Labor Force Research Articles

What made you do moonlighting? A tale from the Indonesian labor force survey

What made you do moonlighting? A tale from the Indonesian labor force survey

Labor income gap by gender in the Dominican Republic: An analysis of its evolution in the period 2000–2021

The labor income gap between men and women in Latin America remains a barrier to achieving gender equality and sustainable development. In the Dominican Republic, this gap is particularly prevalent in the informal sector, among self employed workers, and in regions with higher female labor participation. Despite women often having a better job profile than men, the gap persists, pointing to the presence of gender biases. This paper aims to analyze the gender-based labor income gap in the Dominican Republic from 2000 to 2021, using data from the National Labor Force Surveys conducted by the National Statistics Office (ONE) and harmonized by the Inter- American Development Bank (IDB). Two models are employed for this analysis: the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition and the Ñopo decomposition. The primary contribution of this paper lies in its long-term analysis of the gap, which provides insight into how it has evolved over time. The findings reveal a significant and statistically substantial labor income gap that cannot be explained by factors such as work experience or economic sector, suggesting that the causes are likely normative or discriminatory. The gap is most pronounced in the informal sector, among self-employed workers, and in regions with higher female labor participation. Although the analysis spans two decades, no clear trend of increase or decrease in the gap was observed. However, the unexplained portion of the gap has widened considerably, indicating a need for further investigation to understand and address this disparity.

Modeling urbanization dynamics by labor force migration

Modeling urbanization dynamics by labor force migration

A Study on Career Aspiration and Their Effect on Work Values among Gen Z: A Contextual Investigation of Chennai City

This study investigates the profession yearnings and their effect on work values among Age Z in Chennai City. As this segment enters the labor force, their interesting points of view and needs are reshaping conventional vocation pathways and working environment assumptions. The exploration inspects key factors like self-awareness, instructive portion, and financial status, and what these factors mean for vocation desires and work values. Using a blended strategies approach, the review accumulates quantitative information through studies and subjective experiences by means of meetings with Gen Z people in Chennai. The discoveries uncover that vocation yearnings among Gen Z are essentially impacted by a longing for significant work, balance between fun and serious activities, and moral arrangement. Instructive assets and financial status additionally assume significant parts in molding these yearnings. Moreover, the review features the significance of self-awareness in improving position fulfillment. The outcomes give important experiences to instructors, policymakers, and businesses intending to adjust their systems to the developing profession and work upsides of Gen Z, subsequently encouraging a more spurred and connected with labor force.

Analyzing the Impact of Vision 2030’s Economic Reforms on Saudi Arabia’s Consumer Price Index

This study examines the relationship between CO2 emissions, labor force participation, foreign direct investment (FDI), and trade openness on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Saudi Arabia, within the context of Vision 2030’s economic reforms. Vision 2030 aims to diversify the economy, reduce oil dependency, and promote sustainable growth, making it crucial to understand the factors influencing inflation and economic stability. Using annual data from 2001 to 2022 and the nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) bounds testing approach, the study analyzes both short- and long-term effects. The findings reveal that higher CO2 emissions have a deflationary effect, reducing the CPI in both the short and long term, while FDI shows an inflationary impact with a delayed effect. Labor force expansion contributes to lowering the CPI, reflecting its deflationary pressure, especially over the long term. Trade openness is also examined for its dual effects on CPI, In the short run, both positive and negative trade openness reduce consumer prices, while in the long run, positive trade openness increases inflation, and negative trade openness lowers prices. This shows the differing inflationary impacts of trade openness over time. These findings contribute to the policy discourse on balancing economic growth, environmental sustainability, and inflation management, offering strategic insights for policymakers in alignment with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 objectives.

The causal effect of economic freedom on female employment & education

AbstractWhile there are decades of evidence that economically free economies grow faster and are more productive than less free ones, there is less knowledge about the effect of economic freedom on groups that have traditionally been disadvantaged. I study the causal effects of large and sustained jumps in economic freedom on women's labor force participation and primary school enrollment. I find that these jumps have a positive and statistically significant effect in both cases–economic freedom is good for women's labor force opportunities and female education.

Center-based childcare during infancy: The relations with functional brain networks and self-regulation in young children

Given the substantial increase in children attending center-based childcare over the past decades, the consequences of center-based childcare for children’s development have gained more attention in developmental research. However, the relation between center-based childcare and children’s neurocognitive development remains relatively underexplored. The aim of this study was therefore to examine the relations between quantity of center-based childcare during infancy and the neurocognitive development (both functional brain networks and self-regulation) of 584 Dutch children. Small-world brain networks and children’s self-regulation were assessed during infancy (around 10 months of age) and the preschool period (2–6 years of age). The findings revealed that the quantity of center-based childcare during infancy was unrelated to individual differences in children’s functional brain networks. However, spending more hours per week in center-based childcare was positively related to the development of self-regulation in preschool age children, regardless of children’s sex or the levels of exposure to risk and maternal support in the home environment. More insight into the positive effects of center-based childcare on children’s development from infancy to toddlerhood can help to increase our insight into a better work–life balance and labor force participation of parents with young children. Moreover, this study highlights that Dutch center-based childcare offers opportunities to invest in positive child outcomes in children, including self-regulation.

Norms about parental employment in Eastern and Western Germany: Results of a factorial survey experiment

Objective: This study analyzes norms in Germany toward mothers’ and fathers’ work hours, with a focus on differences between Eastern and Western Germany. Background: Maternal labor force participation has increased in many Western countries, and norms toward parents’ division of paid work and care have changed over the past decades. Most literature, however, focuses on maternal labor force participation without considering paternal work hours, based on the dichotomy of a traditional male-breadwinner model versus a model with two adults working full time and comprehensive institutionalized childcare, leaving out other potential arrangements. This focus limits the understanding of differences between Eastern and Western Germany. Method: This study investigates normative judgments regarding both mothers’ and fathers’ employment in a factorial survey experiment implemented in the German Family Panel pairfam in 2019/2020 (N=6,285). Results: The analysis reveals that in Western compared to Eastern Germany shorter working hours are indicated for both fathers and mothers, and judgments regarding working hours vary more and are more affected by job-related variables (relative incomes, career prospects, and family-friendliness of employer). Conclusion: These results imply that in Western Germany, normative judgments of both parents’ work hours are mainly based on the individual level, taking the family’s specific situation into account, whereas in Eastern Germany, judgements are more strongly influenced by a general norm that both parents should work (near to) full-time.

Working from home in European countries before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

AbstractWe use data from the representative EU Labour Force Survey for 28 countries and document the levels of working from home in 2011–2022. This period is relevant as it includes the years of the COVID-19 pandemic. We show significant differences in working from home across countries, industries, and occupations. Working from home has increased in several sample countries and almost all industries and occupations in the 2011–2019 period and more significantly in the years affected by the pandemic. Although there is a general decline in working from home in 2022, the prevalence of working from home remains generally well above the pre-pandemic levels. We show that the rise in working from home is associated with lower employment losses during the pandemic years. We also compute a measure of working from home capacity for the sample countries using the observed working from home levels.

Animal models of membranous nephropathy: more choices and higher similarity.

Membranous nephropathy (MN) is an antibody-mediated autoimmune glomerular disease in which PLA2R1 is the main autoantibody. It has become the most common cause of adult nephrotic syndrome, and about one-third of patients can progress to end-stage kidney disease, but its pathogenesis is still unclear. Animal models can be used as suitable tools to study the pathogenesis and treatment of MN. The previous Heymann nephritis rat model and C-BSA animal model are widely used to study the pathogenesis of MN. However, the lack of target antigen expression in podocytes of model animals (especially rodents) restricts the application. In recent years, researchers constructed animal models of antigen-specific MN, such as THSD7A, PLA2R1, which more truly simulate the pathogenesis and pathological features of MN and provide more choices for the follow-up researchers. When selecting these MN models, we need to consider many aspects, including cost, difficulty of model preparation, labor force, and whether the final model can answer the research questions. This review is to comprehensively evaluate the mechanism, advantages and disadvantages and feasibility of existing animal models, and provide new reference for the pathogenesis and treatment of MN.

Income level as a differentiating factor in assessing the impact of migration on economic growth

Aim. To study the nature of the impact of migration on economic growth depending on the level of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and the direction of migration flows.Objectives. Study of theoretical approaches to the research of the impact of labor migration on economic growth; analysis of factors that differentiate the assessment of the impact of migration flows on economic growth indicators; collection and analysis of statistical information for the development of econometric models for assessing the impact of migration on economic growth.Methods. The authors used general scientific methods of research, such as deduction, analysis, synthesis. Statistical methods of data analysis were applied, linear regression models were built.Results. The research shows that the impact of migration on economic growth in countries with different levels of GDP per capita is due to different factors. For developed economies, the positive factors of the impact of immigration on economic growth are replenishment of scarce labor resources; improvement of labor force quality due to structural changes caused by the transition of the permanent working-age population to new professional fields. For countries with a low level of GDP per capita we can identify a number of positive factors of the impact of emigration (with a negative balance of migration growth) on economic growth. In particular, the outflow of excess labor force creates conditions for reducing unemployment; remittances of migrants support effective demand in the consumer market, contribute to the development of the banking system and investment in the country of origin; the expansion of social ties leads to the development of human capital, increasing the potential for innovation.Conclusions. The value of correlation coefficients in the constructed regression models indicates that there is a weak correlation between the variable characterizing the volume and nature of migration in the country (the ratio of migration balance to population) and the variable characterizing economic growth (GDP per capita at purchasing power parity) only for the group of high-income countries. There is little statistical dependence of these variables for other groups of countries. With regard to econometric modeling of the impact of migration on economic growth, this means that it is necessary to develop separate models for each group of countries depending on the level of GDP per capita and the direction of migration flows.

Soldiering in the Special Zone: The People's Liberation Army Engineering Corps in Shenzhen

Abstract Between 1979 and 1982, 20,000 troops from the People's Liberation Army Engineering Corps travelled from military-industrial sites in the interior to Shenzhen, China's first Special Economic Zone (SEZ). They were the first batch of state-sponsored migrants to the SEZ and the pioneer builders of the city's urban infrastructure. This article uses the case of military workers in the SEZ to examine state–market relations during the early phase of China's post-socialist transition. On one hand, the Deng administration strategically repurposed a disciplined labour force from Mao's command economy to jump-start marketization. On the other hand, the Mao-era power structure of the Engineering Corps not only persisted but became even more entrenched in the SEZ at the forefront of China's reform. The higher one's military rank was before demobilization, the more easily one could monetize socialist-era political credentials, particularly by taking advantage of the rising value of land in Shenzhen's urbanization process. Academic credentials served as a moderate booster of status within the public sector and a more powerful ingredient leading to success for private entrepreneurs. The lower the military rank before demobilization, the less meaningful the agency to obtain material rewards commensurate with past contributions.

Women Labor Force Participation and Its Impact on Economic Growth: A Study of Latin America and the Caribbean Region

The problem being studied was that women were underrepresented in the labor force throughout Latin America and the Caribbean regions. In addition, although Latin America and the Caribbean regions experienced sound economic growth over the past decade, poverty levels dropped from 30% in 2021 to 28.5% in 2022. Development within low/low-middle income countries such as those within the Latin America and the Caribbean’s region, is more effected because of the reduction of gender inequality. This quantitative study explored how empowering women contributed to addressing and enhancing economic challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean. Additionally, it aimed to identify the relationship between women's empowerment and economic growth, while examining the influence of relevant variables on the economic development of these countries. This study was motivated by identifying a gap in the literature that made this research viable. Study found that there is statically a significant impact of women’ empowerment on economic growth, where an increase of 10 points in the women empowerment index, increases the growth of real GDP per capita by 2 percentage point per year. The data collected covers 29 countries and regions and covered metrics on women empowerment from 1982 – 2019, which spanned approximately 38 years. The study results concluded that women empowerment statistically impact GDP growth in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Competence Level of Graduates on Procurement Strategies for Digital Supply Chains in Tanzania

Strategic procurement enables companies to develop and enhance their advantage over its competitors –both by cost advantage or differentiation advantage. Accordingly, modern and future procurement is highly strategic in comparison to traditional and e-procurement practices. However, the extent to which the graduates are prepared on procurement strategies for digital supply chains is scarcely known in Tanzania. In other words, very little is known on the competence level of graduates on digital supply chain management. Therefore, this study evaluated the competence level of graduates on procurement strategies for digital supply chains in Tanzania. It specifically determined the level of awareness of graduates on procurement strategies for digital supply chains; the extent to which the graduates are prepared on procurement strategies for digital supply chains while at educational institutions studying, and ranking of skills on digital supply chains acquired by the graduates in relation to hard and soft supply chain skills. This study used quantitative approach with descriptive cross-sectional survey design. The data were collected from 500 graduates of Procurement and Supply in Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Mwanza and Dodoma who were sampled using multi-stage sampling techniques. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings reveal that, majority of the graduates had low level of awareness on procurement strategies for digital supply chains. In addition, the majority of graduates were prepared on procurement strategies for digital supply chains to the very small extent. Moreover, skills on digital and soft supply chains were ranked thirdly/low in acquisition when at the education institutions compare to hard supply chain skills. The graduates acquired digital and soft supply chain skills in lower rate (rank) compare to hard supply chain skills acquired in moderate rate. It is generally concluded that, the graduates had low level of competence on procurement strategies for digital supply chains in Tanzania. This study advocates for serious engagement of both private and public stakeholders in collaborating with colleges/institutes in training on procurement strategies for digital supply chains in Tanzania in order to produce competent labour force for the digital world of work.

Role of industrial growth on economic development: A comparative analysis of developed and developing countries

Industrialization has played a pivotal role in shaping economic transformation, influencing growth patterns globally across different stages of development. This study investigates the role of industrialization on economic development by controlling labor force, capital formation, school enerollment, and institutional quality. The panel data of 62 developing and 96 developed countries are collected from World Bank from 1990 to 2023. The empirical results are estimated by using the Panel Quantile Regression (PQR), and its robustness is checked through the Method of Moverment-Quantile Regression (MM-QR) approach. The empirical results found the U-shaped relationship between industrialization and economic development in both samples. The labor force significantly increases economic development in developed countries while declines in developing countries. Gross capital formation and preprimary education also significantly enhance economic development. The institutional quality surges economic development in developed countries and declines in developing countries. The MM-QR approach also shows similar results, proving the PQR approach's robustness. This study recommends that all countries should focus on industrial diversification, improving infrastructure and energy access, strengthening institutions, building a skilled workforce, and ensuring environmental sustainability.

The Labour Market for Immigrants: Evidence from Data

This article verifies how regular migrants are inserted into the labour markets of receiving countries. The analysis will be made with reference to the position of neo-classical economists relating to the insertion of immigrants in the labour markets of host countries. Reference will also be made to existing data on the dynamics of the integration of authorized migrants in the labour force of OECD and EU countries.

Operation of a production and logistics complex in conditions of a shortage of labor force. Retaining personnel by increasing involvement, loyalty, satisfaction and working conditions

The events of February 2022, competition in the labor market of 2023 - 2024 have led and continue to lead to a shortage of labor force, which, according to expert estimates, is about 20-30%, due to which businesses are faced with the need to compensate for it by attracting hired personnel.

Research on the impact of land rights certification on farmers’ operating behavior

This article aims to assess the impact of issuing land rights certification on farmers' operating behavior. To accomplish this objective, this paper establishes a theoretical framework for farmers' management behavior and thoroughly examines the stability, endowment, and security effects of land rights certification. Subsequently, using household survey data, the Probit and propensity score matching (PSM) estimation methods are employed to empirically substantiate the influence of farmland ownership confirmation. The verification results show that land right confirmation tends to motivate farmers to engage in agricultural management, and encourages female and older laborers to be more involved in agricultural production compared to males and younger laborers. Furthermore, the paper explores the mechanism by introducing such indicators as investment in agricultural machinery, quality of cultivated land, non-agricultural income of farmers, and laborers’ insurance status. Through analysis and testing, this paper holds that land right confirmation has a dual impact on farmer management, and when the reverse effect is limited, farmers are prompted to adjust the contradiction through labor force allocation within the family.

“journalists are just employees”: Examining Journalistic Autonomy from an Audience Perspective

ABSTRACT Autonomy is a fundamental requirement for the professional practice of journalism. However, while its role in ensuring well-informed audiences is widely acknowledged, the way in which audiences make sense of journalists’ autonomy remains unexplored. Similarly, the understanding of how audience perceptions of journalists’ autonomy, their attributed professionalism and authority, and the resulting impact on journalism practice remains incomplete. To address these gaps, this study conducts a qualitative analysis involving semi-structured interviews with 64 news users in Chile. Results show that journalists’ autonomy, from audiences’ view, is limited by labor forces and organizational influences. Journalists’ working conditions are perceived to be connected to high levels of editorial control, yielding a deficiency of autonomy that relegates journalists to a subservient role, compromising their professionalism, undermining their authority, and eroding the quality of the information they provide. Also, findings show that autonomy assumes a prominent role as a distinct form of authority when journalists diverge from conventional news norms, establishing a closer connection with their audience. Furthermore, independent journalists frequently garner recognition for their autonomy and credibility, attributed to their detachment from specific media outlets. The article delves into the implications of these findings for journalism studies and practice.

The hidden burden of atopic dermatitis in central and Eastern European countries

ABSTRACT Background Atopic dermatitis (AD) imposes a hidden burden through its negative effects on quality of life and productivity. We aim to estimate this hidden burden in adults and adolescents in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. Methods We created a burden of disease model to quantify AD’s hidden burden. Humanistic burden was calculated by estimating the monetary value of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost, using prevalence data from the Global Burden of Disease study and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita for each country. Indirect economic burden was estimated based on productivity loss from absenteeism and presenteeism, adjusted for labor force participation and unemployment rates. Total hidden burden was determined by combining productivity losses and QALYs lost. Results QALY loss due to AD ranged from 1,832 to 58,596 annually in CEE countries, equating to 38 million to approximately 1 billion Euros per country. Productivity losses ranged from 3.6 to 148.9 million Euros annually. The total hidden burden of AD represents 0.11% to 0.43% of the GDP. Conclusions Our estimates reflect significant differences in population size, prevalence, and economic strength among CEE countries. Adjusting findings to country-specific GDP provided insights into AD’s true hidden burden, offering valuable information for decision-making.