Giorgia Brunello, Pietro Garibaldi, and Etienne Wasmer
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199210978
- eISBN:
- 9780191705786
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199210978.003.0014
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This chapter discusses how design of training policies is strongly related to the type of market failures conducive to under-provision. The empirical evidence on the relevance of efficiency and ...
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This chapter discusses how design of training policies is strongly related to the type of market failures conducive to under-provision. The empirical evidence on the relevance of efficiency and equity issues is considered, and a political economy view of training subsidies is proposed. Furthermore, the key features of the training policies in place and the implications for training and product market reforms are examined, along with the evidence on the effect of training on turnover and the limited evidence on the importance of credit constraints. The chapter concludes that one needs to be prudent when designing public policies aimed at raising the provision of workplace training; there is no clear-cut evidence that the level of workplace training produced by firms and employees is significantly lower than the socially efficient level; governments have an important role to play in improving information about training opportunities, setting appropriate legal frameworks, and ensuring portability of skills; product and labour market reforms do affect training participation.Less
This chapter discusses how design of training policies is strongly related to the type of market failures conducive to under-provision. The empirical evidence on the relevance of efficiency and equity issues is considered, and a political economy view of training subsidies is proposed. Furthermore, the key features of the training policies in place and the implications for training and product market reforms are examined, along with the evidence on the effect of training on turnover and the limited evidence on the importance of credit constraints. The chapter concludes that one needs to be prudent when designing public policies aimed at raising the provision of workplace training; there is no clear-cut evidence that the level of workplace training produced by firms and employees is significantly lower than the socially efficient level; governments have an important role to play in improving information about training opportunities, setting appropriate legal frameworks, and ensuring portability of skills; product and labour market reforms do affect training participation.
Tony Elger and Chris Smith
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199241514
- eISBN:
- 9780191714405
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199241514.003.0011
- Subject:
- Business and Management, International Business
This chapter examines the evolving features of management-worker relations and employee working lives at two large, sectorally dominant Japanese manufacturing subsidiaries in Telford, and assesses ...
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This chapter examines the evolving features of management-worker relations and employee working lives at two large, sectorally dominant Japanese manufacturing subsidiaries in Telford, and assesses whether these conform to new models of commitment, participation, and unitarism. It documents the persistence of instrumental bases of worker involvement, the mixture of consent, accommodation, and dissent which characterizes work relations, and the scope for individual and collective manifestations of conflict within a constrained industrial relations environment. The chapter rejects idealized accounts of a strategic shift in worker-manager relations, and seeks to document and explain similarities and differences in the contemporary patterns of acceptance and resistance, of survival tactics, and opposition in the two workplaces. Particular attention is given to informal understandings, effort bargains and expectations of promotion, and to labour turnover and absenteeism as expressions of dissatisfaction, which appear closely tied to these modern forms of work and employment.Less
This chapter examines the evolving features of management-worker relations and employee working lives at two large, sectorally dominant Japanese manufacturing subsidiaries in Telford, and assesses whether these conform to new models of commitment, participation, and unitarism. It documents the persistence of instrumental bases of worker involvement, the mixture of consent, accommodation, and dissent which characterizes work relations, and the scope for individual and collective manifestations of conflict within a constrained industrial relations environment. The chapter rejects idealized accounts of a strategic shift in worker-manager relations, and seeks to document and explain similarities and differences in the contemporary patterns of acceptance and resistance, of survival tactics, and opposition in the two workplaces. Particular attention is given to informal understandings, effort bargains and expectations of promotion, and to labour turnover and absenteeism as expressions of dissatisfaction, which appear closely tied to these modern forms of work and employment.
Alan Barenberg
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780300179446
- eISBN:
- 9780300206821
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300179446.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Russian and Former Soviet Union History
This chapter examines the process of transforming Vorkuta into a company town after it was determined in August 1955 that Vorkuta's mines would rely primarily on non-prisoner labor. This ...
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This chapter examines the process of transforming Vorkuta into a company town after it was determined in August 1955 that Vorkuta's mines would rely primarily on non-prisoner labor. This transformation involved recruiting thousands of new workers to replace departing prisoners, building urban infrastructure and housing, and rebuilding many of the area's mines. Although this “second birth” of the city dragged on for much longer than envisioned by planners, by the middle of the 1960s a new social and economic equilibrium had been established.Less
This chapter examines the process of transforming Vorkuta into a company town after it was determined in August 1955 that Vorkuta's mines would rely primarily on non-prisoner labor. This transformation involved recruiting thousands of new workers to replace departing prisoners, building urban infrastructure and housing, and rebuilding many of the area's mines. Although this “second birth” of the city dragged on for much longer than envisioned by planners, by the middle of the 1960s a new social and economic equilibrium had been established.
Éva Nagypál
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226172569
- eISBN:
- 9780226172576
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226172576.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This chapter describes some methodological and conceptual issues that arise when using the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data. It uses the publicly available JOLTS data to ...
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This chapter describes some methodological and conceptual issues that arise when using the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data. It uses the publicly available JOLTS data to empirically explore the widely used theoretical construct of the matching function. The data shows that the mismeasurement of labor turnover in the JOLTS is a larger problem than at first appears from the aggregate data. The understatement of the separation rate is a key reason that the JOLTS data overstate employment growth in the U.S. economy. The chapter then evaluates the influence of the employment growth discrepancy between the JOLTS and the Center for Economic Studies on the measurement of labor turnover. There is variation in the process of matching across industries due to the different characteristics of jobs and workers in these industries. Also, it is possible that the measurement issues discussed systematically affect the measurement of vacancies and hires across industries.Less
This chapter describes some methodological and conceptual issues that arise when using the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data. It uses the publicly available JOLTS data to empirically explore the widely used theoretical construct of the matching function. The data shows that the mismeasurement of labor turnover in the JOLTS is a larger problem than at first appears from the aggregate data. The understatement of the separation rate is a key reason that the JOLTS data overstate employment growth in the U.S. economy. The chapter then evaluates the influence of the employment growth discrepancy between the JOLTS and the Center for Economic Studies on the measurement of labor turnover. There is variation in the process of matching across industries due to the different characteristics of jobs and workers in these industries. Also, it is possible that the measurement issues discussed systematically affect the measurement of vacancies and hires across industries.
Daniel S. Hamermesh
Corrado Giulietti (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198791379
- eISBN:
- 9780191833847
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198791379.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
The book collects essays that revolve around the general topic of employers’ demand for labour. The focus is on labour differentiated by hours and workers, by hires, fires, quits and promotions. ...
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The book collects essays that revolve around the general topic of employers’ demand for labour. The focus is on labour differentiated by hours and workers, by hires, fires, quits and promotions. Throughout the emphasis is on the underlying patters that generate behaviour, including the nature of the costs of adjusting employment and hours, the extent to which different types of workers can be substituted for one another, the role of discrimination in altering employers’ behaviour and workers’ returns, and the temporal patterns of all these outcomes. The essays are generally empirical, based on wide varieties of sets of data; but in every case the empirical research is linked closely to an underlying economic theory. As a result, the essays reflect Hamermesh’s 50-year interest in the nature of employers’ demand for workers in all its aspects.Less
The book collects essays that revolve around the general topic of employers’ demand for labour. The focus is on labour differentiated by hours and workers, by hires, fires, quits and promotions. Throughout the emphasis is on the underlying patters that generate behaviour, including the nature of the costs of adjusting employment and hours, the extent to which different types of workers can be substituted for one another, the role of discrimination in altering employers’ behaviour and workers’ returns, and the temporal patterns of all these outcomes. The essays are generally empirical, based on wide varieties of sets of data; but in every case the empirical research is linked closely to an underlying economic theory. As a result, the essays reflect Hamermesh’s 50-year interest in the nature of employers’ demand for workers in all its aspects.
Tor Eriksson and Niels Westergaard-Nielsen
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226470504
- eISBN:
- 9780226470511
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226470511.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, International
This chapter, which describes some key features of the labor market in Denmark, also addresses the important aspect of its functioning and flexibility: the high level of worker mobility. Then, it ...
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This chapter, which describes some key features of the labor market in Denmark, also addresses the important aspect of its functioning and flexibility: the high level of worker mobility. Then, it explores the wage structure between and within firms, and changes therein since 1980. The Danish labor market, which is characterized by both high job mobility and high wage mobility, has an institutional setup that strongly facilitates mobility. The observed increase in overall wage dispersion is predominantly due to increasing wage differentials between firms. Moreover, Denmark has experienced a shift in wage bargaining from a highly centralized system to a considerably more decentralized wage setting. There has been a clear increase in between-firm wage inequality. Although labor turnover rates are high, a considerable portion of workers are in long-term employment relationships.Less
This chapter, which describes some key features of the labor market in Denmark, also addresses the important aspect of its functioning and flexibility: the high level of worker mobility. Then, it explores the wage structure between and within firms, and changes therein since 1980. The Danish labor market, which is characterized by both high job mobility and high wage mobility, has an institutional setup that strongly facilitates mobility. The observed increase in overall wage dispersion is predominantly due to increasing wage differentials between firms. Moreover, Denmark has experienced a shift in wage bargaining from a highly centralized system to a considerably more decentralized wage setting. There has been a clear increase in between-firm wage inequality. Although labor turnover rates are high, a considerable portion of workers are in long-term employment relationships.
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- June 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780804771689
- eISBN:
- 9780804775809
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804771689.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Latin American History
This chapter focuses on the transformation of Volta Redonda, the site of the National Steel Company's (Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional; CSN) integrated steel mill, from an economically depressed ...
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This chapter focuses on the transformation of Volta Redonda, the site of the National Steel Company's (Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional; CSN) integrated steel mill, from an economically depressed village into South America's most modern industrial city. Brazil relied on its physical infrastructure and engineering expertise, and a large number of migrant workers, to build the steel complex. The chapter looks at the workers' origins, the CSN's labor regime during construction, and labor turnover. Volta Redonda became a city of mineiros, mostly men and women from rural backgrounds who considered themselves simple country people, or arigós. A look at living conditions and the disciplinary regime shows why the workers who stayed in the city regarded the construction years to be a time of sacrifice.Less
This chapter focuses on the transformation of Volta Redonda, the site of the National Steel Company's (Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional; CSN) integrated steel mill, from an economically depressed village into South America's most modern industrial city. Brazil relied on its physical infrastructure and engineering expertise, and a large number of migrant workers, to build the steel complex. The chapter looks at the workers' origins, the CSN's labor regime during construction, and labor turnover. Volta Redonda became a city of mineiros, mostly men and women from rural backgrounds who considered themselves simple country people, or arigós. A look at living conditions and the disciplinary regime shows why the workers who stayed in the city regarded the construction years to be a time of sacrifice.
Daniel S. Hamermesh
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198791379
- eISBN:
- 9780191833847
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198791379.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
The theory of the dynamics of labor demand is based either on the costs of adjusting the level of employment or on the costs of hiring or firing (of gross changes in employment). We write down a ...
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The theory of the dynamics of labor demand is based either on the costs of adjusting the level of employment or on the costs of hiring or firing (of gross changes in employment). We write down a generalized cost of adjustment function that includes both types of cost and allows for asymmetries in those costs. We derive the firm’s rational-expectations profit - maximizing path of employment demand and the Euler equation whose parameters we estimate. Identifying the two types of costs requires complete data on turnover, which were available for the U.S. through 1981. We use these data for manufacturing to demonstrate that both types of adjustment cost figure in the representative firm’s profit-maximizing decisions about employment, and that both types of cost are asymmetric (leading here to quicker increases than decreases in employment).Less
The theory of the dynamics of labor demand is based either on the costs of adjusting the level of employment or on the costs of hiring or firing (of gross changes in employment). We write down a generalized cost of adjustment function that includes both types of cost and allows for asymmetries in those costs. We derive the firm’s rational-expectations profit - maximizing path of employment demand and the Euler equation whose parameters we estimate. Identifying the two types of costs requires complete data on turnover, which were available for the U.S. through 1981. We use these data for manufacturing to demonstrate that both types of adjustment cost figure in the representative firm’s profit-maximizing decisions about employment, and that both types of cost are asymmetric (leading here to quicker increases than decreases in employment).
Daniel S. Hamermesh
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198791379
- eISBN:
- 9780191833847
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198791379.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
A dynamic-programming model with quadratic adjustment costs generates an estimate of the lower bound on the fraction of adjustment costs that are gross costs. A model with lumpy costs of adjustment ...
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A dynamic-programming model with quadratic adjustment costs generates an estimate of the lower bound on the fraction of adjustment costs that are gross costs. A model with lumpy costs of adjustment also estimates the relative sizes of the two types of costs. The models are estimated over two sets of short monthly time series obtained from private sources, one from a medium-size hospital, the other describing three plants operated by a small manufacturing firm. The quadratic-cost model is also estimated using data describing small industries. The estimates demonstrate that the importance of the two types of costs differs across establishments, though gross adjustment costs appear relatively larger. The results provide evidence on issues of asymmetry in business cycles and the role of human capital in generating externalities in economic growth.Less
A dynamic-programming model with quadratic adjustment costs generates an estimate of the lower bound on the fraction of adjustment costs that are gross costs. A model with lumpy costs of adjustment also estimates the relative sizes of the two types of costs. The models are estimated over two sets of short monthly time series obtained from private sources, one from a medium-size hospital, the other describing three plants operated by a small manufacturing firm. The quadratic-cost model is also estimated using data describing small industries. The estimates demonstrate that the importance of the two types of costs differs across establishments, though gross adjustment costs appear relatively larger. The results provide evidence on issues of asymmetry in business cycles and the role of human capital in generating externalities in economic growth.
Daniel S. Hamermesh
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- March 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198791379
- eISBN:
- 9780191833847
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198791379.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
This study examines the relationship between output and flows of labor at seasonal frequencies using spectral analysis. The data are 9 years of monthly information on these quantities on each of a ...
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This study examines the relationship between output and flows of labor at seasonal frequencies using spectral analysis. The data are 9 years of monthly information on these quantities on each of a large number of small industries. The results show that employment flows respond more strongly to output fluctuations in industries where there is less firm-specific investment in human capital. This indicates the role of investment in altering the path of labor demand.Less
This study examines the relationship between output and flows of labor at seasonal frequencies using spectral analysis. The data are 9 years of monthly information on these quantities on each of a large number of small industries. The results show that employment flows respond more strongly to output fluctuations in industries where there is less firm-specific investment in human capital. This indicates the role of investment in altering the path of labor demand.
