Labour Market Inclusion Research Articles

РУШІЇ ТРАНСФОРМАЦІЇ ЕКОСИСТЕМИ ЗАКЛАДІВ ВИЩОЇ ОСВІТИ В ПОСТІНДУСТРІАЛЬНОМУ СУСПІЛЬСТВІ

The exponential nature of technological and product innovation in synergy with digital transformation presents new, breakthrough and often unpredictable opportunities for industrial development. It reshapes the existing economic structure, transforming or disrupting traditional industries, and updating the labor market and workforce requirements. The paper is concerned with the factors that drive changes in modern post-industrial society. It discusses the competition brought about by innovation, consumers' rising expectations regarding value proposition and responsible consumption, and the resulting need for expertise and creativity. The study examines that the shift towards knowledge-intensive and information-based production necessitates workers with new skill sets, displaces routine, low- and often medium-skilled labor, and requires proficiency in digital environments, resulting in challenges in adapting to new working conditions. The company's intellectual potential depends on its human resources, which increases the importance of education, including the implementation of the concept of lifelong learning. The current state strategy aims to activate human development and increase the proportion of human capital in national wealth. Using the methods of observation, analysis, comparison and synthesis the relevance of higher education institutions (HEI) as pivotal actors in the formation of human potential is investigated. The opportunities and means by which HEIs can contribute to human development and training of quality intellectual potential are highlighted.The ways of development of the university as an educational-scientific-innovative complex by creating a flexible and in-demand educational proposal, implementation and transfer of scientific research and innovation, as well as cultural and educational activity, and integrating into the international scientific and educational system are defined. The article emphasizes how the cooperation between universities and stakeholders, including labor market partnerships, the formation of horizontal cluster entities involving the business ecosystem, public authorities, and local government, contribute significantly to innovation transfer and sustainable territorial development.

Transforming Opportunities into Productivity (TOP): A New Social Development Model for Social Transformation

Transforming Opportunities into Productivity (TOP) is a human-social development approach for human-centered business hiring and employee engagement practice— mainly targeting, but not limited to, for-profit, non-profit, and public organizations that employ low-income, low-skilled workers. Applying the New Social Development paradigm (Mohan, 2022) in the context of developing an inclusive labor market system, TOP advances the core psychological self-sufficiency (PSS-I) theory that guides the implementation of the Transforming Impossible into Possible (TIP) program at the individual level—the supply side of the labor market. Psycho-social sufficiency (PSS-O) theory provides the foundation for TOP in application to the demand-side organizational development tool designed to interlock with TIP to create an inclusive workplace culture of worker engagement, inclusion, connection, development, and growth. TOP has the potential to play an instrumental role in creating system change by keeping TIP as the organizing principle for social innovation and social transformation in the 4th industrial revolution.

Nexus between inflation and inflation expectations at the zero lower bound: A tiger by the tail

Ultra-low policy rates and zero lower bounds (ZLB) have been major issues for monetary policy formulation. In this context, we investigate the nexus between inflation and inflation expectations. Employing a non-linear ADRL framework on UK and Canadian datasets, we find significant asymmetries in the nexus among inflation and inflation expectations and their determinants, including labour market slack, output gap, oil shocks, fiscal deficit and exchange rates. Heterogeneities are explicit in the short and long-term as well as in the pre-and post-ZLB regimes. Inflation and inflation expectations become more responsive to their determinants as key policy rates approach the ZLB. There is strong evidence of persistence in inflation and inflation expectations in both regimes manifesting the importance of keeping expectations well anchored. Robustness testing with Time-Varying Parameter Vector Auto-Regression and Network Analysis confirms our findings. To mitigate the persistence of a high inflation regime, it would be vital to keep the inflation expectations well anchored.

People with Disabilities and Labour Market Barriers: The Perspectives of Israeli Social Workers

Abstract Social workers play a key role in supporting the labour market inclusion of disabled people. Nevertheless, we know little about how they perceive the barriers that disabled people face and their role in addressing them. In particular, we need to know more about the extent to which they adopt an individualised versus a social model of disability. To address this gap, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-three Israeli social workers providing employment-related services via public and non-profit organisations. A thematic analysis revealed that the participants tended to view their clients’ barriers as related to individual characteristics, including their impairment, level of functioning and soft skills. Whereas social barriers were acknowledged as well, these were usually framed as related to employers’ attitudes, including ignorance, stigma, fear and distrust. In addition, recognition of these social barriers was usually detached from the social workers’ daily, individualised practices.

Negotiating autonomy in the public sector and nonprofits “collaborations” in politically contested fields

AbstractNonprofits are increasingly involved in cross‐sectoral collaborations with the public sector. However, we know little about the dynamics behind these collaborations and what happens to them in politically contested fields where actors may have divergent positions. In this article, a multi‐country comparison of data gathered from semi‐structured interviews (n = 68) with representatives of nonprofits involved in the labor market inclusion of newcomers is presented. Our findings indicate that, in politically contested fields, the possibility of participating in cross‐sectoral collaborations (political autonomy) is influenced by nonprofits' financial and ideological autonomy. Welfare models and migration regimes play a fundamental role in shaping the inclusion of these organizations in collaborations, and in most cases, the collaborations are based on latent conflicts. Our article discusses that if the costs of autonomy associated with cross‐sectoral collaborations are not offset, the collaboration in a politically contested field becomes a liability for nonprofits (and their beneficiaries).

A country-wide health policy in Chile for deaf adults using cochlear implants: Analysis of health determinants and social impacts.

Post-lingual deafness represents a critical challenge for adults' well-being with substantial public health burdens. One treatment of choice has been cochlear implants (CI) for people with severe to profound hearing loss (HL). Since 2018, Chile has implemented a high-cost policy to cover CI treatment, the "Ley Ricarte Soto" (LRS) health policy. However, wide variability exists in the use of this device. To date, no related study has been published on policy evaluation in Chile or other Latin American countries. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the LRS policy on the treatment success and labour market inclusion among deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) adults using CI. We examined and characterised outcomes based on self-reports about treatment success and occupation status between 2018 and 2020. We performed a prospective study using hospital clinical records and an online questionnaire with 76 DHH adults aged >15 who had received CIs since the introduction of the LRS policy in 2018. Using univariate and multivariate regression models, we investigated the relationship between demographic, audiological, and social determinants of health and outcomes, including treatment success for social inclusion (International Outcome inventory for Hearing Aids and CIs assessment: IOI-HA) and occupation status for labour market inclusion. Our study showed elevated levels of treatment success in most of the seven sub-scores of the IOI-HA assessment. Similarly, around 70% of participants maintained or improved their occupations after receiving their CI. We found a significant positive association between treatment success and market inclusion. Participants diagnosed at younger ages had better results than older participants in both outcomes. Regarding social determinants of health, findings suggested participants with high social health insurance and a shorter commute time to the clinic had better results in treatment success. For labour market inclusion, participants with high education levels and better pre- CI occupation had better post-CI occupation status. In evaluating the LRS policy for providing CIs for DHH adults in Chile, we found positive effects relating to treatment success and occupation status. Our study supports the importance of age at diagnosis and social determinants of health, which should be assessed by integrating public services and bringing them geographically closer to each beneficiary. Although evidence-based guidelines for candidate selection given by the LRS policy might contribute to good results, these guidelines could limit the policy access to people who do not meet the requirements of the guidelines due to social inequalities.

Girls' schooling is important but insufficient to promote equality for boys and girls in childhood and across the life course

AbstractMotivationInvesting in girls' schooling in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) is seen as central to improving gender equity. It is argued that interventions to promote girls' enrolment are appropriate as girls face gendered barriers to school enrolment and completion and investing in girls' schooling has high economic and human development returns. But is this fair to boys and enough for girls?PurposeWe ask how appropriate it is to direct development assistance towards improving girls' school enrolment, compared to prioritizing schooling for both girls and boys, and addressing barriers to gender equality throughout the life course.Methods and approachWe frame the enquiry through a human development framework with three distinct but interdependent domains: protection of human development potential; realization of human development potential; and use of human development potential.Using publicly available data, we identify indicators that are likely to be correlated with the degree to which human development potential is protected, realized, and utilized in LMICs. We compare male and female outcomes on each of these indicators to assess gender parity at different life stages.FindingsIn most regions, girls are ahead of boys in both school enrolment and completion. Girls have better outcomes than boys in several other indicators in early life and childhood.In adolescence and adulthood, girls and women fall behind boys and men. This is especially apparent in workforce participation, in unemployment, in pay, and in share of unpaid care work and political participation, where women have less favourable outcomes than men. The bias against women is most marked in South Asia and sub‐Saharan Africa.Policy implicationsA focus on girls' schooling should be tempered by ensuring quality pre‐primary, primary, and secondary schooling for both boys and girls. At the same time, we must address causes of gender inequality, including labour market discrimination and social norms that justify the exclusion and exploitation of women and girls.

Exploring the Business Model and Organizational Innovation of Vocational Schools: A Case Study of Development Units

Since 2015, the Skills for Jobs (S4J) project, funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) and implemented by Swisscontact, has actively promoted private sector engagement in skills development. The project's primary objective is to facilitate ten public Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers in innovating their offerings, delivery methods, and organisational practices through close collaboration with the private sector. Under the leadership of national actors, these VET providers would become national-level transfer agents of innovations introduced to enhance employability. Development Units (DUs) were established at the VET provider level to facilitate this innovation and to lead technically various functions, including labour market intelligence, curricula development, business relations, continuous professional development, marketing, and career development. Their purpose is to ensure that the newly introduced functions align with the strategic objectives of the VET providers, provide technical support to staff members involved, and coordinate and steer the implementation activities. This research employs a comparative case study approach to illuminate DUs' preconditions and multilevel effects as organisational innovation and draws upon theoretical frameworks such as business models, organisational design, innovation, VET governance, and private sector engagement. It reveals that DU as an organisational innovation led to VET providers' shift of the business model towards novelties in the value proposition, creation and capturing and higher performance. As a result of Dus, VET providers become more powerful actors in the VET system governance in general and centres of the ecosystem at the regional level. The research revealed key organisational capabilities that should be enhanced to allow for effective DUs and high performaning innovative VET providers.

Contribution of compositional changes in the workforce to sickness absence trends in Finland

In this study, we assessed whether the long-term decrease in sickness absences in Finland is explained by observed and unobserved compositional changes in the workforce. Utilizing register-based panel data on Finnish wage earners aged 30–62, we examined the annual onset of compensated sickness absence (granted after 10 weekdays) in the period 2005–2016. We applied random effects models adjusting for changes in the observed sociodemographic and occupational characteristics of the study population. We also applied fixed effects models, with corrections of the estimates for cohort ageing, to additionally account for the unobserved time-invariant characteristics of the study population over the years. Of the observed characteristics, increasing educational level partly explained the decreasing trend in sickness absences, and the further contribution of the occupational class was weak. Additionally, accounting for unobserved individual characteristics further explained the decreasing trend in sickness absences among those aged 30–47 years and led to a reverse increasing trend among those aged 48–62 years irrespective of sex and employment sector. Particularly for those over 47 years old, the decrease in sickness absences appeared to be more strongly influenced by compositional changes in characteristics that are established before fully entering the labour market — such as educational level as well as unmeasured individual characteristics that remain unchanged after childhood and early adulthood — than in the work environment or other factors contributing at working age. Sickness absence trends fluctuated during economic cycles, which did not appear to be explained by immediate changes in the observed or unobserved characteristics. Different mechanisms are likely to explain long-term sickness absence trends and trends around economic cycles. Attempts to improve work ability and labour market inclusion in long-term should rely more on increasing educational levels among the workforce and on interventions carried out early during the life course.

The chronos of class conflict. The relevance of the temporal dimension in conflicts related to labour migration

AbstractIn recent migration research temporality has become a prominent figure. Focussing on temporality allows to shed light on some aspects of labour mobility that enlighten our understanding of work-related conflicts. Especially with view to labour market inclusion, migrants often experience the (assumed) temporal limitation and unpredictability of migration projects, work and residence permits, as well as employment relationships. Correspondingly, labour policies, sector-specific company structures and management techniques also have a temporal dimension (time limits, seasonality, outsourcing schemes), which have effects on conflicts in and around work. Furthermore, one has to situate labour and labour migration within its context of social reproduction in order to better understand, how paid wage labour is embedded in social activities and networks such as households, families and communities, and shaped by the social, developmental and migratory policies that condition workers’ labour market inclusion. This conceptual paper argues that for migrants in particular, the (assumed) temporal limitation and unpredictability of migration projects, work/residence permits, and employment relationships is of great importance when it comes to analysing conflict-ridden negotiations over labour relations and working conditions.

Integration policies and migrants' labour market outcomes: a local perspective based on different regional configurations in the EU

Migrants’ integration process and their labour market inclusion occur within distinct local contexts. However, the existing literature has paid little attention to the role of the local context and its relationship with national-level policy outcomes on migrant integration. This study addresses this gap by using new regional (NUTS-2) data from Eurostat and integration policy data from MIPEX, coupled with multivariate analyses. We investigate how national-level integration policies are related to the employment rate gap between migrants and country nationals, and how this relationship varies depending on the local context. Results show that migrant integration policies exhibit no association with this gap in low-competitive, culturally homogeneous and rural regions. Conversely, integration policies are associated with a larger gap in high-competitive and diverse urban regions. Notably, consistent with previous national-level literature, inclusive integration policies are associated with negative outcomes for migrants compared to country nationals. However, a shift toward more inclusive policies is found to reduce this gap, suggesting that inclusive policies may be a response to a widening divide between country nationals and migrants. This study offers valuable insights into the role of regional configurations and the impact of national-level integration policies on migrants' labor market outcomes, providing a local perspective that enhances our understanding of migrant integration processes.

The Effects of Digitalization and Skills on Women’s Labor Market Inclusion- Serbian Gap Study

This study aims to indicate the importance of the factors connected to the digital knowledge and skills of women (WDKS) and the institutional support of digitalization (DIS), for women's inclusion in the labor market (WLMI) and employment in a digital age. The impact was valorized by 224 women, as participants in the research provided in 2022 in Serbia, through the Likert scale instrument for 15 claims within the defined research variables, and regression analyses. Findings showed that knowledge and digital skills, and competencies of girls and women (WDKS) are strongly correlated with their social inclusion in the labor market (WLMI). The impact of the DISF, institutional measures, and policies as a set for digital infrastructure, networks, and lows adjustments for the digitization process development is important too as a national framework for the digital economy. These findings of the research contribute to the literature on digitization and new technologies knowledge development, the SDGs goals on gender divide and equality, as to further feminist economics scientific works.

The labour market entry of immigrant women in Germany: disentangling the determinants of labour force participation

ABSTRACT The labour market entry of immigrants is key to their integration, but also one of the stages where disadvantage arises. In seeking to understand this disadvantage, much of the existing research does not acknowledge the gender-specific dynamics at play and for immigrant women, this often means that their labour force participation (LFP) is overlooked. Thus, this study seeks to investigate the LFP decision in its own right, exposing the gender-specific nature of this stage of labour market integration and its determinants, including labour market resources, like education and language skills, and motivations, like childcare pressures, gender role attitudes and personality traits. Relying on data from the Recent Immigration Processes and Early Integration Trajectories in Germany (ENTRA) survey of recently-arrived immigrants, I investigate the LFP of women from four different origin groups – Poland, Italy, Syria and Turkey. The results highlight that, unlike immigrant men, for immigrant women, the LFP decision is much more salient, and both labour market resources as well as motivations are decisive determinants. Nonetheless, even after accounting for these factors, Turkish and Syrian women still show persistently lower LFP compared to immigrant women from European origins. Moreover, childcare responsibilities are identified as a crucial female-specific barrier.

Impact of mental disorders during education on work participation: a register-based longitudinal study on young adults with 10 years follow-up

BackgroundMental disorders are a leading cause of disability and a major threat to work participation in young adults. This register-based longitudinal study aims to investigate the influence of mental disorders...

Economic effects of healthy ageing: functional limitation, forgone wages, and medical and long-term care costs

This study aims to estimate the potential economic benefits of healthy ageing by obtaining estimates of the economic losses generated by functional limitations among middle-aged and older people. Utilising two data sources retrieved from nationally representative samples of the Japanese people, we analysed the association between functional limitation and economic indicators, including labour market outcomes, savings, investment, consumption, and unpaid activities among individuals aged ≥ 60. Using the estimated parameters from our micro-econometric analyses and the official statistics by the Japanese government and a previous study, we calculated the financial costs that can be averted if healthy ageing is achieved as foregone wages and formal medical/long-term care costs incurred by functional limitations. Our micro-econometric analyses found that functional limitation was associated with a 3% point increase in retirement probability, with a stronger association among those aged 60–69. Moreover, functional limitation was linked with higher total health spending and less active involvement in domestic work. Foregone wages generated by functional limitation were estimated to be approximately USD 266.4 million, driven mainly by individuals in their 60s. Long-term care costs, rather than medical care costs, for older people aged ≥ 85 accounted for most of the additional costs, indicating that the estimated medical and long-term costs generated by functional limitations were approximately USD 72.7 billion. Health interventions can yield economic benefits by preventing exits from the labour market due to health issues and reducing medical and long-term care costs.

Rethinking the Role of Volunteering in the Labor Market Inclusion of Migrants

In this article, we critically investigate the role that volunteering can have in the labor market inclusion of migrants. We consider how volunteering can both enhance and hinder inclusion through a comparison of two different contexts: Finland and the United Kingdom, where both welfare state and migration regimes are differently shaped. We also question whether volunteering to gain work experience can be defined as “volunteering” or whether it corresponds more with a definition of unpaid labor. Our research is based on 104 interviews with migrants (including refugees and asylum seekers) from various nationalities. We find that volunteering is used in both countries as a way to gain work experience, in the absence of opportunities to enter regular employment. However, volunteering rarely directly leads to employment even though it may facilitate it indirectly and, thus, risks trapping migrants in a vicious cycle that does not always lead to labor market inclusion.

The Potential of Human Capital Investment in Contributing to Economic Growth: ARDL Approach in the Context of Eastern and Southern Africa

Despite 25 years of exceptional progress in human development, there are still significant obstacles to overcome, particularly for underdeveloped nations. Numerous African countries devote substantial support to ensuring quality employment, a skilled workforce, and the building of an inclusive labour market. Hereby, the actual paper investigates the potential of human capital investment in contributing to the economic growth of Eastern and Southern Africa from the period 2001 to 2020. The study also attempts to determine the factors that promote skilled workforces in African countries. To carry on with the examination the study used an Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model and the Granger causality tests. The rationale behind using these models is to capture the long-run and short-run dynamic relationship among the variables and to observe the direction of these relationships. Within this framework, the results exhibited that both during the long run and short run the educational level of individuals, government expenditure in education, and labour tax contribution affect the economic growth of the region. Whereas the Granger causality test establishes a one-way causal relationship between all educational levels and economic growth. The test presented no clear connection between government expenditure on education, labour tax, and GDP. Finally, the research provides evidence about the importance of investing in human capital to promote long-term economic growth. And how the government's efforts and educational system operate in Eastern and Southern Africa, which is a geographic region that is often overlooked.

Social innovation as a process: pursuing a pathway to the labour market inclusion of refugee women in Berlin

This article analyses the pathway pursued to engage key stakeholders in a Social Innovation (SI) governance process to achieve better inclusion of refugee women in the Berlin labour market. Thereby, special emphasis is placed on the contribution of the local university as the lead partner to realise this objective. Results indicate how the university provided the groundwork for the engagement of representatives in relevant public authorities and administration. These in turn activated together with the target group and civil society initiatives to initiate a SI governance process that led within the three-year timeframe to intensifying communication among the diverse key stakeholders. The co-creation of the pilots and the learnings gained from testing these, including the feedback from the refugee women, themselves, resulted in a shared problem awareness. This in turn, due to the relative frequency of feedback in roundtables, dialogue workshops, etc., led in its final year to an expressed interest to form a strategy group to spell out the mutually agreed upon principles for new policies. Outlining central aspects of this social innovative journey leads to identifying valuable insights for future initiatives that could be developed in comparable contexts for a more positive inclusion of refugee women.

Learning through co-creation across internal organisational professions and responsibilities

PurposeThis study explores the organisational dynamics in a change process across work units in a Swedish municipality. The purpose of this study is to understand how and why co-creation unfolds during efforts to bring different units into one united work unit.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative longitudinal study was designed using data triangulation for eight months, comprising written reflection texts, meeting protocols and interviews. This study is based on a back-and-forth inductive and abductive grounded theory analysis.FindingsThe main results of this study indicate that there was friction in the co-creation process between units, between the members of the change group and supervisors, as well as friction within the change group. Further, the results indicate that communications, relations, supervisor support and governing strategies clashed with work routines and methods, work cultures, roles and responsibilities and that the units had differing views of the needs of the intended target group. This thereby challenged the propensity for change which, in turn, may have limited developmental learning at a workplace and organisational level.Originality/valueWorking across units to find common and new paths and work methods for labour market inclusion proved to be challenging because of contextual circumstances. Crossing and merging organisational boundaries through co-creation processes was demanding because of new expectations from the organisation, as it shifted towards trust-based governance in conjunction with working during a pandemic when social interactions were restricted to digital communication channels.

LABOUR MARKET DYNAMICS IN UKRAINE DURING WAR: ANALYSIS OF MIGRATION TRENDS AND UNEMPLOYMENT INDICATORS

Purpose. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of the wartime period on Ukraine's labour market, analyse key transformations and imbalances resulting from changes in the socio-economic context, and identify potential ways to overcome negative consequences and support labour market stability in the conditions of a military conflict. Methodology of research. Scientific methods and techniques were employed to analyse the impact of the military conflict on Ukraine's labour market. The primary research methods included: analysis of statistical data provided by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Institute for the Future, the United Nations Population Fund, and the United Nations Refugee Agency for assessing unemployment rates and other demographic indicators; forecasting based on data from the National Bank of Ukraine to predict possible future labour market scenarios; and analysis of social aspects to determine the impact of the military conflict on unemployment, population consumption capacity, national income, and other socio-economic aspects. Findings. It is substantiated that the consequences of the conflict have led to a decrease in Ukraine's population, with the population estimated to range from 29 to 34 million individuals as of 2023. It has been proven that the impact of the military conflict resulted in an increase in unemployment, reaching a critical level of 25.8% in 2022, but due to special rehabilitation measures, this figure decreased to 21.1% in the second half of 2022. The conflict has also intensified migration processes, affecting the distribution of the workforce and creating additional challenges in the labour market. It was analysed that post-conflict labour market reconstruction becomes a complex task, with many individuals seeking new job opportunities requiring requalification and skill development. Overcoming unemployment issues and stabilizing the labour market in conflict conditions require a comprehensive approach. Supporting businesses, increasing productivity, and ensuring stability can contribute to resolving these problems. Originality. The study has advanced the understanding of the impact of the military conflict on Ukraine's labour market, including significant workforce losses and the possibility of exceeding the number of retirees compared to working individuals. Approaches to overcoming negative consequences and supporting labour market stability in conflict conditions have been enhanced by promoting an inclusive labour market, considering workforce shortages, retraining, and increasing the representation of vulnerable groups in the labour market. Practical value. The research results provide a scientific and practical foundation for developing strategies to rehabilitate the labour market in the context of a military conflict. The conclusions of this article can serve as a basis for further research and the development of policies aimed at supporting the workforce, reducing unemployment, and ensuring labour market stability during the negative impacts of a military conflict. Key words: labour market, Ukraine, population size, labour potential, unemployment, economic consequences, labour market rehabilitation, migration, comprehensive approach