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Article
Publication date: 11 March 2014

Caf Dowlah

The purpose of the paper is to examine convergence of economic interests – both empirically and theoretically – among labor-abundant (labor-sending) and labor scarce (labor…

1016

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to examine convergence of economic interests – both empirically and theoretically – among labor-abundant (labor-sending) and labor scarce (labor receiving) countries, in the context of Mode 4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the WTO. The paper also explores regional trade associations as an interim alternative forum for promoting temporary cross-border labor mobility in the backdrop of failure of multilateral trade negotiations under the Doha Round.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology of the paper involves literature review, an analysis of databases and theoretical findings, and a critical examination of pertinent empirical and secondary information on the subject matter.

Findings

The findings reveal that although a convergence of economic interests seem to exist between the labor-sending and receiving countries for promoting cross-border labor mobility, this sector faces formidable trade and non-trade barriers across the world, especially in the developed countries. As multilateral trade negotiations under the Doha Round have failed to make any progress toward liberalization of this sector, regional trade associations, especially those pursued by the USA, Canada and Australia, seem to provide a credible alternative vehicle, as an interim measure, for further liberalization of this sector. These RTAs can serve as examples for other RTAs to promote regional mobility of labor.

Research limitations/implications

Cross-border temporary labor mobility, as envisaged by GATs of the WTO, is a burgeoning field. Although some serious works are available, especially sponsored by the World Bank and some leading universities, there is a considerable dearth in this field, especially in respect to contribution from individual scholars and researchers. This paper fills the void to some extent by ascertaining factors and forces that help or hinder cross-border mobility, by pointing out limitations of multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO, and by exploring the regional trade associations as an interim measure for promoting cross-border labor mobility.

Practical implications

This paper points out factors and forces that help or hinder cross-border mobility, ascertains crucial limitations of multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO, and explores the RTAs as an interim measure for promoting cross-border labor mobility – all these would have practical policy implications.

Originality/value

The originality of the paper lies with its critical and careful review of existing literature and available databases, with the determination of factors and forces that help or hinder cross-border mobility in the contemporary world, in pointing out the limitations of multilateral trade negotiations under the WTO, and in exploring the RTAs as an interim measure for promoting cross-border labor mobility.

Article
Publication date: 26 August 2014

Raul Eamets and Krista Jaakson

Recent economic recession has highlighted the role of labour market flexibility as a key factor of competitiveness of a country. Despite the fact that labour mobility can…

1546

Abstract

Purpose

Recent economic recession has highlighted the role of labour market flexibility as a key factor of competitiveness of a country. Despite the fact that labour mobility can essentially be seen as part of labour market flexibility, there is notable research gap concerning spatial mobility and other facets of labour market flexibility. The purpose of this special issue is to fill these gaps.

Design/methodology/approach –

The papers in the special issue represent various quantitative methods and databases, whereas mainly micro data (workplace, labour force or immigrant surveys, job search portal, etc.) is used. However, the type of labour market flexibility addressed is both micro- and macro-level.

Findings

It is demonstrated that labour occupational mobility is determined by the business cycle, numerical flexibility, occupational categories, and sector. Spatial mobility may have counterintuitive effects on individual occupational mobility depending on gender and it is related to various flexibilities in the workplace. It is also suggested that different types of flexibilities on a firm level are interdependent of each other.

Originality/value

The special issue adds to the labour market related knowledge by integrating labour market flexibility and mobility. Individually, both phenomena have been studied before, but not much research is devoted to their inter-linkages. The special issue also contributes by examining labour market flexibility and spatial mobility in the context of different countries, economic cycles, and institutional settings.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 35 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 June 2003

María Pilar de Luis Carnicer, Angel Martínez Sánchez, Manuela Pérez Pérez and María José Vela Jiménez

This paper analyzes the results of a survey about labor mobility of a sample of 1,182 Spanish employees. The results indicate that women have lower mobility than men, and that the…

3738

Abstract

This paper analyzes the results of a survey about labor mobility of a sample of 1,182 Spanish employees. The results indicate that women have lower mobility than men, and that the mobility of men and women is explained by different factors. The employee’s perceptions about job satisfaction, pay fairness, and employment stability are also more explicative of job mobility than traditional job‐related factors, such as wages or training. These results have managerial implications for the segmentation of men and women in the labor market.

Details

Women in Management Review, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0964-9425

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 August 2021

Hazel Baxter-Reid

The purpose of this article is to examine the tactics and strategies utilised by Central Eastern European (CEE) migrant workers as they strive to develop their mobility power…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to examine the tactics and strategies utilised by Central Eastern European (CEE) migrant workers as they strive to develop their mobility power within the employment relationship and outside of the workplace.

Design/methodology/approach

Data is drawn from three qualitative organisational case studies. In total 70 interviews with migrant workers, managers and HR staff were undertaken. There were also nine focus groups with migrant workers across the case studies.

Findings

Developing mobility power is not straightforward, particularly in the context of hard HRM strategies. The majority of CEE workers across the case studies viewed the employment relationship as temporary; however, people found it difficult to develop the mobility power necessary to leave and move to a better job. This can be attributed to a combination of people's individual subjective factors and employment in occupations with limited structural and associational power.

Originality/value

This article engages with debates concerning the agency of migrant workers. Existing studies have focused upon the way in which migrant workers utilise mobility power to leave unfavourable employers. However, this article builds upon current debates by examining how migrant workers develop their mobility power. There is also consideration of the individual and collective dimensions of power.

Details

Employee Relations: The International Journal, vol. 44 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1991

Robert Read

The Single European Market (SEM) represents the final stage in theprocess of economic integration of trade in goods and services and thefree movement of individuals in the…

Abstract

The Single European Market (SEM) represents the final stage in the process of economic integration of trade in goods and services and the free movement of individuals in the European Community (EC). The discussion of the benefits of the SEM has been concentrated primarily on the extent to which the elimination of non‐tariff barriers will lead to greater economic efficiency. The progress in the creation of a single labour market within the EC is reviewed and the relationship between labour mobility and migration in order to assess the impact of the free movement of labour. It is argued that internal migration will generally fall due to the free mobility of capital. Where labour embodies significant human capital however, migration is expected to rise in response to the removal of barriers.

Details

European Business Review, vol. 91 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0955-534X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 October 2017

Annabelle Krause, Ulf Rinne and Klaus F. Zimmermann

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current state of the single European labor market (SELM), its related risks and opportunities, and identify useful measures for…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current state of the single European labor market (SELM), its related risks and opportunities, and identify useful measures for reaching the goal of increased European labor mobility.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted an online survey among European labor market experts (IZA research and policy fellows) on the current state of the SELM, its determinants, and the role of the Great Recession. The authors evaluate the data using descriptive and regression-based methods.

Findings

The experts agree on the SELM’s importance, especially for larger economic welfare, but are not convinced that it has been achieved. To enhance labor mobility across Europe, the respondents identify key factors such as recognizing professional qualifications more efficiently, harmonizing social security systems, and knowing several languages. Moreover, at least 50 percent of the respondents consider positive attitudes – by policy makers and citizens alike – toward free mobility to be important to enhance labor mobility.

Originality/value

The IZA Expert Opinion Survey presents a unique opportunity to learn how numerous experts think about the important issue of European labor market integration and moreover constitutes a valuable extension to public opinion surveys on related topics. This survey’s findings provide a sophisticated basis for a discussion about policy options regarding the SELM.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 38 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 April 2018

Francieli Tonet Maciel and Ana Maria Hermeto C. Oliveira

The purpose of this paper is to discuss recent dynamics of the Brazilian labour market, by analysing occupational mobility patterns, specially the transitions between formal and…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to discuss recent dynamics of the Brazilian labour market, by analysing occupational mobility patterns, specially the transitions between formal and informal labour, and verify the earnings mobility resulting from these transitions, separately by gender.

Design/methodology/approach

The changes in the mobility patterns are analysed by performing an estimation of the transition probabilities between different occupational status between 2002 and 2012, using a multinomial logit model and the microdata from the Monthly Employment Survey (PME). The earnings mobility is analysed by using quantile regressions.

Findings

The results indicate a high degree of mobility from unemployment to formal employment in the period but suggest the persistence of mobility patterns. Women are better off in the period, but only among individuals with better attributes. The earnings mobility results, for women and men, suggest an increase in valuation of the formal labour relatively to informality (informal salaried employment and self-employment), especially at the bottom of the earnings distribution.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to a better understanding of recent changes in occupational mobility patterns between formal and informal labour and the earnings mobility underlying these patterns, accounting for the differences along the earnings distribution and gender issues. That is, it allows identify which groups of workers benefited more from the formalisation process to infer about trends in formal–informal dynamics over the period and discuss the challenges in conducting policies to promote inclusive and quality employment.

Details

International Journal of Development Issues, vol. 17 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1446-8956

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2002

Ron Dekker, Andries de Grip and Hans Heijke

This paper analyses the effects of both training and overeducation on upward mobility in the internal labour market, the professional market and the “supplementary labour market”…

4228

Abstract

This paper analyses the effects of both training and overeducation on upward mobility in the internal labour market, the professional market and the “supplementary labour market”. The latter segment can be considered as a broadly defined secondary labour market as it is not restricted to the low‐level unskilled jobs only. This broader definition – also found in initial segmentation theory – allows for the changed character of the secondary labour market in the industrialized countries. As expected, “career training” influences upward mobility positively. However, contrary to the predictions of segmentation theory, particularly in the supplementary labour market career training is a means of gaining promotion to a higher level job. Overeducation also affects upward mobility positively, which indicates that overeducation is to some extent a temporary phenomenon at the individual level. However, this also holds in particular in the supplementary segment of the labour market. The estimation results show that the supplementary labour market is less of a dead end than the segmentation theory predicts and is a more valuable place to get training than has been recognized. The supplementary market probably plays an important role in the transition process between initial education and the labour market. Although workers may be initially overeducated in their first jobs, a supplementary segment job could be an attractive step towards reaching a more suitable position in the labour market.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 23 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 September 2017

Aysit Tansel and Elif Öznur Acar

This paper, the first one to use individual-level Turkish panel data, examines the labor market transitions in Turkey along the formal/informal employment divide. The purpose of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper, the first one to use individual-level Turkish panel data, examines the labor market transitions in Turkey along the formal/informal employment divide. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the limited body of empirical evidence available on mobility and informality in the Turkish labor market.

Design/methodology/approach

Toward this end, the authors use Turkish income and Living Conditions Survey panel data for 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 to compute the Markov transition probabilities of individuals moving across six different labor market states: formal-salaried (FS), informal-salaried, formal self-employed, informal self-employed, unemployed and inactive. In order to examine the nature of mobility patterns in more detail, the authors then estimate six multinomial logit models individually for each transition adopting a number of individual and employment characteristics as explanatory variables.

Findings

The authors find evidence that mobility patterns are fairly similar across different time spans, the probability of remaining in initial state is higher than the probability of transition into another state for all the labor market states, except for unemployment, there is only very limited mobility into the FS state. Gender, education and sector of economic activity are observed to display significant effects on mobility patterns. The results reveal several relationships between the covariates and likelihood of variant transitions.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides a comprehensive and detailed diagnosis of the Turkish labor market. The market is observed to display a rather static structure throughout the period considered. The results indicate that a well recognition of underlying dynamics may help policy makers to produce various effective tools for addressing informality.

Originality/value

First study to analyze labor market mobility across formal/informal sectors using newly available panel data.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 44 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 May 2009

Jinghua Zhang, Fangwei Wu, Deyuan Zhang and Yongmin Wang

The purpose of this paper, starting from a theoretical framework, is to analyze the spillover effects of human capital brought by labor mobility and their influence on the public…

1221

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper, starting from a theoretical framework, is to analyze the spillover effects of human capital brought by labor mobility and their influence on the public education investment.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the endogenous growth theory, the paper establishes a regional human capital spillover model to examine the spillover effects of human capital coming along with the regional labor mobility and the changes of public education investment decision brought by the spillover effects in China.

Findings

It has been found that the regional mobility of labor has made the developed areas gain the spillover benefits of human capital investment from the underdeveloped areas with their superiority of social and economic environment and restrained the incentives for public education investment in the underdeveloped areas, thus the different areas walk on a different growth path, with the expansion of the difference in the economic and education investment growth.

Originality/value

This paper analyzes the possible influences from the spillover of human capital on the economic growth and educational investment and finds a high possibility for the underdeveloped areas to get into a “low development trap” of education investment. The key to solving the problem is to internalize the externalities by the active public policy, in order to realize equal education, rational investment and balanced development.

Details

China Agricultural Economic Review, vol. 1 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-137X

Keywords

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