|
on Labour Economics |
| By: | Jean-Olivier Hairault (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); François Langot (GAINS - Groupe d'Analyse des Itinéraires et des Niveaux Salariaux - UM - Le Mans Université, TEPP - Travail, Emploi et Politiques Publiques - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Thepthida Sopraseuth (CEPREMAP - Centre pour la recherche économique et ses applications) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we show that (i) the volatility of worker flows increases with age in US CPS data, and (ii) a search and matching model with life-cycle features, endogenous separation and search effort, is well suited to explain this fact. With a shorter horizon on the labor market, older workers' outside options become less responsive to new employment opportunities, thereby making their wages less sensitive to the business cycle. Their job finding and separation rates are then more volatile along the business cycle. The horizon effect cannot explain the significant differences between prime-age and young workers as both age groups are far away from retirement. A lower bargaining power on the youth labor market brings the model closer to the data. JEL Classification: E32, J11, J23 |
| Keywords: | search,matching,business cycle,life cycle |
| Date: | 2019–01–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-01984987&r=all |
| By: | Zhang, W. |
| Abstract: | This paper develops and estimates a spatial general equilibrium job search model to study the effects of local and universal (federal) minimum wage policies. In the model, firms post vacancies in multiple locations. Workers, who are heterogeneous in terms of location and education types, engage in random search and can migrate or commute in response to job offers. I estimate the model by combining multiple databases including the American Community Survey (ACS) and Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI). The estimated model is used to analyze how minimum wage policies affect employment, wages, job postings, vacancies, migration/ commuting, and welfare. Empirical results show that minimum wage increases in local county lead to an exit of low type (education |
| Keywords: | spatial equilibrium, local minimum wage policy, labor relocation |
| JEL: | J61 J63 J64 J68 R12 R13 |
| Date: | 2018–12–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cam:camdae:1889&r=all |
| By: | Hall, Axel; Gylfi Zoega |
| Abstract: | The authors propose an explanation of why Europeans choose to work fewer hours than Americans and also suffer higher rates of unemployment. Labor market regulations, unemployment benefits, and high levels of public consumption in many European countries reduce, ceteris paribus, the gains from being employed, which makes employed workers ask for higher wages relative to productivity. The higher wages make firms offer fewer vacancies, as well as raising the level of consumption enjoyed by workers, which makes them want to enjoy more leisure because consumption and leisure are complements in the utility function. |
| Keywords: | job search,unemployment,working hours |
| JEL: | J63 J64 J65 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifwedp:20191&r=all |
| By: | Alberto Batinti; Joan Costa-Font |
| Abstract: | We examine whether economic downturns reshape the distribution of population income giving rise to a “middle-class squeeze.” We test this hypothesis using alternative definitions of middle-class, such as income-based measures from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), and perceived measures from the Integrated Values Study (IVS). Our findings suggest that, although recessions do not produce a middle-class squeeze overall, the unanticipated shocks resulting from the Great Recession did. Furthermore, we find that recessions increase the share of the population that regards itself as ‘middle-class.’ Estimates are heterogeneous to the baseline unemployment at the time of a recession, country spending on social protection, to middle-class measures and definitions. |
| JEL: | F22 I30 J64 |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lis:liswps:757&r=all |
| By: | Sara Signorelli (PSE - Paris School of Economics, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS Paris - École normale supérieure - Paris - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | In recent yearsWestern countries are expressing growing concerns about the regulation of migration flows and many are considering adopting some form of selective immigration policy. This paper analyzes the labor market effects of one of such reforms introduced in France in 2008 with the aim of encouraging the inflow of foreign workers with skills that are scarce among the local labor force. The analysis relies on administrative employer-employee data and it is based on a difference-in-differences approach. Results show that the reform increased the hiring of foreign workers in target occupations without causing any harm to native employment. As a result, the overall stock of labor grew in these jobs. Entry wages are lowered by 4% among natives and by 9% among foreigners, suggesting that these two groups may not be perfect substitutes, even when they are employed for the exact same task. Yet, the negative pressure on salaries seems to disappear after the first three years, as opposed to the positive impact on employment. The effects are stronger for the occupations with the most severe lack of native candidates and for those with an average salary largely above the minimum wage, indicating that the reform was successful in attracting candidates with rare skills and relatively high productivity. |
| Keywords: | Immigration,Employment,Wage,Occupations,France |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-01983071&r=all |
| By: | Bindler, Anna (University of Gothenburg); Ketel, Nadine (University of Gothenburg) |
| Abstract: | Little is known about the costs of crime to victims and their families. In this paper, we use unique and detailed register data on victimisations and labour market outcomes from the Netherlands to overcome data restrictions previously met in the literature and estimate event-study designs to assess the short- and long-term effects of criminal victimisation. Our results show significant decreases in earnings (6.6-9.3%) and increases in the days of benefit receipt (10.4-14.7%) which are lasting up to eight years after victimisation. We find shorter-lived responses in health expenditure. Additional analyses suggest that the victimisation can be interpreted as an escalation point, potentially triggering subsequent adverse life-events which contribute to its persistent impact. Heterogeneity analyses show that the effects are slightly larger for males regarding earnings and significantly larger for females regarding benefits. These differences appear to be largely (but not completely) driven by different offence characteristics. Lastly, we investigate spill-over effects on nonvictimised partners and find evidence for a spill-over effect of violent threat on the partner's earnings. |
| Keywords: | crime, victimisation, labour market outcomes, event-study design |
| JEL: | K4 J01 J12 I1 |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12082&r=all |
| By: | Kunze, Astrid (Norwegian School of Economics); Liu, Xingfei (University of Alberta, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores whether the expansion of childcare leads to an increase in the maternal labour supply. Exploiting a large nationwide reform that expanded childcare for 1–2-year-olds to 80 percent coverage, we find a significant increase in employment of mothers with young children, but only weak evidence of an increase in contracted hours of work. The adjustments are short-term effects of the reform. We also find substantial heterogeneity. The effects are relatively large for mothers post maternity leave, noteworthy on actual working hours. For mothers with more than one child, effects are strong in the long-term of the reform. |
| Keywords: | childcare; female labour supply; contracted hours; actual hours; causal effects |
| JEL: | J08 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2019–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:albaec:2019_001&r=all |
| By: | Berardi, Nicoletta; Lalanne, Marie; Seabright, Paul |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how networks of professional contacts contribute to the development of the careers of executives of North American and European companies. We build a dynamic model of career progression in which career moves may both depend upon existing networks and contribute to the development of future networks. We test the theory on an original dataset of nearly 73 000 executives in over 10 000 firms. In principle professional networks could be relevant both because they are rewarded by the employer and because they facilitate job mobility. Our econometric analysis suggests that, although there is a substantial positive correlation between network size and executive compensation, with an elasticity of around 20%, almost all of this is due to unobserved individual characteristics. The true causal impact of networks on compensation is closer to an elasticity of 1 or 2% on average, all of this due to enhanced probability of moving to a higher-paid job. And there appear to be strongly diminishing returns to network size. |
| Keywords: | professional networks,labor mobility,executive compensation |
| JEL: | D85 J31 J62 M12 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:safewp:243&r=all |
| By: | Esposito, Piero; Collignon, Stefan; Schicchitano, Sergio |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we assess the impact of immigration and unemployment for a sample of 15 EU countries between 1997 and 2016. We test for the existence of a core-periphery dualism based on differences in macroeconomic fundamentals and labour market characteristics. We use a Panel Error Correction Model to assess the direction and persistence of the impact of immigration on domestic unemployment in the short and in the long run. In the long run, immigration is found to reduce unemployment in all peripheral-countries. In core countries, we find no long-run impact of immigration on unemployment due to substantial heterogeneity. As for short-run dynamics, we find a confirmation of the result that immigration reduces unemployment for the whole sample. Based on differences in employment protection and activity rates, larger impacts are found for Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon countries, while lower and less significant impacts are found for Italy, Greece and Portugal. |
| Keywords: | International Migration,Unemployment,European Union,Panel Data |
| JEL: | C23 E23 F22 J61 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:310&r=all |
| By: | Antonio Di Paolo (AQR-IREA, University of Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 690 (08034), Barcelona, Spain.); Aysit Tansel (Middle East Technical University, ERF and IZA.) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we investigate the effect of the level of English skills on the labour market outcomes of Turkish women, using data from the Adult Education Survey of 2007. By adopting a bivariate equation framework, we jointly model the effect of English skills on labour market status and, conditional on being a wage earner, on monthly earnings and occupational status. The multinomial equation that explains labour market status allows for a different effect of language knowledge on the probability of being employed, unemployed but actively looking for a job, an unpaid family worker or involved in household tasks. The results indicate that being proficient in English is conditionally associated with a higher probability of being employed as a wage earner and, to a lesser extent, unemployed but looking for a job, whereas it decreases the likelihood of being involved in household tasks. Moreover, there is a significant conditional correlation between having a high level of skills in English and earnings, which is only modestly reduced when job-related variables and (especially) occupation dummies are included as additional controls. Indeed, being proficient in English barely affects occupational status when selection into employment status is controlled for. Therefore, the knowledge of foreign languages (in this case English) seems to stimulate labour market participation and earnings capacity, but does not substantially affect the occupational position of women in the Turkish labour market. |
| Keywords: | English skills, females, labour market status, earnings, occupation. JEL classification:J16, J24, J31, O15, Z13. |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ira:wpaper:201902&r=all |
| By: | Fornaro, Paolo; Maliranta, Mika; Rouvinen, Petri |
| Abstract: | Abstract We study immigrants’ effects on firm-level innovativeness. Managers, innovators, and other employees are considered as separate groups both in firm employment and in local areas. For each, we estimate the effects of foreignness, the share of immigrants in each group, and diversity, while controlling for an extensive set of employment and other firm characteristics. Pooled cross-section estimates suggest that a higher initial share of immigrant innovators is associated with a subsequently higher probability of a product innovation; the reverse holds for process innovation. In other words, product innovation benefits from a wider spectrum of innovator perspectives brought about by foreign influence, while process innovation suffers from it. The estimated effect for product innovation is modestly large but nevertheless indicates that a host of other covariates besides immigration are important for innovation. When measured by a fractionalization index, diversity among innovators does not promote product innovation. However, culturally the closest groups of migrants have a positive effect, when considered independently. Thus, in our interpretation, diversity does offer some benefits, provided that enough cultural homogeneity of the group is retained. |
| Keywords: | Immigration, Ethnicity, Diversity, Innovation, Knowledge production function, Finland |
| JEL: | D22 F22 J61 O31 |
| Date: | 2019–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rif:wpaper:63&r=all |
| By: | Carlsson, Mikael (Uppsala University); Häkkinen Skans, Iida (National Institute of Economic Research - NIER); Nordström Skans, Oskar (Uppsala University) |
| Abstract: | The paper estimates how wages respond to changes in regional unemployment using detailed Swedish micro data. The study is set in an economy with close to complete union coverage where real wages have grown continuously in all parts of the wage distribution for the past 15 years, and where the aggregate wage dispersion has remained constant for the same period. Our results show that this aggregate stability is coupled with non-trivial flexibility in terms of wage adjustments to changes in regional unemployment. Accounting for the fluctuations in composition of the employees is important for the estimated elasticity of wages. Wage adjustments are larger for employees with high unemployment risk and for new hires entering from unemployment. |
| Keywords: | wages, unemployment, unions, wage flexibility |
| JEL: | J5 J3 |
| Date: | 2019–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12093&r=all |
| By: | Olivier Guillot; Magali Jaoul-Grammare; Isabelle Terraz |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of unionisation among French employees. Special emphasis is placed on the impact of contextual factors relating to the sector and workplace. The analysis, based on two different datasets, is carried out using two-level (individual and sector) logistic regression models. Beyond the effects of individual factors such as age, education or type of job contract, the results indicate that the probability of being a union member is significantly higher in sectors with high proportions of mature and large establishments, and whose volume of activity is increasing (or at least stable). The workplace context also clearly matters. The presence of unions in the establishment and a tense social climate are both factors which increase membership. |
| Keywords: | Trade Unions, Union Membership, Economic Sectors, Workplace Context, France. |
| JEL: | J5 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ulp:sbbeta:2019-04&r=all |
| By: | Christl, Michael |
| Abstract: | The Austrian Beveridge curve shifted in 2014, leading to ongoing academic discussions about the reasons behind this shift. While some have argued that the shift was caused by a supply shock due to labour market liberalization, others have stated that matching efficiency decreased. Using a new decomposition method, combined with detailed labour market flow data, we are the first to disentangle supply-side, demand-side and matching factors, which could potentially cause a shift in the Beveridge curve in Austria. We find empirical evidence to confirm that the increase in the unemployment rate in Austria after 2011 can indeed be attributed to a supply-side shock. But, contrary to other research, our analysis shows that the shift in the Beveridge curve after 2014 was mainly caused by a decrease in matching efficiency, indicating a rising mismatch problem in the Austrian labour market. |
| Keywords: | Beveridge curve,crisis,mismatch,unemployment,structural unemployment,vacancies |
| JEL: | J62 J63 E24 E32 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:agawps:17&r=all |