Employment motivations of farm spouses

In the study reported here, reasons for working off the farm and reasons for not working off the farm are examined as a function of gender and socioeconomic characteristics. Women are significantly less likely than men to work off the farm to supplement farm income, and significantly more likely to work off the farm for personal reasons. A logistic regression analysis finds that men, those employed fulltime off the farm, and those with lower household incomes are most likely to cite economic reasons for working off the farm. Men are nearly twice as likely as women to cite time constraints as the primary reason for not working off the farm, while only women cite family responsibilities. Logistic regression reveals that men, those with higher household incomes, and those with livestock operations are most likely to cite lack of time as the primary reason for not working off the farm.Patricia J. Wozniak is Associate Professor in the Department of Experimental Statistics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. Her research interests include family life and family economics, as well as the application of statistics to the social sciences. She received her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee.Kathleen K. Scholl is Senior Coordinator of the Economics Team of the Public Policy Institute at the American Association of Retired Persons, 1909 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20049. She received her Ph.D. from Purdue University.     

Systems engineering: A problem-solving approach to improving program performance

Evaluation methodologies have generally emphasized the measurement and assessment of program merit, as reflected by the achievement of program objectives. Less attention has been devoted to analyzing and explaining the reasons for deficient performance and, more importantly, what needs to be modified to improve performance. While evaluators do identify performance problems, the identified problems are not always analyzed. Consequently, the information reported to decision makers may be incomplete, inconclusive, and of limited utility in the decision-making process. This article describes an evaluation methodology based on problem solving techniques which can be effective and efficient in defining and analyzing problems which impair program performance. The model can be applied in evaluations where the purpose is to provide decision makers with information and recommendations to improve program performance and provide an alternative to those evaluation models which emphasize the assessment of program merit. The model also provides a potentially unique cost/benefit methodology for estimating the potential worth of improving program performance (i.e., solving the problem).     

How Do Behavioral Assumptions Affect Structural Inference? Evidence From a Laboratory Experiment

We develop a model of labor force status (federal employment, nonfederal employment, unemployment, and out of the labor force) that depends on human capital variables, local labor market conditions, and personal characteristics. According to the estimated model for white non-Hispanic males and females a substantial difference exists between blacks and white non-Hispanics even after correction for the control variables. However, the control variables explain almost all of the difference between Hispanics and white non-Hispanics.     

“Me,the street,and a backpack”: employment,income, and physical capital in rural recovery

ABSTRACT

Recovery capital is a framework for understanding individuals’ resources for recovery from substance misuse. In a qualitative analysis of rural individuals in recovery (N = 49), the role of physical capital emerged prominently across ten focus groups. Participants highlighted the effects of employment status, income, and other forms of physical capital directly, as well as indirect effects through changes in human capital. Negative cultural capital components, in the form of stigma and employment discrimination, were described as barriers to physical capital acquisition and successful recovery. Based on these findings, we discuss rural recovery challenges and propose a model of recovery capital interactions.     

Going to work without educational qualifications: school-to-work transitions of early school leavers in Belgium

ABSTRACT

Risks of exclusion can occur in multiple forms and start early in life. Early school leavers are especially at risk of social exclusion as this is strongly related to turbulent school-to-work-transitions. These young people often find themselves in low-qualified work or unemployment. In this article, we explore the labour market experiences of early school leavers in Flanders, Belgium. In total, 15 in-depth interviews were conducted with nine early school leavers and analysed following a grounded theory approach. Our results demonstrate the difficulties early school leavers encounter in their transitions from school to work and their precarious situation in the labour market. Of particular relevance are the insights gained in revealing the perspectives of young people on the importance of educational qualifications, work experience and participation in the labour market, as well as the strategies they develop to enter the labour market without educational qualifications.     

Understanding labour processes in global production networks: a case study of the football industry in Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Over the last few decades, the changing nature of global production and distribution processes has raised a number of critical questions regarding work and employment relations. Presenting a qualitative case study of the football industry in Pakistan as an example of the general mechanism of the social relations of re/production in a global system of industrial organization, this research highlights how and under what conditions informal workers are embedded in extended global production networks. By drawing on the integrated conceptual framework of the global production network (GPN) and labour process theory (LPT), this research sheds light on the working conditions and living realities of informal workers. A potential contribution of this paper is to extend the horizon of production network theory by analysing the work and employment conditions of informal workers, which are absent in existing discussions of these conceptual frameworks.     

税收激励与企业劳动雇佣——来自薪酬抵税政策的“准自然实验”

在经济下行压力不断加大的形势下,如何“稳就业”成为了各界关注的热点问题。本文以2008 年推行的薪酬抵税政策作为“准自然实验”捕捉企业税负的外生变化,并以2000-2018 年A 股上市公司数据作为研究样本,利用双重差分法考察了税收激励与企业雇佣行为之间的因果关系。实证结果表明:薪酬抵税政策带来了额外的税收优惠,进而促进了企业的雇佣需求,在有效排除共同趋势、预期效应、政策叠加效应以及反向因果问题后,这一结论依然稳健;异质性检验中发现,薪酬抵税政策对企业雇佣的激励效应在民营企业,成本转嫁能力较弱、劳动密集度较高以及处于市场化程度较高区域的企业中表现更加明显,这意味着企业对劳动力成本的变化越敏感,这一政策的作用效果就越好;薪酬抵税政策显著地提升了企业的经营绩效。本文的研究有助于深入理解税收影响企业行为的微观机理,对于政府利用税收政策扩大就业具有重要启示。     

四川省甘孜州、阿坝州城镇女性从业者的就业结构与驱动因素探究——基于全国第四次经济普查四川省数据的分析

就业是民生之基,是社会稳定之本,也是女性劳动者的基本权利、提高女性自身经济地位的重要手段,更是性别平等的测试器。在四川省甘孜州、阿坝州,城镇女性从业者在教育、卫生等行业有较高从业优势,就业集中分布于公共管理、教育、卫生、文化等领域,在零售、餐饮、住宿等市场化行业的集中度不明显;产业结构、城镇化与乡城劳动力转移、民营经济发展水平、城镇女性人力资本以及择业观念等影响城镇女性的行业就业行为;传统服务业与线上业态、旅游相关产业、生态红利产业、农业产业链延伸产业等是未来城镇女性劳动力的就业拓展领域;提升女性人力资本有助于女性从业者的就业结构优化。     

最低工资政策的城镇家庭收入分配效应研究

家庭在福利分析中具有重要地位，但家庭收入如何受最低工资政策影响却很少得到关注。本文采用2005-2015年中国综合社会调查（CGSS）数据，利用多时期双重差分和再中心化影响函数回归方法实证考察了最低工资政策对我国城镇家庭收入及其分布的影响。研究发现：①最低工资标准上涨显著提升了处于贫困标准1~2倍家庭的收入水平，对贫困标准以下或高于贫困标准2倍以上的家庭收入没有影响；②最低工资标准提升可有效减缓城镇家庭收入不平等，尤其对家庭收入分布较低分位部分的不平等程度有明显改善；③最低工资政策对家庭收入的最终影响取决于工资溢出效应和就业挤出效应的比较，且其对不同收入等级家庭中成员的收入和就业影响存在明显的异质性。政府在制定最低工资政策时，应针对低收入女性劳动力出台相应的配套措施，以保证各类低收入家庭均能从最低工资标准提升中受益。