Search

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]

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]

Purpose – After a brief glance at the global labour market after the financial meltdown the paper aims to explain some general mechanisms of short-time work in Germany. Furthermore it seeks to present an overview of the costs of short-time work for the establishments with respect to the latest labour market reforms in Germany. In the multivariate analyses with the IAB Establishment Panel the paper aims to identify the determinants of short-time work and its intensity in Germany. Thus it's goal is to contribute to the discussion of the modified and amended legislative framework for short-time work. Design/methodology/approach – The microeconometric analysis is based on data from the IAB Establishment Panel, a representative survey of the labour demand in Germany. With data from the survey waves 2008-2010 the probability of the use of short-time work with probit regression models and its intensity with truncated regression models are explained. Findings – The manufacturing industry as a German key industry was more affected than other sectors and suffered even harder. Despite the fact that the German labour administration has successfully reduced the bureaucracy of short-time work, the programme is still rather adopted by bigger establishments. German establishments have utilized their flexibility reserves and complementary short-time work to protect their core staff during the crisis. There is also some empirical evidence that the establishments tried to avoid brain drains. With the first signs of a recovery of the economy at the beginning of 2010 the establishments benefitted a lot from that strategy as they were instantly able to satisfy increasing demands in their markets again. Empirical evidence is also found that establishments made more intensive use of short-time work the harder they were suffering from the crisis. Originality/value – For the first time the latest data from the survey wave 2010 of the IAB Establishment Panel is used and compared with the 2009 survey wave. The structure of the panel questionnaire allows the implementation of some specific questions concerning the use of short-time work. The IAB Establishment Panel has a sample size of approximately 16,000 cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and the human-capital determinants of low-wage mobility for labour market entrants in the UK and Germany. Design/methodology/approach -- Using panel data for the UK (BHPS) and Germany (GSOEP), a competing-risks duration model is applied that allows the study of transitions from low pay to competing destination states: higher pay, self-employment, unemployment and inactivity. Unobserved heterogeneity is tackled by a non-parametric mass-point approach. Findings -- It is found that low pay is only a temporary state for most young job starters. However, there is a small group of job starters that is caught in a trap of low pay, unemployment or inactivity. In the UK, job starters escape from low pay mainly by developing firm-specific skills. In Germany, involvement in formal vocational training and the attainment of apprenticeship qualifications account for low pay exits. Originality/value -- Over the past decades, unemployment and low-wage employment have emerged as major challenges facing young labour market entrants. While most empirical studies focus exclusively on the transition from low pay to high pay, the paper shows that a significant percentage of young entrants are caught in a low-pay-non-employment trap. Moreover, it is shown that, depending on the institutional context, different types of human capital investments can account for a successful low-pay exit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - This paper is a cross-national study of the incidence of part-time work. The purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent the difference between Germany and The Netherlands can be explained from the demand side of the labour market. Design/methodology/approach - Several motives of employers for the introduction of part-time jobs are distinguished. Their relevance is tested by means of firm-level data for the two countries within the framework of a multivariate analysis. Findings - The study finds that, in The Netherlands, part-time jobs are more widespread than in Germany. The reasons for this difference are diverse: the difference in industrial structure (more manufacturing in Germany, more services in The Netherlands), less working students in Germany, and probably more reluctance on the side of German employers to meet the preferences of their workers. Originality/value - The paper fills a gap in the literature on part-time work, especially about the importance of institutions differing between the countries. This evidence may be useful in designing policies to increase the incidence of part-time work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether economic functional regions capture spatial clustering of core economic indicators better than administrative regions. For this purpose, we use hierarchical linear models to measure the degree of homogenization of different regional delineations. Our results for Germany show that economic functional regions tend to capture spatial clustering better than administrative ones. However, a considerable amount of clustering at a lower aggregation level cannot be accounted for by economic functional regions, especially around metropolitan centres. Furthermore, economic functional regions, which depict commuting interrelations well, are less able to capture spatial homogenization than other economic functional delineations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to analyze the welfare use of Turkish immigrants and natives in Germany. The authors ask whether the immigrant-native gap in welfare use can be explained by observable characteristics, whether the mechanisms behind welfare dependence differ for Turkish immigrants and natives, and, finally, they compare the situation before and after the 2005 reform of the German welfare system. Design/methodology/approach – Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, the authors estimate linear probability models with random effects to investigate the correlates of transfer receipt for Turkish immigrants and natives. Findings – Turkish immigrants have a higher propensity to use welfare benefits than natives. After controlling for general individual and household level characteristics, the difference in welfare receipt is statistically significant only for the group of second generation immigrants. The correlation of observable characteristics with welfare dependence differs significantly for the native and immigrant sample. The share of benefit recipients increased after the policy reform in 2005 for both immigrants and natives. Practical implications – First, as human capital and particularly labor market status are important determinants of welfare use, training programs designed for the special needs of immigrants might support their labor market integration. Second, measures to ameliorate the integration of older people into the labor market might be particularly useful because the need for welfare benefits arises particularly at the 50-60 age range. Originality/value – This is the first study to investigate welfare use of Turkish immigrants after the German 2005 labor market policy reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- Labor market programs may affect unemployed individuals' behavior before they enroll. The aim of this paper is to study whether such ex ante effects differ according to ethnic origin. Design/methodology/approach -- The authors apply a method that relates self-reported perceived treatment rates and job search behavioral outcomes, such as the reservation wage or search intensity, to each other. German native workers are compared with migrants with a Turkish origin or Central and Eastern European (including Russian) background. Job search theory is used to derive theoretical predictions. The ex ante effect of the German active labor market program (ALMP) system is examined using the novel IZA Evaluation Data Set which includes self-reported assessments of the variables of interest as well as an unusually detailed amount of information on behavior, attitudes and past outcomes. Findings -- It is found that the ex ante threat effect on the reservation wage and search effort varies considerably among the groups considered. Originality/value -- The study is the first to investigate whether migrants and natives react similarly to the expectation of participating in an ALMP, and whether migrants of different regions of origin react similarly or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This paper aims to introduce a new large-scale panel study ("PASS") for research on the labour market, the welfare State and poverty that combines a sample of 6,000 recipient households with an equally large sample of the general population. Design/methodology/approach -- The authors show how research goals and the specific population of the survey are accounted for in a tailored survey design. Findings -- The authors point the reader to new research potential created by the new study. ,The new potential is mainly derived from the sampling design (large recipient sample combined with a population sample), the direct measurement of poverty by a deprivation index, the detailed measurement of the migratory background, additional information (like attitudes, search intensity) for models of recipiency dynamics, and the linkage of the survey data with administrative data. Originality/value -- The data set described fills a major gap in the data-infrastructure available for labour-market research. From a methodological point of view it presents an innovative sampling design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- The paper aims to present an analysis of the indirect and direct effects of active labour market policy measures at the regional level for Western Germany. Design/methodology/approach -- Most evaluation studies of active labour market policy focus on the microeconometric treatment effect using individual data and do not account for possible indirect effects like deadweight and substitution effects. The present study uses a dynamic specification of the augmented matching function at the regional level. A dynamic panel data model is estimated using monthly and regional variation of different labour market programmes as explanatory variables. Furthermore, spatial interactions are taken into account by adding a spatially correlated error term. Findings -- Almost no significant negative effects are found of the stock of participants in programmes of labour market policy on the number of outflows from unemployment into regular jobs. Thus, contrary to findings at the individual level, no lock-in effect is found. The number of programme participants does not reduce the number of outflows from unemployment. On the other hand when looking not at the stocks but on the outflows from programmes, no positive effects on outflows from unemployment at the regional level are found. Research limitations/implications -- Because of data limitations only a period up to six months after completing a programme is used. Originality/value -- The authors distinguish between the effects of the stock of programme participants and of the outflows from programmes. Furthermore, the authors account for spatially correlated error terms by using a GM estimator proposed by Muff in 2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]