Social networks and labour market outcomes in a meritocracy

This paper examines the significance of personal contacts in job searches, in the context of Singapore's meritocratic system. I show that in certain sectors, such as the state bureaucracy, social networking brings no distinct advantages as appointments are made exclusively on the basis of the academic credentials of the candidates. Thus, personal contacts are not always useful, especially in labour markets that rely heavily on the signalling role of academic credentials to match persons to jobs and allocate rewards. In contrast, personal contacts are more useful among less qualified job searchers in the private sector.     

Plant closures,precariousness and policy responses: Revisiting MG Rover 10 years on

With automotive plants being closed in Australia and western Europe, this article reflects on the employment status of ex-MG Rover (MGR) workers following the closure of the Longbridge plant in 2005. In particular, it draws on Standing's typology of labour market insecurity and uses a mixed-methods approach including an analysis of a longitudinal survey of some 200 ex-MGR workers, and in-depth interviews with ex-workers and policy-makers. While the policy response to the closure saw significant successes in terms of the great majority of workers successfully adjusting into re-employment, and with positive findings in terms of re-training and education, the paper finds significant challenges in terms of security of employment, income, job quality and representation at work years after closure. In particular, the paper posits that the general lack of attention to employment security at the macrolevel effectively undermined elements of a positive policy response over the longer run. This in turn suggests longer-term policy measures are required to address aspects of precariousness at work.     

基层建设年实施背景下的基层工作长效机制

河北省开展了为期三年的“基层建设年活动”,已经基本结束,并且取得了相当的成果;在整个活动行将结束之际,通过什么方式巩固已有的成绩,进一步健全基层工作的长效机制成为了此次活动的重要课题。     

Gender and Children's Housework Time in China: Examining Behavior Modeling in Context

Differentiated gender roles in adulthood are rooted in one's gender role socialization. In order to understand the persistence of gender inequalities in the domestic sphere, we need to examine the gendered patterns of children's housework time. Although researchers have identified behavior modeling as a major mechanism of gender role reproduction and characterized gender socialization as a contextually embedded process, few have investigated contextual variation in behavior modeling, particularly in non‐Western developing countries. Analyzing data from the China Family Panel Studies 2010, the author examined the differences in behavior modeling between boys and girls age 10–15 from 2‐parent families (N = 1,903) in rural and urban China. The results revealed distinctive gendered interplays in the way parental housework and employment behavior helps shape children's housework time. This analysis is a crucial illustration of how the distinctive sociocultural contexts of rural and urban China moderate the effects of housework‐behavior modeling on intergenerational gender role socialization.     

Parental constructions of masculinity at the transition to parenthood: the division of parental leave among Austrian couples

Men and masculinity are considered a key factor in changing gender inequality at the transition to parenthood. Prior research on gendered division of parental leave concentrated on fathers’ perspectives. This paper includes perspectives of fathers and mothers who make use of parental leave in different ways and asks how masculinity is jointly constructed, how these constructions are linked to the use of parental leave, and if and how they are oriented towards hegemonic masculinity. The analysis is based on 44 qualitative interviews with 11 Austrian couples before and after birth when decisions concerning parental leave were made. Our case reconstructions reveal that parents considered parental leave a central element of masculinity as long as it suited fathers’ needs and circumstances permitted. The decisions for sharing parental leave were father-centred as both partners valued father’s leave higher than mother’s.     

新中国农地制度的变迁分析与启示

基于分配冲突视角下的新制度变迁理论以及产权结构-行为选择-经济绩效分析框架,对新中国农地制度变迁的过程及其对经济绩效的影响进行分析,从历史经验的反思中得到如下对深化我国农地制度改革方向、方式有益的启示:其一,农地制度始终是影响我国农业经济绩效的核心因素,其中由农地产权决定的农业剩余分配问题是构建科学合理农地制度的核心;其二,国家须适当参与农业剩余分配,落实农民应有土地财产权益;其三,农地制度改革的价值目标需做次优选择,最大程度地释放提升资源分配效率的制度潜力;其四,控制制度变革的摩擦成本,引导农民内生的制度变革需求和认知选择。     

区域经济一体化背景下京津冀劳务协作分析

十二五规划提出推进京津冀区域经济一体化发展、打造首都经济圈的国家战略,在此背景下,加强京津冀劳务协作成为实现区域经济合作必不可少的人力支撑。开展京津冀劳务协作具有现实依据,既可以满足河北省与京津的双重需要,也符合农村富余劳动力转移就业的成本收益比较规律。但同时也存在着一些制约京津冀劳务协作的因素,主要有京津地区低技能要求类岗位因就业质量低下对河北省农村富余劳动力缺乏吸引力问题,河北省农村转移劳动力素质较低无法胜任高技能岗位问题,开展京津冀劳务协作的组织、人力、信息支撑不足问题等。应通过提高农村转移劳动力就业质量、加大政府和企业的培训投入、开展京津冀培训协作、设立村级劳动保障协管员、建立京津冀信息合作机制等办法解决这些障碍问题,进一步促进京津冀劳务协作,为京津冀区域经济一体化提供有力支持。     

农村义务教育闲置不动产产权界定的法学思考——以陕西省数据调查和法规政策为起点

农村义务教育学校布局调整后对闲置学校教育资产如何处置成为棘手问题。尤其是闲置不动产的再利用,存在诸多争议,究其原因主要是投资结构复杂,产权不明晰,因此确认这些土地、校舍的产权成为问题的关键。而产权确认又存在相关法律与政策相左,为避免纠纷,提高教育资产的效益,相关部门必须依法制定统一规则,及时解决。     

中国农村人口流动的影响因素与实施对策——基于推拉理论的托达罗修正模型

中国农村剩余劳动力数量巨大,如何在城市就业空间有限的情况下有效地解决中国农村剩余劳动力的合理转移问题,是推进城镇化和提升农民收入以及实现社会稳定和可持续发展的重要举措之一。在托达罗人口流动模型的基础上,引入"推拉理论",结合中国农村人口流动实际状况,对托达罗人口流动模型进行修正,并以此构建多元回归模式进行逐步回归分析,结果表明:在农村人口流动的过程中应当加快第二、第三产业的发展,加大培训"农民工"专业技能的力度;深化体制改革,消除城乡二元分割的制度壁垒,构建城乡衔接的社会福利制度;加快工业化和城市化进程,建立城乡统一的劳动力市场,从而进一步促进农村劳动力人口向城镇的有效转移。