Czech Relative Wages and Returns to Schooling: Does the Short Supply of College Education Bite? (in English)

Czech returns to education are estimated using 2002 data on hourly wages of salaried employees. The wage return on an additional year of schooling is close to 10 percent, which is relatively high given the level of economic development and education level in the Czech Republic. Particularly large is the post-secondary/secondary-school wage gap, which appears higher than in Germany or Austria, two countries with a similar educational structure. This is likely due to the short supply of tertiary education provided by funds-starved Czech public post-secondary institutions.Czech Republic, returns to education

Does the Short Supply of College Education Bite?

Czech returns to education are estimated using 2002 data on hourly wages of salaried employees. The return to an additional year of schooling is close to 10% – that is relatively high given the level of economic development and average schooling level. Particularly large is the college/high-school wage gap: it is about 50% higher than in Germany or Austria, which have a similar education structure. This is likely caused by the short supply of tertiary education provided by the funds-starved Czech public colleges.Czech Republic; Returns to Education

Understanding Czech Long-Term Unemployment

[email protected] potential impact of the looming EU accession of Central European economies is unemployment hysteresis working through long-term unemployment (LTU). In this paper, we explore the mechanisms of LTU by providing a detailed description of the recent rise in Czech LTU following the recession of 1997. We place the Czech evidence in international perspective using, e.g., VAR-based simulations, and focus on the role of welfare benefits in driving LTU.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39883/3/wp498.pd

What Drives the Speed of Job Reallocation During Episodes of Massive Adjustment?

This paper uses individual-level data to characterize economy-wide job creation and destruction during periods of massive structural adjustment. We contrast the gradualist Czech and the rapid Estonian approach to the destruction of the communist economy to provide evidence on selected macroeconomic theories of reallocation with frictions. We find that gradualism (slowing down job destruction) effectively synchronizes job creation and destruction. Drastic job destruction leads to little or no slowdown of job creation. Small newly established firms are the under-researched fountainhead of jobs during the transition from communist to market oriented economies.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39816/3/wp432.pd

Markets and Growth

This paper studies key markets (financial, labor, natural resource, and product) to assess how they are facilitating or constraining growth. First, we draw on the body of existing theoretical and empirical literature to discuss the links between markets and growth. Second, we present four stylized scenarios of the process of growth, which summarize market infrastructure and efficient factor reallocation in response to shocks appear to be among the most important growth determinants. We highlight the relative lack of research on the relationship between labor markets and growth, as opposed to the relationship between human capital production and growth. Finally, we combine suggestions of Topel (1999) and Pritchett (2000) to argue that country-specific markets should be a principal focus of future research on growth. This paper provides a framework for such studies.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39766/3/wp382.pd

What Drives the Speed of Job Reallocation During Episodes of Massive Adjustment?

This paper uses individual-level data to characterize economy-wide job creation and destruction during periods of massive structural adjustment. We contrast the gradualist Czech and the rapid Estonian approach to the destruction of the communist economy to provide evidence on selected macroeconomic theories of reallocation with frictions. We find that gradualism (slowing down job destruction) effectively synchronizes job creation and destruction. Drastic job destruction leads to little or no slowdown of job creation. Small newly established firms are the under-researched fountainhead of jobs during the transition from communist to market oriented economies.job creation, job destruction, transition

Understanding Long-Term Unemployment in the Czech Republic

One potential negative impact of the EU accession of Central European economies could be unemployment hysteresis working through long-term unemployment (LTU). In this paper we explore the mechanisms of LTU by providing a detailed description of the recent rise in Czech LTU following a domestic recession in 1997. We place the Czech data in an international context using VAR-based simulations and examine the role of welfare benefits in driving LTU.long-term unemployment; welfare; simulation

Understanding Czech Long-Term Unemployment

One potential impact of the looming EU accession of Central European economies is unemployment hysteresis working through long-term unemployment (LTU). In this paper, we explore the mechanisms of LTU by providing a detailed description of the recent rise in Czech LTU following the recession of 1997. We place the Czech evidence in international perspective using, e.g., VAR-based simulations, and focus on the role of welfare benefits in driving LTU.Unemployment, Transition, Flexibility, Czech Republic

Sex Segregation and Wage Gaps in East and West Germany

In this paper we examine occupational and firm-level sex segregation and their relationship with wages in West Germany and in East Germany, where anti- discrimination policies were recently implemented. We employ a representative sample of social-security wage records from 1992 and 1995, including a matched employer-employee sub-sample. We find large differences in the size of the wage gap, but not in the degree of segregation across the two parts of Germany. In contrast to U.S. literature German wages are not lower in predominantly female occupations. Conditioning on unobservable taste and labor quality differences, there is a small wage impact of sex segregation in both parts of Germany. Finally, by 1992 the East German wage structure appears as stable as that of West Germany.

Occupational Gender Segregation in the Czech Republic (in English)

The authors use labor force survey data to provide a detailed description and an international comparison of the level and structure of occupational gender segregation in the Czech Republic during 1994–2004. Based on 1999 data, they find Czech occupational segregation to be close to the EU average, with the exception of young, highly educated Czech workers, who faced relatively high segregation. However, segregation has declined rapidly for young workers since 1999, mainly due to the increased representation of women within occupations, not the changing occupational structure.occupational gender segregation