Search

Using data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, this paper compares the earnings premium and employment share of jobs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) across 11 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The results reveal that the STEM wage premium is higher in the United States than in any of the other comparison countries, despite the fact that the U.S. has a larger share of workers in STEM jobs. We also find evidence that the premium varies significantly across STEM sub-fields and education levels, and that the premium tends to be higher in countries with lower unionization rates, less employment protection, or a larger share of employment in the public sector.

Context: Vocational education and training (VET) is expected to be designed for creating learning outcomes which meet the needs for skills and competences in the labour market. Hence, identifying current and upcoming skill requirements and ensuring that these requirements are incorporated into education has long been the subject of academic and policy discussion. Governance processes keeping VET systems up-to-date have been more recently addressed as 'feedback mechanisms'. The term broadly summarizes the interplay of institutions, actors and processes which allows the continuous renewal of VET provision (i.e. by creating new qualifications or updating curricula). The aim of the paper is to enhance the understanding of cross-national variations in formally institutionalised 'feedback mechanisms' between VET and the labour market. Method: The research builds on a comparative analysis of case studies in 15 European countries. The paper presents examples for four different 'formal feedback mechanisms' in Germany, France, England, and Austria. Results: Four main types of formal mechanism have been identified: 1) The liberal model explained by VET in England and Higher VET in Austria; 2) The statist model explained by school-based VET in Austria; 3) the participatory model explained by VET in France and 4) the coordinated model explained by apprenticeship training in Germany and Austria. Conclusions: Existing approaches in the economic sociology of labour markets, the varieties of capitalism approach as well as comparative research on welfare states are useful

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the qualification measures of 12 German multi-national companies (MNCs), all of which are present in China, India and Mexico. In particular, the transfer of dual initial training practices and further training measures are investigated. It examines the impact consistent training strategies across national borders have emerged in German companies or local arrangements have developed despite identical internal influencing factors. Design/methodology/approach: Because of its design, the focus is on the external factors that influence the companies' training measures. However, an exploratory approach was followed. To pursue the research question face-to-face expert interviews were conducted with 46 training managers in 12 active companies in all 3 countries. The interviews were completely transcribed and evaluated using qualitative methods. Findings: The analysis shows that it is not internal company factors but country-specific contextual factors that influence training measures and that companies cannot act in the same way worldwide. Research limitations/implications: The study is based on 12 MNC and only analyses the blue-collar area. Therefore, it would have to be evaluated whether a similar analysis would result from a survey of other companies in different sectors or whether the differences in terms of training and further training measures would then be even greater. Practical implications: The study supports the internationalization strategies of MNC by providing first-hand empirical results concerning recruitment and training of blue colour workers on an intermediate skill level. It gives evidence on the need of national adaptation in the process of transferring training cultures from countries of origin into the host countries. More attention must, therefore, be paid to external factors when developing and implementing training measures. Social implications: The economic development in many countries includes an expansion of foreign investments. MNC provides employment and income for workers and their families. However, successful foreign investments also include sustainable recruitment and training strategies of the local workforce. The results of the study support policymakers to guide and support foreign companies to develop successful Human Resource Management strategies in the host countries. Originality/value: This paper is original because due to the research design the internal factors are kept largely constant and the external influencing factors are singularly focused in detail. Therefore, this procedure makes it possible to investigate whether consistency training strategies across national borders have emerged in German companies or local arrangements have developed despite identical internal influencing factors.

Context: Existing studies have explored the association between workplace training and wages suggesting that training participation may have a positive association with wages. However, we still know very little about whether this association varies between men and women. Through its potential positive association with wages, training may balance wage differences between men and women. In addition, the gender wage gap varies across the wage distribution. Differences in the association between training participation and wages for men and women across the earnings spectrum may offer an explanation as to why the discrepancy in female/male earnings is larger at some point of the wage distribution compared to others. Approach: Using data from the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) and unconditional quantile regression, this paper examines whether the association between workplace training and wages differs between men and women at different points of the wage distribution across 14 European countries. To partly control for endogeneity in training participation, detailed measures of cognitive skills have been included in the models. Findings: Findings show gender differences in the association between training and wages across the wage distribution. In most countries, results indicate larger training coefficients for women than men at the lower end of the wage spectrum whereas they are larger for men at the top. This pattern holds across most countries with the only exception of Liberal ones, where women benefit less than men across the entire wage spectrum. Conclusions: The findings of this work reveal that distributional variations in returns to workplace training follow a similar pattern across industrialized countries, despite their different institutional settings. Moreover, differences in training coefficients of men and women at different parts of the wage distribution suggest that training could reduce gender wage differences among low earners and potentially widen the gap in wages among individuals at the top of the wage distribution.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an opportunity to examine the initial policies developed by Australian, Canadian, English, German, Greek and Irish governments to limit the spread of the virus. This has revealed governments' conceptualisation of the early childhood sector and its workforce. This paper argues that neoliberal ideology and neoliberal imaginaries have already influenced the early childhood sector globally. During the pandemic, the choices that governments made at the outset of the pandemic has allowed their priorities and underlying ideology to be more transparent. Using an ethnographic methodology, early childhood researchers from each of the six countries, examined their individual governments policy responses and the effects on the early childhood sector during its initial months (between March and June 2020). The authors consider the extent to which this may have implications for the sector in how it should continue its ongoing pursuit of professionalisation of the sector.

Dropping out of the educational system has marked negative consequences in the labour market. Dropping out is followed by an early termination that does not necessarily mean leaving the educational system without graduating. Trainees may reassess their initial choice by starting another vocational education and training (VET) programme and preserve their labour market chances when graduating. This paper examines the factors that drive the decision to stop out (start new vocational training) after an early termination. The analysis is based on a data set for VET in Germany (Ausbildungspanel Saarland) that contains detailed information on the VET careers and labour market outcomes of almost 3000 apprentices who terminated their education early. The results show that approximately 71 percent of apprentices continue with another VET programme after a termination. Termination at an early stage of VET and training in a small establishment are more likely to lead to stopping out than to dropping out. Stopouts who terminate their contracts during an early stage of their VET programme are more likely to change their occupation and obtain a formal VET degree. The results suggest that dissatisfaction with VET must be recognized at an early stage in order for students to take appropriate measures with the aim of graduation.

Purpose: This paper aims to explore structural and systemic influences in the development of competence models and qualifications systems at sectoral and national levels across Europe, considering the influences of different socio-economic models of skill formation on the processes of design and provision of qualifications. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on a meta analysis of three European projects that used literature review, documentary analysis and interviews with practitioners and policy makers. Findings: The main methodological and practical challenges posed by varieties of competence and qualifications to inter-country comparability of qualifications are shown to be related to different socio-economic models of skill formation. Research limitations/implications: The research is limited to 13 countries and four sectors but these were carefully selected to maximise coverage of European diversity with respect to competence models, training regimes and approaches to qualifications. There is clearly a need for further research involving more countries and sectors. Practical implications: The paper offers recommendations for improving the potential of the European Qualifications Framework to promote comparability of qualifications and hence mobility of labour. These recommendations will be of interest to policy makers and practitioners involved in using the EQF and similar instruments. Originality/value: This is the first systematic attempt to explore the methodological and practical difficulties of establishing comparability between qualifications. (Contains 4 tables.)

Purpose: Though the notion of competence is common terminology in European VET policy at national and supra-national level, understandings vary widely, both across countries and within. The particular conceptions of competence adopted in the EQF are themselves problematic and the framework allows for a variety of interpretations. The purpose of this paper is to clarify those applied in the EQF and the vocational education and qualifications systems of particular European countries and to contribute to the development of a transnational understanding of the term, one which is compatible with a rapidly changing labour market. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on evidence from work funded by the Nuffield Foundation entitled "Cross-national Equivalence of Vocational Skills and Qualifications", the paper explores the various conceptions of competence in the EQF and the national systems: in particular in the sectors of construction, ICT and health: of England, Germany, France and The Netherlands. Findings: Interpretations are located on a continuum from the comprehensive occupational model traditionally found in many European countries to the task-focused model of the English NVQ system. Research limitations/implications: Much developmental work involving all stakeholders is necessary to arrive at a commonly agreed conception. A broad understanding of competence would relate to the potential of labour, itself determined through the occupational capacity embodied in the qualification. Practical implications: Zones of Mutual Trust need to be based on transnational categories of VET. Originality/value: The value of the paper is in seeking to go beyond identifying differences by developing transnational categories and suggesting the nature of Zones of Mutual Trust for implementing the EQF. (Contains 2 tables and 2 notes.)

Ample evidence indicates that a person's human capital is important for success on the labor market in terms of both wages and employment prospects. However, unlike the efforts to identify the impact of school attainment on labor-market outcomes, the literature on returns to cognitive skills has not yet provided convincing evidence that the estimated returns can be causally interpreted. Using the PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills, this paper explores several approaches that aim to address potential threats to causal identification of returns to skills, in terms of both higher wages and better employment chances. We address measurement error by exploiting the fact that PIAAC measures skills in several domains. Furthermore, we estimate instrumental-variable models that use skill variation stemming from school attainment and parental education to circumvent reverse causation. Results show a strikingly similar pattern across the diverse set of countries in our sample. In fact, the instrumental-variable estimates are consistently larger than those found in standard least-squares estimations. The same is true in two "natural experiments," one of which exploits variation in skills from changes in compulsory-schooling laws across U.S. states. The other one identifies technologically induced variation in broadband Internet availability that gives rise to variation in ICT skills across German municipalities. Together, the results suggest that least-squares estimates may provide a lower bound of the true returns to skills in the labor market.

By analysing the childcaring experiences of female skilled workers from South Korea (hereafter, Korea) in Germany, this paper maintains that the challenges in labour market participation for highly skilled women, and especially those with children, should be understood in the context of their encounters with similar and different care and employment regimes between their home and host countries. On the theoretical level, this research confirms the argument that the migration of highly skilled workers should be contextualized not from a neoclassical perspective in which the maximization of economic profits takes priority, but from an institutional point of view in which social and cultural norms, practices, and policies in both the home and host societies are taken into consideration. Specifically, through a series of in-depth interviews conducted with skilled female migrants from Korea, this paper highlights the significance of taking the function of similar and different caring and employment regimes into account in explaining the challenges faced by highly skilled migrant women in labour market participation. On the empirical level, this paper sheds light on the migration experiences of skilled women from Asia as well as the (dis)integration processes of newcomers from third-national countries in Germany, with a focus on female migrants from Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by discussions of skill mismatches on local German vocational educational and training (VET) markets, this paper analyses how occupational segments of VET entry of individuals with lower and intermediate secondary school degree relate to local labor market characteristics. The econometric analysis applies data from a survey conducted with 9th graders within the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Considering opportunity structures and the local competition for training positions, we find that the match between occupations' skill demands and individuals' abilities tends to be specifically close in diverse and competitive urban labor markets. In non-competitive peripheral labor markets, in contrast, graduates with lower school certificates seem to have a higher likelihood of entering VET in segments that are specifically attractive for graduates with upper secondary school degree. The results on the allocation of abilities and the weight of preferences under different labor market conditions have different welfare implications from an individual, regional and general economic perspective.

Comparative studies describing the transition from higher education to work have often simplified the complex transition processes involved. In this paper we extend previous research by taking into account several steps that comprise labor market entry, e.g., recurrent education leading to more than one instance of labor market entry. By comparing Germany and the United States we also examine how the tertiary education systems influence these transitions via the mode of stratification (parallel tracks in Germany vs. consecutive tracks in the US), the coordination mechanism (state-controlled vs. market-based) and the degree of standardization in educational programs. In our empirical analyses using large-scale longitudinal survey data we find that transitions in the US are less standardized and regulated than in Germany. Furthermore, differences between students from lower- and higher-tier institutions are less marked than expected, both within and between the two countries.

Aggregate unemployment may affect individual returns to education through qualification-specific responses in participation and wage bargaining. This paper shows that an increase in regional unemployment by 1% decreases returns to education by 0.005 percentage points. This implies that higher skilled employees are better sheltered from labour market changes with respect to their jobs but they encounter larger wage changes than less skilled employees. We use representative individual data and panel variation in unemployment between German regions and employee groups. We demonstrate that our results are robust with respect to aggregation bias, time lags and potential endogeneity of the unemployment variable. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)

This paper develops a framework of the role of interpersonal interactions in the labor market. Effective interpersonal interactions involve caring and directness. The ability to perform these tasks varies with personality and the importance of these tasks varies across jobs. An assignment model shows that people are most productive in jobs that match their style. An oversupply of one attribute relative to the other reduces wages for people who are better with the attribute in greater supply. We present evidence that youth sociability affects job assignment in adulthood. The returns to interpersonal interactions are consistent with the assignment model. (Contains 9 figures, 9 footnotes and 13 tables.)

Even if convergences are to be observed among the orientations adopted by higher education policies in European countries, they still are characterized by strong national features. One of the most striking national patterns of each system is its academic labor market, salaries, status, recruitment procedures, workloads, career patterns, promotion rules, being very different from one country to another. Nevertheless, specific national academic labor markets are experiencing a common evolution that can be summed up by the emergence of more regulated internal labor markets. At the same time, the qualification of the academic production (knowledge) as a public good is questioned and academic activities rely less on individual autonomy than before. Two main transformations can be mentioned: the development of individual assessment and incentive devices in universities and the increasing role of higher education institutions in the issues previously in the domain of the academic profession. The paper relies on a limited number of cases and on empirical studies recently carried out in France and Germany. The evolution engaged in the two countries will be reviewed in order to show that they lead, in different ways, to more regulated "internal labor markets". It will also be argued that this is a general trend. In the last section, the implications linked to this evolution and the questions raised, the role of the academic profession, and the transformation of the status of scientific and pedagogical activities will be discussed.

Examines the advantages and disadvantages of partial retirement--the transitional period between full-time employment and complete retirement--including easing the transition, labor market effects, and financial implications for social security systems and employers. Reviews partial retirement policies in eight countries and concludes that there is a need to keep people in the labor market longer. (JOW)

This paper explores whether the succession of generations can be an impetus that changes prevailing patterns of interpretation within teaching staff. Following Karl Mannheim, I argue that social patterns of interpretation are shaped by generation-specific experiences. One then would expect changes in the patterns of interpretation within teaching staff to take place continuously, as older members are replaced by younger ones. But due to particular dynamics within the labour market, over the last two centuries, always one specific birth cohort was prevailing among teachers (in Germany). At the end of its career, it was replaced by a younger cohort within a short period. This might mean, typical patterns of interpretation changed within a short period as well. This idea is tested by two examples. They suggest it is correct for a homogeneous group of teachers. However, within other social groups of teachers in other geographical areas different patterns of interpretation can be found simultaneously. Considering the teaching profession as a whole it would thus be problematic to assume uniform, generation-specific patterns of interpretation that changed at uniform points in time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current paper contributes to the existing literature on migration by explaining the emigration pattern from Denmark, Finland and Sweden to Germany. We have tried to discover the reason why people migrate from high-income European Union (EU) member states to Germany, which for a long time has hosted the highest number of migrants when compared to other EU member states. We have employed gravity models using fixed effects and ordinary least squares estimation for 1998 - 2019. Our results have indicated that Germany, compared to other EU member states, is more competitive in terms of its labour market efficiency. Germany is an attractive destination for migrants from Denmark, Finland and Sweden in terms of its employment rate, wages and effective government support of its labour force programmes. The current research provides insights into enhancing German competitiveness in terms of labour market factors, which is important for both the migrant and native populations. The results show that if wisely managed, the labour market attracts the labour force, which can address critical social issues Europe is currently facing. In particular, competition issues for high-skilled workers, an aging population, and a low birth rate. The study indicates that the long-term attractiveness of Germany for migrants is based on the efficient participation of the government in labour management-related decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well known that German and Spanish labour markets are quite different from a macro point of view. In this paper, we look at these markets through the lenses of individual unstable spells. These include all forms of atypical employment (such as temporary contracts and mini-jobs) as well as unemployment. This combined unstable state captures a fuller picture of the individual experience of volatile income and uncertain employment status than unemployment alone. We find that the survival rates of unstable spells in the two countries are much more similar than those from unemployment. This suggests that the usual focus on unemployment stocks and durations exaggerates the contrast between the two countries in terms of workers' experience of instability. We place these findings in the context of very similar aggregate shocks in the two countries and different policy choices on labour market reforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the notion of integration through formal education by focusing on immigrant families in Germany. The article focuses on the predominant discourse that persists in reiterating the binary code of the formal education system, which encompasses educational success or failure as a synonym for the migration policy code of integration or disintegration. This equation is made even stronger by a meritocratic philosophy that doesn't consider the othering processes and ignores all the restrictions that migrant youth face in education, the labour market, and the market for vocational training. The ambiguity between the actual possibilities and the attainable goals, embodied in the predominant imperative of “social mobility through education”, creates resistance within the group of immigrant parents and youth. The article argues that under these conditions, the family system may provide alternative ways of recognition for young people, which can be taken as a counter-concept with its own values that reject media-mediated narratives of integration and their symbolic representatives. By utilizing empirical data, the article provides insight into the past and present experiences of family members and the factors that contribute to the resistance of immigrant families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small towns have become increasingly important to research in recent years. However, researchers have largely ignored both the reciprocal economic-functional linkages between large cities and small towns in agglomerations and the spatial patterns of concentration and specialisation of knowledge-economy activities. This article aims to respond to this gap in several ways. First, it analyses spatial concentration processes in the 50 largest city regions of Germany, differentiated by knowledge bases (analytical, synthetic, symbolic). Second, it analyses and compares functional specialisation effects in both the large cities and the small towns within city regions. Here, the focus is on identifying the same directional tendency of specialisation and distribution in both types of settlements, without presuming the large cities to be the trend-setting constant. The analysis uses labour market data from the Federal Employment Agency. Consequently, decentralised concentration processes can be observed, especially in city regions in southern Germany, where a focus on a particular knowledge base cannot be ascertained. The analysis shows the same specialisation or distribution patterns for half of all city regions for both core cities and small towns, when all three knowledge bases are considered together. The paper concludes with an argument concerning possible further theoretical implications based on the notion that the interlinkages between small towns and large cities are reciprocal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is focused on the immigrants' impact on the EU's economy in the context of the latest immigrant crisis generated by Germany and France. The analysis in the paper covers not only the economic negative effects, but the social effects as well. The scientific approach is based on the latest official data. A distinct part of the paper deals with forecasting procedures able to point out the powerful negative impact of the immigrants on the labor market and public finances on short and medium terms. The main conclusion of the paper is that Germany is not able to manage this immigrant crisis and it will try to solve the problem putting pressure on other Member States or translating the crisis management to the global organism, as Davos Conference, for example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like many other countries, Germany has experienced rapid population and workforce ageing, yet with substantial variation across regions. In this paper we first use this spatial variation between 1975 and 2014 to estimate quasi-causal supply effects of ageing on regional labour market outcomes, drawing on the identification strategy of Böhm and Siegel (2020). We find in our panel of German labour market regions that workforce mean age has considerable negative effects on the wage returns to age. We also obtain suggestive evidence that relative employment rates of older workers decline when mean age rises. A decomposition of the heterogeneous regional trends using our estimates shows that ageing of rural regions is mainly driven by supply (reflecting local population dynamics) whereas urban ageing is driven by demand (reflecting responses to economic conditions). We discuss the differential implications of these drivers for regional policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper examines the impact of training outputs and employment factors on several facets of employee performance while supporting managerial decision-making in the banking sector. First, we introduce four performance measures in individual productivity assessment. Second, three identified groups of covariates are associated with these measures, namely, the training method success, delivery of knowledge, and labor market performance feedback. Based on our empirical results from Germany, we suggest that response-related decisions are accompanying bank employees' profiles and appraisal. In particular, we form decision-making functions and finally show that the banking industry successfully balances between internal and external factors in optimizing employees' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Up to date, it remains an unresolved issue how firms shape inequality in interaction with mechanisms of stratification at the individual and occupational-level. Accordingly, the authors ask whether workers of different occupational classes are affected to different degrees by between-firm wage inequality. In light of the recent rise of overall wage inequality, answers to this question can contribute to a better understanding of the role firms play in this development. The authors argue and empirically test that whether workers are able to benefit from firms’ internal or external strategies for flexibility depends on resources available at the individual and occupational level. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Matched employer-employee data from official German labour market statistics are used to estimate firm-specific wage components, which are then regressed on structural characteristics of firms. Findings – Between-firm wage effects of internal labour markets are largest among unskilled workers and strongly pronounced among qualified manual workers. Effects are clearly smaller among classes of qualified and high-qualified non-manual workers but have risen sharply for the latter class from 2005 to 2010. Social implications – The most disadvantaged workers in the labour market are also most contingent upon employers’ increasingly heterogeneous policies of recruitment and remuneration. Originality/value – This paper combines insights from sociological and economic labour market research in order to formulate and test the new hypothesis that between-firm wage effects of internal labour markets are larger for unskilled than for qualified workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]