Wage Differentials in Israel: Endowments, Occupational Segregation, Discrimination, and Selectivity

I use a panel of cross sections income data between 1991 and 2003 to measure wage differentials between Israeli-Arab and Jewish workers in Israel. The wage gap discovered is decomposed into components corresponding to human capital, occupational segregation, selectivity, and a residual, which may reflect discrimination. The unadjusted hourly wage gap between Arab and Jewish workers almost doubled from 40% in 1991 to 77% in 1999. By 2003, however, it had declined to 56%. The study shows large fluctuations in the wage gap. Human capital differences explain a major part of the wage gap, but its contribution is susceptible to the non-discriminatory norm adopted. Occupational segregation accounts for about a third of the wage gap. Because sudden changes in the underlying characteristics of the populations are not likely - these were actually slightly converging over the study period - large part of the changes in the wage gap are likely to be due to labor market discrimination.

Inter-Country Comparisons of Poverty Based on a Capability Approach

We argue that inter-country comparisons of income poverty based on poverty lines uniformly reflecting the costs of the basic requirements of human beings are superior to the existing money-metric approaches. In this exercise, we implement a uniform approach to income poverty assessment based on basic human capabilities for three countries in three continents: Nicaragua, Tanzania, and Vietnam. We compute standard errors of the resulting poverty estimates and compare the incidence of income poverty across these three countries. The choice of approach affects both cardinal estimates and ordinal rankings of income poverty across countries and over time. We argue that meaningful and coherent inter-country poverty comparisons are best advanced through international co-ordination in survey design, and through the construction of income poverty lines that possess a meaningful and uniform interpretation (as the cost of achieving elementary income-dependent capabilities).

Optimal foreign direct investment in the presence of human capital formation

This paper gives both theoretical arguments and econometric support to the notion of optimal FDI levels, from the viewpoint of human-capital formation in the host country. The optimality of a limited FDI level depends on the local incentives to get trained. Those incentives are formed in the face of uncertainty and asymmetric information between the multinational and its potential workers. Our estimates confirm the significance of a negative, non-linear impact of FDI per capita on tertiary schooling, both in developed and developing countries.FDI; Human-Capital Formation; Education; Skill Heterogeneity

Inter-country Comparisons of Poverty Based on a Capability Approach: An Empirical Exercise

We argue that inter-country comparisons of income poverty based on poverty lines uniformly reflecting the costs of the basic requirements of human beings are superior to the existing money-metric approaches. In this exercise, we implement a uniform approach to poverty assessment based on basic human capabilities for three countries: Nicaragua, Tanzania, and Vietnam. We compute standard errors of the resulting poverty estimates and compare the incidence of poverty across these three countries. The choice of approach affects both cardinal estimates and ordinal rankings of poverty across countries and over time. Meaningful and coherent inter-country poverty comparisons can be advanced through international co-ordination in survey design and in the construction of income poverty lines that uniformly reflect the costs of the basic requirements of human beings.Poverty, Inter-Country comparisons, Capability approach

On the effects of foreign direct investment on local human capital formation

El presente paper presta tanto argumentos teóricos como soporte econométrico a la idea de un nivel óptimo de inversión extranjera directa (FDI). Lo hace descubriendo una relación con forma de U invertida entre dicha inversión y el esfuerzo educativo local. La optimalidad de un flujo limitado de FDI depende de la formación de incentivos para educarse entre la población local, que es heterogénea en términos de destreza o habilidad. Estos incentivos se forman en presencia de incertidumbre e información asimétrica entre la multinacional y sus potenciales empleados. Nuestras estimaciones revelan la existencia (y significatividad) de un impacto positivo (lineal) y otro negativo (no lineal) de la inversión extranjera directa sobre la escolarización terciaria, tanto en países desarrollados como en vías de desarrolloThis paper looks at both the theoretical and econometric support to the notion of optimal FDI levels. It does so by uncovering an inverted-U-shaped relationship between FDI and educational effort. The optimality of a particular FDI inflow depends on the educational incentives induced by FDI on the local, heterogeneous population. Those incentives are formed in the face of uncertainty and asymmetric information between the multinationals and their potential workers. Our estimates confi rm the signifi cance of a positive (linear) and a negative (non-linear) impact of FDI per capita on tertiary schooling, both in developed and developing countrie

Do Immigrants Affect Labor Market Disparities?

This study exploits the natural experiment, provided by the start of the second intifada, to measure the effect of immigration on labor market outcomes of Israeli-Arabs and Jews. It finds that Immigrants of different origins, Palestinians versus Foreigners, have different effects on the labor market, and these effects are experienced differently by different native groups, suggesting that the degree of substitution with native workers varies between groups. More specifically, a 10% foreign-worker-induced increase in the supply in a particular industry reduces the wage of Arabs by about 1%, while having no effect on Jewish wages. Palestinian-induced increase in the supply in a particular industry, in contrast, has the opposite effect: it reduces the wage of Jewish workers by about 1% but increases the wage of Arabs by 2.5%. Employment opportunities of either Arabs or Jews are not significantly affected by foreign workers, but are harmed by Palestinian influxes (in the scale of 1.5% for Arabs and 0.5% for Jews, for a 10% Palestinian-induced increase in the supply in a particular industry). Simulation analyses show that immigration of Palestinians and foreign workers together explain 7.6% of the increase in the wage gap between Israeli Arabs and Jews in the 1990s. They provide no explanation for changes in the employment gap.

Uji Perbandingan Kualitas Hotmix Dengan Aspal Hasil Sumur Minyak Tua Secara Konvensional Dengan Aspal Pertamina Penetrasi 60/70

Pada tugas akhir ini, penelitian aspal diambil mengenai perbandingan kualitas Hotmix aspal dengan sample aspal minyak tua yang diolah secara konvensional dari daerah Kabupaten Grobogan dan aspal Pertamina penetrasi 60/70. Pedoman utama dalam penelitian aspal ini adalah berdasarkan SNI 8135 : 2015 dan RSNI M-01-2003. Dari hasil penelitian diperoleh aspal Pertamina penetrasi 60/70 memiliki nilai penetrasi 71, titik lembek aspal 52 ˚C, titik nyala dan titik bakar 286 ˚C, daktilitas 110 cm, kelarutan aspal dengan CCL4 99,33%, dan berat jenis bitumen 1,043 gr/cc, sedangkan aspal sumur minyak tua memiliki nilai penetrasi 390, titik lembek aspal 36 ˚C, titik nyala dan titik bakar 51 ˚C, daktilitas 0 cm, kelarutan aspal dengan CCL4 92,67%, dan berat jenis bitumen 1,0177 gr/cc. Sehingga aspal Pertamina penetrasi 60/70 memenuhi syarat aspal penetrasi 60/70, sedangkan aspal sumur minyak tua tidak masuk ke dalam standart spesifikasi aspal penetrasi 200/300. Nilai penetrasi yang tinggi, nilai daktilitas yang rendah, dan nilai kelarutan aspal dengan CCL4 yang rendah dipengaruhi oleh prosentase senyawa C11H12D6O yang rendah, sehingga untuk meningkatkan kekakuan aspal sumur minyak tua perlu dilakukan penambahan prosentase senyawa C11H12D6O. Nilai Kalium pada aspal sumur minyak tua yang rendah mengakibatkan titik lembek aspal rendah, sehingga aspal sumur minyak tua perlu ditambahkan Kalium untuk meningkatkan nilai titik lembek. Nilai titik nyala dan titik bakar aspal sumur minyak tua yang rendah dipengaruhi oleh banyaknya senyawa pengotor yang mudah terbakar seperti oksigen, parafin, dan minyak, maka perlu dilakukan pemisahan kandungan senyawa pengotor pada aspal sumur minyak tua. Pada pengujian Marhsall, dengan menggunakan aggregat halus dan aggregat kasar sama yang memenuhi syarat berat jenis agregat, penyerapan agregat, abrasi agregat, dan Impact Test diperoleh kadar aspal optimum untuk aspal Pertamina penetrasi 60/70 sebesar 5,7%, sedangkan aspal sumur minyak tua tidak ditemukan kadar aspal optimumnya. Oleh karena itu, aspal sumur minyak tua lebih cocok untuk lapis pondasi jika dilakukan penambahan nilai prosentase senyawa C11H12D6O, sehingga nilai penetrasinya maksimal 200

Military Service and Future Earnings Revisited

Utilizing particularities in the Israeli laws and regulations, that exempt married women and ultra-orthodox Jewish men from military service, we provide evidence about the effects of compulsory military service on future earnings of veterans. The quasi-experimental estimates suggest that women experience a 4.6 percent military wage premium, while men experience a premium of 11.6 percent. These effects are far smaller than those experienced by minority groups, confirming the common notion in this literature. Finally, the discrepancies we found between the naïve and the consistent estimates suggest that people who voluntarily avoid service are those who face the highest opportunity costs of service

Military Service and Future Earnings Revisited

Utilizing particularities in the Israeli laws and regulations, that exempt married women and ultra-orthodox Jewish men from military service, we provide evidence about the effects of compulsory military service on future earnings of veterans. The quasi-experimental estimates suggest that women experience a 4.6 percent military wage premium, while men experience a premium of 11.6 percent. These effects are far smaller than those experienced by minority groups, confirming the common notion in this literature. Finally, the discrepancies we found between the naïve and the consistent estimates suggest that people who voluntarily avoid service are those who face the highest opportunity costs of service

Recessions are Not Good for Your Health: the Counter-Cyclical Health Outcomes Revisited

The net, positive, effect of unemployment at conception on birth outcomes in developed countries is likely overestimated in the literature. This is the consequence of ignoring the effects of unemployment during pregnancy. Using data from Israel, we not only confirm this finding but also find that the harmful effects of unemployment in the third trimester are large enough to offset any preceding positive effects. Stress and nutritional deficiencies due to economic contractions during pregnancy are at least as important as the positive self-selection at conception. This finding calls for policy intervention to support pregnant women even in developed countries