Search results

Institutional rules and economies of scale can create incentives for firms to make inframarginal decisions when offering fringe benefits. We examine how such incentives might affect a firm's offer of health insurance.

We develop and estimate an empirical model of the firm's offer of health insurance that includes incentives created by rules and economies of scale. We quantify the behavioral manifestations from rules and costs as recruiting difficulty in areas outside those in which compensation is set and the percentage of high-skilled jobs in the firm and use the California Health and Employment Surveys (CHES) to estimate the model.

We show a 10–13 percentage point increase in the probability of a firm offering workers health insurance in jobs outside of those in which compensation is being set, if the recruiting difficulty lies in mid- or high-skilled positions. This increase is about twice the size of the increase associated with recruiting difficulty in the position in which compensation is negotiated.

A failure to control for the influence of inframarginal decision making when estimating the wage-insurance tradeoff helps produce wrong-signed estimates.

By bringing institutional rules and economies of scale into the framework of a firm's offer of fringe benefits, we help move the focus of the fringe benefit-wage tradeoff away from the individual level.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of whether emerging economies benefit or suffer more because of value-chain activities than advanced economies do. Specifically, it focuses on the consequences in terms of individual wages.

Panel data techniques are used to estimate an expanded Mincerian wage equation over the period 1995-2007. The analysis is performed using micro-level data for two countries that represent two different experiences of value-chain activities in Central Europe: Germany and Slovenia.

Increasing value-chain activities reduce wages for low-skilled workers in high-skill-intensive industries in Germany, hence driving up the skill wage premium. Conversely, evidence is found of a decreasing skill wage premium as a consequence of increasing value-chain activities in Slovenia. Finally, increasing value-chain activities reduces the wages of workers in low-skill-intensive industries in both Germany and Slovenia.

This paper analyses the effect of value-chain activities on wages. It is the first empirical assessment that brings individual wage data directly into the picture for an international comparison focussed on two Central European countries that represent “two faces” of value chains. This paper shows that the effects of increasing value-chain activities on wages differ by country, by industry and by individual skills.

Previous research has documented the ways that migration contributed to the rise of Hong Kong as a global city by the early 1990s. Much academic attention has been paid to the causes of labor migration and issues related to the adaptation of migrant workers in Hong Kong. Based on a review of such studies, the purpose of this paper is to describe three representative groups of migrant workers in Hong Kong and discuss how research on migrant workers in Hong Kong has provided new insights to the global city literature and to the study of development and migration.

This paper reviews published works regarding migrant workers in Hong Kong since 1996. Discussion focuses on three representative groups: high-skilled immigrants from developed countries, low-skilled migrant workers from less developed regions and mainland Chinese immigrants.

Findings suggest that the migration patterns and challenges of the adaptation of migrant workers in Hong Kong correspond largely to the social polarization thesis proposed by global city literature. However, Hong Kong is unique compared to core global cities in the USA and Western Europe due to its special power relationship with mainland China and its colonial history, which have a significant impact on immigrants’ decision to migrate and their post-migration integration.

This review paper provides a better understanding of migration and development, and highlights new factors that contribute to reasons for migration and challenges of integration for migrant workers in the host society.

This paper aims to apply a mixed-methods approach to redefine essential work skill sets, propose components of these skill sets that are necessary for workers in the contexts of emerging market economies (EMEs), examine potential selection tools that should be applied across firms and explain implications for the labour process theory (LPT) of work.

During the first phase of this study, qualitative data was collected from methods, including semi-structured interviews with human resources (HR) experts from the Personnel Management Association of Thailand, top and HR executives and managers of firms across industries in Thailand. Non-participant observations were made during the pre-interview, interview and post-interview stages. Analysis of archival documents and Web-based resources was then conducted. The authors used the qualitative data obtained from the first phase to develop survey instruments for conducting quantitative research during the second phase of this study.

The empirical findings demonstrate that essential work skill sets are “soft skills” that help workers survive and thrive in the business arena in EMEs. These essential work skill sets have implications for the LPT of work in that they play an important role in transferring the power of negotiation from employers to workers in the labour market. Essential work skill sets here can be divided into eight skill domains: (1) ideation and system thinking, (2) information and digital literacy, (3) social skills with appreciation for diversity and inclusion, (4) communication and language, (5) creativity and innovation, (6) emotional quotient (EQ) for self-management and development, (7) growth/outward mindset and (8) cognitive skills for the job role. Within each essential work skill set, there are several skills that workers in the current world of work need to possess (42 skills in total). Additionally, potential selection tools include behavioural observation, behavioural-based interviews, STAR (Situation, Task, Action and Results) interviews, role plays, case studies and simulations, high-pressure interview questions, project assignments, assessment centres, in-depth interview questions and special methods, such as face reading and fingerprint reading. Top and HR managers across industries strongly agree that the eight essential work skill sets and 42 skills are necessary for workers to survive in the business arena in EMEs. They also strongly agree that talent selection tools, especially behavioural-based interviews, are used by their firms to select high-skilled job candidates in the labour market.

Because the eight essential skill sets proposed in this paper are based primarily on the qualitative data obtained from top/HR managers in firms across some industries, generalization to respondents across other industries or across other EMEs may be limited. It is possible that the context of other EMEs may be different from that of Thailand. In this regard, some of the essential work skill sets that are suitable in the case of Thailand may not be suitable in the case of other EMEs. Future studies should thus explore how institutional contexts of other countries/economies shape the definition of essential skill sets and their components, as well as potential selection tools that shall be applied to select high-skilled labour in those contexts.

This paper provides practical implications for top managers and/or HR managers of firms across various industries in EMEs. In particular, managers should internally train and develop their employees/workers to possess the eight essential skill sets: (1) ideation and system thinking, (2) information and digital literacy, (3) social skills with appreciation for diversity and inclusion, (4) communication and language, (5) creativity and innovation, (6) EQ for self-management and development, (7) growth/outward mindset and (8) cognitive skills for the specific job role so that their employees/workers can survive and thrive in the era of the brittleness, anxiety, non-linearity and incomprehensibility of the business world under pandemic conditions. Additionally, top managers and/or HR managers of these firms should apply the potential selection tools proposed in this paper to probe into job candidates’ past experience and behaviours to better predict such candidates’ success at work. In this regard, job candidates/workers should prepare themselves to possess these essential work skill sets so that they can be successful in the business arena and should understand potential selection tools that firms may apply to recruit and select them.

This paper provides social/policy implications for the government and/or relevant public agencies of Thailand and of other EMEs. These governments should encourage firms across industries to invest resources in training and developing their employees/workers to possess those essential work skill sets so that these employees/workers are industry-ready, leading to the alleviation of the problems of skill and mismatch in the labour market.

This paper contributes to the prior literature on human resource management (HRM), the comparative institutional perspective on employment systems based on the varieties of capitalism (VoC) framework and the LPT of work in the following ways: first, this paper fills in the research gap in the field of HRM that calls for studies that explore how the COVID-19 pandemic shapes essential skill sets and skills development among workers within firms (Cooke et al., 2021). Second, this paper provides implications for the LPT of work regarding how essential work skill sets are likely to return the power of negotiation from employers to workers in EMEs during the current situation. Third, the VoC framework tends to focus on only two types of economies, liberal market economies and coordinated market economies. However, this paper examines essential work skill sets and potential screening tools in the context of the underresearched country of Thailand, an EME. In fact, the Thai labour market is quite different from that of other EMEs labour markets, as it is impacted by an aging workforce. This paper contributes to the literature on comparative institutional perspectives on employment systems as it redefines essential work skill sets, proposes various components of these skill sets among workers and examines potential selection tools that are applied across firms located in EMEs.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the existence of skill differentiation between formal and informal labor markets.

First, a theoretical model is developed under the assumption that concealment of production is increasingly costly for informal firms. Second, using data on the Brazilian self‐employed economy, two methods are utilized to compare earnings in the formal versus the informal economy: propensity score and instrumental variable (IV) methods. For the IV estimations, state‐level variables are used as instruments for individual's decisions. In addition, the effect of schooling on formality choice is analyzed.

The theoretical model implies that more productive firms tend to operate formally and the proportion of workers employed by formal firms is larger for higher skilled workers. In the empirical analysis, it is found that formal firms are more productive than informal firms, controlling for workers' characteristics, and that higher workers' skill increase the probability of formal operation, as predicted by the theoretical model.

The paper provides an original theoretical model of skill differentiation in labor markets and empirically evaluates the implications of the model.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between trade liberalization and wages in India.

This paper uses an empirical approach based on the “mandated wage equations”.

The main result in the paper is that trade reforms have been associated with a rise in the relative wages of medium‐skilled workers (defined as having completed secondary schooling). The authors do not find any evidence for trade reforms to be associated with an increase or decrease in wage inequality between low and high‐skilled workers. The results are consistent with the predictions of the Stolper‐Samuelson theorem.

The main contribution of this paper is to add to the debate on trade reforms and inequality in India by focusing on the variation in skill categories.

This paper aims to clarify the relationship between digital transformation and labor structure from the perspectives of microenterprise business strategies and factor allocation efficiency. It attempts to address the gap in existing research by explaining the impact of digital transformation on multidimensional workforce structures and the positive effects of this structural adjustment on labor allocation efficiency. In addition, the study further explores the economic ramifications of digital transformation, clarifying the correlation between changes in labor force structure and enterprise human resource allocation, thus enhancing the employment mobility effects of digital innovation at the enterprise level.

In contrast to prior research, our approach uses text analytics to assess the internal labor structure, incorporating labor skill, position and age into the analytical framework. This approach yields a more comprehensive data set, shedding light on variations in multidimensional employment structures.

The paper asserts that digital transformation significantly influences labor structure changes, evidenced by increased proportions of high-skilled, non-routine and younger laborers, as well as decreased shares of low-skilled, routine and older-age workers. Furthermore, it captures internal labor structure impacts, influenced by enterprise size, ownership, industry density and regional digitization levels. Mechanism analysis indicates moderation of digital transformation effects on labor structure by innovative tasks, labor productivity and management shareholding.

The paper reveals the specific impact of corporate digital transformation on workforce structure, enriching the employment mobility effects of digital innovation at the enterprise level and providing theoretical support for the formulation and implementation of relevant policies.

First, this paper delves into the impact of digital transformation on the internal labor structure from a microlevel perspective, elucidating its mechanisms. Second, in contrast to prior research, it uses text analytics to assess the internal labor structure, incorporating labor skill, position and age into the analytical framework. This approach yields a more comprehensive data set, shedding light on variations in multidimensional employment structures. Lastly, the study investigates the economic ramifications of shifts in employment structures. The findings of this study furnish novel empirical evidence for the debate regarding whether digital transformation can indeed enhance labor allocation efficiency.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how occupational mobility varies over the business cycle and how selected factors contribute to occupational mobility in different stages of the business cycle.

Using annual micro data from the Estonian Labour Force Survey (2001-2010) and implementing probit models with interaction terms, the paper investigates occupational mobility as a change of occupation in two successive years during recovery, boom and recession periods.

The analysis indicates that occupational mobility is higher during the recovery and boom periods and lower during the recession stage. The demographic characteristics (gender, marital status, knowledge of local language) influence the probability for occupational change during the recovery stage of the business cycle. The position of employees in the occupational hierarchy is significant during the recovery and boom periods. Employees working in the public sector have a lower probability for occupational change compared with private sector employees during the recession. Training has a positive effect on occupational mobility during recession. Tenure reduces the probability of occupational mobility over the whole business cycle.

The paper contributes to the literature by providing new results about the role of different factors of occupational mobility over the business cycle. This is among the few studies addressing the variation in the occupational mobility of employees from the public and private sectors. Interactions between the position of the employees in the occupational hierarchy and the ownership form of their employers and the economic sectors add to the understanding about the mechanism of occupational mobility over the business cycle stages.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of migrant workers on the output growth of 15 sub-industries of the manufacturing sector in Malaysia during the period 1990–2008. The paper seeks to answer the following critical questions: what is the impact of migrant workers on the output growth of the manufacturing sector, the leading sector of Malaysian economy? It is possible that migrant workers with different skill levels may have different impacts on output growth of such sector?

The paper employs three econometric techniques: mean group, dynamic fixed effect and the pooled mean group on extended form for Cobb–Douglas production function.

The overall findings suggest that due to the inflow of low skills of migrant workers, output growth in the manufacturing sectors is likely to witnesses a marginal decline in the long run.

The present study complements previous studies by providing a quantitative assessment of the impact of migrant workers on output growth in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia, which is not attempted in extant literature. More importantly, the analysis considers the probability that migrant workers with different skill levels may have different impacts on the growth of output in the manufacturing sector.

To investigate the potential of raising the retirement age and reforming pension insurance in mitigating intra- and inter-generational income inequality, thereby offering empirical support for governmental policy formulation.

A dynamic general equilibrium model with intertemporal iteration is developed to comprehensively assess the impact of policies raising the retirement age on income inequality, taking into account delayed retirement, survival probability, and pension insurance. The theoretical hypotheses are validated through simulation using MATLAB.

Through theoretical analysis, it is determined that, given certain assumptions are satisfied, raising the retirement age can effectively mitigate intra-generational income inequality, inter-generational income inequality under both the pay-as-you-go and fund accumulation systems. Simulation results indicate that, under current parameter settings, raising the retirement age can reduce the Gini coefficient. Furthermore, this study reveals that regardless of the pay-as-you-go or fund accumulation system, pension insurance serves as a mechanism for income redistribution and alleviating income inequality.

It offers a theoretical foundation for the government's policy on delayed retirement and endowment insurance.