Re-employment Probabilities and Wage Offer Function for Russian Labor Market

This research addresses labor market transformation in Russia. It elaborates on the theory of job search and focuses on the following issues: (1) evaluation of the re-employment probabilities (hazard rates) for different socio-economic groups; and (2) estimation of wage offer distribution for the transforming labor market. We use data from Phase II of the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) to estimate the employment and wage offer functions for Russian workers who found a job after having been unemployed. We take into account the effectiveness of search strategies used and correct for truncation in wage offers. The binomial logit-OLS estimation method with sample selection bias correction on pooled data from Rounds 5-9 of RLMS is used. The factors considered are sex, education, experience, sector of employment and search methods’ success rate, which are hypothesized to capture the main determinants of job search behavior. The results show that individual characteristics, as well as the search method used, play a decisive role in the re-employment prospects of the unemployed. The private sector employment level is estimated to have the most powerful positive effect on the wage offer function. Russian women are less likely than men to find a job after being unemployed, and wage offers for women are estimated to be lower than for men.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39932/3/wp547.pd

Re-employment Probabilities and Wage Offer Function for Russian Labor Market

This research addresses labor market transformation in Russia. It elaborates on the theory of job search and focuses on the following issues: (1) evaluation of the re-employment probabilities (hazard rates) for different socio-economic groups; and (2) estimation of wage offer distribution for the transforming labor market. We use data from Phase II of the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) to estimate the employment and wage offer functions for Russian workers who found a job after having been unemployed. We take into account the effectiveness of search strategies used and correct for truncation in wage offers. The binomial logit-OLS estimation method with sample selection bias correction on pooled data from Rounds 5-9 of RLMS is used. The factors considered are sex, education, experience, sector of employment and search methods’ success rate, which are hypothesized to capture the main determinants of job search behavior. The results show that individual characteristics, as well as the search method used, play a decisive role in the re-employment prospects of the unemployed. The private sector employment level is estimated to have the most powerful positive effect on the wage offer function. Russian women are less likely than men to find a job after being unemployed, and wage offers for women are estimated to be lower than for men.Russia, Transition, Job Search, Wage Offer Function, Hazard Rates

Job search behavior of unemployed in Russia

This paper explores the determinants of job search behavior, search intensity and choices of search methods of the unemployed workers in transitional Russia. We use pooled data from rounds 5-9 of the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS) to estimate the effects of socio- economic factors on the choices workers make while looking for a job. The results show that women are significantly less likely than men to engage in job searches, lag significantly behind men in search intensity, and significantly differ from men in their search strategies. The job search behavior of workers living in metropolitan areas of Moscow and St. Petersburg differs substantially from the behavior of workers living elsewhere in Russia. The most frequently used search strategy in Russia, as in other countries, is contacting friends and relatives for job leads.Russia, Transition, Job Search, Search Intensity, logit

Are polar rings indeed polar?

We have considered polar ring galaxy candidates, the images of which can be found in the SDSS. The sample of 78 galaxies includes the most reliable candidates from the SPRC and PRC catalogs, some of which already have kinematic confirmations. We analyze the distributions of studied objects by the angle between the polar ring and the central disk, and by the optical diameter of the outer ring structures. In the vast majority of cases, the outer structures lie in the plane close to polar (within 10-20 deg) which indicates the stability of the corresponding orbits in the gravitational potential of the halo. Moderately inclined outer structures are observed only in about 6% of objects which probably indicates their short lifetime. In such an unstable configuration, the polar ring would often cross the disk of the galaxy, being smaller than it in the diameter. We show that the inner polar structures and outer large-scale polar rings form a single family in the distribution of diameters normalized to the optical size of the galaxy. At the same time, this distribution is bimodal, as the number of objects with d_ring= (0.4-0.7)*d_disk is negligible. Such a shape of size distribution is most likely due to the fact that the stability of polar orbits in the inner regions of galaxies is maintained by the bulge or the bar, while in the outer regions it is provided by the spheroidal (or triaxial) halo.Comment: Corrected version accepted in Astrophysical Bulletin, 8 pages, 5 EPS figure

Explanation of the Normal Winter Anomaly from the Seasonal Variation of Short Wave Absorption

The frequency dependence of the winter anomaly (WA) of radio wave absorption indicates the altitude range where the considered seasonal variation of absorption, L, takes place: 75-95 km. In this height region considerable seasonal variations of ionic composition and effective recombination coefficient, alpha sub e, exist, which can cause seasonal variations of electron concentration, N, and absorption, L. An attempt to render a qualitative estimation of the normal WA, i.e., the increased ratio of winter over summer absorption, L sub w/L sub s, at medium latitudes 40 deg and 50 deg, for solar zenith angles CHi = 60 deg and 75 deg is made. This is compared with existing experimental data