Labour Market Participation Research Articles

Psychological Capital and Labor Market Participation of Arab Women in Israel

Psychological Capital and Labor Market Participation of Arab Women in Israel

Immigration and formal labor market participation in Ecuador: Empirical insights from a developing nation

This research article reports an investigation of immigration effects on the probability of being part of the formal labor market in Ecuador, a developing South American economy. We use data on the population of Ecuador as collected in the Census of Population and Dwelling 2010. Using a discrete-choice probit model, we find a negative association between immigration and the probability of having a job in the formal labor market. This relationship stands for both international and local immigrants. We also find that long-term migrants (local or international) exhibit an increased likelihood of securing formal employment, while recent migrants face hurdles in accessing the formal labor market. In addition, our results show that international migrants face more difficulties in entering the formal labor market compared to local immigrants.

Ill Health and Labour Market Participation in Tanzania: Empirical Evidence from Tanzania National Panel Surveys

This paper examines the effect of ill health status on labour participation in Tanzania using panel methods with data extracted from three waves of the National Panel Survey datasets of 2010/11, 2012/13, and the extended panel of 2019/20. Based on estimated random effect probit models, the results show that chronic ill health status has a significant negative effect on labour market participation in Tanzania. By locality, both chronic and acute ill health are significant and negative on labour participation in rural areas; whereas by sex chronic ill health is significant and negative on male’s participation. Therefore, the study recommends the adoption of more effective policies and interventions to reduce the prevalence of chronic and acute illness so as to bring more Tanzanians into the labour force. Also, it recommends mainstream employment policy actions to support those with partial work capacity from incurable ill health conditions to take up jobs.

Unveiling the drivers of Africa's digital financial inclusion journey

AbstractThis study aimed to unveil the evolving landscape of digital financial inclusion in African countries during the post‐COVID‐19 era. We examined factors influencing the access and usage of digital financial services and identified population segments facing increased exclusion due to the digital divide. First, by applying principal component analysis to data collected at the country level from 39 African countries in 2014, 2017, and 2022, we developed a digital financial inclusion index. Second, the empirical research utilized a microlevel dataset of 29,042 adults from 29 countries, sourced from the World Bank's Global Findex 2021 database, employing the instrumental variable probit methodology. Comparative analysis showed improvements in digital financial inclusion rankings for Kenya, Lesotho, and Botswana, while Egypt, Sudan, Tunisia, and Niger experienced declines, indicating limited access. Our empirical findings suggest that certain groups, such as women and individuals with limited education and lower incomes, encounter obstacles in accessing digital financial services. Factors such as education level, labor market participation and access to technology and internet infrastructure emerged as crucial in promoting digital financial inclusion. Our sample's representative nature enhances the study's practical implications, guiding public policies and international institutions to accelerate digital financial inclusion in Africa.

Experimental Evidence from a Conditional Cash Transfer Program: Schooling, Learning, Fertility, and Labor Market Outcomes after 10 Years

Abstract Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are the antipoverty program of choice in many developing countries, aiming to improve human capital and break the intergenerational transmission of poverty. A decade after a randomized 3 year CCT program began, earlier exposure during primary school ages when children were at risk of dropout led to higher labor market participation for young men and women and higher earnings for men. The findings highlight the roles of the different CCT program components with variation in timing of access to nutrition, health, and education investments translating into substantial differential effects on learning outcomes for men and reproductive health outcomes for women.

Investigating the Impact of Prior Criminal Justice Contact on Labor Market Outcomes During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Propensity Score Analysis

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) and a supplemental COVID sample of NLSY97 respondents, we examined the associations between three measures of criminal justice contact and several indicators of labor market participation during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Findings indicated that a history of adult criminal justice contact was associated with higher odds of being out of the labor market during the pandemic. However, among those in the workforce, criminal justice contact was also associated with higher odds of stopping work, working reduced hours, experiencing decreased wages, not working from home, and having close contact with others at work. Additional analyses suggest that deeper levels of contact were sometimes associated with worse outcomes.

Foreign Aid and Corruption: Do Women Make the Difference?

AbstractThe longstanding debate on the effectiveness of foreign aid has largely concluded that corruption is one of the major reasons for the failure of aid to sustain development in recipient countries. This paper investigates whether greater involvement of women in recipient countries' political and economic life enhances the effectiveness of foreign aid by reducing the corruption that usually accompanies massive foreign aid. The hypothesis is tested by cross-country empirical analysis, addressing the potential endogeneity of aid and women’s participation using an IV approach. We provide robust and causal evidence that greater women’s political and labor market participation does reduce the corruption associated with foreign aid, especially when the aid targets sectors that enhance women’s well-being. Moreover, we find that while all the dimensions of women's social participation are effective in reducing corruption, the greatest effect derives from the political dimension.

Loans for welfare benefit recipients: Evidence from the Sample of Integrated Welfare Benefit Biographies (SIG) 2007–2020

AbstractThe Sample of Integrated Welfare Benefit Biographies (SIG) provides comprehensive administrative data on the labour market participation, household composition and financial situation of welfare benefit recipients and their household members in Germany between 2007 and 2020. The SIG data enables research on the dynamics of welfare receipt and labour market participation of welfare recipients. The aim of the article is to introduce the SIG and to showcase its analytical potential by empirically examining benefit loans that can be granted by welfare agencies when unexpected expenses cannot be covered by welfare recipients themselves. Loans and detailed further financial information available can be used to assess the severity of financial restrictions during welfare receipt. We found that 2% of welfare recipients received loans at least once during their benefit episode and that loans were most likely to be granted right at the beginning of a benefit episode. Moreover, the likelihood of loans increased with higher benefit needs and when a parallel employment episode started.

Through the Looking Glass: Applying a Gender Lens to Unemployment in Ras Al Khaimah

The government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has actively pursued Emiratization in the private sector, exemplified by the 2021 Nafis Program, aiming to connect unemployed Emiratis with private organizations through monetary incentives. While the program has surpassed its national target, approximately 5,000 Emiratis remain unemployed in Ras Al Khaimah. This paper examines existing gender disparities in employment through adopting a gender lens. By utilizing data obtained from the Ras Al Khaimah Government and drawing on insights from Al Malki and Pretorius (2023), our analysis prompts a reflection on the potential of targeted, gender-specific policies to alleviate the unemployment rates among Emirati men and women. We begin by outlining the Nafis Program, followed by an exploration of gendered aspects in education and employment within the Gulf and the UAE. Our analysis identifies key challenges, shaping subsequent discussions. This culminates in strategic recommendations designed to enhance labor market participation for Emirati men and women in Ras Al Khaimah.

Do non-natives catch-up with the natives in terms of earnings in Jordan? New evidence from a distributional analysis

ABSTRACT Using a nationally representative dataset extracted from the Jordanian Labor Market Panel Survey (JLMPS) for the two years 2010 and 2016, we apply both the standard Oaxaca–Blinder and quantile decomposition approaches to provide a more comprehensive distributional analysis of the native-immigrant wage differentials in Jordan over the period 2010–2016. By assessing the contribution of a rich set of labor market characteristics to the distributional wage differentials between the two groups and examining the extent to which such differentials reflect marginalization and discrimination against non-natives in Jordan, we find some interesting results that may hold significant policy implications for policymakers and labor market participants. These results reveal an increase in the mean native-immigrant wage gap over time and a relative intensification, throughout the wage distribution, of discrimination against immigrants among middle-wage workers. Compositional differences, primarily in education, between the two groups explain most of the observed wage gap over the period.

Disability and labour market participation among smallholder farmers in Western Kenya.

Despite the importance of labour market participation and the high number of people with disabilities in rural Africa who rely on subsistence agriculture to survive, very few studies have documented labour market outcomes among farmers with and without disabilities in Africa. We examined how labour market participation differed by disability and other factors among smallholder farmers in Western Kenya. We use cross-sectional data collected between January and April 2022 from sorghum farmers enrolled in a trial evaluating the impact of a programme designed to improve labour market participation among sorghum farmers in rural Western Kenya. Disability and Labour market outcomes were assessed using questions from the Washington Group /ILO Labor Force Survey Disability Module the ILO Labour Force Survey module respectively. Univariate and multiple regression analyses were conducted to identify socio-demographic characteristics and other related factors associated with labour market participation. Among 4459 participants, disability was reported by 20.3% of women and 12.3% of men. Labour market participation was reported by 77.1% and 81.3% of women and men, respectively. Adjusting for demographic confounders, having a disability was associated with a lower likelihood of labour market participation (odds ratio 0.59, 95% confidence interval, 0.42-0.83, P = 0.001). These findings were similar in a modified model that looked at functional difficulties separately from anxiety and depression. Women, older participants, and those who were dependent on others were also more likely not to report participation in the labour market. Increased recognition and understanding of functional limitations among smallholder farmers is vital for the success of economic empowerment programmes aimed at increasing labour market participation among the most vulnerable populations.

Employment Status Following Heart Transplantation: Data From the Danish Nationwide Social Service Payment Register During 20years.

Most studies on vocational rehabilitation after heart transplantation (HTX) are based on self-reported data. Danish registries include weekly longitudinal information on all public transfer payments. We intended to describe 20-year trends in employment status for the Danish heart-transplant recipients, and examine the influence of multimorbidity and socioeconomic position (SEP). Linking registry and Scandiatransplant data (1994-2018), we conducted a study in recipients of working age (19-63years). The cohort contained 492 recipients (79% males) and the median (IQR) age was 52years (43-57years). Five years after HTX, 30% of the survived recipients participated on the labor market; 9% were in a flexible job with reduced health-related working capacity. Moreover, 60% were retired and 10% eligible for labor market participation were unemployed. Recipients with multimorbidity had a higher age and a lower prevalence of employment. Five years after HTX, characteristics of recipients with labor market participation were: living alone (27%) versus cohabitation (73%); low (36%) versus medium-high (64%) educational level; low (13%) or medium-high (87%) income group. Heart-transplant recipients with multimorbidity have a higher age and a lower prevalence of employment. Socioeconomically disadvantaged recipients had a lower prevalence of labor market participation, despite being younger compared with the socioeconomically advantaged.

Utilizing Big Data Analysis for the Fusion Examination of Labor Market Evolution within the Gig Economy

The advent of the gig economy has triggered an unprecedented transformation in labor markets worldwide. Leveraging an intricate network analysis, this paper aims to delve into the multi-layered complexities of labor market metamorphosis within the context of a digital gig economy. We construct a bipartite labor-market network model that allows us to explore the nexus between gig workers and employment platforms using a robust set of parameters – connectivity, centrality, and clustering coefficient. Consequently, our empirical investigation elucidates how traditional labor market paradigms are being disrupted, engendering the emergence of new socio-economic stratifications. The results unveil a counterintuitive network structure where high centrality does not necessarily correlate with enhanced economic benefits for gig workers. Moreover, the findings underscore the potential pitfalls of a skewed clustering coefficient, manifesting as increased vulnerability to systemic shocks. The ubiquity of digital technology has engendered a seismic shift in economic frameworks, predominantly by initiating the concept of the gig economy. Although a plethora of research has been conducted on the gig economy from various disciplinary vantage points, limited endeavors have been undertaken to explore the intricacies of labor market changes via a network analysis paradigm. As a result, this study provides vital insights for policymakers, platform operators, and labor market participants, promoting a nuanced understanding of the gig economy’s implications for labor market architecture.

The institutional environment and gig platform transaction cost solutions

Abstract A growing number of labour market participants transact through gig platforms. This choice should reflect a reduction in transaction costs for platform users, compared to costs they meet when using alternative modes of governance. We exploit a unique cross-platform, cross-country data set of gig platform users to test the impact of the institutional environment in one of its dimensions – the strictness of labour market regulation (LMR) – on the ability of gig platforms to reduce users' transaction costs. According to our findings, the regulation indicator of both the user and platform countries influences transaction costs for platform users, even controlling for platform and user characteristics. The platform appears to reduce transaction costs most when users face stricter or weaker LMR, in a U-shaped effect. In the former case, the platform may provide an escape from labour regulations when hiring for tasks, while in the latter case, the platform can economize on the usual transaction costs of private contracting by administrating some types of users' activities.

Closing the Gender Gap: Promoting Labour Market Participation

Closing the Gender Gap: Promoting Labour Market Participation

Coordination of the interests of the parties to labor relations and the state at the labor market

In modern conditions, the role of the state is significantly increasing — both in the sphere of the national economy as a whole and in the sphere of labor. This is due to a number of circumstances, including, first of all, factors of a transient, extraordinary nature. However, much more important is the long-term factor associated with the radical transformation of the economy, with its transition to the type that is defined as the “supply economy”. The supply economy assumes not just the reaction of the economy to the demand developing in different sectors of social life, but above all the impact on the formation of this demand. It is obvious that this task cannot be solved by internal, purely market means — an active social policy is required, which is designed to be developed and implemented by the state, which, according to the force of the Russian Constitution, is a social state. The directions of this policy are extremely diverse, but to a very significant extent it concerns the sphere of the labor market and labor relations. The traditional task of the state in this area is to coordinate the socially significant interests of social groups of workers and employers as participants in the labor market. In turn, the solution of this problem is connected with the need to carry out a number of organizational and legal measures aimed at streamlining the legal status of labor market participants and protecting their rights and legitimate interests. The logical consequence of solving this global task is the transformation of the system of domestic law, which should find its expression in the allocation and formation of an array of legal norms on employment — initially as a special branch of legislation within which the social policy of the state will be implemented, and in the future — an independent branch of law.

Supporting voluntary prolonged labour market participation through fiscally sustainable schemes

The article deals with the issue of fiscal support of participation of the senior population in the labour market. The main reasons for addressing this issue are not only the ageing population and the shortage of people on the labour market in Czechia but also the need to improve the fiscal revenues and fiscal sustainability in general. The article aims to define rules for setting employees? tax burden that would motivate older workers to remain on the labour market after reaching the statutory retirement age and to demonstrate the impact of these measures on the fiscal yield. The article contains model calculations relating to specific proposals for addressing this situation. We show why and how those fiscal measures work, first at a theoretical level of individual variables, and then we assess the impact on public finance if these measures are introduced.

Gender equality: progress, setbacks, and COVID-19 challenges toward 2030

Despite advancements in recent decades, achieving the 2030 gender equality goal outlined in the United Nations' Agenda 2030 remains uncertain, compounded by the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. This study explores labor-related findings from a Costa Rican doctoral investigation, revealing that 39% of leadership positions are held by women for Sustainable Development Goal 5, while 61% are occupied by men. Globally, 2400 million women lack equal economic opportunities, and 178 countries face legal barriers hindering women's full participation. Initiatives like the Gender Parity Initiative (GPI) in Costa Rica strive to bridge gender gaps in labor market participation, compensation, and leadership. The study also highlights Sexist Microaggressions, subtle workplace insults reinforcing gender biases. Emphasizing the business case for gender equality, the analysis underscores women as the world's largest emerging market, with McKinsey predicting their global purchasing power to reach $40 trillion by 2025. To promote workplace gender equality, the study draws on the UN Agenda 2030, advocating for quality education, healthcare, decent work, and active social participation. The conclusion echoes Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' urgent call for collective action, emphasizing the need for commitment and bold measures to accelerate progress and bridge the gender gap.

Job Opportunities and Labour Market Participation: A Case Study of Jammu City, India

The study explores the scope of job opportunities and labour market participation of youth in Jammu City, India. In recent years, India has observed significant changes in its economic conditions and the study provides an understanding of different aspects of job opportunities and labour market participation at the regional level and helps in framing informed policy decisions. The study uses a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative data analysis to find the relationship between the variables and qualitative interviews with local respondents. Quantitative analysis examines employment trends in various occupational sectors and the impact of education and gender on labour market participation. Qualitative interviews provide insights into the challenges and opportunities faced by respondents for labour market participation in Jammu City. The paper discusses educational attainment, the relationship between labour market participation and insufficient job opportunities, transition patterns, educational and working status. The study reveals that Jammu City's labour market is diverse, in both general and vocational educational respondents and factors such as education, job opportunities, gender and geographic location influence labour market participation. Moreover, the study reveals large participation of respondents in informal jobs and self-employment due to the lack of government jobs and the worse political situation of the state. The study draws implications for policymakers to promote inclusive economic growth and improve labour market outcomes in this region. Furthermore, research and policy measures also address the complexities of job opportunities and labour market participation in Jammu City which ultimately enhances the overall socio-economic well-being of the study area.

Reducing maternal labor market detachment: A role for paid family leave

More than one quarter of working women leave the labor force when they have a child. Half of these detachments last at least 10 years and as many as 20 percent last 17 years or more, shrinking the U.S. workforce. Access to paid family leave (PFL) offers many private benefits, but may also offer the public benefit of increasing women’s participation in the labor force. We rely on the implementation of PFL in California in 2004 to examine long-term impacts on women’s labor force participation. We find that, prior to implementation of paid leave, maternal labor market detachment is 25 percent following a birth; it attenuates over time to five percent but takes 14 years to reach that level, and remains significantly different from zero. We find that access to PFL at the time of a birth significantly increases labor market participation by more than five percentage points (21 percent) in the year of a birth; its impact attenuates over time but remains significantly different from zero as much as nine years later. Impacts are greatest among women with bachelor’s degrees, for whom PFL reduces maternal detachment by 12 percentage points (38 percent) in the year of a birth and continues to impact participation for eleven years after a birth. This suggests that PFL offers public benefits of increasing the skilled labor force.