Migrants, Refugees and Employer Discrimination

Chapter 1 Introduction What Economics Is About Uses of Economic Theory The Scope of Economics Individuals, Families, and Households A Note on Terminology Outline of the Book Appendix: A Review of Supply and Demand in the Labor Market Chapter 2 Women and Men: Historical Perspectives The Source of Gender Differences: Nature versus Nurture-The Ongoing Debate Factors Influencing Women's Relative Status Women's Roles and Economic Development The U.S. Experience Chapter 3 The Family as an Economic Unit: Theoretical Perspectives The Simple Neoclassical Model: Specialization and Exchange Disadvantages of Specialization Advantages of Families Beyond Specialization Transaction Cost and Bargaining Approaches Appendix: Specialization and Exchange: A Graphical Analysis Chapter 4 The Family as an Economic Unit: Evidence Time Spent in Nonmarket Work Estimating the Value of Nonmarket Production The American Family in the Twenty-First Century Chapter 5 The Labor Force: Definitions and Trends The Labor Force: Some Definitions Trends in Labor Force Participation Trends in Labor Force Attachment of Women Trends in Hours Worked Trends in Gender Differences in Unemployment Chapter 6 The Labor Supply Decision The Labor Supply Decision Some Applications of the Theory: Taxes, Child Care Costs, and Labor Supply Analyzing the Long-term Growth in Women's Labor Force Participation Recent Trends in Women's Labor Force Participation: Has the Engine of Growth Stalled? Analyzing Trends in Men's Labor Force Participation Black and White Participation Differentials: Serious Employment Problems for Black Men Appendix: The Income and Substitution Effects: A Closer Look Chapter 7 Evidence on Gender Differences in Labor Market Outcomes Gender Differences in Occupations The Gender Pay Ratio Gender Differences in Union Membership Gender Differences in Self-Employment Gender Differences in Nonstandard Work Chapter 8 Gender Differences in Educational Attainment: Theory and Evidence Chapter Highlights Supply and Demand Explanations: An Overview What Is Human Capital? Evidence on Gender Differences in Educational Attainment The Educational Investment Decision The Rising College Wage Premium Education and Productivity Gender Differences in Educational Investment Decisions: the Human Capital Explanation Gender Differences in Educational Investment Decisions: Social Influences and Anticipation of Discrimination Policy Issues: Title IX-Sports, Academics, and the Status of Single-Sex Education Explaining Women's Rising Educational Attainment Chapter 9 Other Supply-Side Sources of Gender Differences in Labor Market Outcomes: On-the-Job Training, Family Gaps, Psychological Attributes and Math Test Scores On-the-Job Training and Labor Market Experience Why do Firms Pay Tuition Benefits? Gender Differences in Labor Market Experience The On-the-Job Training Investment Decision Experience and Productivity Gender Differences in Training Investment Decisions Occupations and Earnings Family-Related Earnings Gaps Gender Differences in Psychological Attributes A Closer Look at Gender Differences in Math Test Scores Chapter 10 Evidence on the Sources of Gender Differences in Earnings and Occupations: Supply-Side Factors Versus Labor Market Discrimination Labor Market Discrimination: A Definition Analyzing the Sources of Gender Differences in Labor Market Outcomes Empirical Evidence on the Sources of Gender Differences in Earnings The Declining Gender Pay Gap Empirical Evidence on the Causes and Consequences of Gender Differences in Occupations Appendix: Regression Analysis and Empirical Estimates of Labor Market Discrimination Chapter 11 Labor Market Discrimination: Theory Theories of Labor Market Discrimination: An Overview Tastes for Discrimination Subtle Barriers Statistical Discrimination The Overcrowding Model Institutional Models (including dual labor markets) Feedback Effects Chapter 12 Government Policies to Combat Employment Discrimination Rationales for Government Intervention Equal Employment Opportunity Laws and Regulations Effectiveness of the Government's Antidiscrimination Effort Affirmative Action Comparable Worth Chapter 13 Changing Work Roles and Family Formation Economic Explanations for Family Formation Marriage Divorce Cohabitation: Opposite-Sex and Same-Sex Couples Fertility Chapter 14 The Changing American Family and Implications for Family Changing Family Structure Poverty: Incidence and Measurement Implications for Children's Well-Being Chapter 15 Government Policies Affecting Family Well-Being Policies to Alleviate Poverty Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Child Support Enforcement Employment Strategies Taxes, Specialization, and Marriage Federal Income Tax Social Security Chapter 16 Balancing the Competing Demands of Work and Family The Competing Demands of Work and Family Rationales for Government and Employer Policies to Assist Workers Family Leave Child Care Other Employer-Provided Family Friendly Policies Chapter 17 Gender Differences Around the World: An Overview Indicators of Women's Economic Status Labor Force Participation Occupations Earnings Educational Attainment Fertility Housework Women's Role in Government and Their Standing Before the Law Cultural Factors Women's Status: An Assessment Economic Development, Globalization, and Women's Status Chapter 18 Gender Differences Around the World: A Closer Look at Specific Countries and Regions A Comparison of the United States to Other Economically Advanced Countries Challenges Facing Women in Developing Countries Countries of the Former Soviet Bloc Countries of the Middle East and North Africa

ObjectivesTo assess the relationship between social integration and physical and mental health among humanitarian migrants (HMs) in Australia.Design, setting and participantsWe used the recently released first wave of data from...

Age and gender differences in the relationship between obesity and disability with self-perceived employment discrimination: Results from a retrospective study of an Australian national sample

Between liminality and a new life in Australia: What is the effect of precarious housing on the mental health of humanitarian migrants?

BackgroundThe role of migration pathway (refugees vs. asylum seekers) is seldom addressed in extant literature that looks at gender and mental health of humanitarian migrants. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between gender and psychological distress among humanitarian migrants in Australia including the potential moderating role of migration pathway.MethodsWe analyse data from 2399 humanitarian migrants that participated in the first wave of Building a New Life in Australia, a survey of humanitarian migrants in Australia, using Ordinary Least Squares multivariate regression.ResultsWomen report significantly higher psychological distress than men. Migration pathway moderates the relationship between gender and psychological distress with women asylum seekers reporting higher psychological distress. There is also a significant association between pre-migration trauma, settlement arrangements (particularly those associated with finance, housing, getting used to life in Australia and loneliness) and psychological distress.ConclusionsFindings indicate higher psychological distress among asylum seeking women and suggest the importance of migrant status in predicting psychological distress. Settlement arrangements are key predictors of psychological distress among humanitarian migrants. While strategies aimed at addressing their mental health are warranted, policies aimed at the broader social determinants of health are needed to alleviate some of their mental distress especially in light of the recent changes to the Australian Refugee and Asylum-seeking policies.

It has long been recognized that consumption behavior represents mainly joint household or family decisions rather than separate decisions of family members. Accordingly, the observational units in consumption surveys are "consumer units," that is, households in which income is largely pooled and consumption largely shared. More recent is the recognition that an individual's use of time, and particularly the allocation of time between market and nonmarket activities, is also best understood within the context of the family as a matter of interdependence with needs, activities, and characteristics of other family members. More generally, the family is viewed as an economic unit which shares consumption and allocates production at home and in the market as well as the investments in physical and human capital of its members. In this view, the behavior of the family unit implies a division of labor within it. Broadly speaking, this division of labor or "differentiation of roles" emerges because the attempts to promote family life are necessarily constrained by complementarity and substitution relations in the household production process and by comparative

This paper uses panel data from the Building a New Life in Australia survey to examine the relationship between proficiency in English and labour market outcomes among humanitarian migrants. We show that having better general or speaking skills in English is associated with a higher propensity for participation in the labour force and success in getting a job. We also find that participating in an English training programme is strongly and positively associated with gaining better language skills. Among the channels leading to these outcomes, we find that self‐esteem, self‐efficacy and general health partially mediate the relationship between English proficiency and labour force participation. Self‐efficacy, general health status and indicative serious mental illness also partially mediate the relationship between better English proficiency and the chance of getting a job.

Impacts of social integration and loneliness on mental health of humanitarian migrants in Australia: evidence from a longitudinal study

Dispersal policies that place humanitarian migrants outside non-metropolitan locations are increasingly common, but evidence of their impact on integration outcomes is mixed. By combining spatial, longitudinal and multidimensional perspectives into a unified analytical framework, this study examines the relationships between non-metropolitan settlement and a diverse range of objective and subjective integration outcomes. To accomplish this, we leverage five waves of panel data from Building a New Life in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Humanitarian Migrants (2013–2018). Our results indicate that non-metropolitan settlement is related to better access to employment and stable housing and a lower likelihood of being Not in Employment, Education, and Training (NEET), but a higher risk of experiencing discrimination. Over time, humanitarian migrants’ income and English-language proficiency trajectories are flatter in non-metropolitan than metropolitan regions, pointing to potential long-term challenges of rural settlement. Encouragingly, we find no statistically significant differences in physical and mental health, sense of belonging and life satisfaction. While the integration outcomes of humanitarian migrants in non-metropolitan Australia are mixed, their subjective well-being is not negatively impacted. This suggests that, despite challenges, there are opportunities for humanitarian-migrant settlement outside of major cities.

We examine the labour market and human capital investment behaviour of immigrant couples in Australia. The family investment hypothesis (FIH) states that immigrant husbands, whom the FIH assumes to be the primary earners in the family, will invest more in their human capital than immigrant wives, whom the FIH assumes to be secondary earners. Using longitudinal data from Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) for the period 2001 to 2014, we do not find support for the FIH. Instead, we find that foreign‐born husbands and wives share similar labour market assimilation patterns with respect to hours of work and wages. Our estimates suggest that immigrant wives' labour market behaviour can be better explained by their own long‐term career progression and labour market assimilation, than through supporting their husbands' labour market assimilation.

Young motherhood is often framed as detrimental to the life chances of young women with research showing negative impacts on education and labor market outcomes. At the same time, qualitative research reports narratives of motherhood as a transformative experience, providing motivation for a fresh start and moving young women away from previously unstable life pathways. These scenarios appear contradictor, however outcomes might vary for different groups of women depending on their pre-birth trajectories. We investigate the effects of early parenthood using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. We employ a sequence based approach to compare labor market- and educational precarity of young mothers and non-parenting peers. We employ a novel sequence matching technique creating a comparison group of non-parenting young women, based on similarities in early labor market trajectories. We find that young mothers have higher levels of precarity in their pre-birth trajectories. Moreover, our results show that becoming a young mother is connected to an average increase in labor market and educational precarity post birth, which supports the hypothesis of cumulative disadvantage. However, only mothers with the least precarious trajectories prior to birth experience this development, whereas young women already on highly precarious paths see a decrease in precarity over time. Although our results don’t support cumulative disadvantage for the most disadvantaged women, neither does it support the idea of parenthood as a transformative event. Our results point to the importance of understanding heterogeneity in the outcomes of young mothers.

Young motherhood is often framed as detrimental to the life chances of young women with research showing negative impacts on education and labor market outcomes. At the same time, qualitative research reports narratives of motherhood as a transformative experience, providing motivation for a fresh start and moving young women away from previously unstable life pathways. These scenarios appear contradictory, however outcomes might vary for different groups of women depending on their pre-birth trajectories. We investigate the effects of early parenthood using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. We employ a sequence based approach to compare labor market- and educational precarity of young mothers and non-parenting peers. We employ a novel sequence matching technique creating a comparison group of non-parenting young women, based on similarities in early labor market trajectories. We find that young mothers have higher levels of precarity in their pre-birth trajectories. Moreover, our results show that becoming a young mother is connected to an average increase in labor market and educational precarity post birth, which supports the hypothesis of cumulative disadvantage. However, only mothers with the least precarious trajectories prior to birth experience this development, whereas young women already on highly precarious paths see a decrease in precarity over time. Although our results do not support cumulative disadvantage for the most disadvantaged women, neither does it support the idea of parenthood as a transformative event. Our results point to the importance of understanding heterogeneity in the outcomes of young mothers.

In this study, we explore the role of education in explaining the labour market outcomes for a sample of graduates in medicine. More specifically, the following research question is answered: To what extent are labour market outcomes of physicians explained by the skills acquired in education, as indicated in the theory of human capital, or by competences already present at the start of education, as suggested by the screening theory? The study uses separate measurements of competence at the start and at the end of education. Moreover, we use a direct measurement of competence development during medical education. This enables us to disentangle the effects of the suggested mechanisms. The results suggest that after graduation human capital factors do not explain subsequent differences in labour market outcomes. The medical degree seems a sufficient signal of screening device as such. However, selection processes during education take place on human capital acquired before and during medical education.

<ns3:p>U.S. labor markets are increasingly diverse and persistently unequal between genders, races and ethnicities, skill levels, and age groups. We use a structural model to decompose the observed differences in labor market outcomes across demographic groups in terms of underlying wedges in fundamentals. Of particular interest is the potential role of discrimination, either taste-based or statistical. Our model is a version of the Diamond-Mortensen-Pissarides model extended to include a life cycle, learning by doing, a nonparticipation state, and informational frictions. The model exhibits group-specific wedges in initial human capital, returns to experience, matching efficiencies, and job separation rates. We use the model to reverse engineer group-specific wedges that we then feed back into the model to assess the fraction of various disparities they account for. Applying this methodology to 1998–2018 U.S. data, we show that differences in initial human capital, returns to experience, and job separation rates account for most of the demographic disparities; wedges in matching efficiencies play a secondary role. Our results suggest a minor aggregate impact of taste-based discrimination in hiring and an important role for statistical discrimination affecting particularly female groups and Black males. Our approach is macro, structural, unified, and comprehensive.</ns3:p>

Effects of informal caring on labour market outcomes of carers: Evidence from HILDA.