Labour Underutilisation and Gender: Unemployment Versus Hidden-Unemployment

As labour markets have become more complex there has been increasing interest among researchers in understanding the ways that social and labour market processes and contexts impact on various labour market states. One important area has been in understanding the differences between unemployment and hidden unemployment. This paper considers the ways in which these two labour market states differ for a sample of male and female respondents to the Household Income and Labour Dynamics Australia (HILDA) survey. It presents data related to the reasons why respondents in these two labour force states consider they are jobless and analyses the characteristics of male and female respondents in the two labour market states to consider differences in outcomes. The findings suggest that there are differences in the two states of labour market outcomes and that these are further complicated when one considers processes for males and females.     

When informal is normal… On the role of credentials and contacts for the job entry in Serbia

The paper focuses on the roles of human capital and social resources in structuring young people's entries into either the formal or the informal labour market in the Serbian transformation society. Results show that informal labour market in Serbia follows the structure of the secondary labour market and signals vulnerability on part of youths employed there. Education dropouts are largely channelled to the informal sector, whereas favourably educated Serbian graduates are less attracted to it. Job search via social networks facilitates entry to unregistered employment, but slows down entry to registered employment for job seekers. Whereas stratification of labour market entry by education largely follows patterns of primary and secondary labour market attainment in any industrialized society, the effects of contacts might exhibit traces of inefficiencies peculiar to the transformation countries. Analyses are conducted on the basis of the Serbian school-leaver survey (2006) applying event history modelling and binomial regression analysis.     

Perceptions of Job Security in Europe’s Ageing Workforce

Using data from the 2004 Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, this paper investigates older workers’ perceptions of job security in eleven countries. We describe cross-national patterns and estimate multilevel models to analyse individual and societal determinants of self-perceived job security in the older labour force. While there are considerable cross-country variations around a median value of 23% of workers aged 50 or older ranking their job security as poor, none of our suggested macro-level explanatory variables—employment rate, employment protection legislation, mean level of general social trust, and proportion disapproving of working beyond age 70—bears statistically significant associations with individuals’ job security. We find some indication, however, that the various societal factors considered here might contribute jointly to explaining the observed cross-national variation. Future research should aim at identifying statistically more powerful indicators of the supposed multilevel relationship between social context and older workers’ perceptions of job security. Moreover, supplementary findings indicate that further attention should be paid to the gender dimension of job insecurity.     

Measuring labour market segmentation for a comparative analysis among countries

This article raises one main question in a comparative analytical exercise between two countries in different continents, Spain and Argentina. To what extent does labour market segmentation generate similar dynamics of structuring of labour inequalities in two countries with different socio-economic contexts and social models, and which aspects are specific to each country? The article is the first an analytical work aimed at comparing European and Latin American countries from the theoretical perspective of labour market segmentation. We set two main objectives. The first was to construct an analysis model to study inequalities in the labour market in comparative terms between Europe and Latin America, taking as a reference Spain and Argentina. To this end, demand and supply variables were combined from an employment perspective. We sought to corroborate the general hypothesis that there is no single labour market that adjusts supply and demand, but that several segments can be expected to structure hierarchical positions in the labour market in line with specific labour supply profiles. We expected to obtain a high correspondence between the employment segments of the two countries, despite the contextual and socio-historical differences. The second objective was to propose a methodology to obtain two synthetic measures of labour market segmentation: first, a categorical measurement through a typology constructed from hierarchical positions and profiles using multivariate techniques (combining multiple correspondence factor analysis [MCA] and cluster analysis [CLA]); and second, a continuous measurement based on the results of factor analysis, resulting in a composite indicator of labour inequality.

     

The role of education in the reconciliation between female occupation and family responsibilities at mid-life: the Italian case

This study, based on the data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, deals with the labour market participation of mid-aged women and the reconciliation with family responsibilities. The analysis focuses on Italy, a fast ageing country with a very low female occupation rate. By performing a comparison with Sweden and France, we set three European models, different in terms of welfare system and gender roles, against each other. Women’s educational attainment is shown to be the most important factor associated with being in the labour market between 50 and 59 years old in all the countries analysed. Our findings suggest a couple-oriented approach to study women’s balancing of career and family: for married women, husbands’ education plays an ambivalent role concerning women's participation in the labour market, according to its combination with wives’ resources. The depressive effect on female employment of living close to a parent in poor health holds especially in Italy, suggesting the need to invest more on welfare policies in this country.     

Social Cohesion and the Labour Market: Societal Regimes of Civic Attitudes and Labour Market Regimes

The aim of this paper is to test the connections between the indicators used in the literature on social cohesion, which usually reflect ‘general’ values or behaviours, and indicators specific to a particular space, namely the labour market. A key question is the stability of the social cohesion’s indicators when moving from a societal level to the labour market. Based on data from the World Value Survey, and following a restrictive definition of social cohesion, a comparison is done, for European countries. Examination of the situation in the two spheres makes it possible to identify more or less homogeneous groups of countries and also to point to instabilities. ‘Regimes’ of social cohesion begin to emerge. As in most analyses, the Nordic countries (excluding Finland) have high scores in all the dimensions. Conversely, most of the new EU member states from the former Eastern bloc have low scores, particularly in the horizontal dimension of trust between individuals.     

The influence of market wages and parental history on child labour and schooling in Egypt

This paper examines the influence of adult market wages and having parents who were child labourers on child labour, when this decision is jointly determined with child schooling, using data from Egypt. The empirical results suggest that low adult market wages are key determinants of child labour; a 10% increase in the illiterate male market wage decreases the probability of child labour by 22% for boys and 13% for girls. The findings also indicate the importance of social norms in the intergenerational persistence of child labour: parents who were child labourers themselves are on average 10% more likely to send their children to work. In addition, higher local regional income inequality increases the likelihood of child labour.

Integration into the Social Democratic Welfare State

This article examines the assumption that the social democratic welfare state is better than others in integrating immigrants into society, or at least that the comprehensive welfare state should compensate for the problems of labour market entry. A number of key indicators from The Living Conditions Survey are used to show that this assumption is inherently wrong. Immigrants do not have the same possibilities to enter the labour market, which is shown to have severe affects on other important areas of social and political citizenship. It stands clear that the social democratic welfare state, built and expanded on grounds of homogeneity, is insufficient to deal with changing circumstances in a plural society.     

The impact of local labour markets on investment in further education: Evidence from the England and Wales youth cohort studies

The paper focuses on the individual's choice of activity on completion of compulsory schooling – to remain in full-time education or to seek employment – and the factors influencing this decision. Information from the England and Wales Youth Cohort Studies, coupled with labour market data, is used to estimate of logit model of choice and assess the role played by social and market factors. The results show that labour market conditions play an influential role in determining outcomes, particularly in the case of young males with weaker academic qualifications. Consistent with the time-series evidence, we find that participation rates in further education for both males and females are positively related to the unemployment rate in the local labour market, the effects being greater at times of economic recession when unemployment rates are rising. Received: 5 May 1997/Accepted: 17 July 1998     

Work–Family Conflict,Job Insecurity,and Health Outcomes Among US Workers

Previous scholarship has highlighted how work–family conflict (work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict) and job insecurity interfere with health outcomes. Little work, however, considers how these stressors jointly influence health among workers. Informed by the stress process model, the current study examines whether job insecurity moderates the relationships between work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict and two health outcomes: self-reported physical health and poor mental health. The analyses also consider whether a greater moderating role is played by work-to-family conflict or family-to-work conflict. Using data from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce, we also examine if patterns diverge by gender. Our results show that work-to-family conflict and family-to-work conflict have direct effects on poor mental and physical health. Additionally, we find that the negative effect of work-to-family conflict on poor mental and physical health is stronger for those with job insecurity, while no such relationship was found for family-to-work conflict. We found no evidence of significant gender differences in how these relationships operate. Overall, we contribute to the literature by testing the combined effects of both forms of work–family conflict and job insecurity on poor mental and physical health. We also deepen the understanding of the stress process model by highlighting the salience of the anticipatory stressor of job insecurity.     

Regional Performance Trends in Providing Employment for Persons with Disabilities: Evidence from Italy

The aim of this work is to analyse the situation of persons with disabilities in the Italian labour market, with a view to providing guidelines to promote their inclusion both in the labour market and in society. For this purpose, we propose a two-step analysis focusing on Italian regions for the period 2006–2009. In the first phase, we use the Data Envelopment Analysis method to evaluate regional efficiency in providing employment for persons with disabilities. Cluster analysis is then applied to regional efficiency scores and economic policy variables in order to identify “policy clusters of regions”. Our results show that it is necessary both to focus on the residual work ability of persons with disabilities and to develop a social integration culture on the demand side of the labour market. Moreover, a structural reform of disability benefit systems is required in order to promote a culture of social inclusion.     

From Casual Work to Economic Security; The Paradoxical Case of Self-Employment

The term “casual work” is not well defined in the literature and can include a diversity of types of employment. In this paper, we first present an introduction and definition of concepts related to job security and economic insecurity. Second, a view on the main labour market transformations, their causes and impacts, with more accent on self-employment. We will then reflect on policy issues and on how social policies can impact on job security, and this is where we will introduce the new Québec parental leave regime, which is a welcome effort to alleviate insecurity and economic difficulty for self-employed parents, taking gender into account. We will conclude by considerations on the importance of economic security and the policies which could support this, in a context where many stress the fact that “boundaryless” or “nomadic” careers are the way of the future and that workers should simply adapt to this new context.

The long-term effect of childhood poverty

This paper uses variation among siblings to identify the consequences of childhood poverty on both labour and marriage market outcomes. In the labour market, individuals who experienced childhood poverty are found to have lower earnings and lower labour market attachment and to have worse jobs both vertically in terms of low-paying industries and horizontally in terms of job positions. In the marriage market, childhood poverty is found to have negative consequences for the probability of marriage, cohabitation, and having children around the age of 30. The effect sizes are found to exhibit an inverse u-shape in the age of the child, peaking during adolescence. Results on educational choices suggest that the mechanisms behind these results can be that childhood poverty affects the skill formation, networks, and decision making of the child.     

Immigrant assimilation pre and post labour market entry: evidence from the UK Labour Force Survey

We estimate models of employment an earnings for a sample of white and non-white male immigrants drawn from the Labour Force Survey between 1993 and 2004. Immigrants who arrived to enter the labour market (labour market entrants) are distinguished from those who arrived to complete their education (education entrants). Diverse patterns of labour market assimilation are found depending on ethnicity and immigrant type. Amongst labour market entrants, whites do better than non-whites, whilst amongst education entrants, highly qualified prime-age non-whites perform as well as their white counterparts. Relative to white natives, labour market outcomes for all immigrant groups have a tendency to decline with age.

Labour market forecasting in Australia: The science of the art

Since 1987 nearly 50 labour market forecasts have been undertaken in Australia to assist decisions relating to government policy and budget, investment and career planning. More than 20 of these forecasts have been disaggregated by age, occupation, industry or regional labour markets. One of the chief aims of disaggregated forecasts is to help policy makers avoid future shortages or surpluses of skilled labour. A survey encompassing government departments, private research institutes and banks was undertaken to overview recent labour market forecasting exercises in Australia. This paper, which attempts to summarize these efforts, also discusses the main advantages and disadvantages of each major type of forecasting technique. Methods employed have ranged from anticipatory surveys to data-intensive input-output models. Formal evaluation of labour market forecasts requires considerable resources and no known assessments have been conducted in Australia to date. It is unclear how significant disaggregated labour market forecasts have been in guiding the allocation of funds between competing education and training courses. Nevertheless, governments eager to avoid future shortages and surpluses of skilled labour, but less enthusiastic about forecasting, could aim to make the labour market more flexible and responsive instead. Like forecasting, however, the effectiveness of this approach has yet to be scrutinized.     

Gender differences in poverty among single people in Denmark

This study — based on data from the Danish Welfare Survey of 1986, covering 461 single women and 319 single men — showns that single women have a potential higher risk than single men of becoming poor even when the sexes are categorized by household status, age and relationship to the labour market. These results suggest that the most important reason for higher risk of poverty among women than among single men is not — as often supposed — whether women are single, with or without children, but that gender as such discriminates as to poverty via the different ways men and women are linked to the labour market, This would apparently confirm that which, indirectly, was indicated by previous research on poverty.     

社会支持对我国高龄老人死亡风险影响的Cox模型分析

文章运用中国高龄老人健康长寿跟踪调查纵向数据（1998～2005年）,对年龄范围在80～105岁的高龄老人进行考察,并基于Cox模型对社会支持于高龄老人死亡风险的影响机制进行探讨,对西方学者提出的社会支持的影响机制模型进行实证检验。结果表明,从我国的现实意义来看,社会支持对健康的影响是针对不健康的人群起到了缓冲作用,社会支持和健康变量之间存在着交互作用。另外,社会支持中的生活照料和情感支持对改善我国高龄老人的健康状况具有显著效果。     

Ageing and Living Conditions of the Elderly: Sweden 1980–1998

General social reports on ageing and the elderly in Sweden have been published regularly since the 1970s, within the regular system of social reporting for Sweden, based on large-scale annual social surveys ongoing since three decades (ULF). This paper presents key findings from the recent social report for the elderly (Vogel et al., 2000). The recent report studies cross-sectional and longitudinal change in living conditions (trends over two decades; 1980–1998; register and survey data; n = 112,400), comparing between all three generations (youth, elderly, and mid-age), using a set of 82 social indicators within 12 social domains, and furthermore decomposing change in different generations by additional cleavages (social class, gender, family, region). Age variation and trends in living conditions are interpreted with respect to the changing welfare mix, i.e. the institutional configuration between labour market, welfare state and family. Findings are summarized as a generally widening generation gap, with improved living conditions for the elderly, and decreased conditions for the youngest generation.     

Gender inequalities and demographic behavior

A summary was provided of the central findings about gender inequalities in Egypt, India, Ghana, and Kenya published by the Population Council in 1994. These countries exhibited gender inequalities in different ways: the legal, economic, and educational systems; family planning and reproductive health services; and the health care system. All countries had in common a high incidence of widowhood. Widowhood was linked with high levels of insecurity, which were linked with high fertility. Children thus became insurance in old age. In Ghana, women's insecurity was threatened through high levels of marital instability and polygyny. In Egypt, insecurity was translated into economic vulnerability because of legal discrimination against women when family systems were disrupted. In India and all four countries, insecurity was reflective of limited access to education, an impediment to economic autonomy. In all four countries, women's status was inferior due to limited control over reproductive decision making about childbearing limits and contraception. In India, the cultural devaluation of girls contributed to higher fertility to satisfy the desire for sons. In India and Egypt, family planning programs were dominated by male-run organizations that were more concerned about demographic objectives than reproductive health. The universal inequality was the burden women carry for contraception. Family planning programs have ignored the local realities of reproductive behavior, family structures, and gender relations. The assumption that husbands and wives have similar fertility goals or that fathers fully share the costs of children is mistaken in countries such as Ghana. Consequently, fertility has declined less than 13% in Ghana, but fertility has declined by over 30% in Kenya. Family planning programs must be aware of gender issues.     

Frauen in der Migrationsbewegung: ihre „Spiegelfunktion” in den Sozio-ökonomischen und Kulturellen Wandlungsprozessen

Migrations have the function to act as a ?mirror“ of structural as well as subjective changes. The article focuses on this function within the processes of social transformation of our times, with a particular attention to the female component. It allows in a symbolical way to observe the passage from the fordist model of production and labour to the post-fordism, where the need of labour in the tertiary sector is growing and more flexible. Furthermore, the work of migrant women makes the ongoing transformation within the welfare states visible, crossed by strong reorganisations. Finally, female migrations are useful in reading problems and challenges connected with the multicultural question, as migrant women are often placed on the threshold of different cultural references.