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This paper examines the potential earnings premium associated with a doctoral degree (PhDs, ISCED9) over postgraduate degrees (PGs, or Masters, ISCED7) in the UK. We assess this premium using a decade-worth of UK Labour Force Survey data (2011–2020). To explore the possible endogenous choice of post-graduate tracks, this paper deploys linear regression, (ordinary least squares, OLS), propensity score matching (PSM), and inverse probability weighting (IPWRA) to estimate the pay premium under varying identifying assumptions. The estimates show a positive return in terms of gross hourly pays in all models, along with a relevant role of managerial positions and degree of specialisation in employment position. Therefore, although a PhD is arguably mostly driven by taste for scientific pursuit, a PhD has on average also an economic pay-off. However, much of it depends on one's capacity to acquire leadership positions – the most relevant factor disentangling those fulfilling or not their potential in terms of wages. We also provide a cost–benefit analysis over a life course showing that such a premium is overall modest, but subject to positive spikes for those in Science & Technology (STEM disciplines), getting managerial positions, and for women. Our findings suggest investigating further those personal and organisational factors that are conducive of unleashing highly educated potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With high average levels of qualifications and pay, ethnic Chinese minorities in the UK are often regarded as a migrant 'success story'. At the same time, the limited evidence we have suggests that Chinese minorities may face ethnic penalties in the labour market, and that there is considerable heterogeneity within the aggregate Chinese ethnic category. In this paper, we address these issues of labour market outcomes and heterogeneity among UK Chinese using 38 pooled quarters of the UK Labour Force Survey. We show that for both wages and employment there are differences in labour market experience across five distinct Chinese origin groups compared to those similarly qualified in the white majority. Consistent 'winners' are Taiwan and Malaysian-born Chinese, while Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong-born experience substantial wage penalties. UK-born Chinese face wage penalties when working in traditional industries, in which they continue to cluster, and unemployment penalties. An important contributory factor to labour market outcomes of the different groups appears to be the extent of their relationship with the ethnic economy. We relate our findings to theories of ethnic embeddedness and enclave economies, as well as to the varying contexts of reception faced by immigrants from different cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Comparative Education is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Regional Studies is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Professional associations play an important role in democratic societies, especially where the interests of the parties being represented fall outside the boundaries of traditional employment arrangements. This paper presents an insider's view of the recent developments, surrounding freelancing and self-employment in the UK and the deliberate strategies undertaken to evolve the Professional Contractors Group (PCG) formed in 1999 into the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) in 2014. PCG was initially formed by a small number of IT contractors seeking to thwart proposed changes to the UK tax regime, specifically IR35. Subsequent developments in freelancing and self-employment arrangements as well as strategic actions taken by PCG (relocating its headquarters; rebranding the organisation; becoming the authoritative voice for the self-employed; providing a responsive range of value-adding services to members and building alliances to establish credible research capability) have positioned IPSE as the leading specialist association for independent professionals, freelancers and the self-employed in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The share of Old and New Commonwealth migrants in Britain greatly diminished between 1971 and 2002. The decline of former colonial Commonwealth migrants occurred alongside the rise of Central, Eastern European and Middle Eastern migrants. This paper focuses on the chances of social mobility of the previously little-studied new migrant groups and outlines the differences in employment patterns between them and UK-born Whites and old migrants. It establishes that huge differentials exist between new immigrant groups in their labour-market participation, employment rates and occupational attainment. The disadvantage of EU10, Eastern European, Turkish and Middle Eastern migrants in terms of their probabilities of being active, employed and accessing intermediate positions cannot be explained by a lack of human capital, and their situation is not likely to improve with time. For migrant women, inactivity rather than unemployment seems the greatest concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Community, Work & Family is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper we examine the impact of temporary work on two dimensions of social inequality: income and career mobility. Additionally, we are taking a comparative perspective on this subject by comparing Germany and the UK. To investigate the effects of temporary work we use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel and the British Household Panel Study on non-self-employed respondents. The results show that temporary work does influence the system of social inequality: we found wage penalties and an increased probability of severe negative effects on the working careers of temporarily employed persons in both countries (net of education, age, and a variety of other covariates). Thus we can conclude that temporary employment represents a substantial socio-economic risk for employees. Most importantly, this holds true for both the German and the British case, two quite distinct labour market regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a Marxist political economy (MPE) of youth to explain the material conditions of young people in developed economies. Central concepts of capitalist accumulation, labour-power and value are utilised to historicise and situate young people in relation to wage labour under capitalism. The article conceptualises how contradictory processes of capitalist accumulation impact young people through an analysis of the actions of private capital, labour and the state. The theoretical approach is supported with UK data which illustrates how young people have experienced challenges in education, labour market transitions, and work and employment conditions. The article reveals how a combination of structural economic change, state regulation and low-road employer business strategies which generate poor quality work have all contributed to the decline in the value of youth labour-power in the UK. The article also provides methodological insights for using the MPE approach in future youth studies research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst it is acknowledged that refugees are more likely to select into self-employment due to discrimination and labour market exclusion, we know little about how their ventures perform over time. To address this gap, we draw upon qualitative longitudinal evidence gathered in 2010 and 2018 in the UK to explore the outcomes of their ventures and what strategies they have put in place. We argue that the trajectories of refugee-owned businesses are explained by their structural position and the strategies, resources, and business support networks, highlighting that refugee entrepreneurs re-work their condition in a manner that is much more proactive and resilient than suggested by extant portrayals of refugee entrepreneurship. Our analysis sheds new light on the dynamics of refugee business development and encourages a more nuanced theoretical approach to evaluate these enterprises as vehicles for integration against the backdrop of neoliberal Britain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most studies of minority group penalties in the UK labor market have focused on groups classified by their self-assessed ethnicity only, without taking into account major divisions within such groups, notably by religion. Using a large sample taken from the quarterly Labor Force Survey, this paper analyze levels of both unemployment and obtaining posts within the salariat for fourteen separate ethno-religious groups. Estimates of both gross and net penalties are derived, the latter taking the individuals’ human capital resources into account. They show that most non-White groups face an employment penalty, but Muslim groups – both men and women – experienced the greatest penalties. These penalties are exacerbated when searching for any job turns into searching for a managerial or a professional job suggesting that inequality is preserved through mechanisms of color and cultural racism which intensifies as minority workers seek jobs at the more lucrative end of the labor market – which, if persistent, could have long-term implications for the cohesion of the UK's multi-ethnic, multi-cultural society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy makers throughout the developed world have long insisted that skills are central to economic and social success. However, there is a growing recognition that if skills are to deliver on this agenda, they have to be utilised in the workplace. In the UK, skills utilisation is gaining prominence as an issue, particularly in Scotland. If such policies are to function effectively, knowing what skills utilisation is, and how to measure its presence, is vital as is the ability to evaluate specific policy interventions. The article offers some initial reflections on the construction of a measurement and evaluation framework. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using the underexplored, sizeable and long longitudinal 1978–2006 UK Lifetime Labour Market Database (LLMDB), we estimate the immigrant–native earnings gap across the entire earnings distribution. We found that immigrants earn 2.3% more than natives on average. Whilst the gap was zero at the 30th percentile, it was negative at the bottom of the distribution and positive above the median. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though the British and Dutch approaches to disability in the construction sector exhibit common features, Britain tends towards a capabilities model compared with the Netherlands which is closer to a social model. The construction sector is considerably more regulated in the Netherlands but is in both countries highly disabling and exclusive. Sector-specific disabling and enabling factors and policy measures were investigated in the two countries with a view to identifying which policies might facilitate labour market participation. The investigation was based on interviews using similar questionnaires with key stakeholders, firms and disabled employees and a focus group. Policy in each country addresses the nature of exclusion in different ways. The conclusion drawn is that a sector-specific approach is needed if disability policy in Britain is to be more in tune with the social model—as apparent from the comparison with the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]