scholarly journals Remittances and informal work

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (7) ◽  
pp. 1172-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artjoms Ivlevs
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Transition Economies ◽  
Informal Employment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Informal Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes ◽  
Migrant Households

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of remittances on informal employment in the migrants’ countries of origin, looking both at the remittance-receiving and non-migrant households. Design/methodology/approach Using data from a large survey conducted in six transition economies of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the determinants of three labour market outcomes – not working, working formally and working informally – are estimated in a multinomial probit model. The endogeneity of remittances is dealt with instrumental variables following the two-stage residual inclusion technique. To assess possible impact of remittances on non-migrant households, conditional correlations between the labour market outcomes of non-migrant households and the region-level share of remittance receivers are obtained. Findings Both correlational and instrumental variable analyses suggest that that receiving remittances increases the likelihood of working informally. At the regional level, high prevalence of remittances is associated with a higher likelihood of informal work among the non-migrant households. Migration and remittances may thus be contributing to informal employment in migration-sending countries. Research limitations/implications The empirical analysis is based on cross-sectional data, which do not allow isolating the effects of unobserved respondent heterogeneity. To deal with this issue, future research could use panel data. Originality/value The study explicitly considers the effects of remittances on formal and informal employment of remittances receivers as well as people who do not receive remittances. It advances the understanding of what drives informality in developing and transition economies.

University dropouts vs high school graduates in the school-to-work transition

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuela Ghignoni ◽  
Giuseppe Croce ◽  
Alessandro d’Ambrosio
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
High School Graduates ◽  
School To Work ◽  
Dropping Out ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
School To Work Transition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Transition ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider the enrolment at university and the subsequent possible dropout as a piece of the school-to-work transition and ask whether it improves or worsens the labour market outcomes a few years after graduation from the high school. Design/methodology/approach The analysis exploits data from the upper secondary graduate survey by ISTAT on a cohort of high school graduates and investigates the effect of dropping out four years after graduation. The labour market outcomes of university dropouts are compared to the outcomes of high school graduates who never enrolled at university. A propensity score matching approach is applied. The model is also estimated on the subsamples of males and females. Findings The findings show that spending a period at university and leaving it before completion makes the transition to work substantially more difficult. Both the probability of being NEET and getting a bad job increase in the case of dropout, while no relevant effect is found on earnings. Moreover, the impact of university dropout tends to be more harmful the longer the spell from enrolment to dropping out. Separate estimates by gender point out that females appear to be relatively more affected in the case of dropping out without a fallback plan. Originality/value While the existing studies in the literature on the school-to-work transition mostly focus on the determinants of the dropout, this paper investigates whether and how the employment outcomes are affected by dropping out in Italy. Moreover, university dropouts are compared to high school graduates with no university experience, rather than to university graduates. Finally, evidence on the mechanisms driving the effect of dropping out is provided, by considering timing and motivations for dropping out.

How does finance influence labour market outcomes? A review of empirical studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1197-1232
Author(s):  
Mark Heil
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Capital Accumulation ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Labour Productivity ◽  
National Income ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Managers ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes

PurposeThis paper reviews economic studies on the effects of various aspects of finance on labour market outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is a systematic literature review that reviews the weight of the evidence on the relationships between specific elements of finance and labour outcomes. The review is divided into three major sections: (1) job quantity and job quality; (2) distributional effects; and (3) resilience and adaptability.FindingsFinance interacts with labour market institutions to jointly determine labour outcomes. Firm financial structures influence their labour practices – highly leveraged firms show greater employment volatility during cyclical fluctuations, and leverage strengthens firm bargaining power in labour negotiations. Bank deregulation has mixed impacts on labour depending upon the state of prior bank regulations and labour markets. Leveraged buyouts tend to dampen acquired-firm job growth as they pursue labour productivity gains. The shareholder value movement may contribute to short-termism among corporate managers, which can divert funds away from firm capital accumulation toward financial markets, and crowd out productive investment. Declining wage shares of national income in most OECD countries since 1990 may be driven in part by financial globalisation. The financial sector contributes to rising income concentration near the top of the distribution in developed countries. The availability of finance is associated with increased reallocation of labour, which may either enhance or impede productivity growth. Finally, rising interest rate environments and homeowners with mortgage balances that exceed their home's value may reduce labour mobility rates.Originality/valueThis review contributes to the understanding of the effects of finance on labour by reviewing and synthesising a large volume of literature.

Gendered Outcomes

2021 ◽  
pp. 749-766
Author(s):  
Jennifer Hook ◽  
Leah Ruppanner
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Gender Inequality ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes ◽  
Methodological Approaches ◽  
Household Labour ◽  
Social Landscapes

This chapter reviews the quantitative, cross-nationally comparative literature investigating the effects of welfare states on gendered social landscapes in high-income OECD countries. It begins by reviewing the data, measures, and methodological approaches used in the literature. It then reviews research on the ‘effects’ of welfare states on gendered (a) labour market outcomes; (b) divisions of household labour and childcare; and (c) well-being. The authors conclude that welfare states play a key role in shaping gender inequality within the labour market and the home, with important consequences for well-being. Finally, the authors conclude with an assessment of limitations and prospects for future research.

Income distribution gains will slow in Latin America

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Gini Coefficient ◽  
Income Taxes ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Income Share ◽  
Fiscal Constraints ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes

Subject Income inequality in Latin America. Significance Between 2003 and 2013, income inequality declined across Latin America, although the income share of the wealthy remained high. A combination of positive labour market outcomes and more inclusive social policies contributed to these results. Since 2013, however, the gains have slowed, and inequality has again increased in some countries. Impacts Improvements in the Gini coefficient are slowing across the region; in Bolivia and Mexico, inequality has again risen. Further deterioration of public services and increasing segmentation in both social delivery and labour market outcomes appears likely. A shift to the centre-right and fiscal constraints may reduce efforts to implement progressive income taxes or protect labour rights.

Social and spatial networks in labour markets

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 722-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Topa
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Welfare Implications ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes

Abstract Social connections and referrals are ubiquitous in the labour market, both on the job-seeker side and on the employer side. This article reviews recent developments in the study of referrals, highlighting what we have learned regarding the use and impact of referrals on various labour market outcomes and pointing out the increasingly nuanced picture we are gaining on the effects of referrals. It then discusses directions for future research, emphasizing the importance of using newly available data (and combinations of datasets) and of making tighter connections with the burgeoning macro-labour research that is based on a search and matching framework. Finally, it evaluates the role of referrals from the point of view of policy-makers, discussing their social welfare implications and ways in which they could be explicitly incorporated into various labour market policies. The importance of tighter collaboration between policy-makers, researchers, employers and practitioners is stressed, to conduct more rigorous experimentation and evaluation of potential referral-based policies and programmes.

scholarly journals Body weight and labour market outcomes in Post-Soviet Russia

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 671-687 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonya Huffman ◽  
Marian Rizov
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Transition Period ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Wage Penalty ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the impacts of overweight and obesity on the probability of employment, wages, and the incidence of sick-leave days by gender, in Russia, over the transition period, 1994-2005. Design/methodology/approach – The authors uses panel data and appropriate instrumental variables techniques to estimate a set of three models. Findings – The results show a linear negative effect of body mass index (BMI) on probability of employment for women and positive effect for men. The authors did not find evidence of wage penalty for higher BMI, a result different from findings of several studies on developed market economies. There is also positive impact of BMI on the number of work days missed due to health problems for women. Originality/value – The results derived in transition context add evidence to the growing obesity and labour market outcomes literature emphasising the relative importance of the labour supply side compared to the demand side. The policy implications of our study are gender specific.

Language skills in an ethnically segmented labour market: Estonia 1989–2012

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven-Kristjan Bormann ◽  
Svetlana Ridala ◽  
Ott-Siim Toomet
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationship between skills in the Estonian, Russian and English language, and labour market outcomes in Estonia, a linguistically divided country. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the Estonian Labour Force Surveys 1992–2012. The authors rely on multivariate linear regression models to document the relationship between language skills and labour market outcomes. Findings Estonian language knowledge (for ethnic Russians) are important determinants of unemployment. Wage, in contrary, is closely related to English skills. Ethnic Russian men do not earn any premium from speaking Estonian, while women, fluent in Estonian earn approximately 10 per cent more. For ethnic Estonians, Russian fluency is associated with a similar income gain. Research limitations/implications Due to the observational nature of the data, the effects reported in this study are not causal effects. As a second limitation, the self-reported language skills data may be imprecise and hence the effects the authors report may be too small. Practical implications The results stress the role of workplace segregation, both along gender and ethnic lines, in determining the individual labour market experience. Originality/value The authors provide a comprehensive overview of the effects of language skills in a rapidly developing labour market in a linguistically divided economy. The authors analyse several languages with different legal status and document long-term trends in the effects.

MGNREGA in Kashmir: An Analysis of Labour Market Outcomes and Livelihood Security

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 424-446
Author(s):  
Mushtaq Ahmad Malla
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Rural Employment ◽  
Poor Households ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes ◽  
Employment Guarantee

This article attempts to examine the coverage and labour market outcomes of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Kashmir. It is based on a cross-sectional mixed-method study of 200 households, 40 bureaucrats and local political representatives conducted in Kupwara, one of the poorest districts of Jammu & Kashmir. The article argues that MGNREGA is poorly implemented and is not functioning as a guaranteed safety net for the poor households that suffer from job scarcity. Considerable benefits are directed towards the non-poor, while several poor and deserving households are excluded. This bias is a result of rationing in local distribution by middlemen in collusion with bureaucrats to further their political and economic interests. In addition, the administration’s orientation towards MGNREGA as a development policy instead of a social protection, supply shortage in the provision of MGNREGA work and administrative delays in project operationalisation are some of the key bottlenecks. The article contends that the policy has enormous scope and potential to achieve its anticipated objective of acting as livelihood protection for job scarce workers in rural Kashmir, if it is implemented as a social protection policy following its provisions in its true spirit.

Exploring gender digital divide and its effect on women's labour market outcomes in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 85-108
Author(s):  
Kehinde Oluwaseun Omotoso ◽  
Jimi Adesina ◽  
Ololade G. Adewole
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Married Women ◽  
Internet Usage ◽  
Market Participation ◽  
Market Outcomes ◽  
Broadband Internet ◽  
Variable Approach ◽  
Labour Market Participation ◽  
Labour Market Outcomes

Technology plays a significant role in bridging gender gap in labour market outcomes. This paper investigates gender differential in broadband Internet usage and its effects on women‘s labour market participation. Employing an instrumental variable approach, findings suggest that exogenously determined high-speed broadband internet usage leads to increases of about 14.1 and 10.6 percentage points in labour market participation for single women and married women with some level of education, respectively. Moreover, further analyses suggest that married women are generally less likely to use the Internet to search for job opportunities and this could partly explains their low labour market participation rate. The findings suggest that more policy effort is required to bridge gender differentials in digital technologies and employment opportunities in South Africa.

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