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To mitigate ethnic labour market discrimination, it is essential to understand its underlying mechanisms because different mechanisms call for different counteracting measures. To this end, we reviewed the recent literature that confronts the theories of taste-based and statistical discrimination against the empirical reality. Whereas the empirical evidence for both mechanisms is generally mixed, (field) experimental research, which predominantly focuses on hiring outcomes, appears to yield proportionately more evidence in favour of taste-based discrimination vis-à-vis statistical discrimination. This finding suggests that the taste-based mechanism may better explain ethnic discrimination in hiring. However, we also observe that the measurement operationalisations of the mechanisms vary substantially between studies and that alternative theoretical interpretations of some of the evidence are plausible. Taken together, additional research efforts, using clear measurement standards and appropriate synthesis methods, are required to solidify the review's main finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the evolution of key labour market indicators in the EU-27 countries between 2019 and 2020, i.e. between the year before the covid-19 crisis broke out and the year in which it impacted the economy heavily. Whereas earlier studies have dealt with the evolution of unemployment in 2020, often country by country, this article focuses on describing the evolution of unemployment as well as inactivity across European countries. It appears that the Southern European countries, in particular, recorded increases in inactivity, while the Baltic States experienced higher growth in unemployment. In many other countries, unemployment and inactivity remained remarkably stable despite covid-19. The country comparison bears many similarities to that in 2009, when the Great Recession knocked back the European economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the impact of internship experience during secondary education on students' schooling and early labour market outcomes by analysing unique, longitudinal data from Belgium. To control for unobservable differences between students with and students without internship experience, we estimate a dynamic discrete choice model. In line with literature on vocational education, we find that internship experience has a positive effect on one's employment chances up to 5 years after graduation. This positive effect is mainly explained by a positive direct employment effect. Although we also find a positive indirect employment effect through a higher chance to obtain a secondary education qualification, this is largely compensated by negative indirect effects through lower tertiary education attainment. (JEL codes: I21, I26, J21, and J24) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article contributes to the nascent literature on the effect of grade retention in school on later labor market success. A field experiment is conducted to rule out the endogeneity of both outcomes. More concretely, various treatments of grade retention are randomly assigned to fictitious résumés sent in application to real vacancies. Overall, grade retention does not significantly affect positive call-back by employers. However, when narrowing in on vacancies for occupations where on-the-job training is important, job candidates with a record of grade retention are 16% less likely to receive a positive reaction. This finding is consistent with Queuing theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors investigate the importance of employer preferences in explaining sticky floors, the pattern in which women are less likely, as compared to men, to start to climb the job ladder. The authors perform a randomized field experiment in the Belgian labor market and test whether hiring discrimination based on gender is heterogeneous by whether jobs imply a promotion (compared to the applicants’ current position). The findings show that women receive 33% fewer interview invitations when they apply for jobs that imply a first promotion at the functional level. By contrast, the results show that their hiring chances are not significantly affected by the authority level of the job. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is the first in the world to investigate the expected impact of the COVID-19 crisis on career outcomes and career aspirations. To this end, high-quality survey research with a relevant sample of Flemish (Belgian) employees was conducted. About 21% of them fear losing their jobs due to the crisis—14% are concerned that they will even lose their jobs in the near future. In addition, 26% expect to miss out on promotions that they would have received had the COVID-19 crisis not occurred. This fear of a negative impact is higher in vulnerable groups, such migrants. In addition, we observe that many respondents believe they will look at the labour market differently and will have different work-related priorities in the future. In this respect, more than half of the respondents indicate that they have attached more importance to working conditions and work-life balance since the COVID-19 crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors empirically test the cross-sectional relationship between hiring discrimination and labor market tightness at the level of the occupation. To this end, they conduct a correspondence test in the youth labor market. In line with theoretical expectations, results show that, compared to natives, candidates with a foreign-sounding name are equally often invited to a job interview if they apply for occupations for which vacancies are difficult to fill; but, they have to send out twice as many applications for occupations for which labor market tightness is low. Findings are robust to various sensitivity checks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article introduces the metaphor of the iceberg in the labour market. While policy in most OECD countries has historically focussed on reducing unemployment (the tip of the iceberg), the group of inactive people (below the waterline) is much larger. Therefore, we point to the clear limitations of the unemployment rate as the (single) key macro-economic indicator of the health of the labour market. A parsimonious dashboard approach utilising the unemployment-to-population ratio and the inactivity-to-population ratio as two highly appropriate and complementary measures is defended. We show that the ratio of these two indices varies greatly between countries, which calls for different policies for different countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the signalling effect related to participation in active labor‐market programs. To this end, we conduct an experiment in which human resources professionals make hiring decisions concerning fictitious job candidates who apply either under a job‐vacancy referral system or directly. We provide first causal evidence for a substantial adverse effect of referral on the probability of being hired. In addition, we find that employers perceive referred candidates as being less motivated than other candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate whether volunteering has a causal effect on individual employment opportunities. To this end, a field experiment is conducted in which volunteering activities are randomly assigned to fictitious job applications sent to genuine vacancies in Belgium. We find that volunteers are 7.3 percentage points more likely to get a positive reaction to their job applications. The volunteering premium is higher for females but invariant with respect to the number of engagements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the association between firm size and hiring discrimination against women, ethnic minorities and older job candidates.Design/methodology/approach The authors merge field experimental measures on unequal treatment with firm-level data. The resulting data enable the authors to assess whether discrimination varies by indicators of firm size, keeping other firm characteristics constant.Findings In contrast with the theoretical expectations, the authors find no evidence for an association between firm size and hiring discrimination. On the other hand, the authors do find suggestive evidence for hiring discrimination being lower in respect of public or non-profit firms (compared to commercial firms).Social implications To effectively combat hiring discrimination, one needs to understand its driving factors. In other words, to design adequate policy actions, targeted to the right employers in the right way, one has to gain insight into when individuals are discriminated in particular, i.e. into the moderators of labour market discrimination. In this study, the authors focus on firm size as a moderator of hiring discrimination.Originality/value Former contributions investigated this association within the context of ethnic discrimination only and included hardly any controls for other firm-level drivers of discrimination. The authors are the first to study the heterogeneity in discrimination by firm size with respect to multiple discrimination grounds and control for additional firm characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the impact of student work experience on later hiring chances. To completely rule out potential endogeneity, we present a field experiment in which various forms of student work experience are randomly disclosed by more than 1000 fictitious graduates applying for jobs in Belgium. Theoretical mechanisms are investigated by estimating heterogeneous treatment effects by the relevance and timing of revealed student work experience. We find that neither form of student work experience enhances initial recruitment decisions. For a number of candidate subgroups (by education level and occupation type), even an adverse effect is found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the effectiveness of wage subsidies as a policy instrument to integrate disabled individuals into the labor market. To identify causal effects, a large-scale field experiment was conducted in Belgium. The results show that the likelihood of a disabled candidate receiving a positive response to a job application is not positively influenced by disclosing entitlement to the Flemish Supporting Subsidy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the causal impact of revealing pro-unionism during the recruitment stage on hiring chances. To this end, we conduct a randomised field experiment in the Belgian labour market. When matched with employer and sector data, the experimentally gathered data enable us to test the heterogeneity of discrimination against pro-union applicants by the union density in the sector and the size of the firm. We find that disclosure of pro-unionism affects hiring chances in a negative way and that-in line with our expectations based on the literature-this negative impact is stronger in highly unionised sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of policy action to integrate ex-offenders into society, it is important to identify the underlying mechanisms of the negative relationship between criminal record on the one hand and later employment and earnings on the other hand. In this study, we identify hiring discrimination against former juvenile delinquents in a direct way. To this end, we conduct a field experiment in the Belgian labour market. We find that labour market discrimination is indeed a major barrier in the transition to work for former juvenile delinquents. Labour market entrants disclosing a history of juvenile delinquency get about 22% less callback compared to their counterparts without a criminal record. This discrimination is heterogeneous by the occupation for which one applies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the impact of housing tenure choice on unemployment duration in Belgium using EU-SILC micro data. We contribute to the literature in distinguishing homeowners with mortgage payments and outright homeowners. Accounting for tenure endogeneity and unobserved heterogeneity, we find that homeowners with a mortgage exit unemployment first, while outright owners stay unemployed the longest. Tenants take an intermediate position. Our results emphasize the key role of housing costs in the link between housing tenure and labour market outcomes. Considered together with the results of recent macroeconomic research on housing and employment in Belgium, this paper provides indirect evidence for significant negative effects of homeownership on the labour market and the economy beyond the owners themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Apprenticeships lead to short-term labour market advantages. • These advantages fade out over time. • Advantages are higher for apprenticeship programmes with more in-field training. This study examines the impact of enrolling into dual apprenticeship programmes during secondary education on six early employment outcomes. Our contribution to the literature is threefold. First, we apply a method that has rarely been used in this literature to control for potential selection biases. Second, this method allows us to distinguish between the programmes' direct effect (conditional on educational achievement) and indirect effect (via educational achievement) on labour market outcomes. Third, we examine the impact of two distinct dual apprenticeship programmes in a novel setting: Flanders (Belgium). We find evidence for short-term labour market advantages only for the programme with the most days of on-the-job training, which fade out quickly over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In line with previous studies finding a positive relation between student employment and labour market outcomes, we find that student work increases both the probability of being invited for a job interview and the probability of being hired for the job. • Including a student job on one's résumé always signals a better work attitude, a larger sense of responsibility, more maturity, an increased motivation, and a larger social capital. • On the other hand, we find that student employment does not signal more knowledge, and especially not when this student employment was performed during the academic year. • Moreover, only student work in line with one's field of study is a positive signal of increased skills and trainability. Due to the prevalence and important consequences of student work, the topic has seen an increased interest in the literature. However, to date the focus has been solely on measuring the effect of student employment on later labour market outcomes, relying on signalling theory to explain the observed effects. In the current study, we go beyond measuring the effect of student work and we examine for the first time what exactly is being signalled by student employment. We do this by means of a vignette experiment in which we ask 242 employers to evaluate a set of five fictitious profiles. Whereas all types of student work signal a better work attitude, a larger social network, a greater sense of responsibility, an increased motivation, and more maturity, only student employment in line with a job candidate's field of study is a signal of increased human capital and increased trainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]