Polarization of tastes : stated preference stability in sequential discrete choices

Purpose: The aim of this study is to assess stated preference stability in long-format discrete choice experiments. As the number of choice situations increases, data reveal more precise information regarding preferences. However, there are many doubts concerning the incentives compatibility of long designs. Psychological effects such as respondents’ learning, fatigue and decreasing concentration in successive choice situations can result in biased estimators of parameters of utility functions. It is, not clear which group of successive choices reveal the most trustworthy information: the initial choices (undistorted but potentially not robust) or a later set (consciously formed preferences but potentially under conditions of fatigue). Design/Methodology/Approach: With the long-format (144 choice tasks) data concerning employment options, we estimated utility function parameters were estimated using MNL and MMNL models.To conduct inter- intra- respondent analysis we used imputed individual-level parameters of utility function. Findings: We show that preferences are formulated at the intra-respondent level according to a specific pattern and, at the same time, the preferences of single respondents show lower variance across choice tasks than across populations. An increase in the standard deviation of parameters across the sample does not necessarily mean an inconsistency of preferences in this type of study. This can result from polarization of preferences in the population with simultaneous intra-respondent preference consistency. Practical Implications: Long-format DCEs can reveal some of the behavioural mechanisms behind the decision-making process. We show that, using this kind of study, it is possible to observe preference formulation. In some specific cases obtaining accurate information, or even teaching respondents their preferences, can be of a substantial significance. Originality/Value: An increase in the standard deviation of parameters across the population does not necessarily mean inconsistency resulting from the 'negative' consequences of ordering effects, contrary to the findings of Swait and Adamowicz (2001). Instead, this can result from the polarization of preferences in the population alongside the intra-respondent consistency.peer-reviewe

Use of Time and Value of Unpaid Family Care Work: A Comparison between Italy and Poland

This study provides a comparison of the size and value of unpaid family care work in two European member States, Italy and Poland. Using the Italian and Polish time use surveys, both the opportunity cost and the market replacement approaches are employed to separately estimate the value of family childcare and care of the elderly. The results show that, overall, in Italy the number of people performing family care work is higher, also due to the larger population. Italians participate somewhat less than Poles in child care, but substantially more in care of the elderly because of demographic factors. However, the huge difference in the value of unpaid family care work, which in Italy exceeds the value of Poland by about eight times, is largely to be attributed to the discrepancy in hourly earnings, average earnings of Poles being about one fifth of those of Italians. In GDP terms, instead, the value of unpaid family care work is more similar, ranging between 3.7 and 4.4 per cent of the Polish GDP and 4.1 and 5 per cent of the Italian GDP, depending on the estimation approach. The national values of these activities are discussed and an interpretation of the country differentials in the family care-taking gender gaps is given in terms of differences in culture, economic development and institutions.unpaid work, time use, child care, care of the elderly, adult care, Poland, Italy, satellite accounts

Use of Time and Value of Unpaid Family Care Work: a Comparison between Italy and Poland

The study provides a comparison of the size and value of unpaid family care work in two European member States, Italy and Poland. A micro-data analysis is conducted using the Italian and Polish time use surveys. Both the opportunity cost and the market replacement approaches are employed to measure family care work distinguishing between childcare and care of the elderly. The comparison between the two countries reveals that Italians participate somewhat less than Poles in child care, but substantially more in elderly care, because of demographic factors. However, the main explanation of the difference in the value of unpaid family care work, which is higher in Italy, is to be attributed to the discrepancy in hourly earnings, since average earnings of Poles are about one fifth of those of Italians. The value of unpaid family care work is more comparable when computed as percentage of the national GDP. Depending on the approach, it ranges between 3.7 and 4.4 per cent of the Polish GDP and 4.1 and 5 per cent of the Italian GDP. The national values of these activities are discussed and an interpretation of the country differentials in the family caretaking gender gaps is given in terms of differences in culture, economic development and institutions.Time Use, Unpaid Work, Care-giving, Child care, Elderly care, Poland, Italy

Boom na edukację wyższą w krajach UE: klucz do rozwoju konkurencyjności czy strata zasobów?

In recent decades, in most EU countries, there has been a significant increase in the share of the population with higher education. This phenomenon, generally viewed positively as contributing to building a knowledge-based economy and improving the competitiveness of EU economies, raises concerns about the effectiveness of the functioning of national education sectors. Interestingly, significant differences between member states, both in terms of the dynamics and the structures of higher education, are observed. The purpose of this article is to discuss some differences in the share of people with higher education, to identify the main potential consequences of the changes observed and to identify the most important challenges for the sector of higher education in the EU in the coming years. The context of the analysis provided by the Europe 2020 Strategy.W ostatnich dekadach w większości krajów UE nastąpił znaczący wzrost udziału w populacji osób z wyższym wykształceniem. Zjawisko to, generalnie postrzegane pozytywnie jako mające sprzyjać budowie gospodarki opartej na wiedzy oraz podnoszeniu konkurencyjności gospodarek krajów UE, budzi też obawy związane z efektywnością funkcjonowania krajowych sektorów edukacji. Co ciekawe, obserwuje się znaczące różnice między krajami członkowskimi zarówno w zakresie dynamiki zmian częstości, jak i struktury kształcenia na poziomie wyższym. Celem artykułu jest omówienie wybranych różnic w zakresie odsetka osób z wyższym wykształceniem, wskazanie głównych potencjalnych konsekwencji obserwowanych zmian oraz identyfikacja najważniejszych wyzwań dla sektora edukacji wyższej w UE w najbliższych latach. Kontekstem analizy są zapisy Strategii Europa 2020

Public sector wage premium in Poland

Przeciętne wynagrodzenie w sektorze publicznym przewyższa wynagrodzenie uzyskiwane przez pracowników sektora prywatnego. Jednak w dużej mierze różnica ta może być związana ze specyfiką struktury zatrudnienia w tym sektorze. Sektor publiczny charakteryzuje się wyższym przeciętnym poziomem wykształcenia swoich pracowników oraz dłuższym średnim stażem pracy, co – w kontekście teorii kapitału ludzkiego – pozwala wyjaśniać obserwowane wyższe przeciętne płace w sektorze publicznym. Celem tego artykułu jest ustalenie, w jakim stopniu obserwowane różnice w płacach są wynikiem zróżnicowanej struktury zatrudnienia. Wykorzystano w nim dane z BAEL do 2013 r. oraz metodę dekompozycji zaproponowana przez Blindera i Oaxacę, aby pokazać, że premia netto z tytułu pracy w sektorze publicznym (przy kontroli struktury zatrudnienia) jest ujemna. Dotyczy to zwłaszcza kobiet, osób z wyższymi kwalifikacjami oraz najmłodszych pracowników.The average salary in the public sector in Poland exceeds received by private sector employees. However, to a large extent a public sector wage premium may be attributed to the specificity of the employment structure in the sector. The public sector is characterized by a higher average level of education of its employees and longer tenure, which – in the context of human capital theory – may explain the observed higher average wages in the public sector. The purpose of this article is to establish to what extent the observed differences in wages are the result of diverse employment structures in both sectors. It uses data from the Labour Force Survey for 2013, and the method of decomposition proposed by Blinder and Oaxaca, to show that the net public sector wage premium (while controlling the structure of employment) is negative. This result refers particularly to women, employees with the highest qualifications and young people

Impact of international trade on employment in Polish industrial sector

In this article I am trying to address the question of impact of international trade on employment and its skill structure in the Polish secondary sector. After presenting stylized facts concerning changes in employment and wages in the years 1994–2003, I estimate elasticity of employment versus international trade flows. Both direct and indirect effects (impact of trade through changes in labour productivity) are taken into account. The elasticity appears to be positive in the case of exports and negative as far as imports is concerned, but is much higher—as for absolute value—in the case of outflow of goods from Poland. What’s more, the sensitivity of employment for international trade appears to be much higher in the case of blue-collar workers than in the case of white-collar workers. Using estimated parameters and relative changes in trade in the analyzed period, the quantitative effects of trade are estimated: in spite of high dynamics of import penetration, higher elasticity of employment versus exports results in positive general effect of trade for employment (about 1.6 million workers as for secondary sector except for mining). It seems therefore that there are different factors that lie behind fall of employment in manufacturing (changes in demand structure, industry structure, technological shocks) and the main effect of trade was a changes of both skill and branch structure of employment.

Rola wykształcenia w kształtowaniu płac w Polsce − różnice międzygeneracyjne

Recent decades have brought about a significant increase of earnings differenti in many countries. Poland is an interesting example of transformations in this regard, in particular due to the intergenerational changes of human capital resources. The aim of the article is an analysis of earnings determinants differentiation in Poland depending on the age of the employees, in particular, to what extent are the earnings differentiated by the level of education, and to what extent by the occupational record (total job tenure and at a given employer). The parameters of the Mincerian equation (1974) with the use of data derived from the Structure of Earnings Survey conducted by Central Statistical Office in 2016 were determined in the study. The results indicate that the human capital gained during the performance of professional work is of relatively small importance in comparison to the education and that this significance decreases in further age groups.Ostatnie dekady w wielu krajach przyniosły znaczny wzrost zróżnicowania wynagrodzeń. Polska stanowi ciekawy przykład przemian w tym zakresie, w szczególności ze względu na międzypokoleniowe zmiany zasobów kapitału ludzkiego. Celem artykułu jest analiza zróżnicowania determinant wynagrodzeń w Polsce w zależności od wieku pracownika. Zbadano, w jakim stopniu wynagrodzenia są różnicowane przez poziom wykształcenia, a w jakim przez staż pracy (ogółem i u danego pracodawcy). W badaniu oszacowano parametry równania Mincera z wykorzystaniem danych pochodzących z Badania Struktury Wynagrodzeń przeprowadzonego przez GUS w 2016 r. Wyniki wskazują, iż kapitał ludzki powstający w trakcie wykonywania pracy zawodowej ma stosunkowo małe znaczenie w porównaniu z wykształceniem, a znaczenie to maleje w kolejnych grupach wieku

Ocena programu kierunków zamawianych jako narzędzia kształcenia dla rynku pracy

This paper presents preliminary evaluation of the programme of, so called, ordered specializations. This programme in recent years has made a significant impact on the higher education system in Poland. The evaluation was made from an economic perspective considering the effectiveness of the programme. Due to lack of appropriate data it is too early for the comprehensive evaluation of the programme. Its effects will become visible in long-run perspective. In the article we use quantitative data from the surveys conducted for the purpose of the project evaluation (surveys with students, graduates, employers and representatives of Higher Education Institutions). The analysis shows that, although the programme has brought the effect of increasing the enrolment in selected fields of study, it did not necessarily lead to the achievement of labour market goals. In the context of the huge expenditure for the implementation of the programme (more than 1.2 billion PLN), the assessment of the economic efficiency of the programme is ambiguous. Conclusions of the evaluation of the programme are crucial in the context of the planned construction of similar actions in the future

Determinants of Unemployment Duration Among Graduates in Poland

The paper analyzes the determinants of unemployment duration among graduates in Poland. The data used in the paper comes from a survey carried out among graduates in 2007. The determinants of unemployment duration were examined using a survival analysis method. A number of personal characteristics of the graduates (including sociodemographic factors, education, human capital, job search methods and international experience) as well as regional variables were taken into account. A Cox proportional hazards model was estimated using the maximum likelihood method for the entire sample and for subsamples broken down by type of location. The results validate the hypothesis that the same characteristics have a different impact on the duration of unemployment among graduates in different regions. Demographic characteristics such as gender and marital status are significant predictors of job search duration in rural areas, while characteristics associated with social activities play a role in urban areas (with a particularly strong impact in large cities). A higher level of education means less time spent looking for a job, the authors say.Celem artykułu jest analiza czynników determinujących czas trwania bezrobocia polskich absolwentów. W badaniu wykorzystano dane zebrane w 2007 roku w specjalnym badaniu tej grupy siły roboczej w Polsce. Determinanty czasu poszukiwania pracy określono za pomocą metody analizy czasu trwania poszukiwania pracy (survival analysis). W badaniu kontrolowano liczne cechy indywidualne absolwentów (w tym: cechy socjodemograficzne, cechy opisujące proces kształcenia i zasób kapitału ludzkiego oraz metody poszukiwania pracy i gotowość do zachowań mobilnych) oraz zmienne regionalne (województwo oraz klasę miejsca zamieszkania). Oszacowano model proporcjonalnych hazardów Coxa metodą największej wiarogodności dla całej analizowanej próby oraz dla podprób wyróżnionych ze względu na klasy miejsca zamieszkania. Uzyskane wyniki pozwalają potwierdzić hipotezę o zróżnicowanym wpływie tych samych cech bezrobotnych na czas poszukiwania pracy w różnych przekrojach terytorialnych. Cechy demograficzne (płeć i stan cywilny) oddziałują na czas poszukiwania pracy wyłącznie na wsi. Cechy związane z aktywnością społeczną odgrywają rolę w miastach (silniejszą w większych). W zakresie poziomu wykształcenia, wpływ na krótsze poszukiwanie pracy ujawnia się w przypadku wykształcenia wyższego