The shadow value of employer-provided training

This paper adopts an equivalent income approach to calculate the economic value of training activities for workers. Using econometric regression analysis of individual self-reported job satisfaction (JS) and data from the European Community Household Panel dataset (ECHP), the paper shows that employer-provided training exerts a positive and significant effect on JS. On average, this effect is equivalent to a 17.7% increase in labour earnings. Boes and Winkelmann’s (2009) Generalized Ordered Probit for panel data is used to show that the determinants of JS as well as the equivalent income of training differ across the JS distribution.N/

The determinants of Spanish language proficiency among immigrants in Spain

This article uses micro-data from the Spanish National Immigrant Survey (Encuesta Nacional de Inmigrantes-ENI in Spanish) carried out in 2007 among immigrants in Spain. In recent years, Spain has received unprecedented immigration flows. A substantial number of immigrants cannot communicate adequately in the language of the country to which they immigrate. Among the multiple reasons for the lack of host language proficiency one can distinguish factors such as a low level of educational attainment, not having been provided with adequate opportunities to learn the host language, living in ethnic enclaves or having arrived at an older age. Language skills (including oral and written ability) play a crucial role in the determination of the immigrants’ social and economic integration in the host country. As a consequence, analyzing the source of foreign language acquisition is crucial for understanding the immigrants’ economic, social and political involvement. The results show that an increase in educational attainment is associated with a higher level of Spanish spoken proficiency. Language ability is also associated with the country or region of origin. The results show that immigrant men and women from the Maghreb and Asia, as well as men from Eastern Europe and Sub Saharan Africa show a significantly weaker command over spoken Spanish than Western Europeans.N/

Overeducation Dynamics and Personality

We use the 2000-2008 waves of the German Socioeconomic Panel to examine overeducation transitions. The results are based on a first-order Markov model that allows us to account for both the initial conditions problem and for potential endogeneity in attrition. We find that overeducation dynamics, especially the probability of entering overeducation, is significantly influenced by personality. Notwithstanding theses differences associated with individual heterogeneity, still there appears to be considerable overeducation persistence. Almost 18% of the overeducation risk is due to individual state dependence, i.e., the fact of having been overeducated in the previous year.Overeducation dynamics; trivariate probit model; personality traits.

An exploration of asset returns in a production economy with relative habits

This paper explores asset returns in a production economy with habit forming households. I show that a model with capital adjustment costs and relative habits is consistent with salient financial facts, such as the equity premium, the market price of risk, and the riskfree interest rate. These predictions are not at odds with good business cycle predictions. In the model economy investment is strongly procyclical and more volatile than output, which in turn is more volatile than consumption. Moreover, consumption growth is positively autocorrelated and negatively (positively) correlated with future (past) stock returns

Does income deprivation affect people's mental well-being?

Incluye bibliografíaEste trabajo utiliza datos de panel de olas 2002-2010 del Panel Socioeconómico Alemán, a fin de evaluar el impacto que la privación en términos de renta familiar tiene sobre el bienestar mental. La heterogeneidad no observable está controlada a través de un modelo de efectos aleatorios que incluye un término de Mundlak y controles explícitos para la personalidad de los individuos. El artículo muestra que, dada una renta familiar, una posición menos favorable en la posición relativa de la distribución de renta se traduce en un menor bienestar mental. Este efecto no es estadísticamente significativo entre las mujeres. Sin embargo, en el caso de los hombres el efecto perjudicial que un aumento de una desviación estándar en la privación de renta tiene sobre el bienestar mental equivale a un pérdida del 30% en la renta familiar permanente. Curiosamente, este impacto difiere entre individuos dotados con diferentes habilidades no cognitivas. Estos resultados sugieren que las políticas, prácticas e iniciativas orientadas a mejorar el bienestar de los ciudadanos europeos requieren una mayor consideración de la renta relativa de los individuosThis paper uses panel data from the 2002-2010 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel dataset (SOEP) to assess the impact of income deprivation upon individual mental well-being. Unobserved heterogeneity is controlled for by means of a random effects model extended to include a Mundlak term and explicit controls for the respondents’ personality traits. The paper shows that, for a given household income, a less favourable relative position in the income distribution is associated with lower mental well-being. This effect is not statistically significant among women, though. Among men, a one standard deviation increase in income deprivation is found to be as harmful as a reduction in permanent household income of almost 30%. Interestingly, this impact is found to differ among individuals endowed with different sets of non-cognitive skills. We suggest that policies, practices and initiatives aimed at improving well-being among European citizens require a better understanding of individuals’ sensitiveness to others’ incom

The effects of over-indebtedness on individual health

This paper uses data from the 2002-2005-2008 waves of the Spanish Survey of Household Finances (EFF) to investigate whether debts burdens hamper people's health. Several measures of debt strain are constructed, including debt-to-income ratios, the existence of debt arrears and amounts of outstanding debts. The paper also differentiates between mortgage and non-mortgage debts and explores the role of social norm effects in the debt-health relationship. The results, based on a random effects model extended to include a Mundlak term, show that nonmortgage debt payments and debt arrears affect significantly people's health. Furthermore, mild social norm effects are detected, according to which being less indebted than the reference group results, ceteris paribus, in better health

The contribution of vocational training to employment, job-related skills and productivity: evidence from Madeira

In this paper, we analyse the transition to the labor market of participants in vocational training in Madeira in Portugal. The analysis is in two stages. First, we investigate how the employ ment status at different dates (1 month, 1 year, and 2 years after the completion of the training program) depends on relevant variables, such as age, gender, education and the content and duration of the training. Second, we use individuals’ self assessment of the effectiveness of the training program along three dimensions: employment, job-related skills and produc tivity. The respondents score training activities high on every dimension. Moreover, we find that training is more effective among the educated, indicating that vocational training is far from being remedial. We also find that long training programs and training related to tourism are particularly effective.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Offshoring, job satisfaction and job insecurity

This paper investigates the effects of offshoring on individual job satisfaction and perceived risk of job loss. The authors merge microdata from the German Socio-economic Panel dataset (SOEP) with indicators of insertion in global value chains at the industry level for the period 2000–2013. They test two hypotheses. First, the authors investigate whether workers in industries with higher offshoring intensity report lower job satisfaction and/or are more prone to be unsecure at their jobs. Second, they test whether these effects differ among four categories of collars. Their findings indicate that offshoring is associated with lower job satisfaction. The results are also indicative of some heterogeneity in the offshoring effect, with high skilled white-collar workers being mostly unaffected by offshoring and low skilled blue-collar workers showing the largest negative effects. Discriminating between manufacturing and services activities, the authors find that the extent of heterogeneity and the offshoring effect is relatively larger in manufacturing industries. They also find that the effect of offshoring intensity upon job satisfaction is more negative and significant in periods of economic decline. Finally, the results show that offshoring is not significantly related with job insecurity, a result that applies to all workers’ categories. Still, in a period of economic decline job insecurity may increase when the offshoring intensity rises.R&D Program in Social Sciences and Humanities by the Autonomous Community of Madrid, OPINBI project H2019/HUM-5793Junta de AndaluciaMinisterio de Ciencia, Innovacion y universidades (Spain) PGC2018-093506-B-I0

Educational qualifications and wage inequality: evidence for Europe

In this paper we investigate the connection between education and wage inequality in nine European countries. We exploit the quantile regression technique to calculate returns to lower secondary, upper secondary and tertiary education at different points of the wage distribution. Using data from the last few decades, we describe changes in the conditional wage distribution of the surveyed countries. We find that in most European countries the amount of conditional wage dispersion within education groups is substantially higher and has grown faster among college-edu cated workers than among less educated workersEn este artículo analizamos la conexión entre educación y desigualdad salarial en nueve países Europeos. Empleamos la técnica de la regresión quintílica para calcular, en diferentes puntos de la distribución salarial, la rentabilidad del primer y segundo ciclo de la educación secundaria y la rentabilidad de la educación. Utilizando datos de las últimas décadas, describimos cambios en la distribución condicional de los salarios en los diferentes países. Hallamos que en la mayoría de países la dispersión sa larial condicionada dentro de los diferentes grupos educativos es mayor y ha aumentado más entre los trabajadores con educación universitaria que entre los trabajadores con menos estudios.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio