Precarious workers' choices about unemployment insurance membership after the Ghent system reform : The Finnish experience

The literature on the Ghent system has focused on the link between voluntary unemployment insurance and union membership in terms of industrial relations. Less attention has been paid to unemployment benefits and employees' decision-making concerning unemployment insurance, even though the core function of the Ghent system is to provide unemployment insurance. This paper examines both of the options that precarious workers (i.e., part-timers, temporary employees, and low-skilled service employees) choose regarding unemployment insurance membership and the change in union density after the Ghent system reform in Finland. First, the results show that the growth of the independent unemployment insurance fund was the main reason for declining union density in the 2000s and early 2010s. Second, in terms of precarious workers, we find that the emergence of the independent fund has affected their choices about unemployment insurance membership and that their choices depend on the type of precarious employment they have. Moreover, part-timers and temporary employees younger than 35 years of age are much less likely to enroll in unemployment insurance than older employees who have the same types of employment contracts.Peer reviewe

Prescription opioid use and employment : A nationwide Finnish register study

Background: The secular decline in labor market participation and the concurrent increase in opioid use in many developed countries have sparked a policy debate on the possible connection between these two trends. We examined whether the use of prescription opioids was connected to labor market outcomes relating to partici-pation, employment and unemployment among the Finnish population. Methods: The working-age population (aged 19-64 years) living in Finland during the period 1995-2016 was used in the analyses (consisting of 67 903 701 person-year observations). Lagged values of prescription opioid use per capita were used as the exposure. Instrumental variables (IV) estimation method was used to identify causal effects, where opioid use per capita for the elderly (65-95-year-old) was used as an instrument for the opioid use per capita for the working-age population of the same gender, education and region. Results: Increased opioid use led to worse labor market outcomes in the long run, with the effect size of 16 % and 20 %, compared to the standard deviation of the employment and participation rates. On the contrary, in the short run, increased opioid use had positive employment effects. Conclusions: Policymakers should take the contradictory short-and long-term effects into account while considering regulation and monitoring of opioid use. Regulating and monitoring long-term prescription opioids is crucial for reducing their negative labor market consequences.Peer reviewe

Job anxiety, work-related psychological illness and workplace performance

This paper uses matched employee-employer data from the British Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS) to examine the relationship between employee psychological health and workplace performance in 2004 and 2011. Using two measures of work-related psychological health – namely employee-reported job anxiety and manager-reported workforce stress, depression and anxiety – we find a positive relationship between psychological ill-health and absence, but not quits. The association between psychological ill-health and labour productivity is less clear, with estimates sensitive to sector, time period and the measure of psychological health. The 2004-2011 panel is further used to explore the extent to which change in psychological health is related to change in performance

Job security and employee well-being: Evidence from matched survey and register data

We examine the effects of establishment- and industry-level labor market turnover on employees’ well-being. The linked employer-employee panel data contain both survey information on employees’ subjective well-being and comprehensive register-based information on job and worker flows. Labor market turbulence decreases well-being as experienced job satisfaction and satisfaction with job security are negatively related to the previous year’s flows. We test for the existence of compensating wage differentials by explaining wages and job satisfaction with average uncertainties, measured by an indicator for a high moving average of past excessive turnover (churning) rate. The results are consistent with compensating wage differentials, since high uncertainty increases real wages, but has no effect on job satisfaction

Job security and employee well-being: Evidence from matched survey and register data

We examine the effects of establishment- and industry-level labor market turnover on employees’ well-being. The linked employer-employee panel data contain both survey information on employees’ subjective well-being and comprehensive register-based information on job and worker flows. Labor market turbulence decreases well-being as experienced job satisfaction and satisfaction with job security are negatively related to the previous year’s flows. We test for the existence of compensating wage differentials by explaining wages and job satisfaction with average uncertainties, measured by an indicator for a high moving average of past excessive turnover (churning) rate. The results are consistent with compensating wage differentials, since high uncertainty increases real wages, but has no effect on job satisfaction

The preparation and some reaction of F2PSPF2 and F2PC(CF3)2OPF2, and the synthesis of the bis-borane adduct of F2PSSPF2

The potentially bidentate fluorophosphine ligand F2PSPF2 can be prepared in 75% yield from the reaction of F2PBr and [(C4H9)3Sn]2S. On the basis of infrared and Raman spectra, the compound has been assigned a bent confirmation of point Cs or C2. Nuclear magnetic resonance data confirm the assigned formula; but, as indicated by Rudolph and Newmark, low rigidity in the P-S-P backbone is probable and several rotamers might be expected. The compound is pyrophoric in air, but decomposes slowly at 25[deg] and low pressure in the absence of air and water. It reacts with HCl and H2O. With an excess of B2H6 at room temperature it gives the of the formerly elusive disulfide F2PSSPF2. The free disulfide has not yet been obtained from the adduct. A related fluorophosphine bidentate ligand, F2PC(CF3)2OPF2 was prepared in 80% yield from the reaction of P2F4 and hexafluoroacetone. The compound can be unequivocally characterized from its 19F nmr spectrum alone, although other data are given.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/21845/1/0000248.pd

Does better education mitigate risky health behavior? A mendelian randomization study

Education and risky health behaviors are strongly negatively correlated. Education may affect health behaviors by enabling healthier choices through higher disposable income, increasing information about the harmful effects of risky health behaviors, or altering time preferences. Alternatively, the observed negative correlation may stem from reverse causality or unobserved confounders. Based on the data from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study linked to register-based information on educational attainment and family background, this paper identifies the causal effect of education on risky health behaviors. To examine causal effects, we used a genetic score as an instrument for years of education. We found that individuals with higher education allocated more attention to healthy habits. In terms of health behaviors, highly educated people were less likely to smoke. Some model specifications also indicated that the highly educated consumed more fruit and vegetables, but the results were imprecise in this regard. No causal effect was found between education and abusive drinking. In brief, inferences based on genetic instruments showed that higher education leads to better choices in some but not all dimensions of health behaviors

The synthesis and characterization of some new difluorophosphine derivatives

The heretofore unknown chelating fluorophosphine ligands, F2PCH2PF2 and F2PCH2CH=CH2 have been prepared and characterized. The reagent F2PCH2I has been prepared and used in the synthesis of F2PCH2PF2. NMR data are given.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/21864/1/0000268.pd