Comparing the Labour Market Effects of Childbirth in Ireland, Sweden, the UK and Germany. ESRI WP170. April 2006

In this paper we examine the effect of welfare state policy in shaping the impact of childbirth events on labour market outcomes. The paper builds on sociological research on the labour market in Europe over the last ten years which has highlighted the critical role of childbirth and child-rearing in shaping women’s participation patterns and reproducing gender inequalities in employment (e.g. Rubery et al 1999) and earnings (Albrecht et al 1999; Barrett et al, 2000; Waldfogel, 1997) . It also builds on research which has shown that the extent of these effects is strongly influenced by the nature of the welfare regimes operating within countries (e.g. Stier et al. 2001; Gornick et al. 1997, 1998; Esping-Andersen 1999). The paper extends previous longitudinal research in the this area which has outlined the factors that influence the duration of childbirth interruptions in single country studies (Jonsson & Mills, 2001; contributors to Blossfeld & Drobnic, 2001; Russell et al. 2002). It also extends the literature on the effects of duration of breaks on occupational outcomes which has tended to focus on first job after return and is largely restricted to the US and the UK (Macran et al 1996; Waldfogel, 1997a 1997b; but see Ziefle 2004). The comparative longitudinal data used in this paper provide a strong basis for further investigating the important question of the effects of childbirth on women’s labour market careers in different institutional settings

Device for initial estimating of laser influence on magnetic properties of specimen

Background: Little is known about the possible long-term health consequences of youth unemployment. Research indicates that unemployment may lead to socioeconomic downward mobility and mental health problems, but we still lack knowledge of the long-term health consequences of youth unemployment. This article examines the potential long-term association between youth unemployment and functional somatic symptoms in adulthood.  Methods: The ‘Northern Swedish cohort’ was used with data from five data collections, from 1981 (age 16) until 2007 (age 42). Youth unemployment was measured as months in unemployment between age 16 and 21, and health outcome as functional somatic symptoms (an index of 10 items of self-reported symptoms). Linear regression was used to analyse the relationship between months in youth unemployment and functional somatic symptoms at age 21 and age 42, stratified for women and men and adjusted for potential confounders, such as time spent in education at age 21 and later unemployment between age 21 and 42.  Results: Youth unemployment was significantly related to functional somatic symptoms at age 21 for men after controlling for confounders, but not for women. Among men, the association remained for functional somatic symptoms at age 42, after controlling for confounders.  Conclusions: Adolescence seems to be a sensitive period during which unemployment could have remaining health effects in adulthood, at least for men, though assumptions of causality are tentative and more research is needed

Interdependencies between labour market insecurity and well-being: Evidence from panel data

Mettre en perspective les Disability Studies britanniques avec les pistes ouvertes par le perfectionnisme moral invite à questionner deux frontières qui, par hypothèse, sépareraient pour l’une le eux - qui seraient-ils ? - du nous - qui serions-nous? - , différencieraient pour l’autre l’avant de l’après. Stanley Cavell propose d’appréhender le perfectionnisme sous l’angle d’une invitation à se positionner, à prendre part: le lecteur d'une oeuvre, au cours de sa lecture, se trouve invité par l..

Sociologförbundet har ordet : Den liberala utbildningen - bredden som specialisering

Sociologisk Forsknings digitala arkiv</p

Varying unemployment experiences? : the economy and mental well-being

From being an unemployment success story, Sweden was during the 1990s thrown into a European normality, with apparent high and persistent unemployment. This has made unemployment a central issue in the Swedish public debate as a social problem directly affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals. In the public debate there is however no consensus on what characterises the experience of unemployment. One perspective emphasises the role of employment for self-realisation. Unemployment here becomes a very destructive experience, due to the psychosocial value attached to employment. An alternative perspective instead views employment as a necessary evil that brings little satisfaction to those who participate in it. From this perspective unemployment mean very little to those struck by it outside the possible negative effects on income (which are minimised by the welfare state). The objective of this thesis has been to move beyond the postulated truths of what the experience of unemployment means. It uses an empirical approach in order to investigate the consequences of unemployment for mental well-being, and to develop an understanding of the reasons for this relationship. The following conclusions can be drawn from the five articles that make up the thesis. In line with previous international and Swedish research, the thesis shows that unemployment as compared to employment is in general a distressing experience. This does however not mean that we can draw the simple conclusion that unemployment represents misery and employment represents the absence of misery. The thesis finds the relationship to be more complex than so. There is a need to take into account more of the possible variations in status available both on and outside the labour market. Different exit routes from unemployment were found to have different consequences for the mental well-being of the unemployed individual. Further, the evidence in the thesis shows that there is variation in the impact of unemployment on mental well-being within the unemployment group. We should, thus, not talk about the experience of unemployment, but rather about varying unemployment experiences. The general effect of unemployment on mental well-being, and the variation in the unemployment experience, was in turn shown to be mainly dependent on two factors. Firstly on the psychosocial need for employment in a society where employment is the norm. Secondly, on the economic need for employment in a society where employment, as the thesis also shows, for many still is necessary for adequate economic resources.Härtill 5 uppsatser.digitalisering@um

Sociologförbundet har ordet : Den (o)synliga sociologin

Sociologisk Forsknings digitala arkiv</p