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The present study aimed to understand how participation in university extracurricular activities has a beneficial or detrimental impact on students’ employment self-efficacy through the intervening mechanism of information search strategy.

The authors collected data from active job-searching university students across two time-points and hypothesized that the breadth of extracurricular activity participation would positively impact employment self-efficacy perceptions and information search strategies (focused, exploratory and haphazard) would mediate this relationship.

Results indicate that the breadth of students' participation in extracurricular activities was positively associated with employment self-efficacy perceptions, and this relationship was mediated by focused and exploratory information-search strategies. Extracurricular activities exhibited a negative relationship with a haphazard search strategy.

This research extends the understanding of the role of participation in extracurricular activities for influencing a job search. Future research may replicate these findings with different samples of job seekers.

Extracurricular activities are typically offered at universities as a way for students to develop skills and to improve employers' perceptions of students. The present results suggest that participating in extracurricular activities may also help university students to effectively conduct a self-directed job search.

We examined the role of extracurricular activities from the applicant's perspective, extending prior research examining extracurricular activities from the employer's perspective. The present results suggest that extracurricular activities play an important role in shaping the job search process of university students by influencing students' confidence for finding employment. Information search strategies mediated the effects of extracurricular activities on employment self-efficacy perceptions, suggesting that participating in extracurricular activities changed the way that applicants searched for jobs.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the income strategies adopted by rural households in Ghana and analyzes the determinants of households’ choice of income portfolio.

A multinomial logit approach is employed by the paper to investigate the determinants of various income strategies adopted by households in rural Ghana.

Results indicate that household characteristics, location and infrastructure all play a role in explaining the adoption of income strategies other than a purely on-farm strategy by households. Education is a key determinant of income strategies involving non-farm wage employment, while access to credit and electricity play important roles in non-farm self-employment income strategies.

The findings of the paper call for a promotion of off-farm income opportunities to complement farm incomes and to enhance access of rural households to these sources of income.

The paper models rural household income portfolios into mutually exclusive categories which enables the application of the multinomial logit approach. The paper deviates from mainstream rural income diversification literature that has focussed on assessing the determinants of income shares.

Aims to analyse the labour market outcome when there are two unions in the industry, representing heterogeneous workers – imperfect substitutes in production.

Competition between union policies are viewed in terms of both employment and wage strategies. Results for substitutes and complements are inspected. Attention is given to the strategic behaviour of the unions, towards one another and/or the employer side. Cooperation is modelled using the Nash‐maximand approach.

Gathers some notes and enlargements to the standard collective bargaining problem in which unions maximise utility. Extends the framework to model union competition behaviour for jobs and/or employment that reproduces the standard market product analysis of imperfect competition. Focuses on heterogeneous labour.

The analysis concentrates on the case of union duopoly, but can easily be enlarged to the n‐union setting – which is left for further investigation.

A simple analytical example with Stone‐Geary union utility functions and a linear labour demand system is forwarded.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the fastest-growing disability in the US; despite years of federal policy aimed at enhancing employment outcomes for this population, these outcomes remain limited. Little is known about the allyship strategies used to support job seekers with ASD to communicate with potential employers. The current study assesses self-advocates with ASD and supporters of people with ASD (e.g., family members, caregivers, employment specialists, vocational rehabilitation professionals) about the advocacy strategies they have implemented during the hiring process to enhance communication with employers. Study participants rated the effectiveness of the strategies that others may use, as well as the strategies they have used when seeking employment for an open position. Finally, a variety of psychological variables (e.g., self-determination, self-advocacy, global self-esteem, mentorship, incivility) were measured that are suspected to influence the use of these strategies in seeking employment. Findings inform effective support and advocacy strategies as well as ways that varying psychological variables predict the use of these strategies, informing personalization of interventions and supports for self-advocates and allies.

This paper aims to examine effective support strategies for facilitating the employment of autistic students and graduates by answering the following research question: What constitutes effective employment support for autistic students and graduates?

Data were collected using the method of empathy-based stories (MEBS) as part of a multinational European project’s Web-based survey. The data consisted of 55 writings about effective strategies and 55 writings about strategies to ]avoid when working with autistic students and graduates. The material was analysed using qualitative inductive content analysis. Narratives were created to illustrate desirable and undesirable environments and processes as they would be experienced by students, supported by original excerpts from the stories.

The analysis revealed that effective employment support for autistic students and graduates comprised three dimensions of support activity: practices based on the form and environment of support, social interaction support and autism acceptance and awareness. These dimensions were present in both recommended and not recommended support strategy writings.

The results add to the literature on autism and employment with its focus on the novel context of autistic university students and graduates. Effective strategies will be based on person-centred planning, to include not only the individual impact of autism but also individual career goals, workplace characteristics in the chosen field, employer needs and allocation of the right support. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy, but rather an individualized process is needed, focused on the identification of strengths, the adaptation of employment and work processes and improved understanding and acceptance of autism by management, colleagues and administration in the workplace.

This study examines and compares the employment strategy used by Japanese and British retail companies in Hong Kong. Hendry’s structured employment systems model is adopted as the theoretical framework for this research. Three case companies – Morioka and Okadaya (Japanese‐owned) and Supercom (British‐owned) – are studied regarding what employment strategies they have adopted to expand in Hong Kong, and to adjust to the changing consumer market. The evidence shows that the Japanese companies adopt more structured employment systems, employing more employee groups than the British company. Both Japanese companies vary employment practices to different employee groups on the basis of national origins, hierarchy, employment status and gender. Furthermore, skills/profession is also used in Okadaya to differentiate employment practices. Supercom mainly varies employment practices on hierarchy and employment status. Therefore, five to six groups of employees are identified in the Japanese companies, while two to three employee groups are identified in Supercom.

The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesise literature on the role of human resource practices (HRP) in shaping employee psychological contract (PC). Based on this review, a conceptual framework for examining the relationship between HRP and PC and their impact on employee attitudes as well as behaviour has been put forward for further examination.

An extensive review of the literature, examining the role of HRP in influencing PC of employees, between the periods 1972 to 2007 has been conducted. Adopting the multi‐level approach, the paper discusses the role of individual variable (PC) and organisational variable (HRP) on employee attitudes and behaviours.

The review brings to fore the following: the role of business and employment relationship strategy on HRP; the relationship between HRP and organisation culture as well as employees attitudes and behaviours; the relationship between HRP on and employee's psychological contract; and the moderating effect of those conceptions on employee attitudes and behaviours relationship.

HRP and PC influence employee attitudes and behaviours as well as have a bearing on organisational effectiveness. Suggestively, as a policy implication, firms need to craft and effectively communicate their HR toolkit based on their employment relationship and business strategies.

The main contribution of this paper is that it synthesises the research examining the impact of HRP on PC. Adopting a meso theory, the paper integrates both organisational and individual level variables and proposes a conceptual model.

The purpose of this study is to examine the (1) psychometric properties of Crossley and Highhouse's job search strategy scale and (2) the predictive utility of the scale on fit perceptions.

Data were collected from unemployed job seekers in Ghana (n_T1 = 720; n_T2 = 418). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to examine the data.

Exploratory factor analysis on the first random sub-sample (n = 362) supported a three-factor model. Confirmatory factor analysis on the second random sub-sample (n = 358) confirmed the three-factor structure and was invariant across job search contexts and genders. Moreover, structural path results showed that the use of focussed and exploratory job search strategies facilitated positive fit perceptions and the use of haphazard job search resulted in poor job fit perceptions.

This study is the first to examine the dimensionality of job search strategies based on different job search context by linking it to fit perceptions. Moreover, the authors provide evidence that the job search strategy scale has a valid psychometric property and a promising instrument to assess job search behaviour across job search contexts and genders in an understudied population.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the viability for Bolivia of attaining the United Nations millennium development goal established in year 2000, of halving extreme poverty by 2015.

The study is based in numerical simulation with a model of the Bolivian economy. The model pertains to the (widely defined) family of dynamic input‐output models, and represents in detail income distribution, by size and socioeconomic class.

The millennium development goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015 seems to be a difficult, but attainable goal for Bolivia. Given the expected debt reduction agreed with international creditors, the goal can be attained by a combination of investment and redistribution policies.

It is implied that a new approach to development strategy is adopted. A new policy consensus is assumed to supplant the Washington Consensus. The new consensus model is based on objectives such as policy autonomy, structural change, and distributive justice. Poverty reduction strategy is a combination of policies associated with these objectives, viz. foreign debt policy, investment policy, and income distribution policy.

The study shows that capital account regulation, investment planning and redistributive policies might conform effective strategies for attaining the millennium development goals.

The study represents a different approach to poverty reduction strategy, which explores the economy‐wide effects of new policy instruments, particularly on growth capacity, output structure, and income distribution.

The purpose of this article is to examine the relationship between the emerging European activation policies and the evolution of domestic activation policies and its governance. Drawing on the emerging Europeanization debate and comparative literature on activation, the crucial research question will be the following: is there a European Union (EU)‐induced convergence in domestic activation policies in the EU?

Following Bonoli's work, the article unpacks activation in two dimensions (human capital investment and employment market orientation) and looks at the trajectories of seven Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) countries using OECD active labour market policy (ALMP) expenditure data.

The article argues that there is only limited EU‐induced convergence towards the employment assistance component of the EU hybrid model and similarly limited convergence can be seen with respect to the governance of activation policies. Although fully‐fledged explanations of such limited convergence go beyond the scope of this article, the paper puts forward two tentative explanations which should be tested with further research: first, the lack of convergence may lie primarily in the overall “softness” of the European Employment Strategy (which means, among other things, limited resources), but the lack of convergence may also lie in the lack of administrative capacities enabling member state governments to fully implement innovative activation policies.

The paper is innovative since it empirically tests the role of European policies and ideas in shaping domestic reforms of activation policies. Contrary to other findings, the article shows that there is a limited degree of convergence and that the role is particularly negligible with respect to implementation capacities of reformed activation strategies.