Labour Market Policies Research Articles

Komparácia krajín EÚ na základe nástrojov sociálnej politiky na zmiernenie finančnej zraniteľnosti domácností

The social policy of the European Union is focused mainly on the most vulnerable group of citizens. The social instruments that countries use to increase the living conditions and to decrease social exclusion and vulnerability can differ between countries. The submitted paper uses cluster analysis to compare 27 member states of the European Union based on their social policy instruments in 2019. The study analyses the dependence of social policy instruments and household financial vulnerability using correlation and regression analysis. It examines whether higher levels of social benefits and government expenditure result in lower financial vulnerability. However, the results suggest that the financial vulnerability of households is not associated with low benefits. Clusters reporting a low level of benefits recorded a low financial vulnerability of households and vice versa. Results of the correlation and cluster analysis prove that the increase of the first factor (benefits in material need, expenditure on active labour market policy, family benefits, disability benefits) and the third factor (unemployment benefits) are associated with a decrease in financial vulnerability of households.

How Inflation is a Policy Nowadays

"After World War II, democracies witnessed trans formations that were and are much more lenient vis-à-vis the rise in inflation. The main institutional changes that have occurred gradually ever since and can combine nowadays to fuel inflation refer to (i) the shift in ideas referring to equality and redis tribution, (ii) the labor market policies, (iii) bringing man’s natural environment to the level of impor tance of the social environment, with a particular focus on climate, and (iv) preserving a large capacity of the government to produce inflation in a context in which political power has granted independence to the central bank in terms of monetary policy. We show how features of society listed under items (i)- (iv) had combined to lead to low and stable inflation during 1982-2008, to lower than desired inflation during 2009-2020, and to the high inflation starting with 2021. The inflation-taming efforts succeeded only when three elements acted jointly: (A) raising the interest rate while no longer considering the in flation-unemployment tradeoff, impacting features (ii) and (iv); (B) adjusting budget deficits and stabi lizing fiscal expectations, impacting feature (iv); (C) measures for reviving economic freedom, with an impact on features (i), (ii), and (iii)."

A journey into the new employment service landscape of responsibilisation: Towards de‐personalisation of the caseworker–jobseeker relationship

AbstractThe article analyses a new culture of responsibilisation implicated in a recent management reform in the Swedish Public Employment Service. Based on an interview study and organisational documents, it is shown that the reform entails a new form of responsibilisation of jobseekers as well as caseworkers. As jobseekers are expected to ‘carry their own case’ through the administrative job‐search process, they are obliged to manage tasks that used to be in the caseworker's area of responsibility. Furthermore, caseworkers are expected to regulate themselves in new ways and change their mind‐set according to new organisational values and behavioural norms, requiring a restraining of their availability to clients. It is argued that the employment agency is increasingly turned into the agency of the active and responsible jobseeker, which entails one further shift towards individual responsibility in Swedish labour market policy and one further step towards the breakup of a personal caseworker–jobseeker relationship.

Changes in Working Women’s Self-Reported Subjective Wellbeing and Quality of Interpersonal Relationships During COVID-19: A Quantitative Comparison of Essential and Non-essential Workers in Singapore

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has affected working women’s well-being in different ways due to contrasting national responses. This article focuses on the specific context of Singapore, which implemented differentiated rules for workers: essential workers continued to report to workplaces, while non-essential workers were required to work from home. This policy had far-reaching implications for working women, who are more likely than husbands to juggle paid work and household duties. The article uses longitudinal data collected in 2018 and during the pandemic in 2020, specifically during Singapore’s lockdown period, to measure changes in 287 working women’s self-reported levels of stress, fatigue, and quality of interpersonal relationships by essential worker status. While all workers were affected by the pandemic, female essential workers were more likely than their non-essential peers to report declines in stress levels from 2018 to 2020, and less likely to report changes in spousal relationships, both positive and negative. Findings suggest that the differences were driven by exposure to quarantine conditions faced by non-essential workers. Our results highlight the importance of policies supporting frontline workers and more gender-equitable labour market policies to support married women juggling the twin demands of employment and household responsibilities.

Can Teleworking Improve Workers’ Job Satisfaction? Exploring the Roles of Gender and Emotional Well-Being

With the rise of teleworking during the past decades, the impacts of teleworking on job satisfaction have been extensively debated. Teleworking might benefit workers by improving work-life balance and emotional well-being, but it also brings considerable challenges. This study empirically investigates the impacts of teleworking on workers’ enjoyment across daily working episodes and job satisfaction and its gendered patterns, using Ordinary Least Squares regressions and the latest nationally representative time-use survey data in the UK. Moreover, it uses the Karlson/Holm/Breen (KHB) decomposition method to examine the role of enjoyment at work in mediating the associations between teleworking and job satisfaction. Overall, this study yields two major findings. First, among men, teleworkers tend to have higher levels of enjoyment at work and job satisfaction, but this is not the case for women. Second, around 46% of teleworking’s positive impacts on men’s job satisfaction can be explained by higher levels of enjoyment at work. Taken together, by integrating different theoretical perspectives on teleworking, gender and emotional well-being, this study provides interdisciplinary insights into the nuanced social consequences of teleworking, highlights the disadvantaged position of women in the use of teleworking, and demonstrates the need to enhance emotional well-being in future labour market policies.

Challenges in family policy research

In the third millennium, family policies have become the most dynamic part of welfare state policies in developed countries and the forerunners of welfare state development in developing countries. They remain, however, an important dimension of social policy diversification, among both developed and developing countries. Degree and patterns of overall welfare state development, labour market conditions, demographic characteristics, family and gender cultures, political legacies and political cultures – all these factors contribute to shaping which and how family issues are framed as policy-relevant issues. The author addresses some of the research challenges that lie ahead in family policy research, namely: (1) the conceptual and methodological challenges deriving from the enlargement of research, both national and comparative, across an increasingly diversified spectrum of countries; (2) the dual challenge of the diversification of family forms and of international mobility; (3) the interaction between the labour market and family policies and their impact on social class differences; (4) the differential impact of social policies across the social spectrum and diversified family forms; and (5) the multilevel making and governance of family policies and the impact on intra-country differences. According to the author, these challenges are also the consequence of the intersectional character of family policies.

The social policy preferences of EU employers’ organizations: An exploratory analysis

Despite decades of European social dialogue, little is known about the social policy preferences of EU employers’ organizations (EEOs). Building on the literature on industrial relations and the role of business in welfare state development, this article explores the preferences of key EEOs (BusinessEurope, SGI Europe and SMEunited) in vocational education and training (VET), active and passive labour market policies, pensions and work–family reconciliation. Software-based qualitative content analysis of 75 position papers and 19 joint declarations, triangulated with four elite semi-structured interviews, is employed to assess employers’ preferences along four national and two European dimensions. Largely in line with the power resources theory, EEOs favour cost containment and social investment, by strengthening labour market flexicurity and reducing skills mismatches through VET. Conflicting logics of membership and influence guide the actions of EEOs: members are wary of legislation impinging on national social policy traditions; yet, greater European assertiveness makes lobbying efforts unavoidable.

Comparative impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on work and employment—Why industrial relations institutions matter

AbstractThis introduction assesses the international impacts of the COVID‐19 pandemic on work and employment. It outlines conceptually why industrial relations institutions matter for shaping policy choices across different countries. This includes countries in the Global South that are not covered by conventional varieties of capitalism theories. An important focus is what IR institutions and policies played a protective role in the decommodification of labor during the pandemic, notably short‐time working (furlough) schemes, tripartite cooperative pacts, works councils, collective bargaining, and active labor market policies. IR institutions continue to matter, and the contributions in this Special Issue can inform future research.

US–China Economic Rivalry and the Reshoring of Global Supply Chains

Abstract Since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008, the USA has changed its economic priorities and policy preferences in a concerted effort to bolster its weight in the global economy, reduce over-reliance on global supply chains, and create more employment within its borders. This change has become more apparent in the wake of the Trump presidency and the COVID-19 pandemic. Reviving the manufacturing industry through reshoring is now the main goal of US politicians. This article analyses the two strategies, in light of heightened technological competition with China, that the USA has brought into effect to reshore its factories from the People's Republic of China and so revitalise the American manufacturing industry. They are neo-protectionism and smart automation. Arguing that neo-protectionist policies and smart automation technologies are interrelated factors that have been used strategically to bring American multinational companies in China back to the USA, we examine whether or not these two strategies—each elements of the US–China tech war—can support the reshoring and revitalisation of the American manufacturing industry. We find that increased neo-protectionist measures and proliferation of smart automation technologies alone will not empower the USA sufficiently to consolidate its technological superiority over China, add impetus to its manufacturing investments, and create well-paying jobs for the broader segments of American society through the reshoring of manufacturing activities. To achieve these goals, the USA should instead implement an integrated policy framework that spans industrial policies to technology policies and tax policies to labour market policies. Otherwise, even though reshoring may gain a certain momentum, new industrial facilities will not expand productivity enough to raise the competitiveness of the US economy to satisfactory levels, and such investments might not provide enough new job opportunities to remediate socioeconomic problems.

Education and active labour market policy complementarities in promoting employment: Reinforcement, substitution and compensation.

This paper theorises and empirically assesses how education and active labour market policy (ALMP) relate to each other in shaping individuals' employment chances in Europe. It provides a theoretical base for assessing policy complementarities building on sociological skill-formation literature, varieties of capitalism and social investment literature. Two hypotheses of complementarity are advanced: reinforcement whereby higher investment in general skills via education boosts ALMP effectiveness; and substitution-compensation whereby investments in either policy suffice, rendering individual employment chances less dependent on ALMPs at higher (prior) educational investment levels. The advanced theoretical propositions are empirically tested by looking at how individual employment chances are affected by national ALMP efforts conditional on workforce education, distinguishing between individual- and national-level educational attainment. Analyses draw on micro-level EU-SILC longitudinal data 2003-2015 from 29 European countries and 285 country-years applying mixed-effects dynamic panel regression models. Results highlight the complementarity of education in the functioning of ALMPs and show that the education-ALMP interplay follows different dynamics when individual or national education are considered, with substitution-compensation for the former and reinforcement for the latter. Higher individual educational attainment is associated with lower marginal returns from national ALMP efforts, with higher ALMP effectiveness among the lower-educated. By contrast, higher national educational attainment is associated with increased ALMP effectiveness, with ALMPs tending to be far less effective at low levels of highly educated workforce. Different interaction patterns are observed for youth, indicating increased difficulty in activating this risk group.

Role of Female Labour Participation in Reducing Income Inequality in ECOWAS Sub-Region

This study examined the nexus between female labour participation and income inequality in ECOWAS sub-region between 1990 and 2019. Consequently, Panel Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares and Pairwise Panel Causality techniques were used to estimate the objective of the study. The findings from this study are summarized as follows; two (2) of the three (3) indicators of female labour participation- labour participation rate and female employment in service showed a positive and significant relationship with income inequality in ECOWAS sub region. In addition, no feedback relationship exists between any indicators of female labour participation and income inequality in ECOWAS sub region. Meanwhile, a bidirectional causality exists between female educational enrolment and female employment in the service sector. Also, female educational enrolment Granger causes female labour force participation. In the light of the above findings, the following recommendations were offered for the policy makers in ECOWAS sub region and African policymakers, at any time the goal of these policymakers is reduction of income inequality, the labour market policy should be structured in such a way that will give preference to women in the recruitment process. Also, the policymakers should prioritize giving of scholarship to female folks, this will drive a rise in female education enrolment. As such, more educated women will participate in the labour market and consequently earn more income, thereby leading to the reduction in income inequality.

Women Employment Market Post-Covid 19 Pandemic in South Korea and Indonesia

This article compares South Korean and Indonesian women's labor market policies to explore post-covid-19 policies. The two countries took different paths to activation after covid-19, and the decisive difference lies in the scale of direct job creation programs compared to vocational training and employment services. The diverse socio-economic contexts and democratic landscapes further shape the repertoire of activations available to the governments of both countries. We examine this issue from various perspectives that prevent women from entering the labor market, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, economic crises and political instability shape the various evolutions of each country's labor market policies. This study contributes to an understanding of the dynamics of social policy change, especially post-pandemic and highlights the circumstances that lead to policy change.

Wage Bargaining and Labor Market Policy with Biased Expectations

Wage Bargaining and Labor Market Policy with Biased Expectations

Searching for Job Security and the Consequences of Job Loss

Job loss comes with large present value earnings losses which elude workhorse models of unemployment and labor market policy. I propose a parsimonious model of a frictional labor market in which jobs differ in terms of unemployment risk and workers search off‐ and on‐the‐job. This gives rise to a job ladder with slippery bottom rungs where unemployment spells beget unemployment spells. I allow for human capital to respond to time spent out of work and estimate the framework on German Social Security data. The model captures the joint response of wages, employment, and unemployment risk to job loss which I measure empirically. The key driver of the “unemployment scar” is the loss in job security and its interaction with the evolution of human capital and, in particular, the search for better employment.

Active and passive labour-market policies: the outlook from the Beveridge curve

ABSTRACT Following a panel ARDL approach, we appraise the impact of various indicators of active and passive labour-market policies within the framework of the Beveridge curve across fourteen OECD countries from 1985 to 2013, controlling for other factors, both institutional (tax wedge) and structural (technological progress, globalization). We embed the role of these variables within the specification of the Beveridge curve, finding that the generosity of unemployment benefits has a detrimental impact on labour-market matching, with the duration of benefits and the strictness of the rules pertaining to the deployment of benefits taking a key role in driving this result. Among active labour-market policies, employment incentives and especially training have a favourable effect on matching. There is evidence of a virtuous interaction between active and passive policies. A significantly detrimental role emerges for the tax wedge. These results are consistent across various specifications, and structural relationships are stable throughout the 2008–2013 period.

ИНСТИТУЦИОНАЛЬНАЯ СРЕДА РЕГУЛИРОВАНИЯ ЗАНЯТОСТИ МОЛОДЕЖИ УЗБЕКИСТАНА

The article considers the institutional environment for regulating the employment of youth in Uzbekistan, highlights the following main problems in the development of the labor market in Uzbekistan - the lack of national indicators to measure the effectiveness of employment policy in the youth labor market; the presence of education and labor markets, which sometimes do not interact at the proper level; the weak level of the scientific potential of the country, the low coverage of the population with higher education, and solutions to the problems of youth employment in the Republic of Uzbekistan are given

Crime and Unemployment in the EU: The Role of Labour Market Policies and Shadow Economy

Crime and Unemployment in the EU: The Role of Labour Market Policies and Shadow Economy

Workforce Participation in Active Labour Market Policies: A Comparative Analysis in EU Member States

Workforce Participation in Active Labour Market Policies: A Comparative Analysis in EU Member States

Is the Global Competitiveness Index by the World Economic Forum a reliable tool for the design of labor market policies? Evidence from Latin American countries

Abstract Most of the competitiveness gap in Latin America is due to its labor market, one of the areas with the highest rates of subjective indicators in the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI). This paper analyzes the subjective component of the GCI in the labor market area and discusses its accuracy for policy advice. We focus on the set of countries that highly rely on the GCI for policy advice and highlight that the perception of business executives of the labor market as rigid contrasts with the significant experience of flexibilization policies undertaken in the region over the past 3 decades. We show that the GCI has been largely constructed with opinion data from large firms, a business sector that accounts for <5% of total firms in the countries of study. Furthermore, the questionnaire exhibits obvious flaws. Thus, we do not find that the GCI provides a solid base for policy advice.

Arbeitsmarktpolitische Maßnahmen Und Ihre Evaluierung: Eine Bestandsaufnahme

( Title: Active Labor Market Policy and its Evaluation: The Current State of Affairs) Despite the considerable effort and the large financial expenditures spent on measures of Active Labor Market Policy in Germany, relatively little is known about their actual impact. To the contrary, past evaluation efforts typically failed to construct a credible counterfactual situation - a precise statement of what would have happened in the absence of the policy intervention. This paper argues that Germany lags clearly behind the current evaluation practice of other advanced economies, and in information about the efficacy of its policies. The paper discusses the methodological problems surrounding the evaluation of policy interventions and possible empirical strategies for their solution. The available scientific evidence on the impact of labor market programs is surveyed briefly, and several lessons are extracted on the design of future programs and their evaluation.