Search

This research explores Korean disability employment policy and discrimination against people with learning disabilities in the labour market. Breaking with the traditional academic approach to researching disability in Korea, it adopts a social model of disability and involves people with learning disabilities in the research process. Utilising the conceptual frameworks of 'political economy', 'the social model of disability' and 'legal discrimination', it investigates the employment of people with learning disabilities in open employment and sheltered workshops in Korea. Using group interviews with parents of people with learning disabilities and individual interviews with policy makers, sheltered workshops managers, people with learning disabilities and their parents, it focuses on the discriminative characteristics of current Korean disability employment policy, its impact on the participation of people with learning disabilities in the labour market, and their parents' understanding of how this discriminative reality impacts on the employment opportunities available to their offspring. The research findings are discussed in relation to 'direct and indirect legal discrimination' and 'commonality and difference'. The conclusions reached are that the disability employment policy in Korea is characterised by direct and indirect discrimination against people with learning disabilities, and this discriminative reality is not challenged by parents of people with learning disabilities in Korea who take on the responsibility of providing for their offspring's future lives.

The entire literature on adverse selection in the labour market spawned by Greenwald (1986, Review of Economic Studies, 63(3)) has been built, somewhat unwittingly, on the assumption that firms forget the type of a worker after the worker quits. In many contexts, this assumption is implausible. The first three chapters of this thesis therefore explore an alternative approach to modelling labour markets with asymmetric information by assuming firms will never forget a worker's type. The first chapter turns the standard Greenwald result on its head by showing that if the worker knows her own type and productivity is unchanging, the possibility of competitive wage offers from fully-informed previous employers means that adverse selection will never persist. Job changing frictions can cause a semi-separating equilibrium where the more productive workers have their type revealed whilst the least productive workers receive a pooling payoff. But even where asymmetric information persists there is no adverse selection because job changing frictions shield potential employers from the winner's curse. The second chapter investigates the robustness of the non-persistence of adverse selection result where previous employers are asymmetrically informed. The result is found to be robust where firms bid for the worker under a closed but not an open auction. The third chapter finds that, if workers are not sure of their exact value to their employer, there will be an adversely selected stream of job changers in equilibrium, even as the probability of a worker quitting for exogenous reasons approaches zero. Less able workers are quickly revealed as such, whilst more able workers have their type revealed gradually. The fourth substantive chapter of this thesis investigates the widely observed paradox that, despite what traditional economics would lead us to believe, there can be such a thing as too much choice. The model provides a formal theoretical explanation for this phenomenon using the regret theory of Loomes and Sugden (1982, Economic Journal, 92(368)). When options are few it is shown that enlarging the choice set improves welfare, but when options are many, a "less is more" phenomenon emerges. In some cases, excess search options can decrease search.

The study of labour markets is often limited to labour market institutions themselves and the link to other areas in economics, in particular product markets, is scarce. The purpose of this thesis is to shed light on the interaction between economic conditions and explicit contracting in labour markets. Chapters One and Two investigate how wages change in the face of changes in product market competition and propose a hypothesis for recent increases in wage inequality. In Chapter One I explain why firms competing in an oligopolistic market alter how much they are willing to pay to attract good workers and how wage inequality within industries (and observed skill groups) may arise from these changes in product market competition. I then look at the actual impact of product market competition using a panel of individuals for the U.K. and concentration measures and two natural experiments as measures of competition. The results point to the fact that increased competition raises the returns to skills and hence wage inequality. Chapter Two takes investigates the impact of product market competition on performance related pay. I analyse compensation equations of US managers and obtain that increased competition implies increased steepness of the performance pay relationship that raises the variance of wages. Chapter Three assesses whether there is a systematic relationship between the type of contract held and an aspect of workers welfare. I analyse whether the large difference between the work accident rates of fixed-term and permanent contract workers in Spain is not just the result of a compositional effect but that a pure contractual effect exists. The results indicate there is a pure contractual effect that increases the individual accident probability by 5 percentage points. Finally Chapter Four is an analysis of the relative impact of household income and unemployment benefit on unemployment duration, with a particular focus on female behaviour.

There are (at least) three benchmark models, or 'building blocks', for explaining labour market outcomes: human capital models, search and matching models, and learning models. The objective of this thesis is to assess the empirical importance of those models. Chapter 2 focuses on learning models. The question addressed in this chapter is: Is employer learning symmetric or asymmetric? A model that nests both learning hypotheses is developed. Tests that allow to discriminate between the two hypotheses are proposed. Evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth indicates that asymmetric learning plays an important role for university graduates, but not for high school graduates and dropouts. Chapter 3 focuses on human capital models. It revisits the question why firms pay for general training within the German apprenticeship system. The focus is on the impact of wage rigidities caused by unions on training. A model of firm-sponsored training and unions is developed, and empirical implications are derived. The empirical evidence suggests that wage floors created by unions are an important reason for firm-financed training in Germany. However, asymmetric employer learning cannot be ruled out as an additional reason for firm-financed training. Chapter 4 focuses on search and matching models. It compares job mobility of young men in two countries with very different labour market institutions, the United States and Germany. Match-specific productivity plays an important role in both countries for all education groups. The proportion of the variance of the unexplained component of wages that can be attributed to match quality is considerably higher in Germany than in the US. In Germany, there is evidence that job search and match-specific productivity matters more for unskilled workers than for apprentices.

Public finance solutions to high unemployment in Europe have often been advocated during the past years. When unemployment benefits are not taxed, for instance, lower average labor taxes reduce the replacement ratio, and unions are willing to accept lower pre-tax wages because the net income loss from employment increases (see Pissarides [1998], Lockwood and Manning [1993]). However, as many argue (see for example Sorensen [1997]), several potential distortions such as human capital formation and disincentives to work effort are related to a strongly progressive taxation system. Indeed, with the so called "skilled-biased technological change" and the consequent increase in wage (income) inequality, governments in charge pay more attention to the growth effect of redistributive policy. The first two chapters of this thesis focus on the relationship between labour tax progressivity and the labour market. The third chapter analyses the growth's effects of a progressive labour taxation system. In the first chapter we present a general equilibrium, overlapping generations (OLG) model in which labour supply is endogenous and the labour market is fully unionised. The theoretical model and a calibration exercise for Italy and the US, cast some doubt on the view that powerful unions are able to shift the tax burden onto firms. However, our policy experiments find also some evidence in favour of the Daveri and Tabellini's [2000] hypothesis according to which an economy's poor employment performance can be related to labour taxation. The second chapter presents a theoretical model and an empirical investigation over Italy on the relation between progressive labour taxation and wage determination. We add to the current literature another economic mechanism which builds on the strategic interactions among unions and which helps generating a positive relationship between wage determination and changes in the marginal tax rates. The empirical evidence indeed shows that higher tax progressivity increases pre-tax wages in Italy. Finally, the third chapter of this thesis models the individuals' investment in physical capital and education decisions in presence of borrowing constraints and a progressive taxation system. The empirical evidence for 15 OECD countries suggests that higher redistribution affects growth conditioning on the degree of tax progressivity and the taxation level.

This thesis consists of three papers investigating the relationships between family structure, the education system, and children's outcomes. "Class Size In The Early Years: Is Smaller Really Better?" estimates the effects of class size on student attainment. Ordinary Least Squares estimates suggest that attainment is unrelated to class size; however, Instrumental Variables estimates, with class size instrumented by the interaction between school size and school type, show a significant and sizeable association between smaller classes and attainment in reading in the early years of school. "Family Composition And Children's Educational Outcomes" explores the relationship between sibship structure and educational outcomes, in the context of theories of dilution of parental resources. Consistent with theory are the findings that children from large families are disadvantaged, as are children lower down the birth order; however, the finding that only children perform worse than those from two-child families, even controlling for a whole range of parental and school characteristics, is not. Only children are at more of a disadvantage on mathematical measures of performance than on language measures, suggesting that these skills are acquired via different processes. "Fertility And Female Labour Force Participation" investigates the endogeneity of children variables in the female labour supply equation, using the fact that parents in industrialized countries prefer their families to consist of equal numbers of girls and boys. Mothers whose first two children are of the same sex are more likely to have a third child than mothers with a girl and a boy; this is used as an exogenous instrument for the birth of a third child. Children variables are found to be endogenous in the female labour supply and hours of work functions, and failure to account for this leads to exaggerated estimates of the negative effect of children on female labour supply.

This research proposed to scrutinise and test the 'underclass' theory by examining a prime indicator of underclass' membership - youth unemployment, in specific relation to a possible breakdown in the work ethic of socially excluded young people. Research examined the concept of a 'weak labour force attachment' (Wilson 1990) which suggests that in localities characterised by key features of social exclusion, exhibiting structural poverty, chronic joblessness and benefit dependency, residents will be exposed to an environment that 'reinforces' the unemployed condition, primarily through a weakening of the attachment to work for its residents. This phenomena is seen as transmittable through the socialisation process, shaping the work aspirations of future generations. Such localities are often conceptualised by popularised ideology as being socially, economically and morally in decline, typified in terms of the run down council estate, and closely associated with the concept of an 'emerging underclass'. Research focussed on a sample of 'unemployed' 16-18 age group from a south Wales valley region. Comparisons were made between young people residing in localities designated as 'marginalised' - defined in terms of declining local authority housing estates, with those young people residing in geographically neighbouring localities, which exhibited similarities in socio-economic profile. The gendered distribution of the sample cohort supported current labour market trends that youth unemployment is disproportionately affecting young males. Analysis of research data strongly challenges the 'underclass' thesis on the grounds that 'marginalised' youths are exhibiting dysfunctional work attitudes. No comparative evidence was found in relation to a weakening of the work ethic of young people residing in 'marginalised' communities, with their contemporaries residing in the main valley region. However, key research findings indicated that 'marginalised' youth face accumulative, and additional difficulties when entering the youth labour market which are distinctive from their peers who live in the mainstream valley region. The 'marginalised' sample was disproportionately represented in the 'long term unemployed' (unemployed accumulatively for 5 months) and the 'disaffected in school' cohorts (characterized by high levels of truancy, early leaving, suspension and educational underachievement). 'Disaffection' in school manifested itself in terms of motivational and behavioural dysfunction but these features could not be generalized to the world of work and were not indicative of an erosion of work aspirations of socially excluded youth. However, a tangible relationship was found between those young people detached from spheres of education, with labour market exclusion.

This thesis investigates the employment, unemployment and earnings experience of male immigrants in England using data from the Quarterly Labour Force Surveys of the United Kingdom which were undertaken between December 1992 and November 1994. After outlining some theoretical developments in the economics of migration, in particular the importance of self-selection, and surveying the recent empirical evidence, concerning international labour migration to the industrialised countries, the characteristics of the whole male population are examined using descriptive statistics. The sample consists of those resident in England, aged 25-64. These characteristics are then compared with those males who are economically active (according to International Labour Office definitions). Particular attention is given to the variation in the year of immigration and country of birth amongst the foreign born, and the differences between the ethnic white and ethnic non-white populations. The employment adjustment of foreign-born males to the English labour market is then examined, using Chiswick's (1982) model. Hypotheses concerning the impact of education, potential labour market experience, years since migration and country of birth on the employment rate are investigated using logistic regression analysis. A similar study is also undertaken of the unemployment experience of foreign born males, using both the International Labour Office definition and the official government measure. Predicted percentage probabilities, calculated for individuals with average group characteristics, clarify the separate impact of each variable upon the employment and unemployment prospects of males in England. Finally, selectivity corrected earnings functions are estimated, controlling for potential bias in both the employment decision and from the non-reporting of wage information. Importantly, the returns to schooling and to potential experience are separated into those received in the country of origin and those obtained after immigration. The country of birth is shown to influence the earnings performance amongst both the ethnic minorities and the immigrants.

This thesis examines the labour force experiences of refugees living in Britain. By describing and exploring the employment, unemployment, training and job-search experiences of refugees from Vietnam it seeks to fill gaps in the existing literature. The literature currently recognises the importance of employment in the resettlement process, but fails to provide much insight into the long term experiences of refugees. Further, this thesis presents a new conceptual framework for understanding refugee labour force experiences. Literature from a wide range of disciplines informs a theoretical framework which stresses the complex and diverse nature of influences on refugee labour force experiences. The review of the experiences of refugees from Vietnam, draws on existing literature and novel quantitative analysis of the 1991 census, before giving a voice to the refugees themselves. Workers at 27 Vietnamese Community Associations around Britain describe labour force experiences in the areas they serve, while half also detail their own individual labour force careers. Throughout, emphasis is placed on the refugees' own interpretations of what has influenced their labour force experiences, and their reactions to those experiences. This thesis confirms that the refugees from Vietnam are spatially concentrated in locations which are characterised by high unemployment and a high ethnic Chinese population. This is reflected in their labour force experiences, which are dominated by unemployment or manual employment, particularly within the ethnic sector. Employment remains a minority experience for Vietnam refugees living in the majority of locations, although location specific differences in labour force experiences are identified. Self-reliance within the community of refugees from Vietnam is strong, as is the significance of access to labour force opportunities with the ethnic Chinese population. Both factors, do however have benefits and drawbacks. The evidence presented in this thesis supports the proposed framework for understanding refugee labour force experiences. Accordingly, this thesis argues for a refugee policy which recognises both the importance of employment in the resettlement process, and the complexity of factors which influence labour force experiences. A comprehensive programme of intervention is recommended to improve refugee labour force experiences, and community development is seen as a key element of this. A call for a permanent refugee resettlement organisation is also made.

This thesis consists of four essays on the determinants, the dynamics and the policy implications of simultaneous job creation and destruction in labour markets. Firstly, it proposes and solves a stochastic search model with endogenous job separation and it shows that the amplitude and time variation of job reallocation depend crucially upon the arrival rate of exogenous firing permissions. Tighter firing restrictions, albeit not directly relevant for differences in average unemployment rates, dramatically reduce the relative volatility of job creation and destruction. A parameterization of the model can rationalise cross-country differences in the cyclical behaviour of job creation and destruction. Secondly, it brings together aggregate data on job reallocation and labour market policy for nine OECD countries. It shows that long term unemployment and job reallocation are negatively correlated and that job reallocation is lower in countries that offer limited benefit for a limited period of time. Thirdly, it studies the role of time-consuming search in generating the size distribution of firms and the dynamics of firm-level turnover. It solves a dynamic matching model where the joint distribution of wages and employment results from interacting idiosyncratic shocks, firm-level asymmetries in job creation and destruction and time-consuming search on the part of workers. Theoretical results offer a structural interpretation of existing empirical evidence on firm-size wage differentials and point out novel empirical implications. Finally, it measures the relation between job flows and establishment size applying econometric techniques best suited for analysing the dynamics of large cross-sections. Using a balanced panel from the Mexican Manufacturing sector it finds no evidence of small establishments converging toward the mean, thus no evidence of convergence.

This thesis considers the role of relative deprivation in the rural areas of origin and the mechanisms of information, advice and job search in the process of rural to urban migration of labour. There is less dependence of rural population on agriculture than usually thought and hence it is difficult to attribute rural out-migration to lack of agricultural land. The results show that small and semi-medium landholders were about twice as much likely to migrate as marginal landholders, the lowest category of landholders. Overall, people of average or near average circumstances were found to have migrated more than the poorest. Connectivity to urban areas through contact with earlier migrants, exchange of information and advice regarding jobs and pre-migration visits played a decisive role in the formation of job expectations and the decision to migrate. Migrants came for the jobs they knew could be found and searched them without much wait. Though relative deprivation predisposes people to look for better opportunities, the decision to migrate can be better explained by demand for labour in urban areas communicated through the 'channels of recruitment'. The study found evidence of family strategies for diversification of sources of income and risk aversion. The process of migration is much more structured than the prevalent models recognise. Since the decisions to migrate are governed by demand for labour, government efforts to resist migration and urbanisation have been costly and unsuccessful. In the process of structural transformation, the governments of developing countries can help the urban transition of the societies by facilitating the moves that the migrants decide to make and helping the cities work.

The well-known "law of supply and demand" says that an increase in the price of a commodity leads to a decrease in the aggregate demand for this commodity and an increase in aggregate supply. There is, however, no theoretical foundation for this "law". Empirical evidence, on the other hand, should be interpreted with care. If one estimates the parameters of certain functional forms for demand and supply functions, then the results may simply be consequences of the parametric assumptions made in estimation. The first chapter of the thesis discusses the implications of the assumption of profit and utility maximisation for the properties of demand and supply functions. It explains why economic rationality on the microlevel does not, in general, lead to macroeconomic regularities and suggests replacing the consumption sector of the neoclassical equilibrium model by a large population of individually small consumers. Such a population will be explored in the second chapter. The chapter is a direct outgrowth of a basic contribution by W. Hildenbrand: "On the Law of Demand", Econometrica 1983. In W. Hildenbrand's model the market demand function is defined by integrating an individual demand function with respect to an exogenously given income distribution. We build into the model an individual labour supply function and then compare the matrix of aggregate income effects studied by W. Hildenbrand with that obtained by integrating the individual demand function with respect to a distribution of wage rates. The empirical part of the thesis analyses the labour supply and earnings data in the U.K. Family Expenditure Survey 1970-85. Using non- parametric smoothing methods, the elasticity of labour supply with respect to the wage rate is estimated for several groups of workers. The estimations for full-time workers confirm the famous "downward sloping" labour supply function. The estimated elasticities for the entire population of workers for the years 1970-85 have the mean value 0.2 and the standard deviation 0.02.

The aim of this thesis is to explain the existence and coexistence of diverse hired labour arrangements in two contrasting localities in rural West Bengal (India). Hired labour arrangements for seasonal migrants are included in the analysis, the methods for which are drawn from a review of the contractual arrangements literature. One study locality, in Bardhaman District, was characterised by double-cropping of paddy facilitated by groundwater irrigation, the other, in Purulia District, by rainfed paddy cultivation. The structure of landownership was skewed - more so in the Bardhaman locality. Daily employment records were kept by ninety-two sampled households over two seasons. In each locality six different indigenous types of hired labour arrangement were identified. Analysis of the rationales for the existence and coexistence of these labour arrangements and of the variation within each type confirmed the embeddedness of the terms and conditions of labour hire (including those for migrant labour) in the land-holding structure, in ideologies of gender and caste, and in party political allegiances. Possibilities for and constraints on hiring out labour in particular arrangements are explained in part by the logic of deployment of household labour to unwaged reproductive and productive work, which is also socially embedded in the same way. The thesis thus sets a new agenda for research. It questions the received wisdom on rural labour exchange in India: i) that villages tend to have just one wage rate for 'casual' labour determined by supply and demand alone, ii) that stylised labour arrangements (eg 'casual' and 'attached') are appropriate occupational classifications for individuals and households, and iii) that rural labour is immobile. If the coexistence of diverse labour arrangements is to be explained, more, careful microstudies are required, so that a typology of socio-economic, political and agro-ecological contexts can be developed.

Personnel transfers within the internal labour markets of large multilocational organizations are shown to be the largest single cause of interregional population migration in contemporary Japan. The challenges which such transfers present to conventional migration theory are examined in the context of Japanese personnel management practices, especially the so-called "lifetime employment system". A typology of transfers under this system is developed, and a typical pattern of career mobility described. The incidence of personnel transfers is examined in respect of industry, company size and the personal characteristics of transferees, and the locus of real decision-making power is explored. The temporal and spatial characteristics of interregional transfers are described in detail. Two case studies illustrate the incidence of transfers in stable organizations and in industries undergoing structural transformation. The first case study, of the Ministry of Labour, reveals intricate relationships between geographical mobility and the career paths of senior government officials, while the second, which examines personnel transfers within the Nippon Steel Corporation, shows how transfers are incorporated within broader policies for structural adjustment. The housing needs of transferees are often met directly by the employer through the provision of company housing, a distinctive feature of the Japanese case, as is the prevalence of "partial migration", in which the primary migrant (the transferee) leaves his/her family behind for the duration of a posting. These aspects of the Japanese transfer system are examined in detail, before a concluding chapter sets the agenda for future research.

The thesis considers the process of adjustment in the supply side of the economy, discussing factors which might influence (nominal and real) wage and price responsiveness, and investigating these empirically using data for the UK. This contributes to the analysis of the macroeconomic consequences of supply side inflexibilities, and policy implications are drawn out. Two themes recur throughout the thesis. The first is an emphasis on the institutional detail of the supply side which suggests reasonable sources of adjustment costs and explanations for rigidities. The second is an emphasis on disaggregation in the analysis. It is argued that the interactions and interdependencies between sectors of the economy play a central role in determining the responsiveness of the supply side to shocks. In order to investigate these ideas, the empirical work makes use of data available at the industrial level. Econometric analysis of the variability of wage growth across industrial sectors and of the frequency of wage negotiations over time provides clear evidence that the speed of adjustment of nominal wages is influenced systematically by supply side conditions. Comparison of price responsiveness across industries in the UK demonstrates that the extent of product market competition is an important determinant of the speed of price adjustment A model of the UK supply side is also described, modelling employment, price, wage and output determination in each of 38 industrial sectors plus their interactions. The model provides insights on the theoretical debate on supply side behaviour, and, through simulation methods, shows the importance of inter-sectoral feedbacks in the determination of the speed and direction of adjustment in wages and prices in the face of shocks. In particular, the simulations emphasise the role of expectation formation in supply side adjustment, illustrate the presence of unemployment hysteresis, and highlight the structural implications of wage and price rigidities.

Labour mobility is a means by which to allocate human resources efficiently. The movement of labour into areas or states where it can increase individual worth, benefits the aggregate economy. This thesis is an empirical investigation of five aspects of labour mobility in Britain. A recurring theme of this study is the interaction between unemployment and mobility. We utilise information from the British Labour Force Surveys as the basis for our study. Specifically we examine: 1) The impact of unemployment on the inter-regional mobility of labour. We find that unemployment experience, and not regional differentials, increase the likelihood of migration. Further the regional allocation process functions less effectively at higher levels of aggregate unemployment. 2) The job search behaviour of employed workers. We show how worker satisfaction, as principally captured by length of job tenure, plays the largest role in the decision to seek work. The type of search strategy undertaken is partly dependent on the level of local labour demand. 3) The influence of unemployment benefit on job search effort. We demonstrate how benefit receipients search more extensively than others. Benefit claimants have a higher probability of locating a job offer. 4) Labour market transitions. Utilising a specially constructed dataset, we estimate annual probabilities of movement between employment, unemployment and inactivity. Worker heterogeneity is shown to explain the majority of these transitions, 5) Inter-firm mobility. Job-shopping by workers is an essential pre-requisite for eventual long-term, productive job matches. High levels of unemployment are shown to impede the job-shopping process.

This thesis consists of an introduction and two parts. Part I deals with wage and employment determination under labour bargaining, and is formed of chapters 1 and 2. Part II looks at the role of inflation expectations in macroeconomic models, and is divided into chapters 3, 4 and 5. Chapter 1 sets forth and tests a model of labour bargaining in which the firm and the union are only constrained by the other party's available market alternatives if these are credible. Empirical findings, based on a panel of UK manufacturing firms, show some support for the main predictions of the model. Chapter 2 generalizes the theoretical framework developed in the previous chapter and explores its robustness with respect to changes to some of the assumptions. Chapter 3 assesses the literature on the relationship between inflation expectations, wage and price flexibility and variability of output. Expectations of future price changes may have a destabilizing effect on output if expected inflation moves procyclically. Chapter 4 looks at an overlapping wage contract model and derives analytical conditions for output destabilization to occur as wages and prices become more flexible. A new classical specification of the supply side is then considered, and price rigidity is established to be neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for increased output volatility. Chapter 5 analyses a monopolistically competitive framework with synchronized wage setting. Explicit consideration of the expected inflation effect makes employment and output variability more likely to increase with contract length.

The present study attempts to assess the extent to which economic differences between ethnic groups and between individuals have been reduced or eliminated by the expansion of educational opportunities in Kenya, By analysing the patterns of wage income distribution, the conditions which affect them and some of their consequences, the study attempts to explain part of the process of perpetuating income inequalities in the country. From the analysis of a considerable amount of empirical data, a picture is painted of a society in which economic status is inherited. For although the economic success of individuals in the labour market is strongly influenced by their educational attainments, the prior influence of inherited characteristics such as birth-order, family-size, ethnic and occupational origins on these scholastic achievements has served to create profound inequalities in individual access to income. In addition, the increasing tendency of the urban labour market to recruit the sons of other wage employees suggests that economic ties are being strengthened and perpetuated across generations.

The thesis uses micro data and quasi experimental research designs to test three theories about labor markets. The first chapter tests a leading explanation for top income growth, the superstar effect. The superstar effect attributes rising top incomes to expanding market reach of workers. I identify a case of exogenous market reach expansion in the entertainment sector and study the labor market effects. Incomes become markedly more concentrated on the top when entertainers can reach a bigger audience. Wages of stars grow 17% in response to a fourfold increase in market reach. A distinctive pattern of wage changes distinguishes the superstar model from alternative explanations. Growth of top pay occurs simultaneously with widening income differences at the top, a decline in middleincome jobs, an increase in low-paid jobs and a fall in total entertainer employment. The second chapter tests how labor supply responds to improving entertainment technology. To identify the effect the chapter tracks the roll-out of TV signal. Social security records show that labor supply drops significantly with the introduction of TV. The effects are most pronounced for older workers, in line with descriptive evidence on changing retirement habits. The chapter shows that monetary spending substantially understates the value attached to TV. The third chapter studies the canonical search and matching model and shows that accounting for realistic job search helps the model to account for labor market fluctuations and addresses the "Shimer puzzle." The chapter provides evidence that reservation wages significantly respond to backward-looking reference points. Introducing such reference-dependent job search to the model reconciles predictions on the cyclicality of both wages and reservation wages with the data. Other proposed solutions to the unemployment volatility and wage flexibility puzzle that hinge on alterations to the wage setting mechanism only work for parameter values outside the range typically estimated.

This PhD dissertation examines the role of job tasks as a means to explaining wage inequality in the labour market. In the first chapter I study whether we can improve our understanding of labour market mismatch and its consequences for wages by augmenting current measures of mismatch with task information. In the second chapter, I look at whether task-and-skill augmented mismatch is substantially different for men and women. In the third chapter, I study whether individuals' job tasks and their level of difficulty change when they make transitions in the labour market and the extent to which these changes are affected by recessions. Chapter 1. Job Tasks and Mismatch within Occupations I propose a new multi-dimensional measure of mismatch derived from individual-level information on skills and tasks. Previous measures have either entirely excluded information about tasks or have used tasks aggregated at the level of the occupation, rather than at the individual level. I find that across nine European countries, up to 24% of the population is mismatched in literacy and 15% in numeracy. I also find that for Northern European countries, extreme levels of skill-task mismatch are negatively correlated with wages and the correlation persists within occupations. Southern and Central Europe do not appear to exhibit any correlation between mismatch and wages, either between or within occupations. Subsequently, I compare the new measure to existing measures of mismatch from the literature. I find that measures based on higher levels of data aggregation or measures excluding the role of tasks tend to consistently under-estimate the cross-sectional correlation between mismatch and wages. Chapter 2. Gender and Mutli-dimensional Mismatch Using a measure of multi-dimensional mismatch developed in chapter 1, I compare mismatch in literacy and numeracy among men and women in the labour market in a sample of 9 European countries. Previous studies on multi-dimensional mismatch have used male-only samples due to a lack of individual-level data about female skills and tasks. I discuss a set of stylised facts about literacy and numeracy mismatch for men and women: men and women have similar levels of mismatch in literacy but not in numeracy, with women experiencing less negative mismatch. In terms of outcomes, men and women are affected by mismatch in similar ways: in most countries their earnings are negatively affected by being under-skilled in either literacy or numeracy. Women appear to show a slightly greater advantage than men at being over-skilled in numeracy. Finally, I find that mismatch does not help explain part of the gender earnings gap in a traditional Mincer model. Chapter 3. The Task Content of Occupational Transitions over the Business Cycle: Evidence for the UK We study the change in the task content and the extent of up- and de-skilling of occupational transitions over the business cycle for the UK. Previous literature shows that during recessions individuals are less likely to move occupations - yet it is unclear whether their task portfolio and the skill level of tasks also changes during the cycle. We use quarterly data from the U.K. Labour Force Survey, which we match to the O*NET dictionary of tasks for the period 1997q1 - 2016q2. We find that during recessions, individuals tend to move to more similar occupations in terms of tasks and they are also less likely to experience an increase in the skill requirements of their new jobs.

The significance of flows of temporary, skilled labour migrants under conditions of globalization is widely acknowledged. Using a case study of elite cricket professionals moving from the UK to Australia for a maximum duration of 6 months, out and return migration flows and processes are examined. In doing so, this thesis exposes migration motives, notably in relation to career progression and personal development, and the processes and regulations that control temporary sojourns. Furthermore, the discussion reveals important social, cultural, economic and familial impacts of undertaking temporary, skilled, international migration. Using this case study of a sport-led migration, a largely under-researched occupational sector in migration studies, a number of theoretical, conceptual and empirical contributions are provided, which advance knowledge of skilled, international migration. First, utilising Bourdieu's (1986) notions of capital as an analytical framework, the comparative importance of migration motives are emphasised. Second, it is shown that migration can be viewed as a normalised aspect of a skilled worker's career trajectory, and that desired outcomes can be achieved during increasingly temporary stays overseas. Third, a three phase model of the migration flow is adopted to enable the development of professionalization and migration within cricket to be examined. It is asserted that cricket, as a professional sport, has changed under conditions of globalization, alongside smaller scale developments initiated by both employers and intermediaries, and the migrant cricketers. It is concluded that these connections will have salience for the other skilled occupations identified in Salt's (1997) typology of highly-skilled migrants.

This thesis explores the migratory experience mainly of Tunisian and Romanian workers in the agricultural informal economy of Sicily (Italy), based on observation and 30 semi-structured interviews. Starting from the reasons behind the decision to migrate and the expectations towards their migratory experience, this thesis argues that family’s needs are central motivational factors for the majority of the people who were part of my study and that the migratory experience tends to transform conventional gendering and parenting roles. The thesis also investigates the strategies used by Tunisian and Romanian migrants to enter the Italian territory and to be recruited in the agricultural sector. My data suggested that social capital (or the lack of it) and social networks are essential resources to enter the Italian territory and its labour market and to remain active within it. Furthermore, the thesis claims that the interaction between the widespread informal employment in Southern Europe and discriminating forms of citizenship creates a paradoxical situation where newly European Romanian workers have more opportunity to negotiate with employers within the informal economy, whereas non-European people must seek contractual work within the formal labour market to justify their immigration status, making them more vulnerable to exploitation by deceitful employers. For this reason an imaginary continuum line has been developed in the last two chapters of the thesis to highlight how discriminatory citizenship status interacts with the informal labour economy of the agricultural sector of Sicily, exacerbating unequal power relations and labour exploitation. By stretching the concept of the ‘camp’ developed by Agamben (1998), the informal economy will be considered as a dimension where people’s rights are severely undermined. The thesis nonetheless asserts that recognition of human dignity and human rights offer a form of utopian critique that might be considered positive as it stands outside the limitations of national forms of citizenship and points to more inclusive ideas of global citizenship.

This thesis seeks to explore the linkages between the networks which facilitate the exchange of information and assistance regarding internal Cambodian labour migration, and the physical assets and social systems within which, it is held here, they are embedded. In doing so, it revisits the area of enquiry recently associated with the social capital literature, with a new set of methodologies designed to circumvent some of the shortcomings associated with that theory. This is undertaken first, through recourse to the quantitative methodologies associated with network theory, and second, to the literature on endogenous systems of risk mitigation in response to natural disasters and climate pressures. In order that these local responses are framed fully within their multi-scalar context, structural violence theory is utilised in a linking role. Thus, labour migration is viewed herein as a lens through which to view the dynamic evolution of traditional Cambodian social systems. In particular, it is effective as a means of understanding resilience and response to the Kingdom’s contemporary environment, both in terms of its persistent vulnerability to natural disasters and climate shocks, and the rapid, but highly unequal, economic growth which has characterised the “economic miracle” of the previous decade. Indeed, the nature of the inequality which has characterised this period of rapid growth will be one of the primary foci of this study, which offers to the literature an account of how uneven distributions of social and physical assets and risks are entrenched in complex ways by the process of labour migration.

In this PhD thesis we are investigating topics on international migration and we focus in the case of the UK as a host country. We analyse the implications of restricted and unrestricted migration on the labour market outcomes and the welfare use of the migrants. In the first chapter we estimate the joint decision over the labour market behavior of an individual and her subsequent welfare use, and attempt to explain how this decision is differentiated between natives and immigrants. We incorporate differences in the purchasing power parities of the home countries and the host country to explain how these differences create different incentives between natives and immigrants. In the second chapter we investigate the effects of the economic crisis on the labour market performance of natives and immigrants in the UK. We assess the unemployment durations of EU and non-EU immigrants, and UK natives for the years before and during the economic crisis of 2008. We find that the unemployment duration of the EU immigrants converged to that of the UK natives, while the non-EU immigrants were the ones affected the most. We also find that the high degree of clustering into specific socioeconomic statuses, drove at a significant degree the unemployment duration out-comes for the EU immigrants. In the third chapter we investigate the job separation rates of immigrants and natives for the periods before and during the economic crisis of 2008. We find that the non-EU immigrants had higher separation rates than the natives and that this gap widened even further for the years during the crisis. The A8 immigrants had higher separation rates than the natives mainly due to early attrition from the survey. Exits towards unemployment or underemployment happened at a lower rate for this immigrant group compared to the natives. The two results combined indicate the importance of out-migration when the labour market outcomes of EU migrants are compared to those of the UK natives.

There is a prevailing view that the seafarer labour market provides an exemplar of a global labour market (GLM). The broader literatures suggest that labour markets when examined in detail are characteristically segmented in various ways. There is some evidence to indicate that the maritime industry may be somewhat similar. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which the maritime labour market is striated and thus, the extent to which it may be considered truly global. Using the lens of perceived shortage of quality officers within the industry, this study examines whether the seafaring GLM can be understood to be a homogeneous space in which seafarers are freely employed on a global basis. A qualitative research methodology was utilised consisting of interviews with representatives from maritime associations and organisations, executives from shipping companies and seafarers. The study also analysed over 200 articles from the electronic archives of ‘Lloyd’s List’, a maritime newspaper. The analysis of the data revealed that jobs and seafarers are divided into market segments that can function relatively independently. Segments occur because seafarers and jobs do not fit smoothly via a common market mechanism, instead demand and supply processes separate jobs and workers into divisions. The segmentation of the labour market is marked by quality, trade sector, geography, and international regulations and industry requirements, and market striation occurs along both horizontal and vertical dimensions.

China has been in a period of dramatic economic and political change for thirty years. Because human values reflect society people grew up and live, the change should have impacted on the values of the Chinese. Exploring Chinese seafarers' values and particularly focusing on a specific value, religion perceived and practiced by them, this investigation helps us shed some light on the changes China has been through as well as the trajectory of Chinese society and culture. In particular the study provides information on the relationship between economic growth and wellbeing. A qualitative research approach was applied and Chinese seafarers were asked to attend semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal significant differences between the implication of western writers and the values Chinese seafarers showed. Unlike the prediction for western societies, the factors of affluence at both individual and societal levels in China were not enough for Chinese seafarers to show the straightforward correspondence. The religious values Chinese seafarers revealed were far more complex than the way Christianity is perceived and practiced. The cause of such differences was the path China has taken to reach its affluence. This route made these Chinese seafarers studied feel insecure despite an affluent society and has arguably delayed the prediction.