Ethnic conflict and job separations

We study the effect of the second Intifada—a violent conflict between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors which erupted in September 2000—and the ensuing demonstrations of Arab citizens of Israel on labor market outcomes of Arabs relative to those of Jewish Israelis. The analysis relies on a large matched employer–employee dataset, focusing on firms that in the pre-Intifada period hired both Arabs and Jews. We find that until September 2000 Arab workers had a lower rate of job separation than their Jewish peers and that this differential was significantly reduced after the outbreak of the Intifada.     

Fragile Employment,Liquid Love: Employment Instability and Divorce in Israel

The study examines the relationship between the employment stability of first-marriage couples and risk of divorce in Israel. This research question is of particular interest owing to the centrality of the family in Israeli society, rising divorce rates, and increasing employment instability and “deregulation” of the labor market. We capture employment instability through two dimensions: the pattern of employment instability within couples and the continuity of each partner’s employment instability. We utilize this conceptualization to identify the link between employment instability and divorce, focusing on gender and socioeconomic resources. Data were from combined Israeli census files for 1995–2008, annual administrative employment records from the National Insurance Institute and the Tax Authority, and the Civil Registry of Divorce (N = 10,891 couples). Using a series of discrete-time event-history analysis models, findings indicate that husbands’ employment instability, especially when wives have stable employment, increases the risk of divorce; employment stability continuity has opposite gender effects on that risk; and the effect of employment instability on divorce remains significant after taking into account household economic resources. The findings reveal asymmetric gender patterns of the effect of employment instability on divorce, beyond the socioeconomic resources of the household.     

The effect of immigration on the labor market performance of native-born workers: some evidence for Spain

This paper provides an approximation to the labor market effects of immigrants in Spain, a country where labor market institutions and immigration policy exhibit some peculiarities, during the second half of the 1990s, the period in which immigration flows accelerated. By using alternative data sets, we estimate both the impact of legal and total immigration flows on the employment rates and wages of native workers, accounting for the possible occupational and geographical mobility of immigrants and native-born workers. Using different samples and estimation procedures, we have not found a significant negative effect of immigration on either the employment rates or wages of native workers.

非正规就业者的境况得到改善了么?——来自1997-2011年CHNS数据的证据

为研究国有企业改革以来我国城镇非正规就业者的境遇变化,本文利用1997-2011年CHNS数据库,采用倾向得分匹配(PSM)方法,对城镇非正规就业者和正规就业者收入差距进行实证研究.结果发现,城镇非正规就业者与正规就业者收入存在显著差异,且呈现不断扩大的趋势,尤其是有雇工的非正规雇佣者、无雇工的非正规自雇者与正规就业者收入差距越来越大,表明我国城镇非正规就业者的生存境遇正不断恶化,劳动力市场向着不利于非正规就业的方向发展.这要求在劳动力市场改革中应充分考虑非正规就业者的生存空间,加大对非正规就业者的扶持力度的同时,注重非正规就业政策的差异性,减少劳动力市场扭曲对非正规就业者的影响.     

Fringe benefits and income inequality

In this paper, we analyze the distribution of fringe benefits among workers and underline its implications for income inequality. To this end, we develop a positional approach to inequality based on the concept of rent as a potential link between positions and their rewards. We hypothesize that workers extract rent in the form of benefits in industries with worker leverage (in the form of unioniziation, internal labor market, and public employment) or share rent with firms in highly profitable industries that endure for efficiency wage reasons. On the basis of a unique dataset from Israel, we test these hypotheses by estimating the probabilities of obtaining benefits according to industries’ structural features while controlling for cross-industrial differences in workers’ demographic and human capital characteristics. The analyses reveal that benefits are determined by structural factors, representing a separate dimension of the rewards attached to positions, different from earnings. We further stress the importance of incorporating fringe benefits into inequality research, given that benefits together with earnings stratify workers and evidently signify structured positions in the economy.     

中国劳动供求态势变化、问题与对策

本文分析了劳动供给和需求态势的变化,认为我国无限劳动供给时代已经结束,"招工难"具体地反映了劳动供求形势所发生的根本性变化,这一变化虽然并不意味着劳动力数量绝对短缺,但意味着劳动者工资只有实现合理增长才能保持劳动力资源充分供给。综合劳动供求变化,本文进一步探讨了当前劳动力市场的形势和问题,认为虽然从统计数字来看我国城镇失业率继续保持较低水平,但劳动力市场形势并不令人乐观,实际失业率水平仍然较高,同时就业的结构性矛盾越来越突出。为实现充分就业,我国仍然需要保持经济适度快速增长,同时需要改善就业质量,让劳动者更加公平地分享经济增长成果。     

中国对外贸易就业效应的逆转——倒U型曲线是否存在?

文章采用1952～2009年对外贸易时间序列数据并运用渐进回归、卡尔曼滤波和门限回归考察了对外贸易对就业水平的影响。研究表明,在不考虑进口的情况下,出口规模的增加对就业产生正向波动的冲击,而考虑进口后,外贸顺差的就业效应却存在倒U型曲线特征,外贸即顺差规模高于约14000亿元时,就业水平反而开始降低,此时"贸易筛选"机制将在劳动力市场上起主要作用。     

Changing conditions in the US labor market

In this paper, we assess the extent to which the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 affected US labor market conditions facing Mexican migrant workers. Using data gathered from migrants in ten Mexican communities, as well as out-migrants from those communities located in the USA, we examined whether and how IRCA affected US wages, hours worked, and the terms of employment. Estimated period effects did not indicate a clear break in most of these variables following IRCA's passage in 1986, except for hours worked and monthly income. Our analyses did reveal a fairly consistent pattern of deterioration in the labor market conditions facing undocumented migrants, however. Compared to illegal migrants working in the USA before IRCA, those migrating afterward worked fewer hours and were less likely to have taxes withheld from their pay. We also found evidence that undocumented migrants were pushed from the agrarian to the urban economy by the increase in labor supply occasioned by the SAW program.     

农民工非正规就业选择研究

本文利用2001年中国社会科学院进行的中国城市劳动力市场研究调查数据,对农民工非正规就业的进入条件、就业影响因素以及就业效果进行了研究,结果显示:从事非正规就业的农民工相对具有更狭窄的社会资本和更少的工作初始投入;教育显著提高了农民工从事非正规就业的概率,滞后一期的市场状态对农民工非正规就业选择不会产生显著影响;就业分流并没有导致农民工就业市场出现内部分层,农民工非正规就业存在着强的自选择。     

Employment transitions in the Netherlands, 1980–2004: Are low educated men subject to structural or cyclical crowding out?

This article addresses whether low educated men are displaced from their jobs by higher educated workers in the Netherlands in the period 1980–2004. In particular, we test whether structural or cyclical crowding out is predominant in the Dutch labor market. In order to do so, we try to explain the observed trends in education-specific transition rates to entry into first employment from education, exit from employment into unemployment or inactivity, and re-entry into employment from unemployment or inactivity for men by both business cycle effects (that is, changes in aggregate unemployment rates) and structural effects (that is, changes in labor supply–demand ratios for high educated). Discrete-time event history models are estimated using the OSA Labor Supply Panel 1985–2004. Retrospective information enables to study trends from 1980 onwards, so that structural effects can be distinguished from cyclical effects. The results show that structural crowding out exists at both the worker in- and outflow. First of all, it was observed that a growth in the oversupply of high educated increases the employment exit risk of low educated workers more so than that of higher educated ones. In addition, it was shown that an increase in the oversupply of high educated especially reduces the re-employment chances of low educated unemployed men. There is no evidence found for cyclical crowding out among low educated workers in the Dutch labor market.     

Creating illegal immigrants

This paper considers the prospects for successful implementation by governments of guest-worker programs that are based on an intended temporary presence of foreign workers. A means of enforcement of temporary presence is a penalty imposed for overstaying the permissible time period. Employers who are obliged to post bonds for their foreign workers are provided with an incentive to ensure that their workers leave at the end of their contractually specified stay. We consider the consequences of such a bond when foreign workers can leave legal employers for illegal employment. We also investigate the effectiveness of deferred payments to foreign workers as a means of discouraging transition from legal employment to illegal presence. In the final analysis, although the policy intention is a temporary stay, we conclude that if foreign workers do not wish to return home, there is an almost inevitability to the creation of a population of illegal immigrants (whose presence may be subsequently legalized). Received: 28 May 1997/Accepted: 6 July 1998     

Employment gains and wage declines: The erosion of black women’s relative wages since 1980

Public policy initiatives in the 1950s and 1960s, including Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunity law, helped mitigate explicit discrimination in pay, and the expansion of higher education and training programs have advanced the employment fortunes of many American women. By the early 1980s, some scholars proclaimed near equity in pay between black and white women, particularly among young and highly skilled workers. More recent policy initiatives and labor market conditions have been arguably less progressive for black women’s employment and earnings: through the 1980s, 1990s, and the first half of the 2000s, the wage gap between black and white women widened considerably. Using data from the Current Population Survey Merged Outgoing Rotation Group (CPS-MORG), this article documents the racial wage gap among women in the United States from 1979 to 2005. We investigate how demographic and labor market conditions influence employment and wage inequality among black and white women over the period. Although shifts in labor supply influence the magnitude of the black-white wage gap among women, structural disadvantages faced by black women help explain the growth in the racial wage gap.     

Group-based differences in intra-generational earnings mobility in Israel

High earnings inequality, by itself, is less of a problem if a society is characterized by high earnings mobility rates. Using the matched 1983–1995 census file created by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, which includes data for individuals who were included in both the 1983 and 1995 demographic samples of the census, this study focuses on the differential mobility rates of the various gender–ethnic groups in the Israeli labor market, as well as on the determinants of upward earnings mobility. The findings indicate that rising inequality between the dominant and subordinate groups slows down the impact of high rates of earnings mobility in Israel. Specifically, native-born Ashkenazi men (the most advantaged group) have a firm hold on the high earnings positions. Furthermore, the data show that the earnings gap between Ashkenazi men and most other groups has increased over time. Although the other groups, particularly women, also experienced some upward mobility, this mobility took place across the lower quintiles, where earnings are low.     

农民工就业与就业促进问题实证研究——以北京市为例

随着中国城市化进程的加快,大量的农民从农村来到城市,从事着各种各样的劳动。在中国的产业大军中,农民工数量在迅速增长,农民工日益成为不可或缺的重要力量。由于户籍等原因,作为就业弱势群体的农民工比城镇劳动力面临着更大的失业风险和保障缺失。他们的就业状况究竟如何、他们参加失业保险以及受到就业培训的状况如何,如何促进农民工的就业是值得全社会高度关注的重大问题。本文以北京市为例,就农民工的就业与就业促进问题进行一些分析和探讨。     

工业化力度、人口流动行为与户籍改革

本文分析了户籍制度保护二元劳动力市场的前提条件 ,通过实证研究论证了工业化乏力和劳动力市场素质门槛是限制农村劳动力进城就业的根本原因。基于人口流动行为的分析 ,阐明了户籍制度改革可能使部分率先富裕起来的农民入住集镇或中小城市 ,但并不能根本改变民工在城乡间或城市间的“钟摆式”流动特征 ,难以达到促进城市化从而促进就业转换及扩大就业的目标 ,最后是政策含义。     

Trajectories of Employment Gaps of Refugees and Other Migrants: Evidence from Austria

This paper analyzes the labor market integration of non-European refugees originating from middle- and low-income countries for the period of 2009–2018 in Austria. We assess their probability of being employed relative to Austrian natives and compare it with that of other non-European migrants and European refugees and other immigrants from low- and middle-income non-EU countries. We draw on a register-based panel dataset covering the complete labor market careers of all individuals residing in Austria. We control for macrolevel explanatory variables (e.g., the labor market situation at the time and the place of settlement) and individual characteristics. The analysis shows that initial refugee employment gaps relative to natives are large in the first years, when labor market access is difficult. After a period of 7 years, the unconditional gap between refugees and natives declines to 30 percentage points, similar to that of other migrants, but the gap is still decreasing. After controlling for a set of explanatory variables, the conditional gap amounts to only 10 percentage points at that time. Moreover, our analysis provides insights into differences in employment gaps across population subgroups of immigrant groups and natives by gender, age, education level, and types of employment.

     

城市工资上涨、劳动力转移与投资拉动增长方式——基于中国地级城市面板数据的分析

改革开放后,中国以高投资率带动了城市经济的高速增长,但随着农村剩余劳动力存量的不断减少,劳动力供给增长开始跟不上高投资带来的劳动力需求的增长,城市经济的发展正面临着工资加速上涨、投资的产出与就业效应不断降低的挑战。文章利用2004～2009年中国地级城市面板数据进行实证分析,结果显示,城市工资上涨对劳动力供给的拉力是递减的,而对劳动力需求的抑制作用却是递增的;劳动力市场均衡的比较静态分析结果显示,投资的工资上涨效应在递增,而投资的产出与就业效应在递减,因此城市工资上涨是必然趋势。此外,工资上涨对外商直接投资有明显抑制作用,在国内外双重压力下,中国继续实行投资拉动的增长方式已不是明智的选择。     

A Right to Exist: A Palestinian speaks

This paper links theory with practice. It discusses original video footage of Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories, filmed by an all-woman crew of Western film-makers and Palestinians, which aims to challenge mainstream Orientalist discourses. The footage was shot in and around Al Aroub refugee camp in the West Bank and distributed through a variety of exhibition platforms. Western representations of Arabs are normally framed in a manner that allows little sympathy and/or understanding of their plight. Research has also shown a lack of knowledge in the West about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Focusing on “ordinary and everyday” aspects of Palestinian life, rendered often “extraordinary” by the circumstances of occupation, the footage attempts to draw connections and similarities for a Western audience and to illustrate that Palestinian daily lives are not “played out” only in opposition to the Israeli regime. The paper explores methods of enabling access to Palestinian voices in their own terms, while eliciting the empathy of audiences more accustomed to dramatised and stereotyped images of Palestinian life in Western news and current affairs footage.     

The number of Israeli immigrants in the United States in 1990

In this paper we estimate the size of several categories of “Israeli” immigrants in the United States. According to the 1990 U.S. census, there were about 95,000 Israeli-born immigrants in the United States in that year. Using the language and ancestry information available in the Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) of the 1990 census, we estimate that of this total, about 80,000 are Jews and 15,000 are Palestinian Arabs born in Israel. In addition to the Israeli-born, we present a range for the number of Jewish immigrants from Israel who are not Israeli-born (about 30,000-56,000). Thus our estimate for the total number of Jewish immigrants from Israel in the United States in 1990 is between 110,000 and 135,000. Fertility information available in the PUMS, also enable us to provide estimates for the number of second-generation Israelis in the United States in the 1990 (about 42,000). Finally, using both the 1980 and 1990 PUMS, we provide estimates for the rate of return migration among Israeli-born Jewish immigrants in the United States.     

超大城市新生代农民工就业满意度评价及其比较分析--以北京市为例

超大城市面临稳定保有一定数量农民工劳动力和控制人口规模的平衡问题,合理评价城市劳动力新生力量———新生代农民工的就业满意度,有利于客观反映新生代农民工的就业状态与现实诉求,并为超大城市提高农民工就业质量提供支持。以北京地区新生代农民工为研究对象,在明确就业满意度构成因素的基础上,运用因子分析法构建适合新生代农民工城市就业特点的就业满意度模型和评价量表,并对新生代农民工的就业满意度进行分析评价。结果显示,新生代农民工在就业中更看重工作环境、职业发展和晋升机会,对报酬的关注度有所下降,这与已有研究结果有所不同;新生代农民工整体的就业满意度较低,其中更换工作的机会、涨薪机会、晋升机会、与老板关系的不满是导致满意度低的最主要原因;新生代农民工内部存在代际分化,“90后”农民工的就业满意度显著高于“80后”;文化程度、所从事的岗位、婚姻状况对新生代农民工的就业满意度都有显著影响。