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Bonn : IZA, 2011
Abstract: Short-time work was the "German answer" to the economic crisis. The number of short-time workers strongly increased in the recession and peaked at more than 1.5 million. Without the extensive use of short-time work, unemployment would have risen by approximately twice as much as it actually did. Short-time work has certainly contributed to the mild response of the German labor market to the crisis, but this is likely due to the country-specific context. Although the crisis has been ove ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2011
Abstract: The Bologna process inspired the Italian 3+2 reform of the university system which constitutes a big increase in the supply of college graduates. This paper is a preliminary attempt to identify the effects of the reform on the probability (relative to non-graduates) of employment of college graduates in the age range 25-34; their quality of employment measured with the relative probability of being employed with a temporary contract; the college wage premium. Using administrative data ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2011
Abstract: The main question addressed by this article is whether and how gender inequalities in wages have changed in Italy in the face of the important labour market developments of the last years. Specifically, the paper addresses gender wage inequalities in Italy in the mid-1990s and in the mid-2000s. In this period important labour market developments occurred: institutional changes have loosened the use of flexible and atypical contracts; the female employment rates and educational levels h ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2012
Abstract: With young people among the big losers of the recent financial crisis, vocational education and training (VET) is often seen as the silver bullet to the problem of youth joblessness. This paper provides a better understanding of VET around the world, dealing with three types of vocational systems: school-based education, a dual system in which school-based education is combined with firm-based training, and informal training. We first explore the motivation for these different types of ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2013
Abstract: In the Great Recession most OECD countries used short-time work (publicly subsidized working time reductions) to counteract a steep increase in unemployment. We show that short-time work can actually save jobs. However, there is an important distinction to be made: while the rule-based component of short-time work is a cost-efficient job saver, the discretionary component appears to be completely ineffective. In a case study for Germany, we use the rich data available to combine micro- ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2013
Abstract: Female labor supply can insure households against shocks to paternal employment. The paper estimates whether the female labor supply response to a paternal employment shock differs by eligibility to maternity employment protection. We exploit time-state variation in the implementation of unpaid maternity leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in the US which increased employment protection from 0 to 12 weeks. We find that mothers eligible for FMLA speed up their return t ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2013
Abstract: Women are on average more absent from work for health reasons than men. At the same time, they live longer. This conflicting pattern suggests that part of the gender difference in health-related absenteeism arises from differences between the genders unrelated to actual health. An overlooked explanation could be that men and women's preferences for absenteeism differ, for example because of gender differences in risk preferences. These differences may originate from the utility-maximiz ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2017
Abstract: Programs that increase the economic capacity of poor women can have cascading effects on children's participation in school and work that are theoretically undetermined. The research presents a simple model to describe the possible channels through which these programs may affect children's activities. Based on a cluster-randomized trial, we examine how a program providing capital and training to women in poor rural communities in Nicaragua affected children. Children in beneficiary ho ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2017
Abstract: Maternity and family leave policies enable mothers to take time off work to prepare for and recover from childbirth and to care for their new children. While there is substantial variation in the details of these policies around the world, the existing research yields the following general conclusions. First, despite important barriers to the take-up of leave, both the implementation of new programs and extensions of existing ones increase leavetaking rates among new parents. Second, l ...; [Read more...]
Bonn : IZA, 2017
Abstract: The research draw lessons from existing work and analysis on the effects of parental leave and other interventions aimed at aiding families. The outcomes of interest are female employment, gender gaps in earnings and fertility. The authors begin with a discussion of the historical introduction of family policies ever since the end of the nineteenth century and then turn to the details regarding family policies currently in effect across high-income nations. Then they sketch a framework ...; [Read more...]