Klaus F. Zimmermann

A new GLO Discussion Paper shows that women appear to be more sensitive to the effect of the pandemic, and report much higher levels of anxiety and depression than males.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 977, 2021

The Effect of Repeated Lockdowns during the Covid-19 Pandemic on UK Mental Health Outcomes – Download PDF
by Lindley, Joanne & Rienzo, Cinzia

GLO Fellow Cinzia Rienzo

Author Abstract: This paper assesses the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown measures on the mental health of individuals in the UK, starting from the early restrictions in April 2020, and covering three subsequent lockdowns, up until March 2021. It also considers three aspects of mental health; that is ‘anxiety and depression’, ‘social dysfunction’, and ‘loss of confidence’, in order to identify which specific dimensions of respondents’ psychology have been adversely affected. Our findings show that women appear to be more sensitive to the effect of the pandemic, and report much higher levels of anxiety and depression than males; whilst social dysfunction appears to be a more permanent fixture. Initially, social dysfunction was higher for women and younger workers, but it remained high for women and the over 55s. Consequently, our evidence supports targeted policies aimed at reducing social isolation for women and older workers. Finally, we show that financial difficulties had a growing impact on all mental health outcomes, as the pandemic progressed.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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A new GLO Discussion Paper finds small but statistically significant detrimental effects on labor market outcomes of Vietnam veterans residing in unauthorized Chinese enclaves in 1990.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 974, 2021

Trade Networks, Heroin Markets, and the Labor Market Outcomes of Vietnam Veterans – Download PDF
by Lonsky, Jakub & Ruiz, Isabel & Vargas-Silva, Carlos

GLO Fellows Jakub Lonsky, Isabel Ruiz & Carlos Vargas-Silva

Author Abstract: The role of ethnic immigrant networks in facilitating international trade is a well-established phenomenon in the literature. However, it is less clear whether this relationship extends to illegal trade and unauthorized immigrants. In this paper, we tackle this question by focusing on the case of the heroin trade and unauthorized Chinese immigrants in the early 1990s United States. Between mid-1980s and mid-1990s, Southeast Asia became the dominant source of heroin in the US. Heroin from this region was trafficked into the US by Chinese organized criminals, whose presence across the country can be approximated by the location of unauthorized Chinese immigrants. Instrumenting for the unauthorized Chinese immigrant enclaves in 1990 with their 1900 counterpart, we first show that Chinese presence in a community led to a sizeable increase in local opiates-related arrests, a proxy for local heroin markets. This effect is driven by arrests for sale/manufacturing of the drugs. Next, we examine the consequences of Chinese-trafficked heroin by looking at its impact on US Vietnam-era veterans – a group particularly vulnerable to heroin addiction in the early 1990s. Using a triple-difference estimation, we find mostly small but statistically significant detrimental effects on labor market outcomes of Vietnam veterans residing in unauthorized Chinese enclaves in 1990.

Featured image: Tim Cooper on Unsplash

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

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A new GLO Discussion Paper finds for Turkey that increasing the minimum wage reduces the employment probability of young males first but school enrollment increases over time and absorbs the negative employment effect.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 973, 2021

The impact of age-specific minimum wages on youth employment and education: A regression discontinuity analysis – Download PDF
by Dayioglu, Meltem & Kucukbayrak, Muserref & Tumen, Semih

GLO Fellow Semih Tumen

Author Abstract: We exploit an age-specific minimum wage rule – which sets a lower minimum wage for workers of age 15 than the adult minimum wage paid to workers of age 16 and above – and its abolition to estimate the causal effect of a minimum wage increase on youth employment and education in Turkey. Using a regression discontinuity design in tandem with a difference-in-discontinuities analysis, we find that increasing the minimum wage reduces the employment probability of young males by 2.5-3.1 percentage points. We also document that, initially, the minimum wage increase does not lead to a major change in high school enrollment, while the likelihood of transitioning into “neither in employment nor in education and training” (NEET) category notably increases. However, in the medium term, the NEET effect is transitory; school enrollment increases over time and absorbs the negative employment effect. We argue that policy effects have mostly been driven by demand-side forces rather than supply side.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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A new GLO Discussion Paper finds that hiring discrimination against candidates with disabilities, older candidates, and less physically attractive candidates is at least equally severe as the unequal treatment of candidates with salient racial or ethnic characteristics.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 972, 2021

The state of hiring discrimination: A meta-analysis of (almost) all recent correspondence experiments – Download PDF
by Lippens, Louis & Vermeiren, Siel & Baert, Stijn

GLO Fellow Stijn Baert

Author Abstract: Notwithstanding the improved integration of various minority groups in the workforce, unequal treatment in hiring still hinders many individuals’ access to the labour market. To tackle this inaccessibility, it is essential to know which and to what extent minority groups face hiring discrimination. Past meta-studies have charted parts of the discrimination literature but permit only limited comparisons across minority groups. This meta-analysis synthesises a quasi-exhaustive register of correspondence experiments on hiring discrimination published between 2005 and 2020. Using a random-effects model, we computed pooled discrimination ratios concerning a total of ten discrimination grounds upon which unequal treatment in hiring is forbidden under United States federal or state law. First, we find that hiring discrimination against candidates with disabilities, older candidates, and less physically attractive candidates is at least equally severe as the unequal treatment of candidates with salient racial or ethnic characteristics. Remarkably, hiring discrimination against older applicants is even higher in Europe than in the United States. Furthermore, unequal treatment in hiring based on sexual orientation seems to be prompted mainly by signalling activism through an affiliation with an LGB+ rights organisation rather than same-sex orientation in itself. Last, hiring discrimination remains pervasive. Aside from a decrease in hiring discrimination based on race and national origin in Europe, we find no structural evidence of temporal changes in hiring discrimination based on the various other grounds within the scope of this review.

Featured image: Clem Onojeghuo on unsplash

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

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A new GLO Discussion Paper finds that a small number of occupations are responsible for a large share of registrations.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 971, 2021

Which Occupations Do Jobseekers and Firms Look For? Evidence from Three Public Employment Services – Download PDF
by Martins, Pedro S.

GLO Fellow Pedro Martins

Author Abstract: This study proposes and applies a new methodology to analyse firms’ and workers’ occupational preferences. We use microdata covering all 2014-2018 vacancy and jobseeker registrations from the Public Employment Services of Belgium, Morocco, and South Korea. We find that a small number of occupations are responsible for a large share of registrations and may thus deserve particular attention. We also find considerable stability in occupation preferences (especially by jobseekers) but that the correlation between firms’ and workers’ preferences weakens over time. Finally, we find different responsiveness levels of jobseeker preferences to vacancy gaps. However, young jobseekers do not appear to respond more quickly to such gaps.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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A new GLO Discussion Paper reviews the consequences of telework for households.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 970, 2021

Telework and Time Use – Download PDF
by Pabilonia, Sabrina Wulff & Vernon, Victoria

GLO Fellows Sabrina Pabilonia & Victoria Vernon

Author Abstract: This chapter reviews the evidence on the relationship between telework and households’ time allocation, drawing heavily on the empirical evidence from time diary data, and discusses the implications of telework for workers’ productivity, wages, labor force participation, and well-being as well as its impacts on traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. Telework results in significant time savings for workers, as they reduce time on commuting and grooming activities by over one hour on telework days. This time is reallocated to household and leisure activities, but differentially for men and women. Men spend most of their time windfall on leisure activities; however, fathers also increase time on primary child care. Women, on the other hand, increase their household production. Children and parents benefit because they spend more time together; however, average full-time workers spend more time alone when they telework, which leads to an increase in loneliness for some. There is also evidence that telework can increase productivity for some workers and those workers may consequently earn higher wages, except for mothers who are willing to accept lower pay for the option to work from home. Finally, the reduction in commuting due to telework leads to reduced congestion during peak travel times, especially in the morning hours.

Featured image: Coherent-Team-on-Unsplash

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

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A new GLO Discussion Paper assess the effects of changes in the labor markets and regulatory institutions pertaining to employment relations.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 969, 2021

Labor-management Relations in Emerging Economies and Developing Countries – Download PDF
by Horwitz, Frank M. & Cooke, Fang Lee

GLO Fellow Fang Lee Cooke

Author Abstract: Adopting a largely institutional theoretical perspective, this chapter focuses on emerging and developing economies in Africa and Asia, including labor-management relations in South Africa and other jurisdictions in both Africa and Asia. The aim is to assess the effects of changes in the labor markets and regulatory institutions pertaining to employment relations. Whilst other theoretical lenses such as socio-cultural and cross-cultural management and postcolonial approaches are important, this chapter critically evaluates the institutional effects relating to changes in the nature of work and the effects of external factors on market and employment relations institutions. Providing a definitional overview, this chapter discusses empirical evidence on determinants and outcomes of institutions. Though referring to other regions such as Latin America, in order to narrow the scope of analysis, the analysis focuses on two major emerging and developing economic regions, namely Asia and Africa. It includes a discussion of the Africa-Asia nexus or Sino-Africa interface in labor-management relations. Labor market institutions, their relative strengths and weaknesses, trade unions and collective bargaining, inequality and informalization of employment practices, are discussed.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

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A new GLO Discussion Paper provides a complete picture of nonmandatory participatory work practices.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 968, 2021

Complementarity in Employee Participation Systems – Download PDF
by Burdin, Gabriel & Kato, Takao

GLO Fellow Gabriel Burdin

Author Abstract: This chapter describes the nature, scope and effects of various non-mandated participatory work practices in Japan, the U.S. and Europe through the lens of organizational complementarity theory. Specifically, rather than being treated in isolation, each work practice is considered an element of HIWS (High Involvement Work System), an employment system comprised of clusters of complementary work practices. In so doing, the chapter provides a complete picture of nonmandatory participatory work practices. Furthermore, by applying the common framework of viewing participatory work practices as complementary elements of HIWS to seemingly disparate forms of work practices in different parts of the world, the chapter sheds light on how participatory work practices play out in diverse institutional, cultural and regulatory environments.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

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A new GLO Discussion Paper decomposes the redistributive effects into average rate, progressivity, and reranking components.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 967, 2021

Redistributive effect and the progressivity of taxes and benefits: evidence for the UK, 1977-2018 – Download PDF
by Hérault, Nicolas & Jenkins, Stephen P.

GLO Fellow Nicolas Herault

Author Abstract: We apply the Kakwani approach to decomposing redistributive effect into average rate, progressivity, and reranking components using yearly UK data covering 1977-2018. We examine cash and in-kind benefits, and direct and indirect taxes. In addition, we highlight an empirical implementation issue – the definition of the reference (‘pre-fisc’) distribution. Drawing on an innovative counterfactual approach, our empirical analysis shows that trends in the redistributive effect of cash benefits are largely associated with cyclical changes in average benefit rates. In contrast, trends in the redistributive effects of direct and indirect taxes are mostly associated with changes in progressivity. For in-kind benefits, changes in the average benefit rate and progressivity each played the major roles at different times.

Featured image: The-new-york-public-library-on-unsplash

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers). Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

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