Returns to Education in Four Transition Countries: Quantile Regression Approach

This paper uses quantile regression techniques to analyze heterogeneous patterns of return to education across the conditional wage distribution in four transition countries. We correct for sample selection bias using a procedure suggested by Buchinsky (2001), which is based on a Newey (1991, 2009) power series expansion. We also examine the empirical implications of allowing for the endogeneity of schooling, using the control function approach proposed by Lee (2007). Using household data from Bulgaria, Russia, Kazakhstan and Serbia in 2003, we show that the return to education is heterogeneous across the earnings distribution. It is also found that accounting for the endogeneity of schooling leads to a higher rate of return to education.sample selection, endogeneity, rate of return to education, quantile regression

Comparative essays in labour market outcomes.

This thesis consists of three essays which provide a detailed empirical investigation of the returns to education, gender wage gap and public-private wage differential in Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia and Tajikistan - countries that have received little attention in the literature. The studies are based on rich data sets which allow the most up-to- date analysis of the specific labour market outcomes. All three essays go a step further than the existing empirical literature since in each one the quantile regression results showed a much broader picture than the ones based on central tendency measures such as Ordinary Least Squares (OLS). The first essay looks at what had happened to the returns to human capital in Bulgaria over the period from early 1986 pre-transition to 2003. The study also contributes to the literature by estimating returns to education across the entire wage distribution, providing further evidence from Serbia, Russia and Tajikistan. Moreover, it deals with endogeneity and sample selection biases in a quantile regression framework. The second essay estimates gender wage gaps in the selected countries by applying a decomposition method that simulates marginal distributions from the quantile regression process. The study seeks to extend the popular Machado and Mata (2005) distributional approach by addressing the 'index' number problem suggested by Neumark (1988) and Oaxaca and Ransom (1994 and 1998). The gender wage gap decomposition is performed for each quantile of the earnings distribution by using the pooled wage structure as a non-discriminatory structure and giving a much richer picture of the influence of the covariate and coefficient effects. The third essay provides a comprehensive empirical study on the public-private wage differential in Bulgaria, Serbia, Russia, and Tajikistan. The study seeks to understand whether the differential in the public-private sector payment is explained by differences in workers characteristics or the difference in the returns to these characteristics. The endogenous sector choice is also considered. The study further analyses what has happened to the public sector hourly earnings differential at different points in the conditional earnings distribution and over time by adapting the Donohue-Heckman time-wise decomposition

Work-Related Health in Europe: Are Older Workers More at Risk?

This paper uses the fourth European Working Conditions Survey (2005) to address the impact of age on work-related self-reported health outcomes. More specifically, the paper examines whether older workers differ significantly from younger workers regarding their job-related health risk perception, mental and physical health, sickness absence, probability of reporting injury and fatigue. Accounting for the 'healthy worker effect', or sample selection – in so far as unhealthy workers are likely to exit the labour force – we find that as a group, those aged 55-65 years are more 'vulnerable' than younger workers: they are more likely to perceive work-related health and safety risks, and to report mental, physical and fatigue health problems. As previously shown, older workers are more likely to report work-related absence.endogeneity, fatigue, absence, physical health, mental health, healthy worker selection effect

The Causal Effects of Adolescent School Bullying Victimisation on Later Life Outcomes

We use rich data on a cohort of English adolescents to analyse the long-term effects of experiencing bullying victimisation in junior high school. The data contain self-reports of five types of bullying and their frequency, for three waves of the data, when the pupils were aged 13 to 16 years. Using a variety of estimation strategies - least squares, matching, inverse probability weighting, and instrumental variables - we assess the effects of bullying victimisation on short- and long-term outcomes, including educational achievements, earnings, and mental ill-health at age 25 years. We handle potential measurement error in the child self-reports of bullying type and frequency by instrumenting with corresponding parental cross-reports. Using a detailed longitudinal survey linked to administrative data, we control for many of the determinants of bullying victimisation and child outcomes identified in previous literature, paired with comprehensive sensitivity analyses to assess the potential role of unobserved variables. The pattern of results strongly suggests that there are important long run effects on victims - stronger than correlation analysis would otherwise suggest. In particular, we find that both type of bullying and its intensity matters for long run outcomes

Is there an informal employment wage premium? Evidence from Tajikistan

This paper defines informal sector employment and decomposes the difference in earnings between formal and informal sector employees in Tajikistan for 2007. Using quantile regression decomposition technique proposed by JAE, 20:445-465, 2005and considering self-selection of individuals into different employment types, we find a significant informal employment wage premium across the whole earnings distribution. Taking advantage of RES, 90:290-299, 2008matching approach and considering the possibility of misleading results due to different observed characteristics of formal and informal workers, we still find a wage gap in favour of informal sector workers

The Welsh economy and the labour market

This paper takes a brief review of the labour market performance of Wales over the last 20 to 30 years, and some of the challenges it has faced and will face going forward. These include, public sector pay and employment, the quality of education, trends to more flexible labour markets, and Brexit

Regional pay? The public/private sector pay differential

This paper extends the debate on making public sector wages more responsive to those in the private sector. The way in which the public/private sector wage differential is calculated dramatically alters conclusions and far from there being substantial regional disparity in wages offered to public sector workers, any differences are predominantly concentrated in London and the South East where public sector workers are significantly disadvantaged relative to private sector workers. This has implications for staff recruitment and retention. Such findings question the need for regional market-facing pay but highlight the necessity to revisit the London-weighting offered to public sector workers

Econometric analysis of Labour Market in Bulgaria - 1991-2006

The paper elaborates on the problems for construction and estimation of econometric techniques for analysis of labour market in Bulgaria. It is used the econometrics vector autoregressive modeling (VAR). In the model are included and investigated the main indicators that characterize labour market functioning (unemployment, employment, wages, labour productivity and inflation). On the basis of the obtained estimates for the parameters of the model and the impulse response analysis are analyzed the links and relationships among the main variables and their sensitiveness to macroeconomics shocks. The results from the VAR model and impulse response analysis show insignificant relationship between employment, unemployment and wages, which indicates that Bulgarian labour market is less flexible. Bulgarian labour market is sensitive to the labour demand shocks, inflation and technology shocks. Unemployment and employment are most sensitive regarding the effects of the shocks because their levels are changed under the impact of almost all investigated factors.

Analysis of the Labour Market in Bulgaria through a Error Correction Model

The study examines the problems of developing and evaluating a econometric tools for analysis of the labour market in Bulgaria. Applied is an error correction model and a cointegrational analysis to evaluate the main interactions between labour market parameters for the period 1991-2006. In the model are included and examined the most important indexes that characterize the functioning of the labour market (unemployment, employment, wages, productivity of labour and inflation). Through the evaluated restricted version of a vector autoregression model and decomposition of errors is determined the impact of main shocks by the aggregate supply and demand, inflation, wages and technological changes in the prognosis of the evaluated variables. The evaluated model is stable and adequate. The results show that decrease in the level of unemployment is possible only in the presence of positive shocks by the aggregate supply.