional impediments that restrain job match quality for certain groups (migrants, mothers) have to be tackled. |
| Keywords: | Overeducation, dynamic mixed multinomial logit, probit model, mismatch, Germany, state dependence |
| JEL: | J24 C25 C33 J71 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp661&r=lab |
| By: | Johannes Geyer; Peter Haan; Katharina Wrohlich |
| Abstract: | Parental leave and subsidized child care are prominent examples of family policies supporting the reconciliation of family life and labor market careers for mothers. In this paper, we combine different empirical strategies to evaluate the employment effects of these policies for mothers in Germany. In particular we estimate a structural labor supply model and exploit a natural experiment, i.e. the reform of parental leave benefits. By exploiting and combining the advantages of the different methods, i.e the internal validity of the natural experiment and the external validity of the structural model, we can go beyond evaluation studies restricted to one particular methodology. Our findings suggest that a combination of parental leave benefits and subsidized child care leads to sizable employment effects of mothers.Keywords: labor supply, parental leave benefits, childcare costs, structural model, natural experiment |
| JEL: | H31 J22 C52 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp645&r=lab |
| By: | Bernt Bratsberg (Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Oddbjørn Raaum (Frisch Centre for Economic Research); Knut Røed (Frisch Centre for Economic Research) |
| Abstract: | Using longitudinal data from the date of arrival, we study longâ€term labor market and social insurance outcomes for all major immigrant cohorts to Norway since 1970. Immigrants from highincome countries performed as natives, while labor migrants from lowâ€income source countries had declining employment rates and increasing disability program participation over the lifecycle. Refugees and family migrants assimilated during the initial period upon arrival, but labor market convergence halted after a decade and was accompanied by rising social insurance rates. For the children of labor migrants of the 1970s, we uncover evidence of intergenerational assimilation in education, earnings and fertility. |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:crm:wpaper:1426&r=lab |
| By: | Michael Clemens, Colum Graham, and Stephen Howes |
| Abstract: | Developing countries invest in training skilled workers and can lose part of their investment if those workers emigrate. One response is for the destination countries to design ways to participate in financing skilled emigrants’ training before they migrate—linking skill creation and skill mobility. Such designs can learn from the experience of the Australian-aid-funded Australia-Pacific Technical College (APTC). The APTC is financing and conducting vocational training in five Pacific island developing countries for thousands of workers with the objective of providing them with opportunities to find employment at home and abroad—including in Australia. With thousands of graduates across the region the APTC has attained its goal of skill creation, but has not attained its goal of skill mobility. This paper establishes and explains this finding, and draws lessons for future initiatives that may seek to link skill creation with higher levels of skill mobility. |
| Keywords: | skill, education, labor, training, human capital, migration, brain drain, Australia, pacific, mobility |
| JEL: | F22 J24 O15 R23 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cgd:wpaper:370&r=lab |
| By: | Stephan E. Maurer; Andrei V. Potlogea |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the effect of resource-based economic specialization on women's labor market outcomes. Using information on the location and discovery of major oil fields in the Southern United States coupled with a county-level panel derived from US Census data for 1900-1940, we specifically test the hypothesis that the presence of mineral resources can induce changes in the sectoral composition of the local economy that are detrimental to women's labor market outcomes. We find evidence that the discovery of oil at the county level may constitute a substantial male biased demand shock to local labor markets, as it is associated with a higher gender pay gap. However, we find no evidence that oil wealth lowers female labor force participation or has any impact on local marriage and fertility patterns. While our results are consistent with oil shocks limiting female labor market opportunities in some sectors (mainly manufacturing), this effect tends to be compensated by the higher availability of service sector jobs for women who are therefore not driven out of the labor market. |
| Keywords: | Oil, structural transformation, female labor force, participation, gender pay gap |
| JEL: | R1 N5 O1 J1 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1280&r=lab |
| By: | Agnese, Pablo (Department of Economics of the Duesseldorf University of Applied Sciences); Hromcová, Jana |
| Abstract: | We analyze the effects of low-skill workers offshoring on the welfare of the economy. In the context of a matching model with different possible equilibria, we discuss two policies that could potentially outweigh the negative welfare effects of offshoring, namely, an increase of the unemployment benefits and the flexibilization of the labor market. Our results suggest that, while both policy instruments can theoretically bring the economy back to previous welfare levels, careful thought should be given to the practicability of either measure. In particular, it would take a major increase of the unemployment benefits but only a small reduction in the vacancy cost to compensate for the negative welfare effects of offshoring. In addition, we also find that the compensation can be achieved by an upgrading of the low-skill workers that varies with the equilibria. |
| Abstract: | Die Autoren analysieren die Wirkungen von internationaler Verlagerung (Offshoring) niedrig qualifizierter Beschäftigung auf die Wohlfahrt der betroffenen Volkswirtschaft. Mit Hilfe eines Matching-Modells mit unterschiedlichen möglichen Gleichgewichten untersuchen die Verfasser zwei Politikmaßnahmen, die potenziell die negativen Wohlfahrtseffekte des Offshorings überkompensieren können. Im Einzelnen umfassen die Maßnahmen einen Anstieg der Lohnersatzleistungen für Arbeitslose sowie eine Flexibilisierung des Arbeitsmarktes. Die Ergebnisse lassen sich folgendermaßen zusammenfassen: Während beide Politikmaßnahmen zwar theoretisch die Volkswirtschaft zurück auf ihr Wohlfahrtsniveau vor Offshoring bringen können, so ist doch die Praktikabilität beider wirtschaftspolitischen Instrumente eher zweifelhaft. So würde insbesondere ein großer Anstieg der Arbeitslosengeldleistungen erforderlich sein, aber nur eine kleine Verringerung der Kosten einer offenen Stelle, um die negativen Wohlfahrtseffekte des Offshoring auszugleichen. Zusätzlich arbeitet das Papier heraus, dass eine Kompensierung der Effekte ebenfalls möglich ist durch eine Höherqualifizierung der niedrig qualifizierten Arbeitnehmer, die abhängig ist von dem spezifischen Gleichgewicht ist, das sich einstellt. |
| Keywords: | Internationales Outsourcing, Offshoring, Wohlfahrt, Lohnersatzleistungen, Arbeitsmarktflexibilität, Höherqualifizierung, Offshoring, Welfare, Unemployment Benefits, Labor Market Flexibility, Upgrading |
| JEL: | J68 |
| Date: | 2014–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ddf:wpaper:fobe30&r=lab |
| By: | Ciżkowicz, Piotr; Kowalczuk, Michał; Rzońca, Andrzej |
| Abstract: | We identify determinants of large disparities in local unemployment rates in Poland using panel data on NUTS-4 level (poviats). We find that the disparities are linked to local demographics, education and sectoral employment composition rather than to local demand factors. However, the impact of determinants is not homogenous across poviats. Where unemployment is low or income per capita is high, unemployment does not depend on the late working-aged share in the population but does depend relatively stronger on the share of early working-aged. Where unemployment is high or income per capita is low, unemployment does not depend on education attainment and is relatively less responsive to investment fluctuations. Where small farms are present, they are partial absorbers of workers laid off due to investment fluctuations. |
| Keywords: | local unemployment, Poland, panel data |
| JEL: | C23 J23 R23 |
| Date: | 2014–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:56858&r=lab |
| By: | Kruppe, Thomas (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany]); Scholz, Theresa |
| Abstract: | "During the crisis (2008-09) Germany experienced a huge decrease in GDP. Employment, however, remained surprisingly stable. A whole strand of literature has aimed at quantifying the contribution of short-time work to the German labour market miracle. In the course of this literature we estimate the treatment effect of short-time work on employment at establishment level using a dynamic propensity score matching approach. The analysis is based on data from the IAB Establishment Panel combined with administrative data on short-time work establishments from the Federal Employment Agency. Our results do not indicate any treatment effect of short-time work on employment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en)) |
| Date: | 2014–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iab:iabdpa:201417&r=lab |
| By: | Marianne Bertrand; Sandra E. Black; Sissel Jensen; Adriana Lleras-Muney |
| Abstract: | In late 2003, Norway passed a law mandating 40 percent representation of each gender on the board of publicly limited liability companies. The primary objective of this reform was to increase the representation of women in top positions in the corporate sector and decrease gender disparity in earnings within that sector. We document that the newly (post-reform) appointed female board members were observably more qualified than their female predecessors, and that the gender gap in earnings within boards fell substantially. While the reform may have improved the representation of female employees at the very top of the earnings distribution (top 5 highest earners) within firms that were mandated to increase female participation on their board, there is no evidence that these gains at the very top trickled-down. Moreover the reform had no obvious impact on highly qualified women whose qualifications mirror those of board members but who were not appointed to boards. We observe no statistically significant change in the gender wage gaps or in female representation in top positions, although standard errors are large enough that we cannot rule economically meaningful gains. Finally, there is little evidence that the reform affected the decisions of women more generally; it was not accompanied by any change in female enrollment in business education programs, or a convergence in earnings trajectories between recent male and female graduates of such programs. While young women preparing for a career in business report being aware of the reform and expect their earnings and promotion chances to benefit from it, the reform did not affect their fertility and marital plans. Overall, in the short run the reform had very little discernible impact on women in business beyond its direct effect on the newly appointed female board members. |
| JEL: | J24 J3 J7 J78 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20256&r=lab |
| By: | Xavier D'Haultfoeuille; Arnaud Maurel; Yichong Zhang |
| Abstract: | We consider the estimation of a semiparametric location-scale model subject to endogenous selection, in the absence of an instrument or a large support regressor. Identification relies on the independence between the covariates and selection, for arbitrarily large values of the outcome. In this context, we propose a simple estimator, which combines extremal quantile regressions with minimum distance. We establish the asymptotic normality of this estimator by extending previous results on extremal quantile regressions to allow for selection. Finally, we apply our method to estimate the black-white wage gap among males from the NLSY79 and NLSY97. We find that premarket factors such as AFQT and family background characteristics play a key role in explaining the level and evolution of the black-white wage gap. |
| JEL: | C21 C24 J31 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20257&r=lab |
| By: | Jaap J. A. Denissen; Hannah Ulferts; Oliver Lüdke; Peter M. Muck; Denis Gerstorf |
| Abstract: | Social norms are central to theoretical accounts of longitudinal person-environment transactions. On the one hand, individuals are thought to select themselves into social roles that fit their personality. On the other hand, it is assumed that individuals' personality is transformed by the socializing pressure of norm demands. These two transactional directions were investigated in a large and eterogeneous 5-year longitudinal subsample of job beginners (n = 640, M age = 21.24), job stayers (n = 4,137, M age = 46.63), and job changers (n= 2,854, M age = 44.68) from the German Socio-Economic Panel. Role demands were coded by both students and labor market experts. To demonstrate transactional effects, cross-lagged structural equation models were estimated. Substantial selection effects were found for both job beginners and job changers. There was also evidence for socialization effects, especially for participants who did not change jobs. Depending on the trait and the subsample that was investigated, selection effects were sometimes corresponsive with socialization effects. Personality role demands were temporally consistent across a four-year period even when individuals changed jobs (heterotypic continuity). This is one of the first empirical demonstrations of the transactional processes that lead to the formation of social niches. |
| Keywords: | Personality development, person-environment transactions, job characteristics, occupational roles, longitudinal study |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp657&r=lab |
| By: | Luis E. Arango; Dolores de la Mata; Nataly Obando |
| Abstract: | This paper presents evidence of the effect of the recent phases of the business cycle in Spain and United States, proxied by their respective unemployment rates, on the labor market of Colombian cities with high migration tradition. These countries are the main destination for labor Colombian migrants. Using information from the household survey between 2006 and 2011 for urban areas in Colombia and a differences-in-differences approach we find that unemployment rates of those countries negatively affect the probability and the amount of remittances received by Colombian households living in areas with high and moderate migration tradition. At a second stage we provide evidence that unemployment rates of those countries positively affect the labor force participation decisions in Colombian regions with the highest migration tradition. |
| Keywords: | Migration, remittances, labor participation, Spanish and United States unemployment rates. |
| JEL: | C21 J21 J22 |
| Date: | 2014–06–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000094:011837&r=lab |
| By: | Afful, Efua Amoonua |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment (NAIRU) for 15 OECD economies from 1990 to 2012 using an iterative Phillips curve process and tests the relationship between strictness of employment protection and the NAIRU. A possible negative externality of employment protection legislation is a higher level of structural unemployment. Using Prais-winsten estimation correcting for panel-level heteroscedasticity a panel-specific first-order autoregressive process, results indicate that there is no relationship between strictness of protection for individual and collective dismissals for regular contracts and the NAIRU. The effect of strictness of employment protection for regular contracts is sensitive to model specification; the coefficient loses its significance when full controls are used in estimation. An implication is that deregulation is not a necessary policy tool in addressing the problem of structural unemployment. |
| Keywords: | NAIRU, natural rate, structural unemployment, employment protection legislation |
| JEL: | E24 J48 K31 |
| Date: | 2014–06–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:56875&r=lab |
| By: | Terence C. Cheng (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne); Pravin K. Trivedi (School of Economics, The University of Queensland; and Indiana University Bloomington) |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the nature and consequences of sample attrition in a unique longitudinal survey of medical doctors. We describe the patterns of non-response and examine if attrition affects the econometric analysis of medical labour market outcomes using the estimation of physician earnings equations as a case study. We compare the econometric estimates obtained from a number of different modeling strategies: balanced versus unbalanced samples; an attrition model for panel data based on the classic sample selection model; and a recently developed copula-based selection model. Descriptive evidence shows that doctors who work longer hours, have lower years of experience, are overseas trained, and have changed their work location are more likely to drop out. Our analysis suggests that the impact of attrition on inference about earnings of General Practitioners is small. For specialists, the impact of attrition is statistically and economically significant, but is on the whole not very large. Finally we discuss how the top-up samples in the MABEL survey can be used to address the problem of panel attrition. |
| Keywords: | Attrition, medical doctors, earnings, copula |
| JEL: | C23 J31 I11 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2014n14&r=lab |
| By: | Løken, Katrine V. (Department of Economics, University of Bergen); Lundberg, Shelly (Department of Economics, University of California, Santa Barbara); Riise, Julie (Department of Economics, University of Bergen) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we use a 1998 reform in the federal funding of local home-based care for the elderly in Norway to examine the effects of formal care expansion on the labor supply decisions and mobility of middle-aged children. Our main finding is a consistent and signi cant negative impact of formal care expansion on work absences longer than 2 weeks for the adult daughters of single elderly parents. This effect is particularly strong for daughters with no siblings, and this group is also more likely to exceed earnings thresholds after the reform. We find no impacts of the reform on daughter's mobility or parental health, and no effects on adult sons. Our results provide evidence of substitution between formal home-based care and informal care for the group that is most likely to respond to the parent's need for care - adult daughters with no siblings to share the burden of parental care. These results also highlight the importance of labor market institutions that provide flexibility in enabling women to balance home and work responsibilities. |
| Keywords: | Formal and informal care; elderly; welfare state; women's career |
| JEL: | J14 J22 |
| Date: | 2014–06–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:bergec:2014_003&r=lab |
| By: | Chaudhuri, Sarbajit; Ghosh Dastidar, Krishnendu |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a model of determination of unionized wage in the presence of both collective bargaining and efficiency wage. The efficiency of each worker is positively related to both the wage and the unemployment rate in the economy. The unionized wage is greater than the efficiency wage. The firm finds it profitable to keep the unionized wage as close as possible to the efficiency wage. The union leader who is entrusted with the task of determining the unionized wage charges a bribe from the firm to keep the wage close to this level. The corrupt trade union leader and the management of the firm play a two-stage Nash bargaining game from where equilibrium unionized wage and the bribe are determined. The analysis leads to some interesting results which are important for anticorruption policy formulation. |
| Keywords: | Corruption, Collective Bargaining, Efficiency Wage, Union, Firms |
| JEL: | D22 D73 J5 J51 O17 |
| Date: | 2014–06–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:57050&r=lab |
| By: | Manant, Matthieu; Pajak, Serge; Soulié, Nicolas |
| Abstract: | With the advance of online social networks, the screening of applicants during hiring can extend beyond the usual application material. Although browsing the online profile of an applicant raises ethical issues, this practice potentially improves the job matching, at virtually no cost to the employer. In this paper, we investigate the use of online social networks as a reliable source of information for recruiters on applicants in the French job market. We set up a field experiment using real accountant job offers in the greater Paris area. We adjust the content of Facebook accounts to manipulate the perceived origins of applicants (hometown and language spoken) and analyze the impact on the number of callbacks received from employers. The signal we manipulate to distinguish applicants is available only within the online profile, not the application material. During a 12 month period from March 2012 to March 2013, we submitted more than 800 applications. The test applicant received a third fewer callbacks compared to the control applicant, a significant difference. Our results suggest that online profiles are used indeed to screen applicants, and that this occurs early in the hiring process. During the course of the experiment, a change to the standard Facebook layout sent a part of our signal, namely the language spoken by the applicants, into a sub-tab not directly visible from the front page. This exogenous change (clicking on a tab is now required to access the information) allowed us to measure the recruiter's depth of search. In subsequent months, the gap between the two applicant types shrank and virtually disappeared. This suggests that screening is superficial, illustrating the existence of employer search costs for browsing an entire profile. |
| Keywords: | Online Social Network; Labor Market Discrimination; Privacy; Field experiment |
| JEL: | D82 D83 M5 |
| Date: | 2014–06–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:56845&r=lab |
| By: | Janelle Jones; John Schmitt; Nicole Woo |
| Abstract: | One of every nine women in the United States (11.8 percent in 2013) is represented by a union at her place of work. The annual number of hours of paid work performed by women has increased dramatically over the last four decades. In 1979, the typical woman was on the job 925 hours per year; by 2012, the typical woman did 1,664 hours of paid work per year. Meanwhile, women's share of unpaid care work and housework has remained high. Various time-use studies conclude that women continue to do about two-thirds of unpaid child-care (and elder-care) work and at least 60 percent of routine housework. The research reviewed here suggests that unions can provide substantial support to women trying to balance their paid work and their unpaid care responsibilities. |
| Keywords: | unions, women, |
| JEL: | J J1 J10 J18 J5 J16 J50 J58 J15 J88 J8 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:epo:papers:2014-11&r=lab |
| By: | Pia S. Schober; C. Katharina Spieß |
| Abstract: | By investigating how locally available early childhood education and care quality relates to maternal employment choices, this study extended the literature which has mostly focused on the importance of day-care availability or costs. We provided differentiated analyses by the youngest child's age and for West and East Germany to examine moderating influences of varying day-care supply and work-care cultures. The empirical analysis linked the Socio-Economic Panel and the 'Families in Germany'-Study for 2010 and 2011 (N=3,301 mothers) with regional structural quality data. We used regression models of employment status and work hours changes, respectively. In East Germany, mothers with a child aged under three years who lived in districts with smaller day-care groups were more likely to be employed and to extend their work hours. In West Germany, the negative association of child-teacher-ratios with maternal employment was marginally significant. For mothers with older children, day-care quality was unrelated to employment. |
| Keywords: | Child care, child care arrangements, education, early childhood, family policy, maternal employment |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp649&r=lab |
| By: | Holger Lüthen |
| Abstract: | To counteract the financial pressure emerging in aging societies, statutory pay-as-you-go pension schemes are undergoing fundamental reforms in many Western countries. Starting with cohort 1937, Germany introduced permanent pension deductions for early retirement. This paper examines the evolution of the profitability of pension contributions against the background of this reform for cohorts 1935-1945. I measure the profitability with the internal rate of return (IRR) and use high quality administrative data. For men the IRR declines from 2.4% to 1.2% and for women from 5.2% to 3.7%. The results suggest that the deductions introduced by the reform only cause some part of this trend. The majority of the trend, about 75%-80%, is caused by increased pension contributions. |
| Keywords: | Pensions, reform, early retirement, disincentives, pay-as-you-go, rates of return, Germany |
| JEL: | D02 D04 D14 D91 H55 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1389&r=lab |
| By: | Dorothea Schäfer; Susan Steiner |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the association between a country's level of financial development and firms' employment growth. We employ an incomplete contract model for evaluating this association. The model proposes that a high level of financial development affects the employment of firms with low managerial capital negatively, while firms with high managerial capital benefit from a more developed financial system. We test this proposition with data from the Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey covering transition countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We use firm size as a proxy for managerial capital. Our findings confirm a non-linear effect of financial development on firm employment. Specifically, the smallest firms' edge in employment growth over large firms is dampened when the level of financial development is higher, especially in countries at medium levels of financial development. |
| Keywords: | Financial development, employment, financial constraints, transition |
| JEL: | G20 G28 G30 J30 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1390&r=lab |
| By: | Sharon Lerner; Eileen Appelbaum |
| Abstract: | This study examines New Jersey employers’ experiences with employees who need time off to care for a seriously ill child or family member or to bond with a new baby since 2009, when the state began offering paid family leave through the statewide Family Leave Insurance (FLI) program. This program builds on the state’s Temporary Disability Insurance (TDI) Program, which has been in place since 1948 and has covered maternity leave since 1970. Since 2009, New Jersey has provided benefits for more than 100,000 FLI leaves, the vast majority of which were used for the care of new babies. This study examines how this relatively new, statewide program has affected employers’ processes for administering and managing employee leaves. Does the program generate excessive paperwork, for instance, or burden employers in other ways? Is the program being abused, as some initially feared? And how, if at all, has it helped employers? |
| Keywords: | family leave, medical leave, family leave insurance, new jersey |
| JEL: | I I1 H J J8 J83 J88 J3 J33 J38 |
| Date: | 2014–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:epo:papers:2014-12&r=lab |