Global Economy and Gender Inequalities: The Case of the Urban Chinese Labor Market*

Objectives. This article examines the effects of economic globalization on gender inequalities in urban China. It argues that the significance of economic globalization on gender inequality depends on its impact on job queues in the labor market of a country. Methods. Using both individual‐ and city‐level data, and a series of multilevel linear and logistic models, we analyze the effects of three city‐level variables on the gender gap in income: foreign direct investment (FDI) per capita, growth rate of FDI, and opening up to overseas investment early on. We also examine gender differences in employment in high‐paying foreign‐invested firms, and in lower‐paying export‐oriented manufacturing. Results. We find no variation in gender gap in income among cities of varying levels of FDI, growth rates of FDI, or whether they were among the earliest to open up to international investment. Women are more likely to be employed in export‐oriented manufacturing industries that offer lower wages and are less likely to work in high‐paying foreign firms and joint ventures. Conclusions. These results suggest that economic globalization profoundly influences gender inequalities by changing the nature of job queues, and men and women are sorted and matched into jobs accordingly. Economic globalization contributed to and perpetuated a gendered distribution of male and female workers in the Chinese urban labor market in the late 1990s.     

The Differential Wage Impact of the Immigration Reform and Control Act on Latino Ethnic Subgroups*

Objective. This article tests whether employer sanctions for hiring undocumented workers, a provision of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA), adversely affected the hourly earnings of Latino workers. Methods. Using the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group Files from 1983–1990, a natural experiment framework is developed to assess the differential wage impact of employer sanctions on Latino ethnic subgroups. Results. Estimates of wage changes indicate that workers of Mexican descent saw a sizeable pre‐post IRCA decline in their hourly earnings relative to Cuban or Puerto Rican workers. Moreover, this change in wages is not observed among non‐Latino white workers. Controlling for the level of enforcement explains part of this decline immediately following the passage of IRCA, and enforcement efforts continue to be a significant factor several years later. Conclusions. The majority of evidence is consistent with the contention that employer sanctions adversely affected the earnings of Mexican workers.     

市场转型与职业性别垂直隔离

在社会学研究中,把男女劳动者进入不同职业称之为职业性别的水平隔离,而男女劳动者在同一类职业中从事地位不同的工作,则是职业性别的垂直隔离。本文关注中国市场转型过程中职业性别垂直隔离的趋势。笔者从2009年八大城市调查数据发现：即使在没有性别水平隔离的中性职业中,也同样存在着性别垂直隔离,且市场转型加剧了职业性别垂直隔离程度。     

A marketization process in dispute: An analysis of serviced housing for the elderly in Finland, 2000–14

Marketization can be viewed as a potential response to the economic challenges of the public sector. The present study is focused on the development of marketization in serviced housing for the elderly in municipalities within Finland. Marketization is approached by asking the question: What kind of municipality‐level factors are associated with marketization and its development? The data consist of 290 municipalities and cover the years 2000–14. According to the study, the size of the municipality, the political distribution of the municipality council, and the economic situation of the municipality are found to be associated with marketization. More preciesly, the municipality size was found to be a kind of prism, which creates two different realities when it is linked with political distribution and transfers. In the case of big municipalities, the big share of Green‐Left council members on municipality councils has been associated with a low level of marketization. However, in the case of small‐ and medium‐sized municipalities, the low level of marketization has been associated with the government statutory transfers between the state and municipalities, which has helped smaller municipalities to avoid fiscal stress. In a policy context, the present study suggests that the marketization process can be slowed down by supporting the economically weakest municipalities to avoid fiscal stress. On the other hand, the marketization process can be supported by creating bigger municipalities which are then attractive enough to create an effective market mechanism.     

工作单位性质与利用网络求职的差异性:来自珠三角农民工的实证研究

国内外学者对中国的市场转型研究一直关注于中国的市场化程度,以及不同性质的工作单位其市场化程度对劳动力市场的影响。本文通过对次级劳动力市场中农民工的实证研究,发现伴随着职业流动的增加,农民工在求职中并没有减少对社会网络的使用,只是越来越少地使用先赋性的亲友网络,越来越多地使用在职业流动中新建的社会网络。本文的研究还发现,不同性质工作单位市场化程度的差异影响了农民工对求职方式的选择。农民工进入市场化程度较高的工作单位,可以较多地通过市场途径求职;进入市场化程度较低的工作单位,则需要较多通过社会网络途径求职。     

The impact of opening markets on Mexican male/female wage and occupational differentials

This article addresses the effect of a more open market under NAFTA on the economic status of Mexican women. It is assumed that increases in export processing and tourism, industries that have a high demand for female labor, will result from the agreement. The approach of this study is to use regression and correlation analysis to compare wage and occupational differences in two Mexican cities: Tijuana, on the U.S.-Mexican border, and Torreon, in the interior. A major findings is that the overall wage gap is statistically significantly lower where there is increased export processing activity, but there appears to be very little change in occupational segregation. Three additional impacts are: first, that labor force participation rates increase for both men and women, but proportionally more for women. Second, the higher labor demand appears to weaken the relationship between the job qualifications of education and experience and wages. Third, wages by gender are more equal, but for the labor force as a whole there is a greater level of wage dispersion.     

Transitions to employment from labour market enterprises in Norway

In this article we analyse a labour market programme for partially disabled workers that involves the transition from labour market enterprises to a job in the ordinary labour market. We found that the percentage of these people who found jobs after a maximum two-year programme period increased over time. In 1995, 28 per cent became employed in the ordinary job market after leaving the programme. Exit rates to employment increased to 36 per cent in 1998 and to 39 per cent in 1999. We also found heterogeneity in the job transitions. Employment ratios for men were relatively stable over time, varying between 30 and 40 per cent over the period 1995–1999. For women, however, we found a significant change in employment ratios, with 21 per cent finding a job in 1995 and 40 per cent in 1999. In 1995, employment ratios for female participants were below those of male participants, although there was no difference over the whole period studied (1995–1999). In 1999, the average transition rate to employment was higher for female than for male participants.     

Women's Wages: Cohort Differences in Returns to Education and Training Over Time*

Objective. This article examines the effects of education and work‐related training on wage‐growth trajectories for two cohorts of women as they aged from their early 20s and 30s into their early 30 s and 40 s. I test whether occupational training compensates for an earlier lack of education, thereby decreasing earnings inequality over time within cohorts. Because the broader economic context may influence the relationship between wages, education, and training, I test the assumption that the experiences of a given cohort may be generalized to others. Methods. Following NLS Young Women between 1977 and 1987 and NLSY79 Women between 1988 and 1998, growth‐curve analyses test whether returns to investments in human capital vary over time, across and within cohorts. Results. Women who did not update their skills over time experienced stagnation or declines in real wages, leading to growing wage inequality within education levels. However, women without a high school degree who engaged in on‐the‐job training experienced the greatest returns to training, thus reducing the initial education‐based wage gap. Conclusion. Education and training in adulthood can deflect the accumulation of disadvantage, but can also solidify an already uneven distribution of resources across social strata.     

农民工工资:珠江三角洲农民工工资的决定因素(英文)

本文通过对珠江三角洲农民工问卷调查资料的回归分析,试图检验在市场转型下的企业制度和社会环境对农民工工资的影响。研究发现,人力资本中的教育年限、本企业工龄等变量对农民工工资有显著的正向影响,年龄和性别也有显著影响;企业制度中的工种对工资有显著影响,表现出明显的等级性。企业所属行业、规模和企业性质对工资没有显著影响,是否签订劳动合同和缺工情况同样如此。社会资本变量和社会环境变量对农民工工资水平没有显著影响。文章由此认为,农民工的工资是处于分割的二元劳动力市场一端,是高度市场化的,缺乏企业内部劳动力市场或晋升机制,也少受劳动力市场用工情况变化影响,没有地区性差异,是一个实实在在的、刚性的低工资。     

Care earnings in the United States and 24 European countries: The role of social policy and labour market institutions

Care occupations are gendered and remain relatively poorly paid, particularly in the United States. Prior research on the ‘care penalty’ primarily points to individual, relational, and market-valuation factors in explaining the relative earnings of care workers. This study integrates these explanations with a comparative institutional perspective. Using higher-quality data and methods than previous comparative research in the field—that is, harmonized micro-data from the Current Population Survey and EU-SILC from 2005 to 2016, country and year fixed effects models, and a counterfactual analysis—we find that national variance in labour market and welfare state institutions explains most of the difference in the relative earnings of reproductive care workers between the United States and European countries. Higher rates of collective bargaining coverage, stronger employment protection and welfare state spending contribute to higher relative earnings for reproductive care occupations, and lower relative earnings for high-status nurturant care occupations. Differences in the relative earnings of care workers appear to be mostly a construct of social policy and labour market institutions rather than individual, relational, and market-valuation factors.     

SPECIAL ISSUE： MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE COURSE OF URBANIZATON Wages for migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta： determining factors

本文通过对珠江三角洲农民工问卷调查资料的回归分析,试图检验在市场转型下的企业制度和社会环境对农民工工资的影响。研究发现,人力资本中的教育年限、本企业工龄等变量对农民工工资有显著的正向影响,年龄和性别也有显著影响;企业制度中的工种对工资有显著影响,表现出明显的等级性。企业所属行业、规模和企业性质对工资没有显著影响,是否签订劳动合同和缺工情况同样如此。社会资本变量和社会环境变量对农民工工资水平没有显著影响。文章由此认为,农民工的工资是处于分割的二元劳动力市场一端,是高度市场化的,缺乏企业内部劳动力市场或晋升机制,也少受劳动力市场用工情况变化影响,没有地区性差异,是一个实实在在的、刚性的低工资。     

Deregulation,workplace, and women: Nurses in private health care in India

The paper examines the growth of private health care in India in the context of its regulatory provisions and questions the work and employment conditions of female care workers (nurses) employed there. Nurses constitute 80% of the total workers in each nursing home/hospital. In the wake of increased demand for private health care since mid‐1990s, insertion of technology and investment is inducing transformation of nursing homes into multi‐ and super‐speciality hospitals resulting in changes in work organization of nurses. This has led to demand for larger numbers of workers. Employers gain by the segmentation in the nursing labor market, paying low wages. Workers face widespread social discrimination, long working hours, and high work intensity. The deplorable situation of a significant section of workers employed in this sector indicates state failure to control the private health sector. Lack of effective standards of work impacts nature of work of the workforce employed in various levels in the healthcare system.     

Metropolitan Earnings Inequality: Union and Government‐Sector Employment Effects*

Objective. This study examines the effects of union density and government‐sector employment on earnings inequality in Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the United States. Methods. Data on 167 MSAs from the 2000 Census are analyzed using standard regression techniques. Four measures of Atkinson's index (e=0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0) are used as the measure of earnings inequality for full‐time, year‐round workers. Results. MSAs with greater union density and greater government‐sector employment have lower earnings inequality. The progressive effect of union density is strongest for earners in the middle of the distribution and less beneficial for workers at the bottom of the distribution. Government employment is generally associated with lower levels of earnings inequality, but state and federal government employment have the strongest effects. Conclusion. Even in the late 1990s, unions and government‐sector employment remain effective at reducing earnings inequality.     

农民工的就业与工资决定：教育与培训的重要性

在城市劳动力市场上,农村劳动力根据个人的人力资本积累状况和当地的劳动力市场条件,在成为自我经营者和工资收入者之间进行就业选择。简单的Mincer工资方程回归结果显示,工资收入者比自我经营者的教育回报率高出2个百分点左右。在矫正了样本选择偏差之后,拓展的Mincer工资方程对工资收入者的教育回报率估计结果在5.3%-6.8%之间。从培训角度看,简单培训、短期培训和正规培训对农民工再流动都有显著作用,但简单培训对农民工的工资收入作用不显著,而短期培训和正规培训则对其工资收入有着重要的决定作用。此外,工资拖欠等权益保护问题也对农村劳动力再流动有重要影响。在处理农民工的个人异质性和教育内生性问题时,本文还发现父母受教育年限不是一个理想工具变量。     

收入如何影响中国夫妻的家务劳动分工？

在市场劳动领域的性别隔离程度快速下降的时代,是什么因素使得传统主义的家务劳动性别分工模式得以延续？既往研究将原因指向性别差异依旧明显的个人收入,但学界在收入对家务劳动分工的作用机制与作用方向上存在明显争议。通过对CGSS2012数据的考察发现：妻子对配偶经济依赖的下降会减少其家务劳动比例,二者关系不受个人及配偶绝对收入的影响;配偶绝对收入的加入使得经济依赖与丈夫家务劳动比例的联系从线性负相关关系转变为倒“U”型曲线关系。上述发现对于理解当代中国社会收入与劳动性别分工的关系提供了更为准确与具体的证据,并预示了一种不同于已有理论与经验研究的联系性机制与行动策略。     

市场化背景下社会资本对性别收入差距的影响——基于2009 JSNet全国数据

本文使用2009 JSNet全国数据,考察市场化背景下社会资本作用的变化及其对性别收入差距的影响。研究发现：第一,市场化程度较高的情况下,网络资源对收入回报的作用更小,阶层网络对收入回报的作用更大;第二,体制外部门两性的网络资源对收入回报的作用没有差异,体制内部门男性的网络资源对收入回报的作用小于女性;第三,男性的阶层网络对收入回报的作用无论在体制外部门还是体制内部门都高于女性。综上所述,对于女性而言,其所拥有的网络资源所能带来的收入回报优势被市场化的推进所消减;对于男性而言,其所拥有的阶层网络所能带来的收入回报优势被市场化的推进所提升。因此,随着市场化的不断推进以及社会资本在市场化背景下作用的变化,两性的收入差距在进一步拉大。     

Free,free, set them free? Are programmes effective that allow job centres considerable freedom to choose the exact design?

Active labour market programmes are expected to be quite effective if job centres have a substantial degree of freedom to deliver tailor‐made individual services. For Germany, we studied the effectiveness of Schemes for Activation and Integration (SAI), which were introduced in 2009 to grant such freedoms to implement short training and private placement services. We estimated SAI participation effects on welfare recipients’ earnings and employment rate using propensity score matching and rich administrative data. We distinguished between participation in in‐firm training or training in other settings, and considered effect heterogeneity by gender, region and non‐employment duration. Participation substantially improved the participants’ earnings and employment rate, in‐firm training more so than training in other settings. Our employment effect estimates were not considerably larger than those previously found for comparable pre‐reform programmes. A lack of experience with SAI and a still inadequate client focus in the period studied might explain this.     

Comparing the Pension Promises of 30 OECD Countries

This paper takes a microeconomic approach to compare prospective pension benefits in the 30 OECD countries. It shows entitlements gross and net of taxes and social security contributions for male and female single workers based on 2002 pension rules and parameters. The models cover all public and private mandatory sources of retirement income for full‐career private‐sector workers across a broad earnings range. The paper shows that average earners in OECD countries can expect a post‐tax pension of about 70 per cent of their earnings after tax. The average minimum retirement benefit is just under 29 per cent of national average earnings.     

Labour Markets,Care Regimes and Foreign Care Worker Policies in East Asia

This article analyzes the politics of foreign care worker policies in Japan, Korea and Taiwan. In the face of socio‐demographic challenges, these countries have responded differently to the increasing demand for hiring foreign care workers, creating distinct policies with respect to the origins of the foreign care workforce, the size of the foreign care workforce in the labour market, and job specifications. In this article, I argue that the interaction of female employment patterns, the public provision (or lack) of social care, and labour market policies in the care service sector determines the diverging political pathways of foreign care worker policies in these three countries over the past two decades.     

Low-Wage Single-Mother Families in This Jobless Recovery: Can Improved Social Policies Help?

Low-wage single-mother families face greater relative disadvantage in this jobless recovery than do other earning and marital groups. Stressful uncertainties are intensified for them not only by a lack of financial reserves related to low pay and having only one family earner but by the characteristics of their labor market, a growing disparity in income distribution nationally that increases their relative disadvantage, intensified job competition from more skilled unemployed workers. Incomplete education and fewer and less adequate training programs than are available for more educated workers make it more difficult to improve or diversify skills. Given the limitations of wage-related social policies, there is a need for expanded education and training programs to increase skills and raise the earnings potential to a more family-sustaining level.