Labour Market Institutions and Flexibility in Italy

ABSTRACT: The paper surveys three broad categories of labor market institutions in Italy: employment protection legislation unemployment benefit systems and wage bargaining arrangements In each we the recent evolution and current state of Italian institutions are evaluated and compared With those in other major European countries     

The Industry of Illegal Migration: Social Network Analysis of the Brazil‐US Migration System

In this article, we analyse the process of migration by applying a social network methodology. Using the personal network approach, we focus on a case study of the Brazil‐US migration system to analyse the formation of the so‐called “industry of illegal migration”. We suggest that in migration systems, brokerage evolves not only because of historical and cultural changes, but also because the changes emerge within a structured environment in which brokerage can thrive, and this, in turn, causes the social networks to support and produce specialized actors (individuals and organizations) embedded in the “right positions” of the social structure in the migration process. In this particular case study, we suggest that brokerage seems to take place through gender‐oriented networks and the personal experience and structural power of returned migrants. These returned migrants usually have more varied social contacts and types of relationships from which they can obtain richer information about the migration system.     

A Family System Approach to Investigate Family‐Based Pathways Between Financial Stress and Adolescent Problem Behavior

This article proposes a family system approach to improve our understanding on family stress processes. Examining effects within (actor) and between (partner) parents, we explored family‐based pathways through which financial stress is associated with adolescent externalizing problem behavior. Data from 340 families were analyzed, with both parents rating their financial stress and parenting stress, and parents as well as adolescents rating the parent–child communication and adolescent problem behavior. The results revealed that the association between financial stress and adolescent externalizing problem behaviors was mediated by parenting stress and parent–child communication. Although our results provided evidence for both actor and partner effects, actor effects were more prominent. No parent gender differences were found in the strength of the pathways.     

Sociology on Latin America in the 1960s: Developmentalism, Imperialism, and Topical Tropism

This article reveals the emergence of the idea of development in the sociological study of Latin America in the United States as a specific product of history. We show how in the 1960s, it was the result of interaction between the economic, political, military, and scientific fields generated by the mobilization of resources based on their respective rules. We criticize the idea that sociology had clearly-defined goals during this period. Our research demonstrates, for instance, how the research conducted on Latin America during that period was rooted in “topical tropism”. Our investigation is based on the analysis of empirical data including institutional information, journal articles and historical archives.     

The feminine side to Santa Claus. Women's work of kinship in contemporary gift-giving relations

The predominant male-breadwinner model having been surpassed by other forms of household organization, discussion rises on whether the female role of caretaker within households also undergoes change. The question certainly becomes relevant concerning an often less visible and/or overlooked aspect of the caretaker role, which is the ‘work of kinship’. This article looks at a specific aspect of this, which can be considered as even more invisible than other caring tasks: the responsibility for gift exchange. More precisely, we explore women's role in, contribution to and attitude towards the gift-giving process on three domains: the buying, giving and receiving of gifts. Results point to important gender differences: women remain chief responsible for gift selection and gift giving and invest more time in selecting the appropriate gifts for kin. They also show greater satisfaction with the gift-giving process, of which they tend to stress the symbolic value instead of the instrumental value, which is more strongly emphasized by men. This shows that traditional role models endure in an important but often invisible aspect of the work of kinship and more generally of the caretaker role and that these role models also seem to be strongly culturally integrated by men and women.     

Cross-Regional Divorce Risks in Belgium: Culture or Legislative System?

Cross-national research is by definition carried out between different countries. Looking at country differences often results in common and diverse sets of divorce risks. This article uses a cross-national research perspective on divorce risks within a single country. Belgium is a special case in this respect. The division of the country in two regions with a different language and a quite different historical background often frightens researchers to include the country in large-scale international comparisons. We argue that Belgium is an interesting test case in international perspective since it combines—in a quasi-experimental setting—two important explanatory conditions for divorce risks on the macro level. First, Belgium is a unitary country with a single social security system, similar labor market characteristics, and a single family policy. Second, whereas the institutions between the northern and the southern part are similar, Belgium is culturally divided in a rather Catholic northern part (Flanders) and a secular southern part (Wallonia). This division is often referred to as a northern (Scandinavian) and a southern (Spain, Italy) cultural pattern. This means that when studying divorce patterns, we have the opportunity to examine the net effect of cultural determinants because of the similar feature of the institutional setting of both the Walloon and the Flemish part of the country.     

Individual and institutional push and pull factors as predictors of retirement timing in Europe: A multilevel analysis

The number of retired people in Europe has increased significantly in recent decades. It remains unclear, however, whether individuals are more likely to be pulled toward retirement by their expectations about life after retirement than they are to be pushed out of the labour market due to poor health or dislike of one's job. The fact that retirement timing differs rather considerably between European countries suggests that not only micro, but also macro push (i.e. labour market constraints) and pull (i.e. economic incentives) factors influence retirement decisions. This duality heightens the need to determine the influence of micro-level and macro-level push and pull indicators on the retirement timing of older workers (50 +) in Europe. Results are obtained performing multilevel event history analysis using longitudinal micro data from the first (2004/05) and second (2006/07) waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and macro data derived from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Eurostat. The results indicate that at the individual level, older workers are pushed out due to health problems as well as being attracted towards retirement to spend time with their grandchildren. At the institutional level, financial incentives such as a high implicit tax on continued work and high expenditures on early exit schemes make retirement attractive, whereas the institutional push context is of lesser importance.     

A practical greedy approximation for the directed Steiner tree problem

The directed Steiner tree (DST) NP-hard problem asks, considering a directed weighted graph with n nodes and m arcs, a node r called root and a set of k nodes X called terminals, for a minimum cost directed tree rooted at r spanning X. The best known polynomial approximation ratio for DST is a \(O(k^\varepsilon )\)-approximation greedy algorithm. However, a much faster k-approximation, returning the shortest paths from r to X, is generally used in practice. We give two new algorithms : a fast k-approximation called Greedy\(_\text {FLAC}\) running in \(O(m \log (n)k + \min (m, nk)nk^2)\) and a \(O(\sqrt{k})\)-approximation called Greedy\(_\text {FLAC}^\triangleright \) running in \(O(nm + n^2 \log (n)k +n^2 k^3)\). We provide computational results to show that, Greedy\(_\text {FLAC}\) rivals in practice with the running time of the fast k-approximation and returns solution with smaller cost in practice.     

Sleep disturbances in shift-workers: A marker for maladaptation syndrome

Abstract

This study aims to examine whether the relationship between overtime and well-being is influenced by the voluntary vs. involuntary (i.e., compulsory) nature of overtime work and by the presence or absence of rewards for overtime. We also explored the prevalence of these types of overtime and how they were related to work and personal characteristics. A survey was conducted among a representative sample of Dutch full-time employees (N=1612). AN(C)OVA was used to compare rewarded and unrewarded, voluntary and involuntary overtime workers on personal and work characteristics, fatigue, and work satisfaction. Most overtime workers were rewarded (62%). About half of the sample (n=814) could be classified as either voluntary or involuntary overtime workers, or as having “mixed reasons” to work overtime. Voluntary and unrewarded overtime workers had a relatively high income and favourable job characteristics. Involuntary overtime work was associated with relatively high fatigue and low satisfaction, especially for involuntary overtime workers without rewards who can be considered a burnout risk group. Voluntary overtime workers were non-fatigued and satisfied, even without rewards. It can be concluded that control over overtime and rewards for overtime are important for well-being. Moderate overtime work may not be a problem if it is done voluntarily. Moreover, the negative effects of compulsory overtime work may be partly offset by fair compensation for the extra work.     

The relevance of class in shaping authoritarian attitudes: A cross-national perspective

This study provides the first thorough and cross-national assessment of the concept of authoritarianism with regard to the distinction between the working and non-working classes. This pan-European study is the first to demonstrate that, because there are no substantial differences in interpretation between the working class and the non-working class, authoritarianism scores can be compared meaningfully across the two classes. We demonstrate that the working class is more strongly inclined to authoritarianism, as suggested by Lipset. Building further upon this assessment allows a clear picture of the mediating effects of some of Lipset's presumed drivers of this relationship. Although educational levels explain a major part of class differences in authoritarianism, income level, media use and psychological insecurity play a role as well, albeit to a lesser extent. In addition to examining the underlying processes at the individual level, country-level characteristics are studied. Results show that class and authoritarianism are more strongly related to each other in richer countries than they are in relatively poor countries.