Informal Caring and Labour Market Outcomes Within England and Wales

This paper focuses on the links between informal care provision and labour market activity at the sub-national level. Within-country analysis of this issue has been very limited to date despite the wide regional variations in informal care provision that often exist. This issue is important in the context of policy decisions in Wales and other parts of the UK because of relatively high levels of informal caring in certain areas, especially in the South Wales Valleys. In particular, given that these areas typically have the lowest economic activity and employment rates, labour market differences can be exacerbated by the provision of informal caring by people of working age. Despite the wide variations in informal care provision, it is found that labour market outcomes do not differ markedly by different care categories across spatial areas within England and Wales. However, the analysis reveals that labour market outcomes for males as well as females are heavily influenced for those who provide high levels of caring, especially in the South Wales Valleys. For example, the largest impact of caring on the probability of not working for males and for part-time work for females is seen in this area.labour market outcomes, informal care provision, area variations

Go West? Assessing the willingness to move from Central and Eastern European Countries

This paper uses cross national survey data to examine the willingness to move of residents from several Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs). This is of particular relevance given that some of these countries will be part of the forthcoming enlargement of the EU, and hence individuals from these countries will eventually be allowed to move freely between member states. Whereas most previous studies have used aggregate data to forecast flows from the East following enlargement, the emphasis in this paper is on the reasons why individuals may not want to move and it is argued that these factors may outweigh the possible high rewards in the West for many individuals. It is found that although individuals in some of the CEECs display a relatively high willingness to move, overall, the willingness to move country is lower in the CEECs than it is in the EU. Furthermore, the availability of microdata enables the characteristics of those individuals who are most willing to move to be established and the evidence suggests that the most qualified individuals have the highest willingness to move.Migration, EU enlargement, Labour immobility

Welfare Participation by Immigrants in the UK

Welfare participation is an important indicator of how successfully immigrants perform in the host country. This paper examines this issue for the UK, which has experienced a large growth in its immigrant flows and population levels in recent years, especially following EU enlargement in 2004. The analysis focuses in particular on the types of benefits that immigrants tend to claim as well as examining differences by area of origin. It also examines the factors that determine social benefit claims, including an investigation of the impact of education ethnicity and years since migration. Social welfare claims vary considerably by immigrant group as well as by the type of benefit claimed in the UK. There is also some variation by gender within the migrant groups

Welfare Participation by Immigrants in the UK

Welfare participation is an important indicator of how successfully immigrants perform in the host country. This paper examines this issue for the UK, which has experienced a large growth in its immigrant flows and population levels in recent years, especially following EU enlargement in 2004. The analysis focuses in particular on the types of benefits that immigrants tend to claim as well as examining differences by area of origin. It also examines the factors that determine social benefit claims, including an investigation of the impact of education, ethnicity and years since migration. Social welfare claims vary considerably by immigrant group as well as by the type of benefit claimed in the UK. There is also some variation by gender within the migrant groups.immigration, United Kingdom, benefit claims, EU enlargement

The Labour Market Impact of Recent Immigration on Ethnic Groups in The UK

The UK experienced has unprecedented levels of immigration in the last decade. These inflows were particularly pronounced following EU enlargement in May 2004, since when the UK has received a huge influx of migrants from Central and Eastern Europe. Although existing studies have suggested that the impact of these migration flows on the UK labour market in general has been small, little is known about the effect on particular demographic sub-groups. We begin to fill this void by examining the effect of recent immigration on the labour market experiences of individuals from different ethnic groups. This analysis is important because of the labour market disadvantages that certain minority groups have previously encountered, the continued rapid population growth experienced by some groups and concerns regarding social cohesion. Using the Labour Force Survey, our econometric estimates suggest that recent immigration has had a small negative impact on labour market outcomes, with a slightly greater effect on native born whites compared to ethnic minorities, although some variation is also found between minority groups.immigration, labour market outcomes, ethnic minorities

Have industrial relations in the UK really improved?

The number of strikes reported in British industry has been on a downward trend over the past two decades, falling in 1998 to their lowest level since records began. This may indicate that relations within British industry have improved, however, the same period has also witnessed a sharp increase in the number of individual ACAS and employment tribunal cases. We discuss possible reasons for the changes in the patterns of industrial unrest over time and use individual microdata to examine whether the observed decline in strike activity has actually been associated with an improvement in perceptions of workplace industrial relations.Industrial relations; strikes; individual disputes

Migration and Labour Market Differences: The Case of Wales

The migration of labour can affect economies in several ways. This paper focuses on two of the economic impacts of migration in the context of the recent Welsh experience. Firstly, since migration is a key aspect of labour market flexibility, it is a mechanism through which local and regional labour market differences can be reduced. However, it is found that the most deprived parts of Wales have the lowest levels of migration and that both in and outmigration rates are negatively correlated with unemployment and sickness rates. Secondly, the characteristics of in and out-migrants have important implications for the current and future performance of local and regional economies. Using a variety of data sources, it is shown that people leaving Wales are younger and more educated than migrants to Wales. Furthermore, younger and more educated Welsh individuals appear to have a higher willingness to move than their counterparts living elsewhere in Britain.migration, local and regional labour markets, Wales

Dynamics and Diversity: Ethnic Employment Differences in England and Wales, 1991 - 2001

This paper focuses on two main issues, firstly the extent to which the employment position of the main ethnic minority groups in England and Wales changed between 1991 and 2001 and secondly, a detailed examination of employment amongst ethnic groups in 2001. In relative terms, the employment position of most ethnic minority groups improved over the period, especially for males. Some of this improvement was due to enhanced levels of observable characteristics. However, the employment gap between Whites and some ethnic minority groups remains extremely large. Religion, local deprivation and educational qualifications are found to be important influences for many minority groups.employment, ethnic minorities, discrimination.