WP 46 - Low pay incidence and mobility in the Netherlands – exploring the role of personnel, job and employer characteristics

The rise of earnings inequality in many industrialized countries in recent years has increased concerns about the pay conditions of those individuals located at the bottom of the wage distribution. In this paper we first analyze which groups in the Dutch labor market are more likely on average to fall in low-wage segments, and which are the characteristics of workers and firms that are more closely related to low wage rates. We also explore how the pattern of low-wage employment has evolved over time. Second, we examine the determinants of being in low-wage employment for the individual worker, and we analyze whether there exists a type of “poverty trap” as a result of which earnings mobility is lacking and some workers persist in low-paid jobs for a long period of time. To achieve this we use two datasets: the European Community Household Panel (ECHP) for the period 1995-2001, and the Arbeidsvoorwaarden Onderzoek (Labor Conditions Survey, AVO) of the Dutch Labor Inspectorate for 2002. We utilize the longitudinal aspect of the ECHP to analyze the evolution of low-wage employment over time, by looking at different individual and job characteristics. Finally, we complete the analysis on low-wage employment with an examination of the role of the firm using the detailed information provided by the AVO.

WP 37 - Search, mismatch and unemployment

This paper explores the efficiency of the equilibrium allocation in a matching model with heterogeneous workers and jobs. In the basic setup the labor force is divided in two groups. The high-skill workers are qualified for all jobs, while low-skill workers can perform unskilled jobs but not the more attractive skilled jobs. We demonstrate that the equilibrium with random search and ex post bargaining is never efficient. Under Hosios’ condition the average wage is correct, but bargaining compresses the wage distribution relative to workers’ shadow values. The wage compression distorts the relative profits of jobs making it too attractive to create skilled jobs. Furthermore, the low skill premium may prevent that the two types of workers efficiently sort in different jobs. In the first case we show that the market offers too few job opportunities for low-skill workers. On the contrary, when mismatch is socially wasteful, we find that low-skill workers experience shorter unemployment spells than in the efficient allocation. Finally, we show that our results generalize to environments with many types of agents and less stringent restrictions on the production technology.

WP 55 - Part-time employment: A comparative analysis of Spain and the Netherlands

Most industrialized countries have seen part-time employment as a percentage of total employment increase in the last decade. This paper presents the results of a comparative study of part-time employment in Spain and the Netherlands. The project comprised a legal comparative study of the effectiveness of the normative solutions provided by the Dutch and Spanish legal orders regarding the protection of part-time workers and the promotion of part-time employment, with special attention paid to the gender dimension of part-time work in both countries; and an analysis, based on data extracted from the European Community Household Panel (1995-2001), of the determinants of part-time employment in both countries and an examination of the extent to which part-time jobs are used as stepping-stones to full-time positions. We found significant country differences regarding females’ decisions to take part-time jobs. We also found that, in general, Dutch females are not less likely than their male counterparts to increase the number of hours they work. However, this applies only to those females who are part of a couple or have children younger than 12 years. In Spain, females are 2.6 times less likely than their male counterparts to switch from a part-time to a full-time job. JEL classification: J22, J71, K31, K33Part-time employment, discrimination, gender differences, multinomial logit

Low-wage employment and mobility in Spain

The issue of low-wage workers has received increased interest during last decades in many European countries. In this paper I analyse the patterns of low-wage employment in the Spanish labour market. Using a sample of Spanish workers extracted from the European Community Household Panel for the period 1995-2001, I first analyse the earnings distribution as a whole, looking at the characteristics of low, medium and high paid jobs. I also look at the evolution of these jobs over the period 1995-2001. Furthermore, I examine the determinants of being in a low-paid job using an analytical framework that is characterised by the ability to account for the endogeneity of initial conditions. Finally, I explore the effects of low pay on job mobility. For this purpose I adopt an approach based on competing risks in order to allow for different risks of failure

Tasas de absentismo por enfermedad en España: Datos para el periodo 1996‑2004

This paper aims to highlight the trends of absenteeism among Spanish employees using Spanish Labor Force Survey (S‑LFS) micro‑data. Particular attention is paid to the main demographic and workplace characteristics that increase the rates of sickness absence. In general terms, the sickness absence rate varies from 2% to 2.5%, and the values have remained stable during the period 1996‑2004. Females, older workers, and public sector employees are more likely to be absent from work as a result of sickness. In contrast, the risk of sickness absence is reduced with job insecurity, as suggested by the lower rates of absenteeism among temporary workers. Finally, the results show that socio‑economic status − measured by occupation and educational attainments − plays a role in explaining absenteeism due to sick leaveEl presente artículo pone de manifiesto las tendencias de absentismo laboral en España a partir de microdatos de la Encuesta de Población Activa (EPA). Hemos prestado una especial atención a las principales características demográficas y del lugar de trabajo que aumentan las tasas de absentismo por enfermedad. En general, la tasa de absentismo por enfermedad oscila entre el 2 y el 2,5%, valores que se han mantenido estables durante el periodo 1996‑2004. Las mujeres, las personas de avanzada edad y los funcionarios suelen ausentarse más del trabajo por problemas de salud. En cambio, el riesgo de absentismo por enfermedad se reduce con la inseguridad laboral, tal y como sugieren las bajas tasas de absentismo encontradas entre los trabajadores temporales. Por último, los resultados indican que el estatus socioeconómico, medido según la ocupación y el grado de formación, es uno de los factores que nos pueden ayudar a explicar el absentismo por baja laboralThe financial support from the European Commission through the research project "HEALTHatWORK: An Inquiry into the Health and Safety at Work; A European Union Perspective", HEALTH-F2-2008-200716, is gratefully acknowledge

School to work transitions and the impact of public expenditure on education

In this paper we analyse how the decentralization process of the Spanish educational system has affected the school-to-work transition of youths over the last years. Using individual data from the Spanish Labor Force Survey for the period 1993-2002, we estimate a simultaneous equation model for the unemployment and employment hazard rates of these workers. We include public expenditure on education, at the regional level, as an explanatory factor in both hazards. Furthermore we account for cross-regional differences regarding the decision-making authority over education. Our results reveal that for both, university and non-university levels, public expenditure on education significantly improves the chances of Spanish youths in finding the first job after completing the educational system. Furthermore, it seems that the decentralization of university education has positive effects on youths’ labor market prospects in terms of exiting from unemployment. However, we find that such decentralization has no effects over the likelihood of loosing the first job. Finally, we find that public expenditure on non-university education reduces the individual likelihood of leaving the first job especially in those regions without competences in education.educational expenditure, decentralization,unemployment hazard,emplyment hazard,gasto educativo,descentralización,tasa de salida del desempleo, tasa de despido.

Educational Mismatch of Disadvantaged Groups in the Labour Market: The Case of People with Disabilities

In this article, we analyze the job-matching quality of people with disabilities. We do not find evidence of a higher importance of over-education in this group in comparison to the rest of the population. The main results are the following: people with disabilities have a lower probability of being over-educated for 3 or more years, a higher probability of leaving mismatch in a broad sense or merely over-education towards inactivity or marginal employment, a lower probability of leaving mismatch in a broad sense towards a better match, and a higher probability of employment mobility towards inactivity or marginal employment. These results are probably linked to the relatively low investment in education of this disadvantaged group. The empirical analysis is based on Spanish data from the European Community Household Panel from 1995 to 2000.mismatch, disability, over-education, under-education, mobility,discrimination, over-qualification.

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

Cualificación, emparejamiento ocupacional y versatilidad profesional

En este artículo se analiza el empleo y el emparejamiento ocupacional de los individuos que buscan un empleo desde la perspectiva de sus objetivos específicos de búsqueda. A partir de datos individuales de demandas de empleo y contratos procedentes de registros administrativos de la Comunidad de Madrid durante el periodo 2005-2010, se examinan las características personales y laborales que favorecen el ajuste ocupacional, entendiéndose que éste se produce cuando existe coincidencia exacta entre la ocupación demandada y la ocupación en el contrato. Complementariamente, el no emparejamiento permite analizar el grado de versatilidad profesional entre las distintas ocupaciones, observándose que en ocasiones el no ajuste implica mejoras ocupacionales, mientras que en otros casos se produce un desaprovechamiento de capital humano.Financiación recibida por la Consejería de Empleo, Mujer e Inmigración de la Comunidad de Madrid (Proyecto Panorama Laboral