Maux du travail : dégradation, recomposition ou illusion ?

In recent years, the attention of French public opinion has been focused on the noxious effects of new ways of organizing work. Stress, “suffering”, burnout, psychosocial risks and suicides are topics that have brought experts, the media and politicians into action. What do the social sciences have to say about this? Among the several reactions presented, the principal contrast arises between those who analyze the ills of work as “social constructions” and those who see them as the implications of a trend toward intensifying job-related activities.     

Marketization,occupational segregation,and gender earnings inequality in urban China

This article analyzes a large sample of the 2005 population mini-census data and prefecture-level statistics of China to investigate gender earnings inequality in the context of economic marketization, paying special attention to the changing role of occupational segregation in the process. We approximate marketization by employment sectors and also construct an index of marketization at the prefecture level. Results show that, despite the tremendous economic growth, marketization has exacerbated gender earnings inequality in urban China's labor markets. Gender earnings inequality is the smallest in government/public institutions, followed by public enterprises, and then private enterprises. The gender inequality also increases with the prefecture's level of marketization. Multilevel analyses show that occupational segregation plays an important role in affecting gender earnings inequality: the greater the occupational segregation, the more disadvantaged women are relative to men in earnings in a prefecture's labor market. Moreover, the impact of occupational segregation on gender earnings inequality increases with the prefectural level of marketization. These findings contribute to understanding the dynamics of gender earnings inequality and have important implications for policy to promote gender equality in urban China.     

企业状况、认知程度、政府监督与外来工职业病防治——珠江三角洲外来工职业病状况调查报告

本文是对珠江三角洲外来工中的职业病患者的问卷调查报告。文章认为 :教育程度低、对工作岗位的危害认知不足、劳动强度大等 ,是外来工成为职业病患者的个人因素 ;企业的性质、规模、行业种类和管理制度 ,政府和社会的宣传、监督 ,与职业病的发生概率相关 ;职业病对工人的损害很大 ,它不仅是生理的 ,而且也是心理的、社会的 ;目前 ,在珠江三角洲乃至全国 ,在职业病的防治和后果处理上 ,还没有形成一个有效的社会机制。     

Labor Market Segmentation and the Earnings of German Guestworkers

In this paper we study the occupational progress and earnings attainment of immigrants in Germany and compare them to native Germans. Our analysis is guided by the human capital, segmented labor market, and discrimination theories. To assess the separate effects of occupational segmentation and discrimination in the allocation of occupations and wages, we conceptualize the process of earnings attainment as occurring in three stages: initial occupational achievement, final occupational achievement after the accumulation of experience, and, contingent on the former, final earnings attainment. Our analysis of data from the German Socioeconomic Panel suggests a high degree of initial occupational segmentation, with mmigrants being less able to translate their human capital into a good first job than natives. We also find that immigrants experienced significant discrimination in the process of occupational attainment, yielding little job mobility over time, and a widening of the status gap between Germans and guestworkers. Holding occupational status constant, however, we find less evidence of direct discrimination in the process of earnings attainment. Although immigrants achieved lower rates of return to technical or vocational training than natives, their wage returns to experience, hours worked, years since migration, and academic high school were greater, yielding significant earnings mobility over time.     

Segregated jobs or ethnic niches?: The impact of racialized employment on earnings inequality

Using data from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality (MCSUI), this study examines the extent to which the racial or ethnic composition of jobs affects racial and ethnic-linked earnings inequalities among whites, blacks and Hispanics. Four types of jobs are distinguished according to the racial/ethnic composition of jobs in work establishments: predominantly white, multi-racial or mixed, predominantly black, and predominantly Hispanic. We found considerable differences among the four types of jobs. Jobs composed predominantly of white workers are characterized by the highest earnings, the highest status occupations, and the highest levels of education. In contrast, jobs predominantly composed of Hispanic workers are characterized by the lowest salaries, the lowest status occupations, and the lowest levels of education. The data analysis supports the hypothesis that job segregation is responsible for earnings disparities in the case of blacks versus whites, but only partial support for this hypothesis is found in the case of Hispanics versus whites. The analysis also provides support for the “devaluation hypothesis” which suggests that all workers experience pay penalties in jobs in which minority workers are predominant. Further analysis reveals that had most workers been rewarded like whites employed in predominantly white jobs, their earnings would have increased considerably. The only groups of workers who “benefit” from job segregation are Hispanic workers employed in predominately Hispanic jobs. In the absence of competition with others, Hispanics employed in predominantly Hispanic jobs earn more than they would earn in other jobs. The differential effects of the ethnic composition of jobs on economic outcomes of minority populations are evaluated and discussed in light of the roles played by sheltered and protected ethnic economies.     

Stress at work, social support and companionship: Towards an event-contingent recording approach

After outlining a taxonomy of perspectives on social support, the literature on the direct and buffer effects of social support with respect to occupational stress is reviewed. It is noted that negative direct and buffer effects of support are frequently observed. Methodological and theoretical explanations for these contradictory findings are presented. It is argued that a different methodological approach is needed to examine such explanations. Three studies-among police officers, secretaries, and correctional officers-are briefly described in which the Daily Interaction Record in Organizations (DIRO) was used. With this event-contingent recording method, social interactions and stressful events are assessed over a period of 5 days, allowing the detailed examination of the processes involved in supportive interactions, and of the effects of such processes.     

关于中学教师职业态度的现状调查与对策分析

通过对包头市四所中学教师的抽样调查,中学教师的职业角色意识参差不齐,职业态度和角色认知也不很令人满意。需要转变教师职业意识,优化教师外部环境,制定完善的管理制度,加强教师自身修养。     

The Effects of Licensing on the Wages of Radiologic Technologists

We analyze the effect that state licensing of radiologic technologists (RTs) has had upon RT wages with a unique dataset that allows us to control for place of work and job specialization. Using OLS and several measures of licensing, we find evidence that RTs working in states with licensing statutes earn as much as 3.3% more than RTs working in states without licensing. When we control for endogeneity using instrumental variables (IV) estimation, our estimate of the licensing premium doubles (6.9%). Our results provide further support for existing theories of the effects of occupational licensing on the wages of practitioners.

The Heterogeneous Effect of the Passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act on Stock Returns

I analyze how stock prices reacted to the passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970. Previous studies focus on accounting measures or actual OSHA violations, and my work complements the literature by examining how shareholders expected OSHA to affect firm profitability. Returns fell around the OSH bill’s release to the House floor and its eventual passage, and average market value dropped by $1.5 million over the 3 days surrounding House Rules Committee release. Durable manufacturing and mining industries were hardest hit in OSH passage, losing $2.6 million and $5.7 million in average market value, respectively. I also find that larger firms with poorer working conditions sustained more negative returns, and market power, not union density, explains variation in expected profitability. Furthermore, future penalties appear unrelated to shareholder expectations about compliance costs.

中国劳动力受教育程度的实证研究—基于人口普查数据平台的时间序列分析

本文将以第五次、第六次全国人口普查资料为数据平台,以劳动力人均受教育年限以及具有各种文化程度人口比重为核心指标,对劳动力资源整体受教育程度变动进行系统的实证分析,从劳动力整体资源剖析到行业、职业视角切入,全景式地解读新世纪以来我国劳动力的数量变化和质量进展状况,剖析当前存在的问题与面临的挑战。