Closing the seasonal agricultural workers scheme: a triple loss

Despite temporary migration programmes (TMPs) being heralded as achieving a triple win – whereby the host state, the sending state and the migrants themselves all benefit – the UK government has now terminated all such programmes, including the long- standing Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS). At the same time, TMPs have been heavily criticised by both the academic and policy sectors, as they tie workers to employers in rigid ways and lack integration measures. This paper reviews the SAWS scheme, including the policy evolution of the programme and the reasons for the closure. We argue that the government is inflicting a multiple loss scenario, whereby permanent immigration may increase, labour market shortages will be rife, remittances and skills transfers will be lost, and irregular immigration and in turn exploitation of migrant worker rights may be exacerbated. Whilst the policy design of SAWS was far from perfect, we argue that a modified version, targeting agricultural students, should be retained, which could restore the triple-win scenario

Health status and willingness-to-pay estimates for the benefits of improved recycling rates: evidence from Great Britain

Waste management is a challenging task around the globe. Waste disposal and recycling have important implications, not only for environmental preservation, but also for the public health, well-being, the economy and sustainable development. However, little is known about the impact of the recycling rates on public health and the willingness to pay to increase recycling. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship among household income, recycling rates and health status and to estimate the marginal willingness-to-pay (MWTP) in Great Britain. The empirical analysis relied on data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) over the period 1999–2009. We estimated the impact of recycling rates and income on health status and we calculated the monetary value for a unit increase in recycling. To solve for the endogeneity issues, coming from possible reverse causality and omitted-variable bias, we implemented two instrumental variables (IV) approaches. First, we applied the Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) and second, we estimated a Pooled Ordered Probit model. We found that for one percent increase in recycling rates, the average MWTP was estimated between £290 and £340 per annum. Furthermore, our results show that other determinants play an additional significant role on health status, such as the employment and marital status, the age, education level and meteorological conditions. While the study provides insights about the MWTP, future studies regarding the costs of providing recycling services may offer additional useful information to help the policy makers in the decision-making process

Household disability costs and living standards in Turkey: evidence from a health reform

Purpose In this study, we attempt to estimate the disability costs of households employing the Standard of Livings (SoL) approach and evaluate the impact of the Universal health system reform implemented in Turkey in 2008. Design/methodology/approach We apply a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), which simultaneously estimates the disability and living standard equations, including unobserved latent variables. Moreover, we apply a difference-in-differences (DiD) framework to investigate the impact of the universal health insurance (UHI) system and the Green Card programme on living standards. The empirical analysis relies on data derived from the cross-sectional Household Budget Surveys (HBS) during the period 2002–2013. Findings Our findings suggest a negative and significant impact of disability on SoL, where disability costs reach the 23% of the household income, which is equivalent almost to $2,600 (USD). Furthermore, the disability costs are reduced from$4,450 to $2,260 due to the UHI and the Green Card programme. Research limitations/implications A major limitation of the study is the data structure, which is based on repeated cross-sectional surveys. By using panel data, it is possible to follow the same individual across time and to implement panel data models to control for unobserved heterogeneity and omitted-variable bias. Social implications Disability has adverse effects on living standards. The estimation of the disability-related costs may provide a useful guide on policy planning and the design of social benefits. Originality/value The contribution of this paper is that it is the first study estimating the disability-related costs in Turkey. Furthermore, the contribution lies in the investigation of the 2008 health reform and the Green Card programme and its impact on disability costs

State business relations and the dynamics of job flows in Egypt and Turkey

Long-standing challenges concerning unemployment and the role of government have been the dominant underlying themes in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Effective State-Business Relations (SBRs) comprise a set of highly responsive and public interactions between the state and the business sector. The aim of this study is to explore the dynamics of net job creation rates in Egypt and Turkey, and the role of the SBRs, including various firm characteristics. The analysis relies on firm-level data derived from the World Bank Enterprise Surveys over the period 2008–2013. We implement the weighted ordinary least squares (OLS). Furthermore, we apply an Instrumental Variables (IV) Approach and the Two-Stage Least Squares (2SLS) method for robustness check, to deal with the potential endogeneity issues coming from the self-reported statements and the possible degree of reverse causality between SBRs and the main outcomes of interest. Our findings suggest four major obstacles to SBRs, with constraints of access to finance and credit and political instability being the common major obstacles in the two countries explored. Corruption and lack of proper infrastructure in electricity in Egypt are found to be the next two main obstacles in SBRs, while tax rates and competition from the informal sector are identified as the other two main obstacles in Turkey. The results show that obstacles in SBRs contribute negatively to the net job creation. According to these findings, policy implications include the need to make SBRs operate more efficiently, investments on proper infrastructure and policies that minimize corruption and political instability

Work and gender in the context of spatial mobility and migration: the case of highly skilled Italians abroad

Young, skilled and educated Italians have been emigrating in record numbers: About 160,000 Italians moved abroad in 2018 alone. While much of recent research focused on the economic drivers of this spatial mobility, this article explores highly skilled Italians’ mobile life projects from a gender perspective. Our study was guided by the following research questions: How do mobility and migration intersect with gender relations and career success in the lives of highly skilled Italians living abroad? What role does gender play in highly skilled Italians’ decisions about moving and staying abroad? Our research, which drew on semistructured in-depth interviews conducted with 51 university graduates, was part of a larger study of the determinants and trends in the new migration of the highly skilled from Tuscany, a region in Italy. Using Strauss and Corbin’s three-stage coding process to analyze the interviews, we identified four core themes of particular concern to participants when comparing Italy with the contexts they encountered abroad: gender-sensitive culture in the workplace, strategic and dialogic mobile life projects, impact of state and workplace policies and (subjective) age vis-à-vis temporariness. Our results both confirmed the findings of previous studies and prompted new questions in need of further investigation, such as experiences of gender (in)equality and their power to transform short-term mobility into mobile life projects or permanent migration, dual-career couples’ spatial mobility, and the impact of mobility on normative beliefs about key life events

Work and gender in the context of spatial mobility and migration: the case of highly skilled Italians abroad

Young, highly skilled Italians are emigrating in record numbers. This contribution, which is part of a larger study about determinants and trends in new highly skilled migration from Tuscany (Italy), explores young Italians’ dynamic mobile life projects from a gender perspective. Drawing on the thematic analysis of 51 semi-structured interviews, we attempt to answer the following research questions: How does mobility and migration intersect with gender relations and career success in the lives of highly-skilled Italians living abroad? How do spatial mobility and experiences of more gender-equal societies impact family formation, couples (both same sex and heterosexual) and gender roles more broadly? Our preliminary results both confirm the findings of previous studies and pinpoint new questions in need of further investigation such as experiences of gender (in)equality and their power to transform short term mobility into mobile life projects/permanent migration, dual-career couples’ spatial mobility, and the impact of mobility on normative beliefs about key life events