Labor Demand Research Articles

Factors Contributing to the Students'Intention to Apply Mechatronic Technology After Graduation

Mechatronic Technology is a field of specializationthat offers job opportunities in various sectors of industry. Demand for skilled and semi-skilled labour has increased over the years. However, there are still graduates who do not pursue careers in this field of study. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the factors contributing to the intention to apply mechatronic technology after graduation. The design of this study was conducted using a survey design,using a questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. Moreover, this study also consisted of 90 Mechatronic Technology Certificate students from ITIBukit Katil and ITITangkak. Data were descriptively analyzed using mean scores and standard deviations. Multiple linear regression wasused to identify the most dominant factorcontributingto the student’sintention to apply Mechatronic Technologyafter graduation. The results showed that factorsof technology ease of use, technology usefulness and student behaviour intentions to applymechatronictechnology were high. The findings also demonstrated that ease of use of technology was the most dominant and significant factorinstudents’ intention behaviour to applymechatronic technology after graduation. The impact of this study also provides insight into the TAM Model to understand students' intention to apply mechatronic technology after graduation.

Polish Conductresses and the Insecurities of Female Labour Migration to France, 1925–1929

In this article we argue that the reports of conductresses accompanying female migrants shed new light on the nature of interwar labour migration. As they mitigated the anxiety and insecurity that women faced during the process of migration, they fulfilled a crucial role in the highly restrictive post-1918 international migration regime. The Polish government introduced conductresses in 1925 to respond to news of the mistreatment and sexual exploitation of Polish women working in France. Developed in close collaboration with international organizations and the League of Nations, the work of these conductresses on land and sea routes was framed as those of ‘moral guardians’ protecting female migrants from the dangers of sex trafficking. However, we argue that their main function was to mitigate the uncertainties of the post-war international order, as traditional routes of migration were ruptured and both dispatching and receiving countries attempted to control and restrict migration. Female migrants had no networks with existing diasporas, were often illiterate, and mistrusted both Polish and French institutions. By addressing these challenges, the conductresses took on roles far beyond their function as moral authority: they acted as translators, knowledge imparters, mediators, and network forgers. Both in Poland and at the international level, the Polish conductress scheme was regarded a success, as they managed to provide a relatively ‘secure’ migration experience within a migration regime designed to walk a fine line between demands for foreign labour on the one hand and the rising ideal of economic protectionism on the other.

Migration spillovers within families: Evidence from Thailand

When a person migrates, are their family members more likely to migrate too? I estimate the causal impact of family migrant network size on migration decisions using household survey data from rural Thailand. Large but temporary labor demand shocks in a nearby city—originating from a national infrastructure program—provide plausibly exogenous variation in family members' migration decisions based on their ages at the time of the program. Among those too young to be directly impacted by the program, I find that each older family migrant increases their migration probability by about 5 percentage points. Further analysis suggests a role for better information about the destination in driving this impact. My findings imply that the short-run benefits of relieving migration constraints can underestimate the long-run benefits due to spillovers within the household.

The gendered value chain of matooke banana and its implications for tissue culture adoption in Uganda

ABSTRACT Tissue culture banana is promoted as a form of micro-propagation that can aid farmers in managing pests and disease in Uganda, the country with the largest per capita consumption of banana in the world. But uptake amongst smallholder farmers remains low. This study recruited 71 farmers from five banana-growing districts in Uganda to assess how gender dynamics of matooke production impact the adoption and sustained use of tissue culture. We collaborated with farmers and co-produced a three-stage, participatory methodological protocol for mapping value chains. Our analysis reveals a gendered division of labour and limited access to resources that shape farmers’ ability to benefit from this technology. Women farmers are interested in tissue culture banana but face challenges related to demands for land preparation, accessing plantlets, and relevant knowledge, while men are more reluctant due to their fragility, high cost, and the additional labour demands needed to ensure the crop's survival. This study highlights the necessity of understanding the gendered division along a crop’s value chain to ensure the success of new breeding technologies.

Enhancing Coconut Processing Efficiency: Design and Evaluation of A Cost-Effective Coconut De-Husking Machine

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) plays a crucial role in agricultural economies, particularly in coconut-producing regions, where traditional de-husking methods are labor-intensive and time-consuming. This study focuses on the design, fabrication, and evaluation of a coconut de-husking machine aimed at improving processing efficiency, reducing labor demands, and increasing throughput. The machine was designed to address key performance factors such as frame stability, blade strength, and spring tension. Testing demonstrated that the machine consistently outperformed manual methods, reducing de-husking time to an average of 96.4 seconds compared to 164.8 seconds for traditional techniques. The machine achieved an efficiency rate of 80%, with a throughput capacity of 0.0086 kg/s, significantly higher than the manual method's 0.005 kg/s. Additionally, the machine's cost, approximately N32,000, makes it accessible to smallholder farmers, offering a practical solution for improving productivity and sustainability in coconut farming. The study highlights the potential for mechanized de-husking to transform traditional practices, reduce labor costs, and contribute to economic growth in coconut-rich regions. Future research should explore further optimization of the machine design and its adaptability to different coconut varieties and moisture levels, ensuring broad applicability in diverse farming contexts.

Impact of outward guarantees on labour employment in enterprises

ABSTRACT Outward guarantees serve as a crucial mechanism for enterprises to uphold supply chain stability and foster financial interconnectedness. Amidst endeavours to advance high-quality, comprehensive employment and amidst the frequent occurrence of enterprise guarantee-related risks, this study employs data from Chinese A-share listed companies spanning from 2012 to 2021 to explore the influence of enterprise outward guarantee conduct on labour employment. The investigation reveals that such behaviour inhibits labour employment, a trend robust across various tests and treatments for endogeneity. Mechanism analysis indicates that enterprise outward guarantee conduct primarily curtails labour demand by heightening financing constraints and escalating operational risks. Heterogeneity analysis underscores that the dampening effect of outward guarantees on enterprise labour employment is particularly pronounced in the realms of large-scale enterprises, those reliant on labour, non-state-owned entities, and enterprises situated in central regions with abundant labour supply. These research findings offer valuable policy insights for averting enterprise external guarantee risks, thereby fostering stability in financial and employment domains.

사회 문화적 변화의 관점에서 본 1950년대 미국 주방 디자인과 여성의 라이프스타일에 대한 연구

This study delves into the social context and cultural changes of 1950s America to explore the interaction between women’s lifestyles and modern kitchen design. Through literature review, visual material analysis, and case studies, the study examines how adjustments in lifestyle affect women’s design needs in three aspects: physiological, functional, and psychological. Kitchen design has shifted from closed to open layouts to facilitate communication and interaction among family members. Storage solutions have become increasingly functional and personalized, offering housewives a more convenient user experience. Meanwhile, advancements in kitchen technology have reduced labor demands and improved comfort. By analyzing iconic designs such as Future Kitchens, Youngstown Cabinet Design, and Cornell Kitchens, the study explores how these designs responded to changes in women’s lifestyles. The findings reveal a mutually constraining yet facilitating relationship between women’s lifestyles and the development of kitchen design in the context of socio-cultural change, offering new perspectives and ideas for user-centered modern kitchen design.

Local labor market and corporate investment

To capture local labor market pooling in agglomeration economics, we employ segment information and occupation statistics to construct firm-pair labor force similarities. Our findings indicate a positive relation between local labor market thickness and corporate investment, influenced by both employer-driven labor demand and employee-driven labor supply. The findings are more pronounced in firms with more skilled labor, less routine-task labor, and higher product and technology competitions. Firms in thicker local labor markets also display higher investment efficiency, higher operating efficiency, and higher valuation. To mitigate the endogeneity concern, we employ an instrumental variable approach to show robustness. Overall, we uncover a specific linkage between the local labor market and corporate investment.

Polish Forced Labourers in the Klaipėda Region during World War II

This paper examines the plight of Polish forced labourers in the Klaipėda region during World War II, shedding light on a lesser-known aspect of Nazi occupation policies. Drawing on a database maintained by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance, the author collected data on nearly 2,000 Polish individuals subjected to forced labour in Klaipėda. Through archival research and analysis of personal testimonies, the study explores the demographics, origins, working conditions, and treatment of these labourers. The occupation of Klaipada by Nazi Germany resulted in the displacement of local populations and the influx of foreign workers to meet wartime labour demands. Polish labourers, predominantly young and from economically disadvantaged regions like Ciechanów, were among those forcibly mobilized. They were subjected to harsh treatment, discriminatory laws, and often found themselves in precarious working and living conditions. The paper highlights the experiences of Polish labourers in various industries, including construction and agriculture, and examines the motivations behind their escapes from forced labour. It also addresses the sensitive issue of sexual violence against female Polish workers, which remains largely overlooked in historiography. The liberation of Klaipėda by Soviet forces in 1945 brought an end to forced labour in the region, but many labourers faced further hardships, including mistreatment by Soviet authorities. The paper concludes with reflections on the post-war reparations process and calls for further research and cross-border cooperation to fully understand the history of forced labour in the Klaipėda region and its lasting impact on affected communities.

Carbon-mechanic dual-control design decision model of prefabricated structural components

Prefabricated enclosure structures (PES) have become the key technology for low-carbon construction in the engineering field due to their low labor demand, fast construction speed, and low environmental pollution. In the context of low-carbon development, efficiently designing PES that not only possess high-strength but also demonstrate significant greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction benefits has become a critical challenge. The objective of this study is to address the challenges of automated design and scientific decision-making methods for PES components. First, the Carbon-mechanic dual-control assessment model (CDAM) is proposed, providing a novel evaluation dimension for the design of prefabricated components. Subsequently, based on the CDAM, an automated design decision-making process, and model for components are established using an improved genetic algorithm and parameterized method. Finally, under the constraints of actual engineering conditions, adaptive solutions were automatically generated for specific cases. These solutions were comprehensively evaluated and optimized using CDAM, resulting in design guidelines and optimal solutions for PES that balance environmental performance and load-bearing capacity. The case analysis results show that the optimal scheme based on the carbon-mechanic dual-control (CM) index is: the sectional dimension is 830 mm, the reinforcement ratio is 0.9 % and the cavity ratio is 45 %, which shows the ideal characteristics of low-carbon and high-strength. Compared with the single index decision scheme, this scheme achieve a maximum of 42 % GHG emissions reduction. The high comprehensive performance scheme is characterized by small sectional dimension, high reinforcement ratio, and high cavity ratio. Cavity ratio is a key parameter to achieve high performance design. The research findings provide an important theoretical basis and technical support for the low-carbon transformation in the engineering field.

Innovations in Sericulture an Advancements in Silk Production and Quality Improvement

Sericulture, the cultivation of silkworms for silk production, has a long and significant history, particularly in rural economies. In recent years, the industry has undergone transformative innovations that have enhanced efficiency, sustainability, and silk quality. This review explores key advancements in sericulture, focusing on technological innovations, genetic improvements, sustainable farming practices, and the role of biotechnology in reshaping the industry. Notable technological developments, such as automated silk reeling machines and climate-controlled rearing houses, have streamlined production, reducing labor demands while ensuring consistent silk quality. Additionally, digital monitoring systems now allow for real-time tracking of silkworm health and environmental conditions, empowering farmers with data-driven insights for better management. Genetic advancements, including selective breeding and genetic engineering, have led to high-yield, disease-resistant silkworm strains, significantly boosting silk output and quality. Moreover, innovations in producing naturally colored silk via genetic modification have minimized the need for chemical dyes, reducing the environmental footprint of the dyeing process. Sustainability has become a focal point, with organic farming methods, integrated pest management (IPM), and waste recycling practices becoming more widespread. These practices not only safeguard the environment but also enhance the economic viability of sericulture, benefiting rural communities and driving social development. Biotechnology has expanded the horizon of sericulture, enabling the engineering of silk proteins and the creation of transgenic silkworms for specialized medical and industrial applications. Overall, these advancements have transformed sericulture into a more efficient, sustainable, and economically viable industry, offering significant benefits to both global silk markets and rural livelihoods.

Skill, race, and wage inequality in British Tanganyika

High racial disparities between Europeans and Africans and high skill premiums are recurrent themes in the literature on inequality in colonial Africa. However, their determinants and effects on inequality remain underexplored. This paper investigates wage inequality, skill premiums, and racial discrimination in British Tanganyika from c. 1920 to 1960. It provides first estimates for wage inequality and race premiums in Tanganyika and extends the coverage of earlier skill premium estimates. Initially, wage inequality in Tanganyika was comparable to neighbouring Kenya and Uganda, but it remained higher in the late colonial period. A primary driver of wage inequality was racial wage disparity, which was partly caused by racial discrimination. Skill premiums also played an important and increasing role and were higher than previously thought. The Tanganyikan administration's failure to expand African education to meet skilled labour demand significantly contributed to racial income differences and wage inequality within the African labour force.

Urban environmental regulation, firms’ emission reduction strategies and labor demand: Evidence from China

Air pollution affects people's livelihoods, and China's environmental governance is a defensive battle that must be fought. Combining several comprehensive datasets, this study uncovers the underlying mechanisms of urban environmental regulation that affect labor demand from the perspective of firms’ choice of emission reduction strategies. Utilizing a difference-in-differences method, this study finds that on average, the Key City Demarcation Scheme for Air Pollution Prevention and Control (KCDS) has a drive-out effect on employment while improving urban environmental quality, making it difficult to achieve the double-dividend of de-pollution and employment promotion. These conclusions still hold after considering various specification checks, including the instrumental variable method. Underlying mechanisms indicate that manufacturing firms strengthen both front-end productive “changes-in-process” and non-productive “end-of-pipe” treatment to respond to stricter urban environmental enforcement, and ultimately, KCDS has triggered a drive-out effect on employment. Heterogeneous effects investigate that firms’ emission reduction strategies have path dependence and that the drive-out effect on employment is particularly pronounced for large-scale, technology- and capital-intensive domestic firms in large cities. This study provides policy insights for the smooth realization of the urban green transformation while safeguarding the livelihood of society.

The impact of financial technology on employment: Protection or disruption?

This study examines the impact and underlying mechanisms of financial technology (FinTech) on corporate labor demand by utilizing microdata from Chinese listed companies between 2011 and 2019. The results indicate that FinTech significantly enhances firms' overall labor demand and demand for skilled labor. Mechanistic analysis reveals that FinTech alleviates firms' financing constraints, increasing research and development (R&D) investments, which subsequently stimulates labor demand. Heterogeneity tests have revealed that the impact of FinTech on firms' labor demand varies depending on their stage of growth, ownership attributes, and level of financial development in the regions in which they are located. Furthermore, we reveal that FinTech can concurrently increase labor demand for workers with varying skill levels and educational backgrounds and increase the share of labor income. We provide new insights with theoretical and practical implications for studying the intrinsic linkages between financial and labor markets.

The Impact of Self-Efficacy on Career Choices of Generation Z: The Mediating Role of Decision-Making Difficulties in DKI Jakarta

The Generation Z population is the largest demographic group in Indonesia currently entering the workforce. However, data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) indicates that youth unemployment remains a critical issue in the employment sector. The increasing open unemployment rate among Generation Z can be attributed to an imbalance between labor demand and supply, as well as career decision-making processes during school or university periods. This study aims to analyze the factors influencing OUR among Generation Z, specifically through the career decision-making process before entering the workforce. Furthermore, this research examines the influence of Self-Efficacy in Career Decision-Making on Career Decisions through the mediating variable of Career Decision-Making Difficulties. The methodology employed is a survey, with data collected via questionnaires distributed to 104 respondents who meet the study criteria. The instruments used include the Career Decision Scale (CDS), the short-form Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy (CDMSE-SF), and the Career Decision-Making Difficulties Questionnaire (CDDQ). The findings reveal an indirect influence of Self-Efficacy in Career Decision-Making on Career Decisions, mediated by Career Decision-Making Difficulties among Generation Z individuals entering the workforce in DKI Jakarta.

Women’s economic empowerment and intimate partner violence

This study explores the relationship between women’s economic empowerment and intimate partner violence (IPV), measured as women’s hospital visits for assault. Using longitudinal Swedish administrative data, I proxy women’s economic empowerment with a measure of potential relative earnings of married spouses caused by local changes in gender-specific labour demand. The findings reveal that an increase in potential relative earnings increases the probability of women’s hospital visits for injuries caused by assault, and the effect is particularly pronounced for women with low baseline bargaining power. Furthermore, exploiting detailed information on type of hospital visit, diagnosis and medical actions taken at the hospital, I show that the increase in hospital visits for assault is, at least in part, driven by an increase in care-seeking for IPV-related injuries rather than an increase in IPV itself.

Digital transformation of enterprises: Job creation or job destruction?

In recent years, the technological advancements embodied by digital technology have received significant attention from policymakers and researchers because of their profound impacts on the economy and society. In particular, the relationship between digital technology and employment continues to be a subject of considerable debate. This article focuses on the microperspective, and the causal effects and mechanisms of corporate digital transformation on labour employment are examined. With the use of data on Chinese A-share manufacturing companies from 2008– to 2019, text analysis is employed in this study to construct a comprehensive index of corporate digital transformation. We utilise a combination of fixed effects models, difference-in-differences (DiD) models, and instrumental variable methods and demonstrate that digital transformation stimulates enterprise labour demand, a conclusion that remains valid after multiple endogeneity tests and robustness assessments. The heterogeneous results indicate that nonstate-owned enterprises (non-SOEs), nonhigh-tech enterprises, enterprises with low financing constraints, and small enterprises exhibit greater employment creation effects through digital transformation. Mechanistic analysis suggests that digital transformation increases enterprise employment by increasing operational and management efficiency, profitability, and labour productivity levels. Further exploration reveals that digital transformation increases the demand for labour with varying skills and human capital upgrading in enterprises. This article, through the lens of digital technology, enriches the body of research on the nexus between technological progress and employment, provides novel insights into employment fluctuations under the digital paradigm, and outlines significant implications for countries balancing digital economy development, employment growth, and social stability.

Technological anxiety: Analysis of the impact of industrial intelligence on employment in China

Employment is the greatest livelihood. Whether the impact of industrial robotics technology materialized in machines on employment in the digital age is an “icing on the cake” or “adding fuel to the fire” needs further study. This study aims to analyze the impact of the installation and application of industrial robots on labor demand in the context of the Chinese economy. First, from the theoretical logic and the economic development law, this study gives the prior judgment and research hypothesis that industrial intelligence will increase jobs. Then, based on the panel data of 269 cities in China from 2006 to 2021, we use the two-way fixed effect model, dynamic threshold model, and two-stage intermediary effect model. The objective is to investigate the impact of industrial intelligence on enterprise labor demand and its path mechanism. Results show that the overall effect of industrial intelligence on the labor force with the installation density index of industrial robots as the proxy variable is the “creation effect”. In other words, advanced digital technology has created additional jobs, and the overall supply of employment in the labor market has increased. The conclusion is still valid after the endogeneity identification and robustness test. In addition, the positive effect has a nonlinear effect on the network scale. When the installation density of industrial robots exceeds a particular threshold value, the division of labor continues to deepen under the combined action of the production efficiency and compensation effects, which will cause enterprises to increase labor demand further. Further research showed that industrial intelligence can increase employment by promoting synergistic agglomeration and improving labor price distortions. This study concludes that in the digital China era, the introduction and installation of industrial robots by enterprises can affect the optimal allocation of the labor market. This phenomenon has essential experience and reference significance for guiding industrial digitalization and intelligent transformation and promoting the high-quality development of people’s livelihood.

A School of Its Own: US Naturalism and the Demands of Professional Labor

Abstract: This essay centers around a comparative reading of William Dean Howells's A Hazard of New Fortunes and Frank Norris's McTeague . Its main goal is to contextualize Norris's attempts to promote what he understood to be literary naturalism—positioned against the "well-behaved, ordinary, bourgeois" realism of Howells—and to show how he connected the idea of 'the literary' to the postbellum world of professional labor. In as much as other, established professions already regulated the practice of work according to internally ratified standards of quality, postbellum writers, too, sought to render the practice of writing objectifiable by appeal to standards of evaluation that were approved by experts within their own community, a "brotherhood of novelists" in the words of James.

“The principles of political economy, though often quoted, are little understood.” Fleeming Jenkin on trade unions and the law of supply and demand

The paper proposes a rational reconstruction of Fleeming Jenkin’s 1868 analysis of wage determination in labour markets characterised by the presence of trade unions. Jenkin intended to show that the supply and demand theory of market price determination did not support the thesis sustained by the opponents of trade unions that the latter are unable to permanently achieve a market-clearing wage higher than that which would be obtained in their absence. Starting with a definition of “demand” and “supply” of a given commodity as functions of a few economic variables, Jenkin elaborated a fresh critique of the wages fund theory and highlighted the impact of trade unions on both supply and demand for labour.