Share Of Employment Research Articles

Labor market impacts of eco-development initiatives in protected areas

Eco-development seeks to balance economic development with biodiversity conservation, enhancing the effectiveness of protected area management. This paper examines the labor market impacts of eco-development initiatives implemented in the protected areas of the Western Ghats, India, a significant biodiversity hotspot facing intense socio-economic pressures. Our findings show that eco-development has substantially altered labor market outcomes in villages within and surrounding protected areas, resulting in a higher share of non-farm employment. This shift is marked by a reduction in year-round work and an increase in seasonal employment. These effects appear to stem from the specific types of jobs created by eco-development and the changes in land use patterns it promotes, such as a higher proportion of forested land and increased reliance on rainfed agriculture over irrigated farming. Descriptive evidence also suggests that, despite improvements in literacy, the affected villages experience lower consumption levels and higher poverty rates.

Premature deindustrialization: A cautionary note

This paper presents a simple model of structural change in an isolated economy. As the economy industrialises the employment share of manufacturing increases. It eventually peaks and thereafter decreases. Simulations with this model indicate that faster growth in manufacturing productivity implies a lower and earlier peak in this sector’s employment share. The model is extended to include a late industrialiser that acquires technology from a more advanced leader. No matter when it occurs, the decline of manufacturing in this model is never premature. It is the outcome of technical dynamism in the manufacturing sector. The model can be extended to include external trade. Manufacturing then becomes vulnerable to the Dutch disease; whereby locally produced manufactures are replaced by imports. Such effects may occur at any stage of development. The theoretical discussion is followed by a brief examination of the South American experience that illustrates the effects of the Dutch disease. The paper concludes by examining the share of manufacturing in constant price GDP. On balance, the evidence supports Rodrik’s (2016) claim that this share is now on the decline in the advanced economies.

The impact of digitization in manufacturing on female employment and gender wage gap

This paper comprehensively examines the impact of digitization in manufacturing on female employment and the gender wage gap, utilizing data from Chinese manufacturing enterprises. The findings indicate that digitization creates more employment opportunities for female workers, increases their employment share, and narrows the gender wage gap. Notably, the increase in female employment due to digitization is more pronounced in private enterprises, as well as in the eastern and central regions, particularly within low-tech industries. Similarly, the effect of digitization on reducing the gender wage gap is most significant in private enterprises, eastern regions, and low-tech sectors. The mechanism underlying these changes suggests that manufacturing digitization enhances female employment through increased output and productivity, thereby contributing to a reduction in the gender wage gap. This study holds significant value for advancing digitization and promoting gender equality in the labor market.

How do ex ante review systems improve firms' labor income shares: Empirical evidence from the fair competition review system

Enhancing the proportion of labor income is essential for reducing income disparity and attaining widespread prosperity. This study utilizes the difference-in-differences (DID) approach to examine the relationship, using data from A-share listed corporations from 2011 to 2022. The discovery demonstrates that implementing the Fair Competition Review System can significantly enhance the labor income shares for executives and ordinary employees within enterprises. Nevertheless, the Fair Competition Review System has a more significant impact on the pay share of ordinary employees compared to executives. Additionally, the favorable effects are attained by increasing profits and reducing financing expenses. Furthermore, the firm's ownership structure and the executives' shareholding have diverse mediation impacts. This paper enhances the current body of research on the factors influencing the proportion of income corporate employees receive. It also provides novel perspectives on examining the governance systems that can enhance their income share.

The Role of Gender in Innovation: Micro Evidence from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia

ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between the representation of women at various hierarchical levels and innovation using firm-level data from Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The findings suggest a positive association between the presence of at least one woman among the owners and a firm’s probability of introducing a new product. Additionally, supporting evidence is found for the impact of having a woman top manager on product innovation. The evidence regarding the role of gender on process innovation is restricted to specific country groups. Increasing the share of women employees positively affects both product and process innovation.

The geography of European financial centers: 1993–2020

This paper examines the dynamics of employment in the financial sector in the European Union and the United Kingdom since the early 1990s. Using the EU Labor Force Survey at the national (NUTS0), regional (NUTS1), and subregional (NUTS2) levels, we document several stylized facts about the evolution of financial centers. Despite the global financial and sovereign debt crises, the total number of workers in the financial sector has increased from less than 5 million in 1993 to more than 6.5 million in 2020. At the same time, however, the share of employees in the financial sector has decreased from 3.5% to 2.8%. We find large regional differences in the degree of financial specialization, with Luxembourg at the top end (11% of their total workforce), followed by Ireland and the United Kingdom (4%), then France, Germany or Italy (around 3%). We also explore the dynamics of concentration. The main conclusion is that the degree of concentration depends on the scale of measurement employed. We show a contrasting concentration trend: centripetal at the national level and centrifugal at lower levels (regional or sub-regional). Furthermore, newer financial centers showed faster growth. JEL codes: E44, G2, R1

The Netherlands’ Minimum Wage 1969–2022: Can We Learn from Decline?

Abstract This paper evaluates the evolution of the Dutch minimum wage since its introduction in 1969 and discusses this as an intriguing case suggesting that a deeper, economic analysis of firm and employee behaviours is required for minimum-wage analysis in general. The real level of the minimum wage has fallen tremendously after 1979, all the way back nowadays to the level of the early 1970s, due to the system of uprating and to government interventions. The minimum-wage employment share shows an even stronger decline after 1979, but, surprisingly, the share below the unchanged real minimum wage of 1979 and in bands above this has remained largely unchanged. Intriguingly, firms have continued paying the same. Composition shifts in minimum-wage employment are significant, towards larger enterprise on the demand side and towards part-time employees on the supply side. Nationally and internationally, virtually all available minimum-wage analyses of employment effects focus on rises of the minimum wage and ignore drops. However, OECD data show that declines are surprisingly frequent, making them perfectly normal economic occurrences that firms will account for. I argue that declines deserve examination in their own right, certainly also from a monopsonistic perspective. Plausibly, declines incite different responses from increases, and their analysis will require the examination of heterogeneous behaviour of both firms and employees. Such analysis will reinforce the economics of minimum-wage analysis as advocated by David Neumark and its integration in labour economics as advocated by David Card.

Institutional change and ecological structural change

The paper presents a model discussing the political economy dimension of the green transition. There are brown sectors whose share in value-added and employment should contract and green sectors whose share should increase. Green technological changes require more skilled workers, potentially exacerbating inequalities between them and unskilled workers. Trade unions advocate for a “Just Transition”, ensuring income protection and creating new “green jobs”. However, the green restructuring of the economy demands highly subsidized investments in the short run. A political economy problem arises: how to regulate brown capitalists, support green capitalists, and prevent unskilled workers from joining forces with brown capitalists to block the green transition. The solution can be positive feedback between green technical change, non-price competitiveness, and employment. The BOPCG model allows for highlighting the role of catching up in green technologies in non-price competitiveness and endogenous institutional change to give rise to a growth path consistent with the idea of a “just green transition”.

Multidimensional heterogeneity and matching in a frictional labor market — An application to polarization

This paper examines the role that changes in production technology, namely computerization, have played on labor market inequality in the US from the late 1980s to the 2010s. It also demonstrates that such technological change is consistent with the timing of labor market polarization in the US, including the end of the decline in 50/10 wage percentile ratio and the slowdown of employment growth in high-wage jobs from the 2000s. The paper does so using a model with two key ingredients: 1) directed search and 2) two-sided multidimensional heterogeneity. Calibration results show that the complementarity between a workers’ cognitive skills and the cognitive task intensity of jobs increased while that between manual skill and tasks did not. The full model can fully account for the rise and fall of the 90/50 and 50/10 wage percentile ratios respectively. It also generates 72.6 percent of the rise in employment share of high-paying jobs relative to middling jobs and 69 percent of the fall in employment share of middling jobs relative to low-paying jobs. The paper suggests that the end of the decline in the 50/10 wage ratio may be due to rank-switching between workers across the wage distribution from the 2000s, while the slowdown of employment growth in high-wage jobs may result from the trade-off between the returns to applying for high-wage jobs and the likelihood of being hired.

Family migration and structural transformation

AbstractThis paper integrates the migration decisions of married couples into a multi‐sector spatial model, investigating their impact on structural transformation, productivity and gender wage gap. Focusing on China, a country characterized by a higher share of agricultural employment and a lower share in services compared with countries with similar income, we uncover a significant gender gap in migration costs among rural married couples. Furthermore, while migration costs have decreased for all demographic groups from 2000 to 2010, the decline was least pronounced for married couples when both partners left agriculture. We find that reducing migration costs for married couples who migrate together would lead to a decline in agricultural employment, a rise in service sector employment, an increase in aggregate productivity and a narrowing of the gender wage gap. Eliminating the gender differences in migration costs would also increase service sector employment and reduce the gender wage gap.

Challenges in Chinese Path to Modernization of Agriculture and Rural Areas: A Comparison With the U.S.

This study establishes, for the first time, an index system for comparing agricultural and rural modernization in China and the United States, which aims to identify key challenges in China’s agricultural and rural development by contrasting indicators from both countries. Overall, China’s current level of agriculture and rural modernization is akin to that of the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, with an approximate time lag of 60 years. China exhibits the largest gap with the U.S. in agricultural modernization and the smallest gap in rural modernization. Three key indicators in China that require improvement compared to the United States are the disposable income of rural residents, the population size supported by each agricultural laborer, and the share of agricultural employment. This research lays down a theoretical foundation and practical strategies for advancing the Chinese path to agriculture and modernization in rural areas.

The role of creative industries in the regional economy

Aim. To analyze the role of creative industries in regional economic development with a focus on St. Petersburg. Objectives. To study theoretical approaches to the study of creative industries; to examine the existing concepts of creative industries; to analyze various methods of assessing creative industries and their impact on the regions; to evaluate the contribution of creative industries to the economy of St. Petersburg, to study their dynamics and impact on the socio-economic development of the city.Methods. The authors used general scientific research methods such as deduction, analysis, synthesis and logical analysis. Classical research methods were applied to collect and process data on creative industries.Results. The study determined the role of creative industries in the socio-economic development of regions. The understanding of further prospects of creative industries was formed. The fac[1]tors influencing the economic growth of the region were analyzed. The degree of development of creative industries in St. Petersburg is assessed and their contribution to the structure of gross regional product (GRP) of the region due to the available technical, logistical, digital, cultural and leisure infrastructure is presented. It is concluded that it is the synergetic development of creative industries and related services sector (wholesale and retail trade, catering, tourism, logistics) that can lead to an increase in the quality of life of the population in a particular region, which is the stated goal of socio-economic development of the Russian Federation (RF). Conclusions. Creative industries play a significant role in the regional economy, which is due to their ability to generate creative product and stimulate economic activity. The results of the study showed that the key indicators for assessing the contribution of creative industries are the volume of creative product in the regional GRP, the share of employment in creative sectors and the proportion of creative organizations from the total number of enterprises in the region. The research contributes to the understanding of the mechanisms of creative industries’ influence on the socio-economic condition of a large Russian city, and provides a basis for the development of strategies to support and develop them

The Rise of Pass-Throughs: an Empirical Investigation

Abstract Almost half of all private employment in the United States is within businesses that do not pay corporate income tax. Instead, business income passes through to the owners’ individual income taxes. This pass-through share of employment has more than tripled since the early 1980s. Using comprehensive, confidential administrative data, this paper highlights five core findings underlying this growth: (1) the rise in pass-throughs is pervasive across industries and states; (2) the pass-through share converges unconditionally across both; (3) entrants’ organisational choices drive 60% of the rise; (4) shifts in firm and organisational dynamics following the 1986 Tax Reform Act show continued effects through the 2000s; (5) organisational forms exhibit high persistence with little life-cycle variation. Our study implies that tax or regulatory policy changes might take decades to manifest fully.

Comparative Analysis of the Quality of Working Life in Ukraine and in EU Countries

The quality of working life is an influential factor in determining the direction of labor movement between countries and between corporations within a country. Countries that offer the best living conditions, financial state support, social integration programs, decent working conditions and wages have become the center of attraction for Ukrainian refugees after the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of the quality of working life in Ukraine and the European Union to assess the possibilities of returning refugees to Ukraine and attracting new labor from European countries during its recovery and implementation of steps towards sustainable development. A comparative analysis of key characteristics of the quality of working life shows that Ukraine is significantly inferior to EU countries. Macroeconomic conditions, employment rate and share of informal employment, income and wages, length of working week and annual guaranteed leave are key groups of indicators that require attention and direct or indirect influence to adjust them to the EU average. The article identifies the priority tasks for bridging the gap between the quality of working life in Ukraine and European countries, in particular by eliminating structural imbalances in the labor market.

Industrialization and Democracy

abstract: This article provides a new theory about the relationship between economic development and democracy. The author argues that a larger share of employment in manufacturing—that is, a higher level of industrialization—makes mass mobilization both more likely to occur and more costly to suppress. This in turn increases the power of the masses vis-à-vis autocratic elites, making democracy more likely. Novel manufacturing employment data for 145 countries over 170 years (1845–2015) suggest that industrialization is strongly correlated with democracy, even after accounting for income, equality, education, and urbanization. Unlike with many other socioeconomic determinants, the effect of industrialization is robust to country and time fixed effects, occurs on both transitions to and consolidations of democracy, is present in both the short and long run, and is equally large after 1945. Results from a novel instrument and several sensitivity analyses suggest that the correlation is unlikely to be spurious.

Revisiting the Creative and Cultural Industries in Türkiye

This study aims to investigate the developing framework of creative and cultural industries (CCI), focusing on Türkiye from 2008 to 2022 by adopting the widely accepted DCMS classification and introducing a Türkiye-specific classification to provide insights on the dynamics of creative and cultural industries over the last 5-10 years. The study differs by covering a broad period and adopting a Turkey-specific classification, applying a commonly held approach into the industry's dynamics. In this way, it also aims to provide a comparison with the results in the international literature. The methodology involves a descriptive analysis of employment and workplace data within CCIs, employing location quotient (LQ) for provincial specializations and clusters. According to the results, the CCI employment (% of total employment) is 3.66 % in 2022 and close to the EU level. Also, the growth rate of CCI employment is much higher than total employment for the same year. On the other hand, the results of the LQ analysis re-emphasize the creative hub characteristics of Istanbul and Ankara, while Kocaeli has also specialized in CCI as of 2018. Izmir still maintains its potential specialization characteristic. Finally, the share of CCI employment by occupation (%) shows the impact of digitalization and innovation on non-traditional CCI sectors.

Informality and aggregate productivity: The case of Mexico

This paper develops and estimates a quantitative model to analyze the aggregate productivity consequences of informality in Mexico. While informality is typically viewed as prevailing solely among small firms, we use rich census data to document a high and rising share of large informal firms between 1998 and 2013. The model is quantified using the observed size and productivity distributions of both informal and formal firms. We use the model to assess the role of changes in labor market regulations, entry costs and enforcement in contributing to the rise in informality and decline in TFP in Mexico from 1998 to 2013. We find that the factors most important for the decline in aggregate productivity were not important drivers of the increase in informality, and conversely, the factors most important for the increase in informality had little impact on aggregate productivity. Regulatory changes during the 2000s contributed to over a third of the observed rise in the informal employment share, but with small aggregate productivity consequences. In contrast, rising entry costs account for a third of the decline in TFP from 1998 to 2013, but had little impact on informality.

Impact of institutions of higher learning on population and employment: a panel study for Germany

ABSTRACT We analyse the impact of newly established institutions of higher learning on employment by industry group and on population by age group. The study is conducted on German panel data on the county level from 2002 to 2018. During this time, numerous new institutions of higher learning were established in counties thus far not serviced. To account for the likely non-randomness of our treatment variable, the relatively small number of counties that switch from zero to at least one institution of higher learning, and the staggered nature of the individual county treatments, we utilize the newly devised generalized synthetic control method. We find that the share of manufacturing and financial services in employment rises a few years after a treatment, while the share of public sector employment declines. The level and share of young adults in the age group 18 to 35 tends to increase, in particular for rural counties. However, there is no evidence of a sustained rise in overall population or employment for counties.

Exploring the Nexus between Employment and Economic Contribution: A Study of the Travel and Tourism Industry in the Context of COVID-19

The travel and tourism industry plays a crucial role in economies around the world. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry has been very pronounced. This paper aims to study the relationship between the country’s T&T industry Share of Employment (TTEMPL) and the country’s T&T industry Share of Gross Domestic Product (TTGDP). This study is specific because we do not focus on the development of indicators over time; instead, we propose the models for 117 countries using the quantile regression (QR) while comparing models in the context of COVID-19 (between 2019 and 2021). The results of the QR determined that individual percentiles of the TTGDP are more affected by the TTEMPL than other percentiles of the TTGDP, which is then reflected in the changes in regression coefficients. In addition, we compare analyzed indicators among countries according to region and income group. The study reveals that the tourism downturn caused by COVID-19 has adverse effects on the TTEMPL and the TTGDP. In addition, the results show that the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industry appears to be varied among countries, regions, and income groups.

The intervention of local public authorities and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania: a subnational analysis.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a strong territorial dimension, with a highly asymmetric impact among Romanian counties, depending on pre-existing vulnerabilities, regions' economic structure, exposure to global value chains, specialization, and overall ability to shift a large share of employees to remote working. The aim of this paper is to assess the role of Romanian local authorities during this unprecedented global medical emergency by capturing the changes of public spending at the local level between 2010 and 2021 and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify clusters of Romanian counties that shared similar characteristics in this period, using a panel data quantitative model and hierarchical cluster analysis. Our empirical analysis shows that between 2010-2021, the impact of social assistance expenditures was higher than public investment (capital spending and EU funds) on the GDP per capita at county level. Additionally, based on various macroeconomic and structural indicators (health, labour market performance, economic development, entrepreneurship, and both local public revenues and several types of expenditures), we determined seven clusters of counties. The research contributes to the discussion regarding the increase of economic resilience but also to the evidence-based public policies implementation at local level.