The extent of upskilling of the argentine labor market: a simple analysis

Over the last three decades the labor market of most developed countries have experienced a sustained period of upskilling. This means an overall increase in the skill requirement of jobs determined by the demand for skilled labor. This suggests that their labor demand has become more skill intensive, shifting towards skilled workers relatively to unskilled workers. An analysis of job growth of the Argentine labor market between 1997 and 2009 using data from the EPH, evidences a process of deskilling over this period, with serious implications in terms of competitiveness and about issues related to increasing social and economic inequality.Los países industrializados evidencian un sostenido proceso de upskilling en sus mercados de trabajo durante los últimos treinta años, esto implica que la demanda laboral se ha sesgado hacia ocupaciones intensivas en habilidades y conocimiento, requiriéndose, por ende, mayor proporción de trabajadores con esas características en relación al resto. El estudio, con datos de la EPH, analiza la evolución del mercado laboral argentino verificando características de deskilling (downskilling) entre 1997 y 2009, es decir, manifiesta la ocurrencia de un proceso inverso al de las economías desarrolladas, situación que genera inequidad e impacta negativamente sobre los incentivos y competitividad del país

Labour Migration From EaP Countries to the EU - Assessment of Costs and Benefits and Proposals for Better Labour Market Matching

It is reasonable to expect steady migratory flows from Eastern Parntership nations in the future, and that migration would be a desirable phenomenon (based on the so-far advantageous migratory flows from EaP nations). They cause no negative wage effects on native workers

Future gender relations in global restructuring processes case study evidence from knowledge-intensive, manufacturing and service occupations

Global restructuring processes have not only strong implications for European working and living realities, but also have specific outcomes with regard to gender relations. The following contribution analyses in which way global restructuring shapes current gender relations in order to identify important trends and developments for future gender (in)equalities at the workplace. On the basis of a large qualitative study on global restructuring and impacts on different occupational groups it argues that occupational belonging in line with skill and qualification levels are crucial factors to assess the further development of gender relations at work. Whereas global restructuring in knowledge-based occupations may provide new opportunities for female employees, current restructuring is going to deteriorate female labour participation in service occupations. In contrast, manufacturing occupations can be characterised by persistent gender relations, which do not change in spite of major restructuring processes at the work place. Taking the institutional perspective into account, it seems to be crucial to integrate the occupational perspective in order to apply adequate policy regulations to prevent the reinforcement of gender related working patterns in the near future.Global restructuring, gender, work organisation, occupational restructuring

Export Boom, Employment Bust? The Paradox of Indonesia\u27s Displaced Workers, 2000-2014

In Indonesia, an export boom and rapid, sustained gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the decade after 2000 was accompanied by real earnings that were flat on average, and even declined for many workers. Conventional models of growth and trade predict that labor productivity rises as an economy develops; that this should not be observed during a period of high GDP growth is a puzzle that merits careful investigation. In this paper we explore these seemingly paradoxical trends using several waves of a panel of individual employment data. Economic growth is rarely balanced in a sectoral sense, and the nature of the structural change experienced by Indonesia is also strongly associated with lower competitiveness in sectors in which formal employment rates are high, causing some degree of involuntary labor movement from formal to informal modes of employment. We explore this econometrically and find that the earnings of workers displaced from formal to informal jobs are significantly lower than those of workers who remain in the formal market. The fact of this displacement, and its implications for individual earnings, undercuts conventional thinking about the welfare gains from a sustained growth experience. Our findings add, perhaps for the first time, a developing country dimension to the existing job displacement literature. They also shed some light on the causes of Indonesia’s unprecedented increase in inequality during the same growth period

The Working Hours of Immigrants in Germany: Temporary versus Permanent

Migration is often viewed as an investment decision. Temporary migrants can be expected to invest less in accumulating human capital specific to the host country. Instead, they work more hours in order to accumulate savings and invest in financial capital that can be transferred back to their country of origin upon return. In this paper, using German panel data, we explore how temporary migrants differ from permanent migrants in their labor supply decisions and behavior. Upon correcting for endogeneity bias, temporary migrants are found to work more hours than permanent ones. This result supports the human capital theory and a household production model of migration where migrants may be temporary by choice and not because of legal restrictions or even a bad experience in the labor market.migration, temporary migrants, labor supply, Germany

Projections of potential flows to the enlarging EU from Ukraine, Croatia and other Eastern neighbors

This study evaluates potential migration flows to the European Union from its Eastern neighbors and Croatia. We perform out-of-sample forecasts to time series cross-sectional data about post-enlargement migration flows following the EU's 2004 enlargement. We consider two baseline policy scenarios, with and without accession of sending countries to the EU. Our results show that migration flows are driven by migration costs and economic conditions, but the largest effects accrue to policy variables. In terms of the predicted flows: (i) we can expect modest migration flows in the case of no liberalization of labor markets and only moderately increased migration flows under liberalization; (ii) after an initial increase following liberalization, migration flows will subside to a long run steady state; (iii) Ukraine will send the most migrants; and (iv) the largest inflows in absolute terms are predicted for Germany, Italy and Austria, whereas Ireland, Denmark, Finland and again Austria are the main receiving countries relative to their population

Change Processes and Future Perspectives in the Knowledge Society. The Example of Clothing and Textile Industry

The paper examines change processes und future perspectives in the knowledge society. It presents the clothing and textile industry as an example for a transforming industry in a global economy. The paper reviews existing future studies, which have surveyed change processes and future developments in the clothing and textile industry. Main goals of the review are the identification of changes in work and the description of the restructuring of global value chains within the clothing and textile sector. The paper also highlights major current trends, drivers of change and future prospects in this sector.knowledge-based society; foresight; clothing industry; textile industry

Did Post-Enlargement Labor Mobility Help the EU to Adjust During the Great Recession? The Case of Slovakia

This paper evaluates the mobility patterns of Slovaks into the rest of the European Union (EU) following Slovakia's EU accession in 2004 and through the Great Recession. Combining information from various data sources including the Slovak Labor Force Survey and conducting our own statistical analysis of selectivity into migration, we study whether and how migration responded to asymmetric economic shocks at home and abroad. We identify a number of shifts in the directionality and composition of migration flows in terms of the destinations, gender, age, educational attainment and occupation, reflecting changing labor market conditions in receiving countries and Slovakia. We show that besides the standard demographic factors, migration propensity was higher among the unemployed and from the more depressed regions of Slovakia. We conclude that labor migration has served as an important adjustment mechanism in the country and more generally in the EU labor market

Globalization processes of value chains in clothing industry in Portugal: implication in the working structures

Some of the phenomena where the “globalization” concept is applied include the internationalization of markets, globalization of culture, polítical hegemony of world by some states, or groups of states, the increasing power of supranational institutions, and the development of a global division of labour. A starting point to understand the global division of work is the study of how companies are re-structuring, once they are the key-actors in the decision on which work should be found and where. The “value chains” describe each step in the productive process of a final product or service. Separated units of value chains can be in the same company (in-house) or in different companies (outsourced). Similarly they can be in a same local, or in other location. Normalization of business processes, combined with digitalization of information and the development of telecommunication networks made possible the tele-mediated work. This paper presents results from the European WORKS project, where are studied Portuguese cases of firms that integrate globalized value chain, and are analized the implications on work organization models and the (new) professional structures.globalisation; value chains; clothing industry; textile industry; Europe; Portugal