bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Process of Job Creation and Job Destruction in the Italian Economy
Authors: Contini Bruno , Revelli Riccardo
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: Longitudinal analysis of labour flows provides a number of important indications on the characteristics of job creation and job destruction in the Italian economy, and on the role played by small firms in this process. The main indications may be summarized as follows:

1)the ratio of total separations to total work‐force is remarkably high, and almost completely independent of the business cycle: one out of four workers leaves his/her position each year in the economy at large. In the small firms sector alone turnover is much higher, with total separations almost approaching 50|X% of employment;

2)as the economy takes a downturn, it is mainly the number of jobs created through expansion of existing firms that follows this cycle, while separations remain roughly constant;

3)the proportion of jobs created via the establishment of new firms is modest compared to that attributable to the expansion of existing plants (16.0‐14.491)). Likewise, the proportion of job losses due to closures visi vis employment shedding by contracting firms, is of the same order of magnitude;

4)job creation and destruction is very high in the small firm sector. Employment in firms of dimension (0‐19) is 25.8 % of total employment at the beginning of the observation period (1978) and reaches 28% at its end (1984). Yet the proportion of job creation attributable to small firms is approximately 60% of the new positions due to expansion of existing firms in manufacturing, and 68% in the services. The fraction of jobs destroyed by small firms is somewhat lower: about 46% in manufacturing and 59% in the services;

5)he small firms contribution to net job creation appears even more remarkable both in the aggregate, as well as within all sectors of economic activity and geographical areas.

In 1978‐80 net employment change in manufacturing is 106,000 units per year; correspondingly net job creation by firms (0‐19) is alone 222,000. In the services the proportion between net employment change and the share of the small firms is 1:3.

In 1981‐83, while in manufacturing over 213,000 jobs are destroyed on average each year, net creation by small firms is still positive (+ 48,000); in the services the overall change is very small (+ 3,000), while the net contribution of small firms is + 53,000.
Facts and Theories of the Italian Labour Market (1970‐1985): A Time Series Analysis of Wages, Employment and Prices
Authors: Boca Daniela Del
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: ln this paper an attempt is made to determine whether observed patterns of intertemporal variability in a number of Italian labour market characteristics are consistent with the predictions forthcoming from three prominent models of aggregate labour market behaviour. The behavioral models included in the analysis are: a) intertemporal substitution labour supply, b) staggered wage contracts, and c) intertemporal labour demand with adjustment costs. The empirical results provide relatively more support for the validity of the adjustment cost model.
Insolvency Proceedings and Workers’Rights: the Italian Case
Authors: Biagi Marco
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: In this paper the author analyses different types of insolvency proceedings in the context of the Italian legal system, focusing on the possible effects of bankruptcy law on employment relationships. The concept of‘privileged workers’claims is discussed, taking into account their rank of preference as stated by statutory law and according to the interpretations offered by jurisprudence.

One section is expressly devoted to the recent legislation providing a Guarantee Fund for severance allowance claims in case of insolvency, but also in the event of mere nonpayment by the employer. After having covered the concept of 'super‐privileged claims', the paper discusses more widely possible forms of protecting workers in a situation of company crisis and links between social legislation on the one hand, and bankruptcy law on the other.

Finally, the author emphasizes the more effective protection now offered by the Italian legal system to workers’claims, although the trade unions have considerable difficulty in keeping the workforce united when insolvency proceedings are opened.
Underemployment Benefit Effects on Employment and Income Distribution: What We Should Learn from the System of the Cassa Integrazione Guadagni
Authors: Schioppa Fiorella Padoa
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: Two aspects distinguish the Cassa Integrazione Guadagni (CIG) from most other European under or unemployment public benefit schemes: an institutionally fixed replacement ratio and a rotation principle imposing a labour‐sharing regime. Within a labour‐sharing approach, the comparison between the CIG unitary subsidy proportioned to the corresponding wage rate and the European standard fixed in nominal terms, shows that, ceteris paribus, employment is lower and profits are higher in the former system. Moreover, given the indexation provided by CIG, aggregate supply is vertical in this system while it is positively sloped in the other. Consequently, employment, real profits and real wages are constant in the former case, while they are positively correlated to the good quality of the states of nature in the latter. If the tax‐based financing of public benefits is not — as it is not in Italy — experience‐rated, the CIG regime induces moral hazard behaviours harmful to the State: it leads firms and unions to agree on relatively high wages, thus raising the value of both working and non‐working time. Without affecting the unions’average requests and the firms’profits, this attitude reduces employment and increases under or unemployment public subsidies.
Academic Salaries and Self‐Selection Processes. Some Theoretical Considerations Suggested by the Italian Experience
Authors: Chillemi Ottorino
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: Recent decisions of the Italian government have widened the salary differential between university researchers and professors. This article investigates whether or not it would be opportune to adopt such a policy. In particular it evaluates the problems that might arise in adopting a self‐selection wage policy, when workers’risk aversion and preferences on time profile of income or the accumulation of human capital are brought into play.
Longitudinal Analysis of Employment and Unemployment Based on Matched Rotation Samples
Authors: Mehran Farhad
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT:The purpose of this paper is to provide methodology to fit longitudinal data on employment and unemployment generated by the rotation sampling schemes of national labour force surveys. The proposed methodology, referred to as infinite‐lag Markov models, is a generalisation of autoregressive Markov models developed for application in stochastic reservoir theory (Pegram 1980, Raftery 1985). Infinite‐lag Markov chains have infinite memory and, therefore, can usefully serve to model labour supply behaviour taking into account, in principle, the complete past work experience of individuals, and not just the most recent past or the most recent spell.

After a brief review of the rotation sampling schemes of 20 national labour force surveys, the different types of longitudinal sequences that can be obtained from the rotation schemes are examined. A review of various models proposed in the literature for analysing longitudinal data on employment and unemployment, expressed under simplified assumptions and in discrete forms, set the stage for the formulation of the proposed infinite‐lag Markov model. The method is illustrated using matched longitudinal data derived from the US Current Population Survey.
Democracy and Trade Union Action: A Comparative Overview
Authors: Biagi Marco
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: In this paper the author covers the current Italian debate on union representativeness and democracy, i.e. relations between union leadership and the rank‐and‐file, focusing on democratic procedures adopted (or not) in the internal decision‐making process of the labour organisations. Experiments in the area of union self‐regulation (autoregolamentazione) are discussed in connection with the collective bargaining process and strike action, mainly in public and private essential services. The author critically compares these experiments with more innovative solutions adopted in Spain, France, U.K., U.S.A. and Japan. Special attention is given to the role played by secret ballots in increasing union responsiveness.
Wages and Unemployment in Italy, a Long Term Perspective
Authors: Zenezini Maurizio
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper traces a long‐term perspective of the relationship between wages and unemployment in the Italian economy from the end of the fifties to the mid‐eighties. During this period, the rate of unemployment exhibited three distinct time profiles. After a cyclical episode from around 1958 to the mid‐sixties, the unemployment rates changed very little for a decade, showing only mild fluctuations until 1975. Since then, unemployment has been increasing steadily, and in 1987 it exceeded 12|X% of the labour force. The aim of this paper is not to provide a new interpretation of facts, but rather to assess whether, and when, wage pressure has represented a significant factor in the evolution of unemployment. The main conclusion of the paper is that the considerable rise in unemployment observed since the mid‐70s is part of a long term evolution, and that in the long‐run wages are not exogenous. Though there have been periods of exogenous wage push temporarily affecting unemployment, the argument that the continuous rise in unemployment depends on inappropriate real wages has no empirical content.
The Determinants of Contract Strikes: A Microeconometric Analysis
Authors: Marchiori Paolo
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper explores the determinants of contract strikes using micro‐data referred to a regional economic system (the Veneto region). An effort is made to build up suitable variables to test the hypothesis that strikes are the outcome of an exchange with asymmetric information. The results obtained with a logit model validate the implications of this theory: strikes turn out more likely when a firm is in low state, the industry labour market is tight, and the union is unable to get information from management. Other significant findings are the dependence of strike action on the workforce composition, the industry and location in which the firm operates, its kind of property and productive processes, and the season in which the bargaining takes place.
The New Structural Challenge
Authors: OECD
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: There are intimate and lasting connections between technical innovation, economic development and social and institutional change. A good way to begin a study of the employment and social implications of these interrelationships is to consider which technical innovations and technologies are important by virtue of their economic and social consequences. This paper argues that some of the new technologies have had an impact on the production system ‐ and therefore their measurable macro‐economic impact can be significant — while others affect society directly without necessarily having a major impact on the economy. For different reasons, both types of technologies need to be considered. The paper develops a taxonomy of technical change which is used to rank the economic impacts of various emerging technologies. The focus is on the information technologies (IT), since they are found to be by far the most pervasive.
Measures of Industrial Protectionism: Relevance for Trade and Labour Policies
Authors: Scandizzo Pasquale Lucio
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: Protectionist policies are often supported by an ‘unholy‘ alliance of industrial lobbies and labour unions, under the assumption that trade barriers will favour higher profits, wage rates and employment. Even when one takes the narrow view of self‐interest in a single producing sector, however, things are not necessarily what they seem and protectionism may have more profound consequences than those expected by lobbyists and negotiators. The paper reviews the methodologies developed to measure the extent and the consequences of industrial protectionism in order to derive operational guidelines to evaluate alternative trade policies.
Regional Differentials in Unemployment Rates: The Economic Causes
Authors: Caroleo Floro E.
Published: June 2007

Abstract. Recent studies on the causes that bring about the increase in unemployment rates of the Mezzogiorno area and Italy are mainly based upon demographic and social causes. The aim of this study is to verify if they can be also influenced by economic factors. Through a dynamic model with partial adaptive hypothesis, some ways by which demand affects the differences of regional unemployment rates has been tested. In this respect it has been considered whether variations in economic activity can lead to different growth rates of regional production owing to the different industrial structures; whether the employers are influenced by local factors in varying the occupation when the production increases, and finally in which way the regional unemployment rate depends on the excess of desired, over effective, labour demand.

Data base are from 1959 to 1976, and the unemployment rate is referred only to unemployed workers that is the better proxy of the unemployment connected with the economic cycle. The results show a slight reactiveness to demand, both in industrial labour demand and supply in the Mezzogiorno.
An International Comparative Study on Job Mobility
Authors: van Ours Jan
Published: June 2007

Abstract. Job mobility refers to the movement of people between jobs with different employers. It is an important means of adjustment in the labour market because it facilitates structural changes in the economy. This paper presents the results of a comparative study on job mobility in 6 countries: France, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom and the USA.

Some of these countries use both labour force surveys and establishment surveys to gather information on job mobility, while other countries only use one of them. The paper uses information from both types of survey held in the seventies and the eighties and describes the developments and the structure of job mobility in the 6 countries. An empirical cross‐country analysis shows that job mobility is positively correlated with the growth of employment and negatively correlated with the unemployment rate. There appear to be hardly any structural differences in job mobility between the USA, Sweden, France and the UK. Job mobility in the Netherlands is structurally lower than in the other countries, while job mobility in Japan is structurally lower than in the Netherlands.
Labour Costs and Employment in the Service Economy
Authors: Giannelli Gianna C. , Esping‐Andersen Gosta
Published: June 2007

Abstract. In this paper we analyse the direct relationship between the cost of labour and employment in diverse service industries. In contrast to most existing studies, we assume that the tertiary sector is highly differentiated h terms of reactions to both supply and demand factors.

The study suggests that we must reasses the relevance of demand factors, but it also confirms that the real cost of labour is a crucial determinant of certain kinds of service employment. Country comparisons have made US sensitive to the fact that the relationship between employment and the cost of labour is far from being globally similar. Each country exhibits behaviour in line with the peculiarities of its labour market.
Unemployment and Search for Work: Exploratory Analyses of Labour Market Attachment using CPS‐Type Data
Authors: Rettore Enrico , Torelli Nicola , Trivellato Ugo
Published: June 2007

Abstract. This paper deals with measuring unemployment and labour market attachment in Italy, on the basis of CPS‐type survey data. It is shown that the size and rate of unemployment are highly sensitive to modest variations in the definition of unemployment. This motivates a different approach. Based on the answers to a set of questions on search for work, a cluster analysis is performed, which yields four well established groups. Comparing them with the official labour force classifications, two “grey areas” appear at the borders between employment, unemployment and inactivity, which are of some interest in interpreting labour market attachment.
Unemployment and the Composition of Labour Slack: An International Comparison
Authors: de Neubourg Chris
Published: June 2007

The present statistical apparatus allows us to construct a single indicator of the degree of non‐utilisation of labour resources that mitigates the shortcomings of the traditional unemployment rate. This paper defines a method to measure aggregate labour slack, and applies it to post‐1973 data for four countries: Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden and the U.S.A. The estimates take into account non‐utilised labour resources due to unemployment, to changes in the number of hours actually worked and to changes in registered labour force participation. Since changes in and the manipulation of working time schedules on the one hand, and of labour supply on the other, have become more frequent over the last few decades, it is highly relevant to investigate international and intertemporal differences in the non‐utilisation of labour resources by means of a ratio that accounts for these changes. Unemployment is ill‐suited for this purpose, and therefore a labour slack estimate is constructed, which takes working time developments and changes in labour force participation into consideration. The estimate is cyclically more sensitive and more internationally comparable than the traditional unemployment rate.
A Structural Approach to the European Labour Market
Authors: Tronti Leonello , Turatto Renzo
Published: June 2007

The structure of the European labour market is highly differentiated by geo‐graphical area. If the 1992 integration is likely to induce short‐medium term adjustment effects on employment, these will mostly affect regional labour markets. Negative adjustments will follow different distribution patterns, probably exacerbating current regional disequilibria. On the other hand, still little known are the geographical features of the European economic, social and production structures. Although many studies have recently concentrated on the analysis of local labour markets, few of them have addressed the issue of Community regions.

Through multivariate and cluster analyses of structural data on regional labour markets, the paper offers a confirmation of the explanatory power of local market analysis, as applied to the European area. The structural features of each elementary area are captured by three factors only that allow the construction of a coherent classification of EEC regions in four major clusters. This classification is used to identify the “weak areas” that, after a reconsideration in unified terms of European cooperation policies, should be the object of new development interventions.
Labour Economics: History and Theory
Authors: Brunetta Renato
Published: June 2007

Abstract. In recent years, labour economics has been the area of study of most interest to economists, both from the theoretical and practical perspectives. The new field of labour microeconomics and the resultant new approaches that have arisen are a fundamental part of what has recently been called ‘microeconomic foundations’. Despite the newness of this topic, recent developments are in fact the result of phenomena recognized throughout the history of economic thought.

This paper begins by analyzing the historical and theoretical origins of labour economics, and provides an overview of labour economics theory during the 1960s. 1970s and 1980s. It goes on to examine the relation between the labour market and technological innovation, and labour policy measures at the microeconomic and macroeconomic levels. Finally, it underscores the need for a theoretical construct that sets Keynesian and neoclassical explanations of unemployment in the same framework as demographic, social, institutional, time and economic factors.
Employment Protection and Labour Market Segmentation: the Fiftieth Anniversary of the “Cassa Integrazione Guadagni”
Authors: Tronti Leonello
Published: June 2007

Abstract. This paper analyzes the evolution of the Cassa integrazione guadagni (CIG), according to 7 different theoretical models, which offer a classification for the different cases of application that have developed since its introduction, as well as for the many policy targets pursued by the Public Authorities.

Then an assessment of the economic role of CIG is attempted, divided into three separate sections. The first is aimed at evaluating the economic long‐term effect on macro performance, where the crucial balance is between a “crowding‐out effect” on private investment and a “profit‐maintenance effect” by lowering the effective wage rate. The second section approaches the employment consequences of the CIG by examining a second crucial balance: that between the protection granted to the employed and the obstacles raised for the employment of the non‐employed (above all, freezing workers' turnover). This issue is tackled too in terms of the insider‐outsider theory, showing the possible relevance of CIG in segmenting the labour market and keeping the wage rate dynamics.

Finally the paper briefly examines the profound revision of the CIG recently approved by the Italian Parliament, aimed at avoiding excessive costs while enhancing labour mobility.
Is the Employment Function Structurally Unstable? An Empirical Test: Italian Manufacturing Industry, 1970–1984
Authors: Fachin Stefano
Published: June 2007

Abstract.This paper tests the hypothesis that the high variability of the real input prices (especially real wage) coefficients in the empirical employment equations reflects structural characteristics of the economy considered, namely the balance of power between trade unions and fums. A dynamic equation with output, real wage and real prices of raw materials as explanatory variables is estimated using Italian manufacturing industry data 1970‐1984. The model appears to be well specified and consistent with the literature. However, extensive parameter stability analysis yields results compatible with the view of the employment equation as structurally unstable. The fact that the equation appeared to be well specified and representative arouses the suspicion that other equations for different periods and economies could be equally unstable.
Population Changes in Europe. Demographic and Social Prospects and Problems
Authors: Golini Antonio , Cantalini Bruno , Lori Agostino
Published: June 2007

Abstract. Over recent years, the European Community has experienced profound demographic changes which, to a large extent, have already determined its demographic future. One of the more significant consequences of demographic and social trends is a marked fragmentation of the family with people giving absolute priority to the individual dimension in their lives and in terms of society as a whole. Legal regulations and administrative practice have not totally–and not everywhere – adapted to the far‐reaching changes in the family so as to adequately protect the family and its weaker members in particular: children, the elderly, the disabled, people with mental and social illnesses, the poor. In this field, some measures will be proposed in this paper. The imbalances in demographic‐occupational growth in the Euro‐Mediterranean area–the area with which the EC is most directly in contact–are and will be of an exceptional amplitude, as has already been shown, to an extent never before experienced in the history of mankind. We must ask ourselves if this very strong differential pressure, which is also of a political and socio‐economic nature, will lead to steady and long‐lasting migratory flows. Some considerations regarding the future action and intervention of the EC close the paper.
Expectable Changes in the System of National Accounts
Authors: Siesto Vincenzo
Published: June 2007

Abstract. The Statistical Commission of the United Nations will approve in 1993 a revised version of the System of National Accounts (SNA). According to a preliminary draft ‐ carried out jointly by experts of UN, EUROSTAT. OECD, IMF and the World Bank ‐ the SNA will maintain the main concepts, classifications and accounting framework: the SNA and the European System of Integrated Economic Accounts (ESA) will converge. Some changes could enlarge the size of the GDP, above all the inclusion of software and some other nonmaterial assets in the capital formation. GDP could also encompass the value of the production of criminal business such as gambling, cigarette smuggling, drug trade and illegal entertainment. Balance sheets will be presented beside the accounts of production, income distribution and use, accumulation and finance. The accounting framework will be enlarged with satellite accounts to enlighten more deeply the environmental economy, the income distribution, the health service, the welfare state. By and large, the new System of National Accounts will continue to serve as a tool for measuring the economy's performance.
Impact of the Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action Programs on the Employment of Women in the US
Authors: Uri Noel D. , Mixon J. Wilson.
Published: June 2007

Abstract. This study examines the impact that Equal Employment Opportunity and affirmative action programs that were implemented in 1965 have had on the employment of women relative to that of men in the United States. Using time series data covering the period 1947‐1988. the results indicate that women in the 20‐54 age group benefitted in terms of greater stability of employment (i.e. less sensitivity to short‐run variations in employment) over the period 1965‐1980 while they lost some of these gains over the period 1981‐1988 (corresponding to the tenure of the Reagan Administration). Men in the same age group, on the other hand, experienced the opposite effect. That is. men in the 20‐54 age group became more sensitive to short‐run variations in employment over the period 1965‐1980 and less sensitive over the period 1981‐1988. The evidence also indicates that the EEO and affirmative action programs had the effect of increasing the share of projected employment of women in the 20‐24 age group and in the 55‐64 age. group while decreasing the share of projected employment of men in the comparable age groups.
Appendix. Incomes Policies in Europe during the Eighties
Authors: Cucchiarelli Alberto
Published: June 2007

Abstract. Moving off from the lessons of the Italian incomes policy experience of the 1980s, this paper presents a new framework to interpret the performance of incomes policy (LP) agreements and institutions, and propose new strategies for the 1990s. IP is viewed as a cooperative outcome that evolves from a non‐cooperative long‐term game between several players (workers, unions, firms, government, parliament, etc.), along the lines of the model drawn up by Brunetta and Carraro (1988).

The paper is divided into three sections. The first summarizes the history of IP in Italy, starting from the phase of the predetermination of disinflation (1983‐84). We firstly outline some of the fundamental features of recent Italian development (the “Italian model”), noting how new IP measures could be taken to create an adequate response to the new European and international deadlines. The difficulties and uncertainties that presently exist at both national and international level make the introduction of IP in new, cooperative and evolutive terms, necessary.

The second section examines the various topics and new objectives of a “strategic” IP resumption, particularly relevant to the concerted action on the cost of labour, presently being discussed. The topics we consider are: the link between wage reform and IP; the recent concerted agreements reached on fiscal drag (26.1.89) and on the cost of labour (25.1 and 6.7.90); the importance of the role of productivity gain‐sharing; programmed inflation and price control; indexation of gross wages and safeguarding the net wage; increase of the tax base; profit‐sharing.

The third and final section presents a few observations which further investigate the distribution of productivity gains between sectors and uses: how it is articulated amongst the various bargaining levels (central, sectoral or enterprise). Redistribution amongst sectors is dealt with in terms of “protected” and “unprotected” areas of the economy, showing the need of a concerted regulation at the central level. Sharing between factors and allocations presents a very different case, and is dealt with at sectoral and firm level.
A Qualitative Analysis of Unemployment in Spain
Authors: Gracia‐Díaz Mercedes
Published: June 2007

Abstract. This paper analyzes the demographic characteristics of unemployment in Spain using individual household data. Binary‐logit models are estimated for three microdata sets at different periods of time, in order to detect possible compositional changes in unemployment over time. The results indicate that characteristics such as age, education level and marital status are relevant to explain differences in unemployment. The fact that the male and female models turn out to be very similar may be due to hidden female unemployment. The estimated models are used to predict unemployment probabilities as a function of individual characteristics.
Potential for Flexibility in EC Countries
Authors: Konle‐Seidl Regina , Walwei Ulrich
Published: June 2007

Abstract. There are two economic reasons for supporting the Internal Market Programme of the EC by social policies: the fust argument refers to welfare theory, the second to policies of distribution. First, it could be possible that an economic integration without social completion will lead to welfare losses. Therefore, it could be necessary to correct market forces or to support them respectively because, due to market imperfections, they do not provide the best possible use of productive facilities. Second, it cannot be excluded that level and structure of social provisions will not be accepted because of superior aspects of policies of distribution. Market results could miss the aim of adjusting life and working conditions within the EC and developing them further. These two arguments mentioned above should be followed up in the discussion of the pros and cons of a harmonization of social systems in the EC.

For the purposes of this paper these. rather fundamental considerations are applied to the following concrete items: dismissal protection, non‐standard forms of employment, and working hours. These regulations influence numerical flexibility of enterprises, i.e. the possibilities of quantitative adjustments in staff use. The steadily growing competition in Europe will also increase the importance of flexibility potentials of enterprises in the different countries as a relevant factor for enterprise location. Extensive flexibility restrictions could prove to be competitive disadvantage in view of countries with more possibilities of flexibilization.Therefore, after the comparison of flexibility potentials in the EC‐countries the implications for European laws (key‐word: Social Charter) are to be discussed.
From Labour Shortage to Unemployment: Soviet Workers' Attitudes about Possible Changes in Labour Relations
Authors: Gimpel'son Vladimir E.
Published: June 2007

Abstract. After seventy years of centralised economy, the ex‐Soviet Union is now experiencing the problem of developing a market economy. The monopoly of the means of production had generated guaranteed employment. an elevated number of vacant positions and scarce territorial and occupational mobility. At the same time, there were low salaries and a series of guaranteed basic services. The translation to a market economy can generate the fear of losing certain guarantees. The author analyses these problems, referring principally to field research conducted among industrial workers.
Improving Migration Statistics: Policy and Conceptual Issues
Authors: Garonna Paolo
Published: June 2007

Abstract. The availability and international comparability of migration statistics pose a severe handicap to analysis and policy debate. This paper explores a few of the underlying policy and conceptual issues at stake and identifies some of the institutional factors contributing to the slow and uncertain in progress in this field.

Three main issues are discussed: the statistical definitions of migration; the administrative sources of data; and the international initiatives to improve the comparability of statistics.

At the beginning of the 1990s the context appears promising for a renewed effort of national and international organizations and statistical agencies. New opportunities and challenges for the improvement of migration statistics are being developed.
Labour Mobility in Europe as a Result of Changes in Central and Eastern Europe*
Authors: Samorodov Alexander
Published: June 2007

Abstract. International migration of labour has become a burning issue and is on the lips of politicians, social scientists, employers and workers. It has has become a global issue, with national borders becoming less important due to process of economic integration.

The issue is very complicated since many factors are involved: unemployment, the stand of trade unions and national movements often opposing more liberal immigration rules, non‐adherence of countries to international norms, in particular ILO labour standards. However, there are also gains for both labour‐exporting and labour‐importing countries.

The article tries to trace the history of international norms concerning international migration of labour, as well as to touch upon hard facts accompanying such migration. It is difficult to collect these in a systematic manner, given the dearth of information on the subject, due to its sensitivity. However, the paper provides a variety of contro‐versial information which is from the press rather than from official data, and therefore difficult to verify. It is a subject on which considerable prejudice clouds rational debate.
Rising Earnings Inequality and Returns to Skills in the United Kingdom Labour Market*
Authors: Moll Terence
Published: June 2007

Abstract. Since the later 1970s, earnings inequality in the United Kingdom has been rising steadily. It is argued that this rise reflects increasing returns to skills, as proxied by factors like education and occupation, while the strengthening labour market position of relatively skilled workers was also reflected in improving relative unemployment and labour force participation rates. These trends are best explained by a rise in the relative demand for skilled labour, implying that the most efficient way of restraining earnings inequality growth is through vigorous educational policies.
Are we going towards a society of “activity” or “work”?*
Authors: Accornero Aris
Published: June 2007

Abstract. The aim of the article is to discuss the perspective of a decline in dependent work ‐ which Dahrendorf and Braverman had argued was coming ‐ either due to an emerging society of “activities” or a process of work “degradation”. Why did such a scenario not prove to be realistic?

The author shows from which concepts such a downgrading stems and points out the responsibility of approaches that do not see work as a social activity and see technology as a deus ex machina. As a matter of fact, the western world is not experiencing a dissolution but, rather, a persistent (if not growing) importance of work.

The author sketches the great technical and organizational transformation in the ongoing production patterns and work schemes in contemporary society. He maintains that these processes, decreasing the homogeneity and increasing the heterogeneity of work, make a society of “works” more likely than one of “activities”.
Monopolistic Competition, Expected Inflation and Contract Length
Authors: Marini Giancarlo , Scaramozzino Pasquale
Published: June 2007

Abstract. This paper shows that the explicit consideration of the “expected inflation effect” makes it more likely that increases in wage and price flexibility reduce employment variability. This result, obtained in a monopolistic competition model with synchronized contracts, casts doubts on some existing consensus in the literature pointing towards the opposite view. Wage and price flexibility, although ceteris paribus desirable, is however shown to be an inferior substitute for optimally designed demand management.
Time Allocation and Economic Welfare
Authors: Bentivogli Chiara
Published: June 2007

Abstract. The paper analyzes the pattern of time allocation between work and leisure in industrialized countries. Some alternative explanations as to the slowing down in the shortening of working hours to those offered by the traditional economic theory are presented, in the light of empirical findings in the United States. Workers' endogenous preferences seem to play an important role in explaining this unforeseen trend in time allocation.
The New Economics of Personnel
Authors: Lazear Edward P.
Published: June 2007

Abstract. Traditional issues in personnel have generally been analysed by industrial psychologists or sociologists. While their work has produced insights, some of the problems are inherently economic. This paper examines some traditional personnel issues in an economic framework. Worker turnover, incentive problems, promotion decisions, compensation methods, up‐or‐out arrangement and job tenure are analysed. Some questions for future research are presented in conclusion.
Gender and Economic Outcomes: the Role of Wage Structure
Authors: Blau Francine D.
Published: June 2007

Abstract. Empirical research on gender pay gaps has traditionally focused on the role of gender‐specific factors, particularly gender differences in qualifications and differences in the treatment of otherwise equally qualified male and female workers (i.e. labor market discrimination). An innovative feature of recent research is to focus on the role of wage structure — the array of prices set for various labor market skills — in influencing the gender gap. In this paper, I consider the determinants of gender differences in pay and summarize empirical evidence on the importance of various factors in explaining gender pay gaps, highlighting the role of wage structure. To illustrate how it can impact the gender gap, I summarize my research on international differences in male‐female wage differentials, as well as preliminary findings on trends over time in gender differentials in the United States.
The Social Embeddedness of Labor Markets and Cognitive Processes
Authors: Piore Michael J.
Published: June 2007

Conventional economic theory explains labor market outcomes in terms of the interaction of autonomous individual actors who continually calculate the relative advantages of different possible actions they might take. But it has trouble explaining cooperation among individuals in these terms; and even individualistic behavior in this model is based upon a series of prior misunderstandings, or causal models, which the actors are simply assumed to possess. This paper utilizes cognitive theory to explore the nature of these prior understandings, how we got them and the way in which they are likely to be revised and updated through experience. This explanation suggests that economic behavior is much more dependent upon direct interaction among individuals than conventional theory implies and it makes trust and cooperation central to economic activity. But it raises serious questions about whether a dynamic economic system could ever be housed in the competitive institutional structure which conventional theory prescribes.
The Economics of Equal Value
Authors: Rubery Jill
Published: June 2007

Equal pay for work of equal value has come to be seen as the policy most likely to reduce the gender earnings gap. This paper explores the theoretical basis for widespread undervaluation of women's work and argues that institutionalised discrimination in the labour market also affects internal pay and grading structures. Recent recognition of the scope for discretion in pay determination undermines the “market forces” argument against equal value. The current wage structure reflects an outdated model of social and family organisation. Much poverty is now the result of women seeking economic independence in a market which rewards them as subordinate family members. However, the main obstacles to equal value lie in labour market institutions. The increasing fragmentation of pay bargaining and moves to performance‐related pay will reduce rather than promote the relationship between pay and job content.
Sectoral Employment Shifts and Unemployment
Authors: Ottersten Eugenia Kazamaki
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper provides additional insight on the Lilien 1982 sectoral shift hypothesis (Lilien (1983),Abraham and Katz (1986),Samson (1986),Neelin (1987)) by applying it to Swedish data.Lilien claimed that part of the cyclical variation in unemployment is caused by structural shifts in sectoral employment demand. We find some evidence in favour of Lilien‘s notion. Greater sectoral shocks partly result in higher unemployment in Sweden. When extending the sectoral shift approach, controlling for labour market support, the evidence in favour of the sectoral shift hypothesis is weaker.
Wage Drift: Phillips Curve vs Bargaining Models
Authors: Pehkonen Jaakko , Viskari Jyri
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the debate on market‐ versus bargaining‐determined total earnings by examining whether models of wage drift based on wage‐bargaining considerations empirically outperform models based on simple ad hoc formulations relating wage drift to excess demand for labour. The task is carried out by investigating the empirical performance of two bargaining models and two Phillips curve models in the context of data on the Finnish metal industry. The results suggest that the former perform better than the latter, thus providing support for the hypothesis that total earnings are bargaining‐determined. Furthermore, the results are in line with the view that the superiority of wage‐bargaining models is not only theoretical but also empirical.
Unemployment Propensity and Unemployment Duration
Authors: Theodossiou Ioannis , White Michael J.
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: This paper analyses the factors affecting the duration of an unemployment spell. The results indicate the absence of statistically significant ‘‘duration dependence‘‘ effects for men. Person‐specific unemployment propensity is found to have a significant effect on re‐employment probabilities. The latter implies an unequal distribution of unemployment burden among the population.
Labour Market and Labour Market Policy in the Eastern Part of Germany: New Approaches and New Links to Structural Policy
Authors: Brinkmann Christian , Gottsleben Volkmar
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: After unification, East German GNP dropped severely, total employment fell to about two thirds of the former level. Long‐term labour market prospects remain poor. From the very beginning up to now, labour market policy (short‐time work, early retirement schemes, work creation measures, further training and retraining) absorbed much of the surplus labour supply. Regulations were changed to allow for‘“mega‐measures” (contrasting the traditional individual approach). A new co‐financing model links work‐creation measures more closely to regional structural policy. A labour market infrastructure was built up in a short time, including new elements such as‘“employment promotion companies” and‘“reconstruction agents“.
Trade Union Priorities and Wage Rigidity
Authors: Drakopoulos Stavros
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: The starting point of the paper is that trade unions engage in substitution once certain targets have been met. This implies that a priority‐based or hierarchical model might be a better approximation to union behaviour. This model requires a two‐part union utility function which changes when a satisfactory (or target) level of the priority variable (e.g. the wage rate) is met. After demonstrating the workings of such a model in a monopoly union framework, it is shown that there is real wage rigidity when the wage is below the target level. Employment increases only when the target wage has been achieved.
Are Macroeconomic Theories Challenged by the Present European Recession?
Authors: Malinvaud Edmond
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT Some features of the present recession must attract attention: acceleration of inflation in 1989–90, sharp deterioration of expectations in summer 1992, persistence of high real interest rates, lack of inter‐country correlation between the fiscal stance and the increase in unemployment. These features do not damage the main framework used in the past decades for macroeconomic policy analysis, but they emphasize the importance of a better understanding of the formation and role of expectations, of the dynamics of debt deflation, of the presence and evolution of major disequilibria in the structure of relative prices and remuneration rates.
Women's Career Development and Divorce Risk in Japan
Authors: Ogawa Naohiro , Ermisch John F.
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT In Japan, divorce rates have more than doubled since the mid‐1960s, and female paid employment has increased rapidly in the past few decades. By applying a conventional economic model of labor force participation to micro‐level data gathered from a nationally representative sample survey, this paper shows that Japanese married women who have contemplated divorcing their husbands are more likely to participate in the workforce as full‐time paid employees. This finding suggests that an increasing risk of divorce has made a substantial contribution to the fast rise in Japanese women's participation in paid employment, particularly full‐time work.
Divorce Alimony: An Estimation of its Determinants and of its Amount
Authors: Sofer Catherine , Sollogoub Michel
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to study the determinants of the attribution of alimony to women after divorce, and to examine the main determinants of its amount. Three different theoretical models of marriage may influence judges'decision in attributing alimony: an investment‐type marriage, a trade‐type marriage or an association‐type marriage. An estimation of the corresponding dichotomic variable is run using data we collected from six French courts. Results show that the probability of obtaining alimony is strongly increased if the divorce is declared to be the husband's fault; labour market participation of the ex‐wife exerts a negative effect, as well as a decrease in relative wages of husband and wife. Finally, it appears that the amount of alimony is independent of the amount of child support.
Bargaining Power and Wage Determination: The Role of Outside Options
Authors: Dalmazzo Alberto
Published: June 2007

ABSTRACT: The paper analyses the wage bargaining process between an entrepreneur and his workforce when delays in agreement intrinsically reduce the amount of returns to be shared It is shown that the outside options of the workforce and the entrepreneur can be a systematic determinant of their bargaining power in contrast to what the Rubinstein (1982) model predicts The basic model is extended to analyse: (i) bargaining under multiple unionism; (ii) the‐ possible relationship between bargaining and efficiency wages; and (iii) under investment in workforce training.