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on Labour Economics |
| By: | Jäger, Simon (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Noy, Shakked (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Schoefer, Benjamin (University of California, Berkeley) |
| Abstract: | We provide a comprehensive overview of codetermination, i.e., worker representation in firms' governance and management. We cover the institution's history, implementation, and the best available evidence on its economic impacts. We argue that existing quasi-experimental estimates suggest that codetermination has zero or very small positive effects on worker and firm outcomes at the partial-equilibrium firm level. In addition, we test for general-equilibrium effects of codetermination laws using novel cross-country event studies exploiting a series of codetermination reforms between the 1960s and 2010s, and find no evidence that codetermination laws shift aggregate economic outcomes or the quality of industrial relations. We offer three potential explanations of the institution's limited impact. First, existing codetermination laws convey relatively little authority to workers. Second, countries with codetermination laws have high baseline levels of informal worker involvement in decision-making, independently of formal codetermination. Third, codetermination laws may interact with other labor market institutions, such as union representation and collective bargaining. We close by discussing implications of these facts for recent codetermination proposals in the United States. |
| Keywords: | codetermination, unions, worker representation |
| JEL: | J08 K31 M1 M5 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14465&r= |
| By: | Chiswick, Barry R.; Robinson, RaeAnn Halenda |
| Abstract: | Estimated labor force participation rates among free women in the pre-Civil War period were exceedingly low. This is due, in part, to cultural or societal expectations of the role of women and the lack of thorough enumeration by Census takers. This paper develops an augmented labor force participation rate for free women in 1860 and compares it with the augmented rate for 1920 and today. Our methodology identifies women who are likely providing informal and unenumerated labor for market production in support of a family business, that is, unreported family workers. These individuals are not coded in the original data as formally working, but are likely to be engaged in the labor force on the basis of the self-employment of other relatives in their household. Unreported family workers are classified into four categories: farm, merchant, craft, and boardinghouse keepers. Using microdata, the inclusion of these workers more than triples the free female labor force participation rate in the 1860 Census from 16 percent to 57 percent, more than doubles the participation rate in the 1920 Census from 24 percent to 50 percent, and has a trivial effect on the currently measured rate of 56 percent (2015-2019 American Community Survey). This suggests that rather than a steep rise from a very low level in the female labor force participation rate since 1860, it has in fact always been high and fairly stable over time. In contrast, the effect of including unreported family workers in the male augmented labor force participation rate is relatively small. |
| Keywords: | Women,Labor Force Participation,Unreported Family Workers,Occupational Status,Unpaid Workers,Self-Employment,1860 Census,1920 Census,American Community Survey |
| JEL: | N31 J16 J21 J82 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:587r&r= |
| By: | Dayioglu-Tayfur, Meltem (Middle East Technical University); Kirdar, Murat G. (Bogazici University); Koc, Ismet (Hacettepe University) |
| Abstract: | Millions of children are forcibly displaced around the world, making child labor a serious risk. However, little is known about this topic due to the difficulty of finding representative datasets for this population and information on child labor. In this study, we use a representative dataset on Syrian refugees in Turkey, the largest refugee group in any single country, to examine the incidence of child labor and its determinants. The incidence of paid work is remarkably high among boys. While 17.4% of 12-14 year-olds are in paid employment, a staggering 45.1% of 15-17 year-olds receive payment. We find that paid work is positively associated with poverty, proficiency in Turkish, living in an industrialized region in Turkey, originating from rural areas in Syria and living in a household with a young, female, or less-educated head. Family composition matters more for girls' employment than boys'. Boys' (girls') employment increases if their father (mother) is alive – suggesting network effects. Being older at arrival is highly associated with child labor, indicating that difficulty with school integration drives children into employment. |
| Keywords: | child labor, forced displacement, Syrian refugees, paid work, migrants, Turkey |
| JEL: | J13 J15 J61 O15 O53 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14466&r= |
| By: | Martina Viarengo; Ugo Panizza; Enrico Nano (The Graduate Institute) |
| Abstract: | We examine the role of financial aid in shaping the formation of human capital in economics. Specifically, we study the impact of a large merit-based scholarship for graduate studies in affecting individuals’ occupational choices, career trajectories, and labor market outcomes of a generation of Italian economists with special focus on gender gaps and the role of social mobility. We construct a unique dataset that combines archival sources and includes microdata for the universe of applicants to the scholarship program and follow these individuals over their professional life. Our unique sample that focuses on the high end of the talent and ability distribution also allows us to analyze the characteristics of top graduates, a group which tends to be under-sampled in most surveys. We discuss five main results. First, women are less likely to be shortlisted for a scholarship as they tend to receive lower scores in the most subjective criteria used in the initial screening of candidates. Second, scholarship winners are much more likely to choose a research career and this effect is larger for women. Third, women who work in Italian universities tend to have less citations than men who work in Italy. However, the citation gender gap is smaller for candidates who received a scholarship. Fourth, women take longer to be promoted to the rank of full professor, even after controlling for academic productivity. Fifth, it is easier to become a high achiever for individuals from households with a lower socio-economic status if they reside in high social mobility provinces. However, high-achievers from lower socio-economic status households face an up-hill battle even in high social mobility provinces. |
| Keywords: | Human capital formation; Financial aid; Career trajectories; Gender gaps |
| JEL: | I22 I24 J16 J24 |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cid:wpfacu:400&r= |
| By: | Haywood, Luke (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)); Janser, Markus (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg); Koch, Nicolas (Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC)) |
| Abstract: | Decarbonizing economies is an enormous task. Public debate often focuses on the job loss of workers in fossil industries. Why is job loss costly? Who is most affected? Can delaying transition reduce welfare costs? What other policy instruments may be available? We present a simple job search framework that calculates life-time welfare costs of job loss. We apply the model to the archetypical fossil industry - coal mining. Based on the universe of German coal employment biographies, we estimate the model and decompose welfare costs. We find that unemployment is a small factor: Higher wages and job security in coal drive welfare costs. We distinguish welfare costs by age, education and business cycle. High-educated workers aged 31-49 face highest losses. Based on a detailed demographic projection, we estimate that advancing coal exit from 2038 to 2030 increases unmitigated welfare costs by one third. Labor market policy promoting career switches rather than retirement can alleviate these welfare costs: A wage insurance scheme is estimated to reduce welfare losses by 80-99% at reasonable costs. |
| Keywords: | job loss, structural change, just transition, coal exit |
| JEL: | J64 L16 Q54 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14464&r= |
| By: | Petrosky-Nadeau, Nicolas (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco); Valletta, Robert G. (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco) |
| Abstract: | To provide economic relief following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. CARES Act granted an extra $600 per week in unemployment insurance (UI) benefit payments from late March through July 2020. This unprecedented increase in UI generosity caused weekly benefit payments to exceed prior earnings for most recipients, raising concern that many would be unwilling to accept job offers, slowing the labor market recovery. To assess the impact of the UI supplement, we analyze the job acceptance decision in a dynamic framework in which job seekers weigh the value of a job against remaining unemployed, accounting for the perceived state of the labor market and expected weeks of UI benefits. We derive a reservation level of benefit payments at which an individual is indifferent between accepting and refusing a job offer at their prior wage. Calculating the reservation benefit and comparing it to imputed benefit payments for a wide range of U.S. workers suggests that only a small fraction would turn down an offer to return to work at their previous wage under the CARES Act expanded UI payments. We supplement this quantitative assessment of reservation benefits with direct empirical analysis of labor force transitions using matched Current Population Survey (CPS) data, linked to annual earning records from the CPS income supplement to form UI replacement rates. The results show moderate disincentive effects of the $600 supplemental payments on job finding rates and by extension small effects of the $300 weekly supplement available during 2021. |
| Keywords: | unemployment, unemployment insurance, job acceptance, COVID-19, CARES Act |
| JEL: | J64 J65 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14454&r= |
| By: | Goller, Daniel (University of St. Gallen); Harrer, Tamara (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg); Lechner, Michael (University of St. Gallen); Wolff, Joachim (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the effectiveness of three different job-search and training programmes for German long-term unemployed persons. On the basis of an extensive administrative data set, we evaluated the effects of those programmes on various levels of aggregation using Causal Machine Learning. We found participants to benefit from the investigated programmes with placement services to be most effective. Effects are realised quickly and are long-lasting for any programme. While the effects are rather homogenous for men, we found differential effects for women in various characteristics. Women benefit in particular when local labour market conditions improve. Regarding the allocation mechanism of the unemployed to the different programmes, we found the observed allocation to be as effective as a random allocation. Therefore, we propose data-driven rules for the allocation of the unemployed to the respective labour market programmes that would improve the status-quo. |
| Keywords: | policy evaluation, Modified Causal Forest (MCF), active labour market programmes, conditional average treatment effect (CATE) |
| JEL: | J08 J68 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14486&r= |
| By: | Sugat Chaturvedi (Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi); Kanika Mahajan (Ashoka University); Zahra Siddique (University of Bristol) |
| Abstract: | We examine employer preferences for hiring men vs women using 160, 000 job ads posted on an online job portal in India, linked with more than 6 million applications. We apply machine learning algorithms on text contained in job ads to predict an employer’s gender preference. We find that advertised wages are lowest in jobs where employers prefer women, even when this preference is implicitly retrieved through the text analysis, and that these jobs also attract a larger share of female applicants. We then systematically uncover what lies beneath these relationships by retrieving words that are predictive of an explicit gender preference, or gendered words, and assigning them to the categories of hard and soft-skills, personality traits, and flexibility. We find that skills related female-gendered words have low returns but attract a higher share of female applicants while male-gendered words indicating decreased flexibility (e.g., frequent travel or unusual working hours) have high returns but result in a smaller share of female applicants. This contributes to a gender earnings gap. Our findings illustrate how gender preferences are partly driven by stereotypes and statistical discrimination. |
| Keywords: | gender, job portal, machine learning |
| JEL: | J16 J63 J71 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:alo:isipdp:21-03&r= |
| By: | Ondrej Schneider (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines migration trends in the European Union since the enlargements of 2004-2007, which brought 100 million citizens of eleven Central and Eastern European countries into the EU. We examine country- and regional-level data on migration trends and show how European integration depleted the labor force in new member countries. Several of them lost 10% of their population since 2006, most of it via negative net migration. In 2019, 18% of Romanians, 14% of Lithuanians, 13% Croats, and Bulgarians lived in another EU country. The quantitative analysis shows that migration contributed positively to regional convergence, as every percentage point of net migration increased GDP per capita by roughly 0.01% and reduced unemployment by 0.1-0.2 percentage points. Further analysis will be needed to disentangle aggregate migration effects to quantify its impact on regions that lose their population via migration. |
| Keywords: | migration, labor markets, convergence, European Union |
| JEL: | F22 F66 J61 O15 R11 R23 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2021_23&r= |
| By: | Jacobs, Ken; McBride, Justin; Smith, Rebecca |
| Abstract: | The United States enterprise-based collective bargaining regime creates substantial limitations for organizing workers where supply chains are increasingly disaggregated in ways that reduce worker power. Federal labor law generally preempts state and local policies that directly address private sector bargaining. State and local governments, however, are not preempted from setting general labor standards. We look at four cases of recent experiments at the local level with sectoral standards. Our cases show that sectoral standards have the potential to expand new forms of social bargaining at the state and local level through public policy in areas of the country where worker organizations are already strong. They can do so in ways that promote worker organization and build institutional power, especially when combined with robust worker organizing. In doing so they show both the potential power, and limitations, of federalism in US workplace. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, collective bargaining, labor standards, sectoral bargaining, worker organization, worker organizing, federalism |
| Date: | 2021–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:indrel:qt9kt2b751&r= |
| By: | Del Boca, Daniela (University of Turin); Oggero, Noemi (University of Turin); Profeta, Paola (Bocconi University); Rossi, Maria Cristina (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact on families' lives, with parents all over the world struggling to meet the increased demands of housework, childcare and home-schooling. Much of the additional burden has been shouldered by women, particularly in countries with a traditionally uneven division of household labor. Yet the dramatic increase in remote work from home since the pandemic also has the potential to increase paternal involvement in family life and thus to redress persistent domestic gender role inequalities. This effect depends on the working arrangements of each partner, whether working remotely, working at their usual workplace or ceasing work altogether. We examine the role of working arrangements during the pandemic on the traditional division of household labor in Italy using survey data from interviews with a representative sample of working women conducted during the two waves of COVID-19 (April and November 2020). Our data show that the gender gap in household care related activities was widest during the first wave of the pandemic, and although it was less pronounced during the second wave, it was still higher than pre-COVID-19. The time spent by women on housework, childcare, and assisting their children with distance learning did not depend on their partners' working arrangements. Conversely, men spent fewer hours helping with the housework and distance learning when their partners were at home. It is interesting, however, that although men who worked remotely or not at all did devote more time to domestic chores and child care, the increased time they spent at home did not seem to lead to a reallocation of couples' roles in housework and child care. Finally, we find that working arrangements are linked to women's feelings of uncertainty, with heterogeneous effects by level of education. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19, work arrangements, housework, childcare, distance learning |
| JEL: | J13 J16 J21 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14453&r= |
| By: | Russo, Giovanni (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop)); Van Houten, Gijs (Eurofound - European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions) |
| Abstract: | The main function of hierarchies is to coordinate activities within an organisation, but a hierarchical structure also provides work incentives, by offering the prospect of hierarchical mobility. An alternative way for organisations to motivate workers is through job design. In organisations offering rewarding jobs, the incentivising role of hierarchies may become obsolete, and the number of hierarchical levels can be reduced. Two job design features are particularly relevant: autonomy and problem solving. We investigate the relationship between the number of hierarchical layers and job design features empirically using the European Company Survey (ECS 2019). We find that the extent of the adoption of both complex job design and autonomous teamwork are negatively associated with the number of hierarchical layers. However, the association between complex job design and the number of hierarchical layers is weakened, and in some cases disappears, in larger organisations where hierarchies have a more important coordination role and it is weakened when the knowledge acquisition costs are high. The use of autonomous teams is robustly negatively associated with the number of hierarchical layers. |
| Keywords: | job design, hierarchies, job complexity |
| JEL: | M51 L20 M50 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14455&r= |
| By: | Huebener, Mathias (DIW Berlin); Jessen, Jonas (DIW Berlin); Kühnle, Daniel (University of Duisburg-Essen); Oberfichtner, Michael (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg) |
| Abstract: | Motherhood and parental leave interrupt employment relationships, likely imposing costs on firms. We document that mothers who are difficult to replace internally take shorter leave and that their firms hire replacements more often. Introducing more generous parental leave benefits erases the link between mothers' internal replaceability and their leave duration. In firms with few internal substitutes this reduces employment in the short-, but not longer-term. Firms respond by hiring fewer women of childbearing age into occupations where they are difficult to replace internally. Taken together, motherhood and generous parental leave policies burden firms that have few internal substitutes available. |
| Keywords: | parental leave, worker absences, firm-specific human capital, substitution, statistical discrimination |
| JEL: | J16 J18 J24 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14478&r= |
| By: | Mumford, Karen A. (University of York); Aguirre, Edith (ISER, University of Essex); Einarsdóttir, Anna (University of York); Lockyer, Bridget (University of York); Sayli, Melisa (University of Surrey); Smith, Benjamin A. (Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust) |
| Abstract: | Studies of the relationship between sexual orientation and pay have faced difficulties applying standard models of discrimination if orientation is not observable. Analogously, behavioural explanations of pay based on models of gender linked within-household specialization may not be as relevant in a nonheterosexual context. This article analyses pay gaps using information including earnings, gender, LGB identity, coupling status, and the disclosure of sexual orientation in English National Health Service (NHS) workplaces. The results reveal a robust gender pay gap of 4% in favour of males, but no overall LGB pay gap compared to heterosexuals. The latter is due to similar-sized offsetting effects from disclosure on LGB pay relative to comparable heterosexuals. Amongst LGB employees, disclosure is associated with 13% more pay, with three quarters of this gap related to unexplained differences in returns to observable characteristics. Supportive workplace practices are strongly associated with increased probability of disclosure, especially the availability of a LGB workplace network. |
| Keywords: | disclosure, gender, LGB, NHS, pay |
| JEL: | J16 J31 J71 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14482&r= |
| By: | Yang, Xiuna (China Development Research Foundation); Gustafsson, Björn Anders (University of Gothenburg); Sicular, Terry (University of Western Ontario) |
| Abstract: | This study contributes to the literature on inequality of opportunity (IOp) in China by covering a longer and more recent span of time, employing better measures of given characteristics, and analyzing IOp for household income per capita with comparisons to individual income. Furthermore, we study how IOp differs between the rural- and urban-born, and how IOp changes across birth cohorts and with age. We use 2002, 2013 and 2018 data from the Chinese Household Income Study and focus on income inequality among working-age persons. Between the years of study, IOp in China declined, especially between 2013 and 2018. In 2002 the large contributors to IOp were region, hukou type at birth, and parents' characteristics. In 2018 the contributions of region, hukou type at birth and parents' occupation had decreased, but that of parents' education had increased. We find that IOp is larger among those born in rural than urban China. Furthermore, IOP's contribution to total inequality within each birth cohort is highest earlier in individuals' work lives and declines with age. IOp is higher for older than younger birth cohorts, reflecting that younger cohorts have benefited from increased opportunities associated with China's reforms and opening up. |
| Keywords: | Gini, income inequality, inequality of opportunity, China |
| JEL: | D31 D63 J62 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14463&r= |
| By: | Pineda-Hernández, Kevin; Rycx, François; Volral, Mélanie |
| Abstract: | Although many studies point to the significant influence of collective bargaining institutions on earnings inequalities, evidence on how these institutions shape poverty rates across developed economies remains surprisingly scarce. It would be a mistake, though, to believe that the relationship between earnings inequalities and poverty is straightforward. Indeed, whereas earnings inequalities are measured at the individual level, poverty is calculated at the household level using equivalised (disposable) incomes. Accordingly, in most developed countries poverty is not primarily an issue of the working poor. This paper explicitly addresses the relationship between collective bargaining systems and working-age poverty rates in 24 developed countries over the period 1990-2015. Using an up-to-date and fine-grained taxonomy of bargaining systems and relying on state-of-the-art panel data estimation techniques, we find that countries with more centralised and/or coordinated bargaining systems display significantly lower working-age poverty rates than countries with largely or fully decentralised systems. However, this result only holds in a post-tax benefit scenario. Controlling for country-fixed effects and endogeneity, our estimates indeed suggest that the poverty-reducing effect of collective bargaining institutions stems from the political strength of trade unions in promoting public social spending rather than from any direct effect on earnings inequalities. |
| Keywords: | Collective bargaining systems,poverty rates,social security expenditures,panel data,advanced economies |
| JEL: | C23 C26 I32 I38 J51 J52 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:877&r= |
| By: | Shakked Noy (Massachusetts Institute of Technology); Isabelle Sin (Motu Economic and Public Policy Research) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we compare mothers’ preferred leave, anticipated leave, and realised leave to shed light on how well different types of mothers are able to predict the parental leave they will take, and the factors that drive them to deviate from their plans. We use data from the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal survey on mothers’ preferred and anticipated leave reported antenatally, their realised leave, and the reasons they give for their leave-related choices to better understand the drivers of mothers’ leave decisions. We find mothers tend to anticipate substantially less leave than they prefer, but end up taking more leave on average than they anticipate. They have a moderate ability to take their preferred leave up to a year, but very little ability to take more than a year of leave. The 52 weeks of job-protected leave specified by law may play a role in this. Financial constraints are the most important factor driving mothers back to work. Certain types of mothers, such those with low income, are particularly prone to shocks that cause them to return to work earlier than anticipated, whereas as first-time mothers who plan a longer period of leave are vulnerable to shocks that cause them to delay their return to work. |
| Keywords: | parental leave; mothers’ employment; social insurance |
| JEL: | D1 H31 J13 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtu:wpaper:21_08&r= |
| By: | Hai-Anh Dang (World Bank); Masako Hiraga (World Bank); Cuong Viet Nguyen (Vietnam National University) |
| Abstract: | Little literature currently exists on the effects of childcare use on maternal labor market outcomes in a developing country context, and the few recent studies offer mixed results. We attempt to fill these gaps by analyzing several latest rounds of the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey spanning the early to mid-2010s. Addressing endogeneity issues with a regression discontinuity estimator based on children’s birth months, we find sizable and positive effects of childcare on women’s own labor market outcomes and their household income and poverty status. The effects of childcare differ by women’s characteristics and are stronger for more educated women. These effects are also somewhat larger for younger children and areas with higher income levels. Furthermore, we also find that some positive effects last after two years. |
| Keywords: | gender equality, childcare, preschool, women’s empowerment, RDD, Vietnam |
| JEL: | H4 J1 J2 O1 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2021-584&r= |
| By: | Weisser, Reinhard A. |
| Abstract: | Over the last decades, Europe attracted an increasing number of internationally mobile students. The related influx of talent into European labour markets constituted an important factor to the knowledge economy. This research addresses the question whether changing political landscapes in Europe, e.g. an increasing scepticism concerning migrants or support for right-wing parties, translated into a diminishing attractiveness of European economies. To this end, international graduates' staying behaviour in 28 European destination countries is investigated based on bilateral stay rates for almost 150 countries of origin in the years 2009 to 2019. Controlling for various immigration regimes and institutional settings, international graduates are found to display a high level of sensitivity with respect to political dynamics: A distinct dominance of the right political spectrum may lower the number of international graduates willing to stay by up to 50%. The effect is particularly strong in election years when voters' political preferences become more salient. Eventually, this amounts to a considerable loss for European economies since international graduates have acquired destination country specific human capital and are easily integrated into host societies. |
| Keywords: | migration policies,graduate mobility,labour market integration,political preferences |
| JEL: | J61 D91 F22 I23 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:872&r= |
| By: | Catherine Gagnon; Jason Gagnon |
| Abstract: | The world is increasingly facing a technologically changing employment landscape and such changes are directly affecting the future demand for skills. For regional economies built on labour migration, the impending changes will affect migrants and their families, their countries of origin and the recruitment systems they are attached to – and ultimately disrupt the development benefits of migration. This paper investigates how the future of the employment landscape will affect migration within the Abu Dhabi Dialogue, a regional consultative process for migration in Asia. It investigates the impending changes in the demand for skills in countries of destination, how such changes will affect migration processes and whether countries of origin are ready for the changes. It provides recommendations on how regional consultative processes can foster dialogue between key actors from both countries of origin and destination to better navigate future changes and ensure a smooth transition. |
| Keywords: | employment, future of work, international migration, labour migration, regional co-operation, skills |
| JEL: | F22 O15 J24 J61 F66 |
| Date: | 2021–07–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:dcdaab:40-en&r= |
| By: | Gunderson, Morley |
| Abstract: | This chapter deals with the question of whether labour standards are less relevant or more relevant for the new world of work which is vastly different from the old world of work when most labour standards were first established. The various rationales for labour standards are first outlined. This is followed by a discussion of the changing pressures in the labour market that emanate from various forces: the pressures affecting employers and hence their demand for labour; the changing nature of the supply of labour; changes in forms of employee representation and the legal and regulatory environment in which the parties operate; and changes in the workplace and human resource practices within firms. These pressures lead to a changing role and need for labour standards, generally increasing the need, but also tending to reduce the ability of governments to provide such standards. Some illustrative evidence of the impact of specific labour standards is outlined, followed by a discussion of labour standards in developing and emerging economies. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible elements of smart regulation in this area to deal with the difficult trade-off between the increased need for labour standards confronting the reduced ability of governments to provide such standards. |
| Keywords: | labour standards,vulnerable workers,strategic enforcement,terminations,advance notice,maximum hours,overtime,parental leaves |
| JEL: | J8 K31 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:873&r= |
| By: | Karlson, Nils (The Ratio Institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper examines whether the Swedish regulatory system of dealing with industrial conflicts that affect essential services need an update or reform. Are the existing rules effective in a world where many essential services are upheld by many interdependent agents in complex systems where every single node becomes critical for the functioning of the system, and where the essential service activities could be either private or public? A comparative study is conducted with the corresponding regulatory systems of the United Kingdom, Germany, and Denmark. <p> The conclusion is that Sweden is a special case. The Swedish protection against and readiness in dealing with societally harmful industrial conflicts in essential services is weaker than in the countries of comparison. Just as in relation to other threats to essential services, it is not sustainable to claim that just because such a threat is not currently present, there would be no need for preparedness. <p> There are many alternative ways to handle this. Desirable methods should both prevent harmful conflicts from erupting and end conflicts that have grown harmful to society at a later stage. The labour market organisations should have a mutual interest in reforming the rules. |
| Keywords: | industrial conflicts; essential services; complex systems; comparative study |
| JEL: | J50 J51 J52 J53 J58 |
| Date: | 2021–06–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0349&r= |
| By: | Luz A. Florez; Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra; Carlos Esteban Posada |
| Abstract: | We use the stochastic frontier approach to estimate the reservation wage across different city groups in Colombia. We use the information of GEIH from 2008-2019 of 23 urban cities. We find empirical evidence in favour of the search theory predictions that suggest a positive relation of the reservation wage with the level of education and with the net family labour income. We also find a gender gap in the reservation wage and explore this gap controlling by the level of education and presence of children in the household. Contrary to the results found in the literature, we find that the presence of children reduces the reservation wage of women and men. Finally, we found that the reservation wage increases with the level of development and productivity of the cities, however, qualified workers in low-quality cities present higher reservation wages than median quality cities. **** RESUMEN: En este documento usamos el método de frontera estocástica para estimar los salarios de reserva de diferentes grupos de ciudades en Colombia. Usamos la información de la Gran Encuesta Integrada de Hogares (GEIH) para el período 2008-2019 para las 23 principales áreas urbanas. Nuestros resultados empíricos van en línea con los sugerido por los modelos de búsqueda que predicen una relación positiva entre el salario de reserva y el nivel de educación, y también con el ingreso neto laboral del hogar. Adicionalmente, evidenciamos una brecha en el salario de reserva de las mujeres comparado con el de los hombres, incluso controlando por nivel educativo y presencia de niños en el hogar. Contrario a lo encontrado en la literatura, la presencia de niños en el hogar reduce el salario de reserva tanto de los hombres como de las mujeres. Finalmente, encontramos evidencia de una relación positiva entre el nivel de productividad de las ciudades y el salario de reserva, sin embargo, individuos altamente calificados presentan salarios de reserva mayores en las ciudades de baja calidad (productividad) que en ciudades de calidad media (productividad). |
| Keywords: | Reservation wage, stochastic frontier analysis, labour heterogeneity by cities, salario de reserva, análisis de frontera estocástica, heterogeneidad laboral por ciudades. |
| JEL: | C14 J22 J64 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdr:borrec:1163&r= |