The Limits of Labor Legislation Reforms

2018 ◽  
pp. 135-161
Author(s):  
Jean François Mayer
Keyword(s):  
International Economic ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Labor Laws ◽  
Labor Legislation ◽  
Time Period

The literature addressing market dynamics within neoliberalism typically assumes that reforming labor legislation has a direct impact on economic performance, the configuration of labor markets, and the strength of labor organizations. Within this literature one prevalent school of thought advocates increased flexibility of labor laws as the key to creating economic prosperity, enhancing labor productivity, increasing formal sector employment, and successfully fighting poverty and socioeconomic inequality. This chapter tests these assumptions by analyzing the case of Brazil between 1995 and 2010. The chapter’s findings suggest that legislation reforms seeking to flexibilize the Brazilian labor code do not significantly change the country’s labor market or economy. The author therefore proposes that transformations in international economic contexts as well as differing policy orientations of successive Brazilian federal governments may hold more explanatory power in accounting for labor market changes during this time period.

scholarly journals The Politics of Professionalism: Reappraising Occupational Licensure and Competition Policy

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 309-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Vaheesan ◽  
Frank Pasquale
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Competition Policy ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Labor Laws ◽  
Occupational Licensing ◽  
Consumer Prices ◽  
Wage Effects ◽  
Labor Market Entry

Elite economists and lawyers contend that occupational licensure raises consumer prices and unemployment. Billed as a bipartisan boost to market competition, this technocratic policy agenda rests on thin empirical foundations. Studies of the wage effects of licensing rarely couple this analysis of its putative costs with convincing analysis of the benefits of the professional or vocational education validated via licensure. While some licensing rules may be onerous and excessive, licensing rules are inadequate or underenforced in other labor markets. Furthermore, by limiting labor market entry, occupational licensing rules, like minimum wage and labor laws, can help stabilize working- and middle-class wages. Although current antitrust law provides an ideological framework for technocratic attacks on licensing, it is fundamentally unsuited for evaluation of labor markets. Contemporary antitrust law's arcane concept of efficiency reflects neither the legislative objectives animating the antitrust statutes nor popular understanding of what competition policy should do.

Movilidad laboral geográfica en un antiguo enclave minero. La inversión de un mercado de trabajo local

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo Contreras Delgado
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Labor Mobility ◽  
Work Place ◽  
Local Labor Markets ◽  
Local Labor Market ◽  
Local Factors ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of

Resumen:Este artículo examina los fa c t o res internos y externos a una localidad que son copartícipes en la estructuración y reestructuración de su mercado de trabajo local. A partir de la revisión de la historia social y económica del lugar, se destaca su tránsito de enclave minero a lugar de residencia de mineros y trabajadores de maquiladoras. En este caso, se presenta la constitución de los mercados de trabajo locales como un resultado del encuentro de las condiciones del lugar de residencia de los trabajadores y el lugar donde se encuentra el centro de trabajo. De aquí que la movilidad laboral geográfica aparezca como una de las tácticas de los sujetos ante una situación de desempleo.Palabras clave: Mercado de trabajo, Minería, Maquiladoras, Mineros, Movilidad laboral, Desempleo.Abstract:This article examines the internal and external local factors shaping the structuring and restructuring of a local labor market. By reviewing the social and economic history of the community, this article underlines its transition from a mining setting to a residence place for miners and maquila workers. In this case, the constitution of local labor markets is presented as a result of the condition encounter of both workers residence place and the location of the work place. This is a reason explaining why geographical labor mobility comes to be an actor tactic to face unemployment.Key words: Labor market, Mining, Export-oriented industry, Miners, Labor mobility, Unemployment.

scholarly journals Social Security Enrollment as an Indicator of State Fragility and Legitimacy: A Field Experiment in Maghreb Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 266
Author(s):  
Walid Merouani ◽  
Claire El Moudden ◽  
Nacer Eddine Hammouda
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Discrete Choice Models ◽  
Formal Sector ◽  
Social Security Systems ◽  
State Fragility ◽  
Informal Workers ◽  
Informal Labor ◽  
State Legitimacy

State legitimacy and effectiveness can be observed in the state’s approach to delivering welfare to citizens, thus mitigating social grievances and avoiding conflicts. Social security systems in the Maghreb countries are relatively similar in their architecture and aim to provide social insurance to all the workers in the labor market. However, they suffer from the same main problem: a low rate of enrollment of workers. Many workers (employees and self-employed) work informally without any social security coverage. The issue of whether informal jobs are chosen voluntarily by workers or as a strategy of last resort is controversial. Many authors recognize that the informal sector is heterogeneous and assume that it is made up of (1) workers who voluntarily choose it, and (2) others who are pushed into it because of entry barriers to the formal sector. The former assumption tells us much about state legitimacy/attractiveness, and the latter is used to inform state effectiveness in delivering welfare. Using the Sahwa survey and discrete choice models, this article confirms the heterogeneity of the informal labor market in three Maghreb countries: Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Furthermore, this article highlights the profiles of workers who voluntarily choose informality, an aspect that is missing from previous studies. Finally, this article proposes policy recommendations in order to extend social security to informal workers and to include them in the formal labor market.

Labor Market Concentration and Worker Contributions to Health Insurance Premiums

2021 ◽  
pp. 107755872110129
Author(s):  
Mark K. Meiselbach ◽  
Matthew D. Eisenberg ◽  
Ge Bai ◽  
Aditi Sen ◽  
Gerard F. Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Health Plan ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Health Benefits ◽  
Market Concentration ◽  
Medical Expenditure ◽  
Insurance Premiums ◽  
Health Insurance Premiums

In concentrated labor markets, where workers have fewer employers to choose from, employers may exploit their monopsony power by contributing less to workers’ health benefits. This study examined if labor market concentration was associated with higher worker contributions to health plan premiums. We combined publicly available data from the Census to calculate labor market concentration and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Insurance/Employer Component to determine premium contributions from 2010 to 2016 for metropolitan areas. After controlling for year fixed-effects and market characteristics, we found that higher labor market concentration was associated with higher worker contributions to health plan premiums, lower take-home income, and no change in employer contributions to premiums, consistent with the hypothesis that greater labor market concentration is associated with less generous health benefits. When evaluating the effects of mergers and acquisitions on labor markets, regulatory agencies should critically assess worker contributions to health insurance premiums.

scholarly journals Risk, Recessions and Resilience: Towards Sustainable Local Labor Markets through Employment Portfolio Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7926
Author(s):  
Bharman Gulati ◽  
Stephan Weiler
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
The United States ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Local Labor Markets ◽  
Local Labor Market ◽  
Business Survival ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
New Business

This paper explores the role of local labor market dynamics on the survival of new businesses. The characteristics of the local labor market are likely to influence the survival of new businesses, the level of entrepreneurship, and the resilience of the regional economy. We apply portfolio theory to evaluate employment-based and income-based measures of risk-and-return trade-offs in local labor markets on new business survival in the United States. Our results show that volatility in local labor markets has a positive impact on new business survival, especially in Metropolitan Statistical Areas. The results are robust across different timeframes, including during economic downturns, thus highlighting the contribution of new businesses in developing the resilience of the local economy, and further promoting sustainable regional economic development.

scholarly journals Vocational training choice from a regional perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katja Schuster ◽  
Anne Margarian
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Local Competition ◽  
Opportunity Structures ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Welfare Implications ◽  
Urban Labor Markets ◽  
And Training

AbstractMotivated by discussions of skill mismatches on local German vocational educational and training (VET) markets, this paper analyses how occupational segments of VET entry of individuals with lower and intermediate secondary school degree relate to local labor market characteristics. The econometric analysis applies data from a survey conducted with 9th graders within the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Considering opportunity structures and the local competition for training positions, we find that the match between occupations' skill demands and individuals' abilities tends to be specifically close in diverse and competitive urban labor markets. In non-competitive peripheral labor markets, in contrast, graduates with lower school certificates seem to have a higher likelihood of entering VET in segments that are specifically attractive for graduates with upper secondary school degree. The results on the allocation of abilities and the weight of preferences under different labor market conditions have different welfare implications from an individual, regional and general economic perspective.

scholarly journals Detecting Discrimination

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
James J Heckman
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Labor Market Discrimination ◽  
Gender Groups ◽  
The Way

The evidence on discrimination produced from the audit method is examined. Audits survey the average firm and not the marginal firm which determines the level of market discrimination. Taken on its own terms, there is little evidence of labor market discrimination from audit methods. The validity of audit methods is critically dependent on unverified assumptions about equality across race/gender groups of the distributions of unobserved (by audit designers) productivity components acted on by firms and about the way labor markets work. Audits can find discrimination when none exists and can disguise it when it does.

scholarly journals Market Imperfections and Income Distribution

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 1147-1167
Author(s):  
Ensar Yılmaz
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Labor Markets ◽  
Wage Rate ◽  
Consumption Patterns ◽  
Market Imperfections ◽  
Luxury Goods ◽  
Sector Model ◽  
Two Sectors

Abstract This paper aims to search links between market imperfections and functional income distribution. For this purpose we construct a two-sector model – wage goods and luxury goods producing sectors – incorporating imperfections of the product and labor markets under income inequality. In a structure with interdependent and partially monopolistic and competitive markets, we analytically trace up the effects of the changes in power relations proxied by the degree of mark-ups in the product and labor market. The model shows that price and wage mark-ups in two sectors have crucial income distribution implications for the agents in the economy to varying extents. It also demonstrates the effect of the existence of the differentiated consumption patterns arising from income inequality on income distribution. Furthermore, it seems that unemployment level creates externalities on wage rate and on corporate taxes of firms.

Current Trends in the International Economic Activity of Ukraine

2021 ◽  
pp. 47-55
Author(s):  
Ljudmila Romaniuk ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Economic ◽  
Economic Performance ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Machine Building ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Economic Relations

International economic activity occupies a special place in a complex system of the global economic relations. It reflects the mutual economic dependence of trade and economic activities of different countries of the world. The significance of the development of international economic performance of each country is growing. The purpose of the article is to determine the current state and trends of international economic performance of Ukraine, taking into account changes in the external environment. SWOT-analysis was introduced to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and ways to overcome weaknesses, solve problems in international economic activity, use strengths and opportunities. International economic activity is a powerful factor in the development of the country's economy and has a significant potential in regard of natural, economic and human resources, but the study has also revealed problems and negative trends. To identify trends in the effectiveness of the country's international economic activity, export-import performance indicators for 2019, 2020 and similar indicators for 2013 were analyzed. In 2020 a decline in exports in the machine-building industry is observed. Furthermore, the exports are dominated by the raw material component. The growth rate of exported goods refers to industries with a small share of value added. At the same time, imports are dominated by high-tech products, indicating a lack of strategy of technical and technological development, which leads to the deindustrialization of the country, which is a significant threat to the economy of Ukraine as a whole and its international economic activity. In the context of economic globalization, the importance of international economic relations is growing. To increase the efficiency of international economic performance it is crucial to address a number of domestic issues: stabilization of political situation, termination of military actions in the east of the country, overcoming corruption, ensuring technical and technological development, implementation of innovations at enterprises, development and implementation of multi-vector strategy, implementation of the strategy of public diplomacy in order to build a positive image of Ukraine. Further research will focus on assessing the effectiveness of international economic activity, identifying threats to national competitiveness and elaborating recommendations for overcoming them.

EMPLOYMENT OF OLDER PEOPLE IN THE MODERN LABOR MARKET

2021 ◽  
pp. 409-418
Author(s):  
В.Ю. Бабышев ◽  
Г. А. Барышева
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Older People ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Labor Legislation ◽  
Demographic Aging ◽  
Age Cohort ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Medical Advances ◽  
The Impact

В статье рассматривается занятость лиц пожилого возраста в условиях сорвеменных технологических, медицинских и демографических изменений. Актуальность темы исследования обусловлена демографическим старением населения, современными достижениями медицины и изменением характера трудовых операций в результате научно-технического прогресса. В данной статье проверены следующие конкурирующие гипотезы: производительность работников старших возрастных групп находится ниже уровня рентабельности из-за неуклонного ухудшения здоровья или, наоборот, ценность работников старших возрастных групп на современном рынке труда возрастает из-за повышения роли опыта, навыков и квалификации. Дополнительно проанализирован вопрос влияния систем пенсионного обеспечения на мотивацию лиц пожилого возраста к продолжению трудовой деятельности. Для проверки данных гипотез на основе статистики Организации экономического сотрудничества и развития проведен анализ общего уровня занятости, участия в рабочей силе и безработицы, а также временной и неполной занятости по нескольким возрастным группам в диапазоне 15-65 лет и старше. Для оценки динамики проанализирована ситуация на 2000 и 2019 гг. В целом сделан вывод, что количественные и качественные параметры занятости у работников старших возрастных групп уступают среднему рабочему возрасту, однако во временной динамике использование человеческого капитала лиц пожилого возраста растет. В области геронтологии рекомендовано уделять повышенное внимание улучшению здоровья возрастной когорты 65 лет и старше и изменению трудового законодательства в плане стимулирования продолжения трудовой деятельности после официального наступления пенсионного возраста. The article examines the employment of older people in the context of disrupted technological, medical and demographic changes. The relevance of the research topic is due to the demographic aging of the population, modern medical advances and changes in the nature of labor operations as a result of scientific and technological progress. In this article, the following competing hypotheses are tested: the productivity of older workers is below the level of profitability due to a steady decline in health, or vice versa, the value of older workers in the modern labor market is increasing due to the increasing role of experience, skills and qualifications. Additionally, the question of the impact of pension systems on the motivation of older people to continue working is analyzed. To test these hypotheses, based on OECD statistics, we analyzed the overall level of employment, labor force participation and unemployment, as well as temporary and underemployment for several age groups in the range of 15-65+ years. To assess the dynamics, the situation for 2000 and 2019 was analyzed. In general, the author concludes that the quantitative and qualitative parameters of employment of older people are inferior to the average working age, but over time, the use of the human capital of older people is growing. In the field of gerontology, it is recommended to pay increased attention to improving the health of the 65+ age cohort and changing labor legislation in order to stimulate the continuation of work.

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