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Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death, accounting for over a quarter of all deaths both worldwide and in the UK. This study examines the effect of eye examinations in diagnosing hypertension. Eye examinations and hypertension are correlated, since people diagnosed with high blood pressure are advised to have their eyes tested and also eye examinations may lead to the prognosis of potential problems related to blood pressure. The study uses the Scottish eye care policy introduced in 2006 as a quasiexperiment. The analysis is based on the British Household Panel Survey. Difference-indifference regression analysis was used in the multivariate analysis of the impact of free eye examinations on the diagnosis of hypertension. The eye care policy led to an increasein both blood pressure examinations (around 7 percentage points) and in the reporting of high blood pressure (around 3 percentage points). This is evident only for the people from high-income households. The findings provide evidence of the wider health benefits and cost savings that an eye examination can achieve through the early detection of hypertension. The results also suggest that the disparate uptake of eye examinations across income groups not only widens inequalities in eye health, but may also widen inequalities in other health conditions.

In this article, we investigate the interrelated dynamics of dual jobholding, human capital, occupational choice, and mobility, using a panel sample (1991-2005) of UK employees from the British Household Panel Survey. The evidence suggests that individuals may be using multiple jobholding as a conduit for obtaining new skills and expertise and as a stepping-stone to new careers, also involving self-employment. Individuals doing a different secondary job than their primary occupation are more likely to switch to a new primary job in the next year, and a job that is different than their current primary employment. The results show that there are human capital spillover effects between primary and secondary employment.

We build a model of worker interdependence in which two workers can either compete or cooperate and compare performance under either scenario to that of a single worker working in isolation. We show that whilst competition unequivocally reduces performance, cooperation may raise or lower performance. Employing a unique data set in which workgroups are comprised of either one or two workers, we are able to test explicitly for the presence of cooperation. We find empirical support for cooperative behavior.

The inter-related dynamics of dual job-holding, human capital and occupational choice between primary and secondary jobs are investigated, using a panel sample (1991-2005) of UK employees from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). A sequential profile of the working lives of employees is examined, investigating, first, the determinants of multiple job-holding, second, the factors affecting the occupational choice of a secondary job, third, the relationship between multiple-job holding and job mobility and, lastly, the spillover effects of multiple job-holding on occupational mobility between primary jobs. The evidence indicates that dual job-holding may facilitate job transition, as it may act as a stepping-stone towards new primary jobs, particularly self-employment.

This study, using the EU-LFS, examines the determinants of sickness absence in 26 EU countries. The analysis highlights the importance of demographic and workplace characteristics and of institutional and societal conditions. Female workers aged 26-35 exhibit higher absenteeism, possibly reflecting the level of high household labour pressure. Increased job insecurity, captured by temporary contracts, and labour market uncertainty, reflected in higher unemployment rates, have a negative effect on absenteeism. Finally, individual sickness absence is lower in countries with higher proportion of dependent/out of the labour market individuals, probably because of the increasing pressure labour active people may experience.

This paper presents an empirical examination of individuals’ motivations for multiple-job holding or moonlighting. Theoretical models of moonlighting suggest that individuals to hold a second job for either financial reasons (they face hours-constraints in their first job) or non-pecuniary motives (heterogeneous jobs). We assess the relative importance of these reasons using a purposefully collected stated preference data set. We find that individuals respond to financial constraints by having multiple-jobs, but these financial motives are not sufficient to explain moonlighting. We also find that individuals are attracted to the non-pecuniary aspects of the second jobs, such as job satisfaction and entrepreneurial opportunities. Furthermore, we find evidence that second job holding may be a hedging strategy against job insecurity in the primary job. Our empirical results contribute to a better understanding of this labour market behaviour.

The inter-related dynamics of dual job-holding, human capital and occupational choice between primary and secondary jobs are investigated, using a panel sample (1991-2005) of UK employees from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). A sequential profile of the working lives of employees is examined, investigating, first, the determinants of multiple job-holding, second, the factors affecting the occupational choice of a secondary job, third, the relationship between multiple-job holding and job mobility and, lastly, the spillover effects of multiple job-holding on occupational mobility between primary jobs. The evidence indicates that dual job-holding may facilitate job transition, as it may act as a stepping-stone towards new primary jobs, particularly self-employment.

This paper studies the incidence of multiple job-holding in Greece and contributes to the literature by examining its determinants, its variance across different regions and the effect of the business cycle on its occurrence. The empirical analysis highlights the importance of both pecuniary and non-pecuniary motives behind multiple job-holding, and reveals significant variations in its incidence across regions, with areas that have a large primary sector having higher multiple job-holding rates. Finally, multiple job-holding is found to be pro-cyclical, with the probability of holding a second job estimated to increase during economic expansions.

The significance of seniority for individuals' wage growth has been a very popular\ud topic in labour economics for the past three decades. The extent to which wages rise\ud with employer-tenure is fundamental in the understanding of the dynamics of\ud earnings and labour market behaviour. This thesis is an empirical study of the\ud British labour market in the 1990s and attempts to shed some light on the different\ud kinds of skills individuals acquire in work, and their contribution to the wage\ud determination process. Specifically, the author examines the role of seniority and\ud employer-specific skills in earnings and explores whether industry and\ud occupational specificity in the accumulated human capital can explain part of the\ud variation in wages. Furthermore, the author investigates the interaction of\ud institutional arrangements with these human capital wage premia, giving a\ud particular attention to union representation. Throughout the empirical analysis, the\ud issue of potential endogeneity bias in the estimates of interest is also addressed and\ud alternative estimators are employed for that purpose. For part of the workforce,\ud mainly in 'blue-collar and low-paying jobs, employer-tenure appears to have a\ud significant impact on wage progression, which is further strengthened when\ud employed in a more structured environment, like in the union sector, with well-set\ud promotion ladders and pay rules. Occupational expertise, in contrast, is estimated to\ud play a far more important role in the earnings profiles of those in prestigious, high-paying\ud but more competitive jobs. This is particularly true in less restricted\ud workplaces, where there is no union representation or seniority-pay scales, like in\ud the non-union sector. Overall, the findings of this study provide some rather useful\ud insights into the patterns that govern individuals' wage growth and are informative\ud about individuals' employability and job mobility that could prove to be helpful to\ud policy makers on unemployment and wage inequality issues.