GINI DP 20: Does Income Inequality Negatively Affect General Trust? Examining three potential problems with the inequality-trust hypothesis

Many studies on the consequences of income inequality find that where inequality is high, trust is low. There are, however, reasons to examine the relation between inequality and trust more closely. First, previous research does not differentiate between the effect of income inequality and that of national wealth. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism is often unclear. Finally, the association might be dependent on non-Western countries where income inequality is extremely high. In this paper, we evaluate whether there is a relation between income inequality and trust in a sample of Western developed economies when taking into account national wealth. Theoretically, we distinguish between stratification effects and perception effects of inequality. Empirically, besides actual income inequality and national wealth, we include a measurement of perceived inequality on the basis of individual level earnings estimations for stereotypical jobs. We find no significant effect of inequality on trust when taking into account national wealth, suggesting that in Western countries the amount of resources rather than its distribution explains trust. Key words: trust, income inequality, perceived inequality, national wealth, comparative research.

McDonaldization: an American menace to the Dutch labor market? : research report

The paper considers a (static) portfolio system that satisfies adding-up contraints and the gross substitution theorem. The paper shows the relationship of the two conditions to the weak dominant diagonal property of the matrix of interest rate elasticities. This enables to investigate the impact of simultaneous changes in interest rates on the asset demands.

Carrièrejager of dienaar van de publieke zaak: over ambtenaren en hun motivatie

In verkorte vorm uitgesproken ter gelegenheid van het aanvaarden van het ambt van bijzonder hoogleraar in de Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen aan de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam vanwege de Vereniging Trustfonds EUR met de leeropdracht HRM in de publieke sector op 22 september 200

Over de competenties van de 'nieuwe' ambtenaar

Hoewel beslist niet onomstreden , heeft het competentiebegrip zich een belangrijke plaats in modern HRM beleid verworven. Dat geldt niet alleen voor de private sector, want ook in de publieke sector bestaat veel aandacht voor competenties en in het verlengde daarvan voor competentiemanagement. Het is zeker dat, mits goed toegepast, het denken in competenties en de vertaling daarvan in competentiemanagement een belangrijke bijdrage kan leveren aan de prestaties van (private èn publieke) organisaties (zie ook Seegers, 2006). Een centrale vraag die daarbij rijst is in hoeverre de competenties waarover ambtenaren anno 2008 moeten beschikken, afwijken van die uit het verleden en de (nabije) toekomst. Beantwoording van deze vraag zal in dit essay centraal staan, waarbij we ook aan twee vervolgvragen aandacht zullen schenken, namelijk: 1) wat zijn met betrekking tot noodzakelijke competenties de verschillen tussen groepen ambtenaren; en 2) wat is de relatie tussen de competenties van ambtenaren en de context waarin deze functioneren. Of met andere woorden: aan welke voorwaarden moet een (publieke) organisatie voldoen om ervoor te zorgen dat ambtenaren hun competenties optimaal kunnen benutten

HRM, arbeidssatisfactie en de publieke sector

In de Bestuurskunde wordt slechts betrekkelijk weinig aandacht besteed aan vraagstukken rondom HRM en arbeidsbeleving. Aangezien uit diverse studies in de private sector blijkt dat investeringen in HRM de arbeidsbeleving en arbeidsprestatie van werknemers positief beïnvloeden, wordt in dit artikel op basis van een groot databestand bezien wat de invloed is van het gebruik van HRM-instrumenten op de arbeidssatisfactie van werknemers in de Nederlandse publieke sector. De drie centrale hypothesen worden bevestigd, waaruit blijkt dat: a) individuele kenmerken van werknemers in de publieke sector slechts een gering effect hebben op de arbeidssatisfactie; b) HRM-instrumenten hierop een positief effect hebben, dat echter c) vooral indirect is en tot stand komt via de invloed op arbeidssatisfactie van baan- en organisatiekenmerken

Zullen door werkloosheid bedreigde leden van de middenklasse toetreden tot een vakbond? Klasse, werkonzekerheid en vakbondslidmaatschap nader onderzocht.

It is widely believed that job insecurity in industrial societies is on the increase. In particular, several studies have argued that the job insecurity of the (higher) middle class has substantially risen in the eighties and nineties. In this article the question whether or not this is true is investigated. The effect of job insecurity on union membership is also looked at. To answer the research questions we use survey data of 1992, 1994, and 1996. We only use data about workers in paid employment working at least 11 hours a week. The job insecurity of the workers is measured with three indicators: 1) actual unemployment; 2) perceived job insecurity; 3) numerical flexibility. According to these indicators job security in the Netherlands is still substantially high. However, especially the perceived insecurity and the numerical flexibility have slightly risen in the 1992-1996 period. Contrary to our expectations, job security of the higher middle class is still relatively high compared to the working class. However, our data also show that the job (in)security of the lower middle class seems to be converging with the working class. Our findings show that job insecurity has only minor – and mostly statistically insignificant - effects on union membership. Moreover, numerically flexible workers less often join a union than workers with a more secure labour contract. However, it is important to note that with respect to union membership members of the middle class – contrary to expectations put forward in the literature –do not react differently on job insecurity than members of the working class

De arbeidsmarktpositie van flexibele werknemers: bewijs van een gesegmenteerde arbeidsmarkt?

This article is about differences in the labour market position between flexible and permanent workers. Following the well-known ?flexible-firm? model van Atkinson and in accordance with segmentation theory, we can assume that flexible workers will have a worse labour market position compared to permanent workers. We have tested this assumption using two different indicators of the career of workers, respectively changes in the job level and chances to become unemployed. Our main conclusions are: 1) the job level of jobs held by flexible workers is somewhat lower compared to jobs held by permanent workers; 2) flexible workers have a somewhat higher chance to become unemployed compared to permanent workers; 3) there are large differences with respect to these two indicators between several categories of flexible workers. Overall, the empirical results give some support to the assumptions of segmentation theory. The rival ?waiting-room hypothesis? (which assumes that flexible workers will catch up an initial disadvantaged position) is not supported