Dutch Labour Market Research Articles

The Effects of Non-Employment in Early Work-Life on Subsequent Employment Chances of Individuals in The Netherlands

In this article, the effects of non-employment in early work-life on subsequent employment chances of individuals in the Netherlands are examined. A main concern is whether the experience of non-employment in the beginning of the career (permanently) damages a worker’s later employment opportunities (that is, the likelihood of exit out of and re-entry into employment). The empirical analysis is based on five retrospective life-history surveys collected in the Netherlands in the period 1992–2003, with full information on employment histories of individuals. The analytic sample consists of 7,761 respondents, who left education since the 1950s. The results of the empirical analysis first of all show that the duration of non-employment in the first 3 years after leaving education (and not the number of non-employment spells in that period) increases the likelihood of exiting employment in the subsequent time period (up until 15 years after leaving education). This finding holds for both men and women. Second, a negative duration effect of non-employment on the likelihood of re-entering employment after a job loss is found, but for men only. These results imply that non-employment in early work-life indeed has a scarring effect on subsequent employment chances of individuals in the Dutch labour market.

Effecten van tijd-ruimtelijke flexibiliteit op de balans tussen werk en privé

The Effects of Time-Spatial Flexibility and New Working Conditions on Employees' Work-Life Balance: The Dutch Case The Effects of Time-Spatial Flexibility and New Working Conditions on Employees' Work-Life Balance: The Dutch Case In Dutch organisations, part-time work, flexible working hours and telehomeworking are viewed as solutions to problems employees encounter when they harmonise work and family life. Critics fear, however, that for employees that work under New Working Conditions, characterized by professional job autonomy, team working by project, management by objectives and strict deadlines, time-spatial flexibility may in fact rather enlarge existing combination problems. This paper, therefore, questions whether time-spatial flexibility will lead to a better work-life balance, and if so, does that also hold true for the category of New Employees. Employing data collected in 2003 among 807 Dutch employees it is concluded that time-spatial flexibility indeed affects the work-life balance of workers positively, regardless of them working under New Working Conditions or not. Generally, employees having a smaller part-time job (12-24 contractual working hours per week) experienced a better work-life balance. Especially female workers gained from more control over the temporal location of their work. Telehomeworkers and employees having a larger part-time job (25-35 hours per week) did not experience a better work-life balance. In the concluding section, the results of the study are discussed in the context of contemporary Dutch labour market developments.

On the Road to Flexicurity: Dutch Proposals for a Pathway towards Better Transition Security and Higher Labour Market Mobility

As regards labour-market reform and employment policies, the European Union currently touts the concept of ‘flexicurity’, aiming at simultaneously enhancing both flexibility and security in the labour market in response to the globalisation of the economy and far-reaching demographic developments such as the ageing of the population. Each Member State is expected to map out its own distinct pathway towards more flexicurity and the European Commission has, for its part, suggested a set of four general pathways. Therefore a need exists for ideas and examples on how to elaborate a flexicurity pathway, looking for inspiration rather than imitation. In the Netherlands, a government-appointed Committee on Labour Market Participation (the so-called Bakker Committee) has recently published proposals and recommendations for further reform of the Dutch labour market. This paper discusses that part of these proposals involving a particular flexicurity pathway towards better transition security and higher labour-market mobility. This possible pathway, now being debated in the Netherlands, may also be of interest to other Member States.

On the Road to Flexicurity: Dutch Proposals for a Pathway Towards Better Transition Security and Higher Labour Market Mobility

As regards labour-market reform and employment policies, the European Union currently touts the concept of 'flexicurity', aiming at simultaneously enhancing both flexibility and security in the labour market in view of the globalization of the economy and far-reaching demographic developments such as the ageing of the population. Each Member State is expected to map out its own distinct pathway towards more flexicurity and the European Commission has, for that matter, suggested a set of four idealtypical pathways. Therefore a need exists for ideas and examples on how to elaborate a flexicurity pathway, looking for inspiration rather than imitation. In the Netherlands, a government-appointed Committee on Labour Market Participation (the so-called Bakker Committee) has recently published proposals and recommendations for further reform of the Dutch labour market. This paper discusses the part of these proposals that involves a particular flexicurity pathway towards better transition security and higher labour-market mobility. This possible pathway, now being debated in the Netherlands, may also be of interest to other Member States.

How does a coordinated market economy evolve? Effects of policy learning in the Netherlands in the 1980s

This article studies the changes in economic policy in the Netherlands and their effects on the coordinated market economy (CME). In order to gain insight into the development of the CME, the neo-corporatist literature and the concept of ‘policy learning’ are called upon. The article takes the analysis of Visser and Hemerijck on the changes in the Dutch labor market in the 1980s and 1990s as a starting point for the analysis of the development of the Dutch CME. The analysis includes a systematic review of macroeconomic developments. The frequent introduction of market-oriented solutions is related to a paradigm change in macroeconomic policy. ‘Policy learning’ explains the transition in priorities of economic policy in the Dutch corporatist economy. After a decade of increasing polarization in the 1970s, economic urgency increased and stimulated a regime change towards more market-oriented policy, creating a more liberal CME. In any CME, either new forms of coordination will develop, or market-based solutions will be sought. In the Netherlands, in various policy fields coordination was transferred to the market. Labor market reform was accompanied by supply-side reform and deregulation. The tension between global trends in economic ideas and their application in a CME was resolved by policy concertation (as institutionalized regular consultation between parties is often called) and learning, creating a more liberal business environment within the CME.

Unequal Chances on a Flexible Labor Market, the Case of the Netherlands

Labor markets in Western countries are becoming more and more flexible, thereby meeting the needs of employers. Yet the new flexibility also offers opportunities to workers, while at the same time bears the risk of long-term exclusion. This paper deals with unequal chances on the contemporary Dutch labor market, in particular for workers with unfavorable human capital characteristics. As such we have chosen workers from the four largest immigrant groups: Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese and Antilleans. The data used are from the SPVA, the survey 'Social Position and Use of Public Utilities by Migrants' for the years 1998 and 2002. These are based on stock sampling. Since for some individuals labor market transitions occur at a very low rate, these individuals may stay in the current state till they reach the retirement age of 65. We estimate hazard rate models that account for both the stock-sampling and the possible maximum duration for the transitions from unemployment, household care and disability to employment. Then we decompose the differences in expected duration between the immigrant groups and the Dutch natives into the contribution of differences in observable characteristics, coefficient estimates and baseline hazard parameters. The main results of the analyses are that unequal chances exist, but to a different degree for the various groups and with variations per transition type. Labor market experience seems to protect from long-term exclusion.

Employment Assimilation of Immigrants in the Netherlands

Using two Dutch labour force surveys, employment assimilation of immigrants is examined. We observe marked differences between immigrants by source country. Non-western immigrants never reach parity with native Dutch. Even second generation immigrants never fully catch up. Caribbean immigrants, who share a colonial history with the Dutch, assimilate relatively quick compared to other non-western immigrants but they still suffer from high unemployment. The study also documents that the quality of jobs is significantly lower for immigrants, especially for those who are at larger cultural distance to Dutch society. Job quality of immigrants increases with the duration of stay but again, does not reach parity with natives. The western immigrants seem to face no considerable difficulties in the Dutch labour market. The most remarkable conclusion is the irrelevance of education for socio-economic position of immigrants once the country of origin has been controlled for.

A Multisite Study of Implementing Supported Employment in the Netherlands

A Multisite Study of Implementing Supported Employment in the Netherlands

The Creation of the Social Category of NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training): Do NEET Need This?

With four volumes in hand, I hoped to learn much about a category of people about whom the necessity of a debate had never occurred to me, since I as well as many people in my direct surroundings have had extended periods in their lives in which their situation fits the definition of NEET (not in education, employment or training). My generation belongs to what already in the 1960s was expected inevitably to become a generation with too many people for the Dutch labour market to absorb in the 1980s. As such, NEET to me signifies one of the most common of situations for people to live in, although I have only recently become familiar with the term. Niito (NEET), by Genda Yūji and Maganuma Mie, was the first Japanese book on the topic of people who are ‘Not in Employment, Education or Training’, a concept created by the Social...

“When is my Dutch good enough?” Experiences of refugee women with Dutch labour organizations

The basic assumption in the Dutch dominant discourse on integration is that knowledge of the Dutch language when combined with education is the key factor for integration into society. The aim of this article is to show how female refugees who have completed higher education in the Netherlands experience the process of integration into the Dutch labour market through contacts with and in Dutch organizations. We situate the narratives of these women in the broader discursive context of the Netherlands and show what these experiences can tell us about the policies and debates on integration in the Netherlands.

Well begun, half done?

This article looks at the career effects of different entries into the Dutch labour market: as unemployed, non-standard or permanent worker. Using the bridge versus trap analogy, it is investigated whether or not a ‘bad’ career start will have long-term negative consequences.To do this, event history analysis is used.The results show that non-standard work has no negative consequences with respect to later career unemployment or upward and downward mobility. However, certain negative effects are associated with unemployment at the career start. Moreover, this effect is larger when the duration of the period of unemployment is longer. Several other hypotheses - about macro-economic effects and about the effects for groups with a weak labour market position - are refuted. Overall, the data show that early career unemployment can work as a trap, but that early career non-standard work can work as a stepping stone towards a better labour market position.

Patterns of Transition: Female Native Dutch and Ethnic Minority Employment Patterns in the Dutch Labour Market, 1991 and 2002

This study analyses female native Dutch and ethnic minority employment patterns in the Dutch labour market. Focusing on life-course employment patterns, it aims to find out if native Dutch and ethnic minority women in the Netherlands have undergone a transition towards more labour market participation between 1991 and 2002. Three patterns of change in employment integration by age can be discerned. First, increasing employment levels for native Dutch women of almost all age groups, but in particular for those age groups that have to combine employment with rearing children. Second, a high employment level for Surinamese and Antillean women, revealing strong employment integration of all age groups, so that combining market work and rearing children does not hamper labour market integration. Third, a more traditional pattern for Turkish and Moroccan women, yet indicating an increased employment rate for almost all age groups, in particular 20–24 years. We find that critical life events such as motherhood have different effects on employment for Mediterranean, Caribbean and native Dutch women. In addition, the analysis shows that the attachment of both native Dutch and ethnic minority women to the labour market becomes stronger, and the influence of motherhood becomes smaller, over time. All in all, Caribbean women are the most attached to the labour market.

De callcenterbranche in de Nederlandse arbeidsmarkt en arbeidsverhoudingen

The callcenter sector in the Netherlands' labour market and labour relations The callcenter sector in the Netherlands' labour market and labour relations In this article, we analyze whether the Dutch labour market for callcenter agents is a segmented market, and whether this is related to the need to have a flexible workforce. Moreover, we discuss the degree to which labour market segmentation is embedded in Dutch labour relations. Both the results of our survey among callcenter managers and the additional qualitative information we derived from several case-studies reveal that the Dutch labor market for callcenter agents is a secondary labour market. Moreover, we find evidence that within this secondary segment, further segmentation exists between in-house callcenters and subcontractors, where the latter offer less attractive jobs. The duality of the labour market for call center agents is strongly related to callcenters' flexibility needs. This dual nature of the labour market is also reflected in labour relations. Agents employed in in-house call centers are more likely to be covered by their firm's or sectoral Collective Labour Agreement (CLA), whereas subcontractors have created a new sector of industry with its own CLA that covers all subcontractors by law. Compared to other countries, this regulation of labour relations is unique. However, the recent CLA between the subcontracting callcenters employers' organization, and a new union of Telecom workers shows that a CLA in a sector of industry that employs its workforce in the lower tier of a secondary labour market may have repercussions for Dutch labour relations.

Why Do Worker-Firm Matches Dissolve?

In a dynamic labor market worker-firm matches dissolve frequently causing workers to separate and firms to look for replacements. A separation may be initiated by the worker (a quit) or the firm (a layoff), or may result from a joint decision. A dissolution of a worker-firm match may be inefficient if it can be prevented by wage renegotiation. In this paper we study worker separations in the Dutch labor market. From an analysis of matched worker-firm data we conclude that both quits and layoffs are less likely to occur in high quality matches. We also find that workers with a high propensity to quit are offered higher wages to prevent them to quit. Similarly, workers with a high layoff probability give up some of their wage to prevent them from being laid-off. Despite these wage renegotiations some inefficiency in separations remains. However, there is a clear difference between quits and layoffs. Whereas inefficient quits are rare, inefficient layoffs occur frequently. These phenomena may be related to downward wage rigidity. While it is easy to renegotiate higher wages to prevent quits, it is much more difficult to renegotiate lower wages to prevent layoffs even if that would overall be beneficial to the workers involved. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.) (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.) (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.) (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.) (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.) (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.) (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.) (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.) (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.) (This ab (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

The Double Standard in Attitudes toward Retirement – The Case of the Netherlands

In the coming decades, the importance of the older worker for the Dutch labour market will become apparent as the population ageing process progresses. Extending working careers may turn out to be a double dividend for welfare states like the Netherlands as it can prevent drastic cuts in benefits or large increases in pension contributions. The average Dutch worker, however, has a double standard when considering the prospect of working longer: while agreeing that working longer may well become necessary, workers do not think it will apply to them personally. Two structural impediments may explain this ambivalence and the low labour force participation of older workers: (1) stereotypes of older workers held by both employers and employees and (2) attitudes towards working longer are sensitive to the business cycle. Whereas solidarity with older workers seems to be a principle that holds true in good times, in times of recession other rules apply.

Recruiting personnel in a tight labour market: an analysis of employers' behaviour

PurposeDuring recent years, the Dutch labour market has developed from a buyers' market into a sellers' market. Consequently employers had to increase their efforts to find suitable staff. This paper aims to analyse the instruments employers use to contact with potential workers. To what extent do employers still rely on traditional means like advertisements in the paper or do they behave more actively, using the world wide web, visiting job fares et cetera.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a survey among more than 1,000 employers in The Netherlands. Factor analyses and regression analyses are carried out to explain different recruitment strategies.FindingsThe factor analyses show that the different recruitment methods can be traced back to three recruitment strategies. The first strategy was described as active and informal recruitment. The second strategy was called recruiting via the internet and the third is characterised by formal recruitment. The results suggest that many organisations – not in the least organisations in the local government sector – could gain a great deal from using a wider range of instruments to recruit new personnel.Originality/valueThe paper analyses the instruments used by employers in search for potential workers.

De groei van deeltijdwerk: vraag en aanbod

The growth of part-time employment: supply and demand The growth of part-time employment: supply and demand The Dutch labour market shows a high part-time employment rate, and the rate continues to grow at a pace faster than in other OECD countries. The increase in labour force participation of women plays an important role. The contribution of men to part-time employment is growing but stays behind that of women. The shift between sectors of industry, from manufacturing to services, contributes to the growth of part-time employment. We discuss several reasons for firms to hire part-time employees. We investigate the importance of factors of supply and demand by means of a regression analysis at the sectoral level of industry. We find that the increasing demand for flexible labour contributes to the growth of part-time employment.

Labour market institutions and economic performance in the Netherlands

The central question of this article is whether or not effectiveness and efficiency are improved by the stronger reliance on markets given Dutch labour market institutions and their resulting corporatist wage formation. In answering this question, besides the influence on the production costs (neoclassical approach), we explicitly deal with and quantify the ‘hidden’ transaction costs (institutional economics approach) of more decentralized labour relations, flexibilization of the labour market, and working conditions ‘à la carte’. The results presented cast doubt on both the efficiency and the effectiveness of recently introduced tailor-made solutions in the Dutch economy.

Variation in Perspective: The Employment Success of Ethnic Minority Males in the Netherlands, 1988–2002

AbstractThis article investigates the job chances of ethnic minority males in the Dutch labour market. Using information from the Social Position and Use of Facilities by Immigrants (SPVA) surveys for the years 1988, 1991, 1994, 1998, and 2002, we trace the employment pattern of various ethnic minority groups and Dutch natives, and study some determining factors for the job chances in the Netherlands during this period. The analysis reveals a clear variation in the employment patterns for different ethnic minority groups. Individual characteristics, such as marital status and especially educational level, turn out to be important factors in explaining the job chances for all groups. Moreover, support is found for the effect of the regional demand for labour on the employment chances for most of the analysed ethnic groups, which implies that no support is found for the queuing theory.

Effects of sexual preferences on earnings in the Netherlands

A small literature suggests that bisexual and homosexual workers earn less than their heterosexual fellow workers and that a discriminating labor␣market is partly to blame. In this paper we examine whether sexual preferences affect earnings at the beginning of working careers in the Netherlands. Using an alternative, and quite possibly a better, measure of sexual identity, we find (i) that young and highly educated gay male workers earn about 3% less than heterosexual men; (ii) that similarly qualified lesbian workers earn about 3% more than their heterosexual female co-workers; and (iii) that among homosexual workers the gender gap is not observed. From this we conclude that the Dutch labor market does not discriminate on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender in entry-level jobs.