The relationship between youth employment and older persons' employment in 20 OECD countries

Inspired by the “lump of labour” theory, a large number of OECD countries have encouraged the expansion of early retirement policies in response to rising unemployment since the 1970s. In reality, however, youth employment is found to be positively correlated with older persons' employment, although this is simply the overall finding for all OECD countries because most studies estimate average effects. Less is known about diversity in the relationship between youth employment and the employment of older workers. In order to help fill the research gap in this area, this study explores the heterogeneity of that relationship across 20 OECD countries.     

The effects of under‐skilling on need for recovery,losing employment and retirement intentions among older office workers: A prospective cohort study

Based on a sample of older workers from the Maastricht Cohort Study, the authors investigate the prevalence and dynamics of self‐reported under‐skilling and its effects on workers' need for recovery, their risk of losing employment and their retirement intentions over a two‐year period. They find that being under‐skilled is associated both with higher levels of need for recovery over time and with the risk of losing employment, but not with early retirement intentions. To achieve sustainable employment, they argue, the course of under‐skilling should be monitored throughout workers' careers, enabling timely interventions to avoid its negative consequences.     

Informing employees in small and medium-sized firms about training: Results of a randomized field experiment

We mailed brochures to 10,000 randomly chosen employed German workers who were eligible for a subsidized occupational training program called WeGebAU, informing them about the importance of skills-upgrading training in general and about WeGebAU in particular. Using survey and register data, we estimate effects of the informational brochure on awareness of the program, on take-up of WeGebAU and other training, and on subsequent employment. The brochure more than doubles awareness of the program. There are no effects on WeGebAU take-up, but participation in other (unsubsidized) training increases among employees aged under 45. Short-term labor market outcomes are not affected.     

Foundations and Their Institutional Context: Cross-Evaluating Evidence from Germany and the United States

According to the relevant literature, the relationship between government and the private foundation sector in Germany is marked by a paradigm of conflict very similar to the one that has often dominated the U.S. discussion of government/nonprofit relationships in the past. More specifically, scholars often hold that the development of foundations in Germany is largely hampered by an administrative and regulatory climate that weakens rather than strengthens the foundation community. Two main arguments are brought forth in this context: First, the expansion of the state bureaucracy into traditional activity fields of foundations crowds out the foundation sector; second, the structure of tax regulations is detrimental to a sound development of foundations. However, while these arguments figure prominently in the policy debate, they have neither empirically nor analytically been substantiated as of yet. Borrowing from organizational theory, this article critically evaluates the arguments in the light of available evidence in an effort to contribute to a better understanding of foundations in an international context.     

The fallacy of the lump of labour theory: Evidence for Latin America

In a context of population ageing, this article analyses the “lump of labour” theory using empirical evidence from Latin America. Instead of finding a crowding-out effect, estimations using a fixed effects model on a panel of annual data drawn from household surveys in 11 countries between 2002 and 2019 suggest a positive correlation between the employment rates of older adults and young people. Additionally, results show a positive association between the labour incomes of older and young workers. These findings could indicate that an expansion in the employment of older adults maintains economic growth and, therefore, a greater demand for labour, which could be supplied by young people.     

Getting Beyond the Training vs. Work Experience Debate: The Role of Labor Markets,Social Capital,Cultural Capital,and Community Resources in Long-Term Poverty

SUMMARY

Policy makers and advocates often see either training or work experience as the way out of poverty. Research in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania suggests that family-supporting jobs continue to elude many low-income women for more complicated reasons: (1) a bifurcated labor market where over half of the jobs pay below-poverty wages with limited benefits, (2) a lack of bridging social capital, (3) limited bi-cultural workplace habits, (4) problems juggling kin obligations and work, and (5) inappropriate or limited training. The study suggests that policy makers should take a two-pronged approach to combating poverty. Training, combined with network development and appropriate cultural capital development, will help some women. Given the growing percentage of low-paying jobs, however, policy should also seek to raise wages, supplement wages, and provide universal benefits.     

Regulation and the future of work: The employment relationship as an innovation facilitator

Digital transformation and the reorganization of the firm have given rise to new forms of work that diverge significantly from the standard employment relationship. Advocates of digital disruption suggest that the existing legal framework cannot accommodate “innovative” working templates and business models. This article, however, argues that labour regulation can continue to facilitate innovation, presenting the employment relationship as a flexible instrument, and standard forms of employment as the means of achieving efficiencies and cost advantages. First, they allow for the full exercise of managerial prerogative and attendant internal flexibility in workforce deployment, and, second, they constitute an effective device to deliver training and develop skills.     

Social upgrading in globalized production: The case of the textile and clothing industry

Vertical specialization generated by the international fragmentation of production within global networks is driven not only by comparative advantage, but also by the locational decisions of lead firms which determine the role and bargaining power of local producers in their value chain. This study examines the consequences of such specialization in textiles and clothing for 26 labour‐abundant countries from 1990 to 2007. Fixed effects regressions based on panel data reveal that the industry does not always reap the benefits of the resulting international trade integration. Rather, the authors observe a negative relationship between vertical specialization and relative real wages in the textile and clothing industry.     

The safety of children and the parent‐worker relationship in cases of child abuse and neglect

Child protection work is complex and demanding and presents both parents and workers with a number of emotional and relationship demands. Although it is recognised that a good working alliance between child protection workers and parents is associated with therapeutic success and service user satisfaction, some current developments, including the growth of an audit culture with its attendant emphasis on targets and performance, appear to undermine the worker's ability to establish good relationships and working alliances. To the extent that poor‐quality working relationships and increased emotional distance reduce the worker's capacity to be empathic, levels of stress for both parents and workers are likely to remain high. Heightened stress reduces the capacity of parents and workers to keep at‐risk children in mind and in focus. This reduces their safety. The paper revisits the value of containment as a way of processing and managing difficult feelings which, along with more recent therapeutic concepts such as mentalisation, encourages workers to keep the parents' feelings in mind as well as hold the child in mind for the parent as a psychological, meaningful and mentalising being. Helping parents think about their feelings and understand, indeed celebrate, their children as burgeoning, independent psychological entities increases understanding, reduces stress and plays a part in helping keep children safe. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developing interprofessional relationships: tapping the potential of inter‐agency training

The creation of effective Local Safeguarding Children Boards in England and Wales is contingent upon the development of new interprofessional partnerships amongst practitioners, managers and strategic planners. Inter‐agency training will have a role to play in facilitating partnership development throughout an increasingly complex inter‐agency system. The following article reviews the recent history of inter‐agency training and the increasing clarity regarding its distinctive purpose. It highlights three theoretical frameworks that have been influential in the development of ideas about the most appropriate focus and process when working across organisational and professional boundaries. Finally, attention is drawn to an emerging consensus as to the core dimensions of effectiveness in interprofessional working relationships. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring the relationship between employment-based social capital, job stress, burnout, and intent to leave among child protection workers: An age-based path analysis model

Research suggests that age and organizational factors are consistently linked with job stress, burnout, and intent to leave among child protection workers. However, no study has contextualized how age matters with regards to these adverse employee outcomes. We conducted a theory driven path analysis that identifies sources of employment-based social capital, job stress, burnout, and intent to leave among two age groups. We used a statewide purposive sample of 209 respondents from a public child welfare organization in a New England state in the United States. Results suggest that the paths to job stress, burnout and intent to leave differed by age group. Social capital dimensions were more influential in safeguarding against job stress for older workers compared to younger workers. Our results justify creating workplace interventions for younger workers that target areas of the organization where relational support could enhance the quality of social interactions within the organization. Organizations may need to establish intervention efforts aimed at younger workers by creating different structures of support that can assist them to better deal with the pressures and demands of child protection work.     

The effects of ability on returns to over‐ and under‐education: Evidence from Malaysia

In Malaysia, skilled‐job creation does not match the rising number of tertiary‐educated workers. The resultant accumulation of skill and ability competencies and work experience raises the question of the extent to which this enhances (mitigates) the wage premium (penalty) of over‐education (under‐education). Using data collected in Peninsular Malaysia in 2015, the authors estimate the effects of ability on returns to education. Their findings suggest that improving specific types of ability may be a means of rectifying wage deficiencies resulting from over‐ and under‐education. On this basis, human resource development in schools and in the workplace should focus on developing job‐specific workplace abilities.     

The relationship between the professionalization of public relations,societal social capital and democracy: Evidence from a cross-national study

What does public relations contribute to society? This research study examined how public relations professionalism is related to social capital and democracy. The relationships between public relations professionalization, social capital and democracy were studied through the public relations professionalization index (PRPI). The PRPI examined a cross-national dataset that pools information from 36 countries and the results of the regression analyses suggest that the PRPI is a reliable measure of public relations professionalization. Overall, the analyses suggest that public relations contributes to societies by building relationships that create social capital and enhance the development of democracy. The findings inform a model that begins to explain the relationship between the professionalization of public relations, social capital and democracy.     

The Business of Caring: Women's Self‐Employment and the Marketization of Care

Our goal in this article is to contribute to a differentiated analysis of paid caring work by considering whether and how women's experiences of such work is shaped by their employment status (for example, self‐employed versus employee) and the nature of care provided (direct or indirect). Self‐employed care workers have not been widely studied compared with other types of care workers, such as employees providing domestic or childcare in private firms or private homes. Yet their experiences may be quite distinct. Existing research suggests that self‐employed workers earn less than employees and are often excluded from employment protection. Nonetheless, they often report greater autonomy and job satisfaction in their day‐to‐day work. Understanding more about the experiences of self‐employed caregivers is thus important for enriching existing theory, research and policy on the marketization of care. Addressing this gap, our article explores the working conditions, pay and levels of satisfaction of care workers who are self‐employed. We draw on interviews from a small‐scale study of Canadian women engaged in providing direct care (for example, childcare) and indirect care (for example, cleaning).     

The Gender Politics of Human Waste and Human‐as‐Waste: Indonesian Migrant Workers and Elderly Care in Japan

Significant decline in mortality and fertility rates has led to a rapid aging population in many parts of the globe. Coupled with a decrease in caring for one's senior parents at home, this condition creates a crisis in elderly care. Most studies on elderly care in Japan, the country with the highest percentage of senior people in the world, employ theoretical approaches rooted in the fields of aging and migration studies. This article offers a new perspective by not only focusing on the voices of the Indonesian women migrant care workers in Japan by way of in‐depth interviews, but also intersecting feminist and waste studies in its analysis. This different theoretical approach allows this article to argue that the politics of disposability in the ‘global care chains’ is a gendered and ‘affective’ phenomenon. Drawing from Jaggar's ‘emotional hegemony’ and Saraswati's ‘affective structure’, this article shows that emotions matter in constructing the disposability of these migrant workers and elderly people, particularly within the capitalist currents that drive the gendered supply chains.     

Cohort Differences and the Marriage Premium: Emergence of Gender‐Neutral Household Specialization Effects

Using fixed‐effects models and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 data, we compared cohort, gender, and household specialization differences in the marriage premium. Do these premiums (a) persist among millennials, (b) reflect changing selection into marriage across cohorts, and (c) differ by the gender division of spousal work hours? Despite declining gender‐traditional household specialization, the millennial cohort garnered larger marriage premiums for women and men. Positive selection explained millenial women's marriage premiums, but less of men's. Household specialization mattered only among millennials, where it is gender neutral: Male and female breadwinners earned significantly larger marriage premiums, whereas husbands and wives specializing in nonmarket work earned no premium, or even penalties, when employed. Results show increasing disadvantage among breadwinner households, with dual earners most advantaged among millennials.     

Young people and social networking sites: exploring the views and training opportunities of CAMHS social workers in Ireland

ABSTRACT

Social Networking Sites (SNS) (e.g. Facebook, Instagram) have become a fundamental part of the daily lives of many young people. SNS engagement has been associated with a number of risks and benefits, some of which are particularly relevant to young people who access child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). Consequently, understanding how and why young people engage with SNS, and the associated risks and benefits, may become an increasingly important part of CAMHS social work.

This small-scale study (n = 15) utilised an online survey to explore the importance that a sample of Irish CAMHS social workers attribute to maintaining an awareness of how young people use SNS, whether they, in their professional lives, have been offered the opportunity to learn about SNS engagement among young people, and whether they have taken it upon themselves to learn about this topic.

Findings suggest that participants consider an understanding of SNS to be an important part of CAMHS practice. However, participants report that they do not feel sufficiently aware of SNS trends among young people, suggesting that there is scope for SNS-focused training/learning opportunities among this sample of CAMHS social workers. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are outlined.