Comparisons in Gender Wage Differentials and Discrimination between Germany and the United Kingdom

Due to the lack of consistent data, direct and robust comparisons of cross-country labour markets have been virtually impossible. This study uses a new panel data series that controls for inconsistencies, thus overcoming this problem. This study estimates gender wage differentials and gender discrimination in the German and United Kingdom labour markets. Panel estimates are used to identify general wage differences between the two countries, with cross-sectional comparisons undertaken to identify changes that have occurred between 1991 and 1993, that are consistent with known labour market policies. It is found that gender wage differentials are greater in the UK than Germany with employer discrimination against females attributed with the majority of the difference in both countries.

Smoking Behaviour and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from the UK Smoking Ban

We use three waves of the British Household Panel Survey to examine whether changes in smoking behaviour are correlated with life satisfaction and whether the recent ban on smoking in public places in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has affected this relationship. We find that smokers who reduced their daily consumption of cigarettes after the ban report significantly lower levels of life satisfaction compared to those who did not change their smoking habits, with heavy smokers particularly affected. No such finding is reported for previous years.Life Satisfaction Smoking ban

Former Communist party membership and bribery in the post-socialist countries

© 2018 Association for Comparative Economic Studies We study the effect of former Communist party membership on paying bribes to public officials and motivations for bribery, 25 years after the fall of communist rule. Data come from a large representative survey, conducted in post-socialist countries in 2015/16. To deal with endogeneity, we instrument party membership with information on whether family members were affected by the Second World War. Instrumental variable results suggest that links to the former Communist party increase the likelihood of paying bribes today; this result applies to the former party members as well as their children and relatives. Among bribe payers, people with the party links are more likely to offer bribes as well as think that bribe payments are expected. Overall, our findings suggest that the proclivity to corruption of the former Communist party members has been transmitted through family and thus sustained over time, contributing to corruption decades after the demise of the Socialist bloc

Smoking ban and life satisfaction: Evidencefrom the UK

This paper contributes to the literature on happiness economics by testing whether a national smoking ban contributes to changes in smoking behaviour amongst smokers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Based on 'set-point'theory and the idea of the hedonic treadmill it is argued that the ban may only have a temporary impact on happiness of smokers and non-smokers. By using an ordered probit model this paper tests whether there was any change in reported life satisfaction after the UK introduced a ban on smoking in public places

Intentions to return: Evidence from Romanian migrants

Romania faces an acute population crisis with an aging workforce and an increased number of emigrants particularly from the young, highly educated/skilled population. This paper uses a new cross-sectional data set of Romanian emigrants to find which factors are related to plans to return home permanently. The analysis pays particular attention to differences in expected earnings and skills and training acquired as a migrant. The study finds that higher expected earnings in Romania and investment in Romanian firms are positively correlated with plans to return migrate. Policies that boost productivity and therefore wages as well as policies that improve the business climate could therefore encourage Romanian migrants to return to Romania, moderating the negative consequences of the declining and aging population, and increasing the skill stock of the Romanian labor force

Pulled apart, pushed together: diversity and unity within the Congress of South African Trade Unions

This is a study of horizontal and vertical solidarity within a national labour movement, based on a nationwide survey of members of affiliated unions of the Congress of South African Trade Unions. On the one hand, the survey reveals relatively high levels of vertical and horizontal solidarity, despite the persistence of some cleavages on gender and racial lines. On the other hand, the maintenance and deepening of existing horizontal and vertical linkages in a rapidly changing socio-economic context, represents one of many challenges facing organized labour in an industrializing economy. COSATU’s strength is contingent not only on an effective organizational capacity, and a supportive network linking key actors and interest groupings, but also on the ability to meet the concerns of existing constituencies and those assigned to highly marginalized categories of labour

Fear of robots and life satisfaction

The use of robots and in particular next-generation robots in the production of goods and services is increasing. What impact robots are having on people’s quality of life, including workers, is as yet under-explored. This paper provides initial findings examining whether fear of robots is correlated with one aspect of quality of life: life satisfaction. After controlling for individual effects and country effects and using both standard ordinary least squares and a linear multilevel regression model, we find fear of robots correlates with lower reported life satisfaction. There are differences in the fear of robots and life satisfaction by age group, by how long countries have been members of the European Union and by whether we control for attitudes towards other things. We call for more research into attitudes towards technology and new technologies in particular, how these impact on current life satisfaction and other aspects of quality of life and to think more about how technological change and people’s attitudes towards these can be more aligned

MAIT cells and the microbiome

Mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are innate-like T lymphocytes, strikingly enriched at mucosal surfaces and characterized by a semi-invariant αβ T cell receptor (TCR) recognizing microbial derived intermediates of riboflavin synthesis presented by the MHC-Ib molecule MR1. At barrier sites MAIT cells occupy a prime position for interaction with commensal microorganisms, comprising the microbiota. The microbiota is a rich source of riboflavin derived antigens required in early life to promote intra-thymic MAIT cell development and sustain a life-long population of tissue resident cells. A symbiotic relationship is thought to be maintained in health whereby microbes promote maturation and homeostasis, and in turn MAIT cells can engage a TCR-dependent “tissue repair” program in the presence of commensal organisms conducive to sustaining barrier function and integrity of the microbial community. MAIT cell activation can be induced in a MR1-TCR dependent manner or through MR1-TCR independent mechanisms via pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-12/-15/-18 and type I interferon. MAIT cells provide immunity against bacterial, fungal and viral pathogens. However, MAIT cells may have deleterious effects through insufficient or exacerbated effector activity and have been implicated in autoimmune, inflammatory and allergic conditions in which microbial dysbiosis is a shared feature. In this review we summarize the current knowledge on the role of the microbiota in the development and maintenance of circulating and tissue resident MAIT cells. We also explore how microbial dysbiosis, alongside changes in intestinal permeability and imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory components of the immune response are together involved in the potential pathogenicity of MAIT cells. Whilst there have been significant improvements in our understanding of how the microbiota shapes MAIT cell function, human data are relatively lacking, and it remains unknown if MAIT cells can conversely influence the composition of the microbiota. We speculate whether, in a human population, differences in microbiomes might account for the heterogeneity observed in MAIT cell frequency across mucosal sites or between individuals, and response to therapies targeting T cells. Moreover, we speculate whether manipulation of the microbiota, or harnessing MAIT cell ligands within the gut or disease-specific sites could offer novel therapeutic strategies