What works best when? The role of active labour market policy programmes in different business cycles

Nordlund M. What works best when? The role of active labour market policy programmes in different business cycles Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 43–54 © 2009 The Author, Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. At what point in a business cycle do long‐term unemployed persons gain most from participation in active labour market policy programmes (ALMP) as compared with openly unemployed persons? This article studies this question from the perspective of individual human capital with the hazard of labour market exit and chances of future labour market stability and equal post‐unemployment income as output variables. All the long‐term unemployed in Sweden were followed on a four‐year basis, with 1993 (recession) and 1999 (boom) as starting years. The study shows mainly positive effects among participants regardless of the state of the market. However, ALMP training has a ‘bridging’ effect over different labour market conditions, and a quick return to the regular labour market is, therefore, not as important for the success of participation as it is among ALMP employment participants.     

They Should Say “I Don't”: Norms About Midpregnancy Marriage and Job Loss

This study examined effects of local economic conditions on individuals' attitudes toward midpregnancy marriages using an experimental vignette method. Adults (N = 460) were each shown two vignettes about a hypothetical couple expecting a baby; within each vignette pair, vignettes randomly varied as to whether the couple lived in a community that had recently experienced job losses or had stable employment. Respondents indicated if the couple should and will get married before the baby's birth. Results showed that worse local economic conditions led people to believe that marriage would be less common. Among more socioeconomically disadvantaged respondents, if the hypothetical couple lived in a community with job loss, fewer respondents also thought that the couple should marry. In contrast, among more socioeconomically advantaged respondents, slightly more respondents thought that the couple should marry. When economic conditions worsen, low‐socioeconomic‐status individuals may believe that financial prerequisites for marriage become harder to meet.     

Psychological Theories and Low-Wage Work

Low-wage work is a modern social problem, affecting millions of individuals, families, and communities. The field of psychology is a critical starting point for examining the relationship between low-wage work and mental health. This literature review aims to identify psychological theories related to low-wage work. Psychological theories related to work and employment are explored, as is emerging research on the necessity of a paradigm shift from the dichotomous categories of “employed” and “unemployed,” which allows for the conceptualization of employment as a continuum. This research focuses on underemployment and may contribute to the development of theory directly relating to low-wage work.     

江西省失业保险面临的问题与对策

失业保险制度是我国社会主义市场经济体制的重要组成部分 ,也是重要的社会稳定机制。但是 ,在未来的 3年中 ,由于多种原因 ,江西省失业保险将面临严重的支付风险和危机 ,面临基金需求量急剧增长而基金供给能力严重短缺的矛盾。我们应站在讲政治和确保社会稳定的高度 ,采取诸如加强征缴和清欠力度、完善管理和使用机制、努力促进就业等措施 ,来解决失业保险基金供应短缺的问题     

就业艰难时期大学生挫折心理分析与教育

针对当前就业艰难时期,分析了大学生心理挫折现象,探讨了增强大学生心理适应能力的教育对策,并对大学生挫折心理的两重性及价值进行归纳分析,提出开展大学生挫折心理和行为的教育引导等相关问题。     

Unemployment and psychological distress among young adults in the Nordic countries: A review of the literature

This article reviews Nordic research, published from 1995 and onwards, on the relationship between unemployment and mental health among young adults. Cross‐sectional, longitudinal and time‐series studies are included. Cross‐sectional studies show that the unemployed experience more mental health problems than the non‐unemployed. Leaving unemployment is associated with increased well‐being. Economic problems, feelings of shame and poor social support increase the likelihood of psychological distress. The longitudinal studies show that unemployment increases the risk of psychological distress and attempted suicide, after initial mental health status and confounding factors are accounted for. The relationship remains significant when time‐invariant characteristics of the individuals are controlled for. The time‐series studies found no relationship between unemployment and suicide, but levels of psychological distress were found to vary with changes in the labour market. This relationship remained significant after excluding the non‐employed, indicating that unemployment trends have effects beyond those directly associated with unemployment.     

我国失业保险制度存在的问题与对策

结合国外失业保险制度的成功经验以及我国的具体实际,指出我国失业保险存在的问题,并对今后我国失业保险制度的发展提出建议.     

Developing an immigration policy for Germany on the basis of a nonparametric labor market classification

Summary: Based on a nonparametrically estimated model of labor market classifications, this paper makes suggestions for immigration policy using data from West Germany of the 1990s. It is demonstrated that nonparametric regression is feasible in higher dimensions with only a few thousand observations. In sum, labor markets are able to absorb immigrants are characterized by above average age and by professional occupations. On the other hand, labor markets for young workers in service occupations exhibit rising unemployment due to wage rigidities and are therefore not recommended for immigration. This raises a potential conflict between financing Germanys ailing social security system and protecting decreasing or rigid labor markets by immigration control.*We are grateful to Daron Acemoglu, Joshua Angrist, Herbert S. Buscher, Lars P. Feld, Simon Gächter, Ira Gang, Mark Killingsworth, Gebhardt Kirchgässner, Roger Klein, John Landon-Lane, Michael Lechner, Stephen Machin, Ruth Miquel, Michael Piore, Winfried Pohlmeier, Hans-Joachim Voth, two anonymous referees and seminar participants at Rutgers University, MIT, University of Konstanz, and University of St. Gallen for helpful comments. Markus Frölich gratefully acknowledges financial support by the Swiss National Science Foundation (NSF 4043-058311). Patrick Puhani gratefully acknowledges financial support by the Volkswagen Foundation, Hannover. We thank the Center for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, for letting us work with the full sample of the German Socio-Economic Panel. All remaining errors are our own.     

Family Adaptations to Income and Job Loss in the U.S.

Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this study examines the extent to which families experience major economic setbacks and how they respond. Families that experience a substantial loss of income or work hours are more likely to cut back on expenditures, receive public assistance, experience divorce or separation, and move. No evidence that partners are able to compensate for a major income loss by increasing their work hours was found. Initial conditions, such as income and assets, the unemployment rate of the area, and race, affect how a family adapts. Families with fewer resources and those who live in areas of high unemployment are more likely to rely on public assistance, and they are less likely to move, increase the work hours of the female head of household, or cut food expenditures.     

失业统计指标比较及其改进

失业问题日益成为宏观经济管理中的重大问题,高估或低估失业率都可能导致政策失当,影响社会稳定和经济发展。中国现行失业统计指标存在诸多问题如失业人员界定狭隘、统计口径仅限于非农业人员、官方公布的数据仅为城镇登记失业率、统计外延过窄、数据时效性差。应本着实事求是、循序渐进、分项统计、时效性的原则完善中国失业统计指标体系,即失业统计指标体系应由单一的城镇登记失业率改为城镇登记失业率和调查失业率共同组成。