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1 – 10 of over 1000Sami Ylistö and Hanna-Mari Husu
This article deals with the negative emotional consequences of active labour market policies (ALMPs) for long-term unemployed young adults in Finland. Although such policies may…
Abstract
Purpose
This article deals with the negative emotional consequences of active labour market policies (ALMPs) for long-term unemployed young adults in Finland. Although such policies may have positive effects, an exploration of their negative impacts reveals their problematic side effects. We explore various aspects of ALMP interventions that prevent individuals from gaining such positive outcomes and thus reduce their motivation to invest in the policies.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the affect theory of social exchange, we understand that individuals seek positive rewards from social interactions. Our data is taken from life course interviews with unemployed people aged 20–31 in central Finland in 2012–2013.
Findings
We find three factors linked to ALMPs that diminish participants' emotional well-being: experiences of unfairness, lack of control and a mismatch between ALMPs and clients' needs. By paying attention to aspects of labour market policy that diminish emotional well-being, it is possible to build more functional policies that better meet the needs of long-term unemployed individuals.
Originality/value
This study fills a significant gap in the literature, because there is limited research on unintended negative outcomes of ALMP activation.
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Miguel Blanco Canto, Lydia Bares López and Oksana Hrynevych
The economic crisis of 2008 has caused a significant increase in the number of unemployed in Spain and a decrease in investments in active training policies. In this context, it…
Abstract
Purpose
The economic crisis of 2008 has caused a significant increase in the number of unemployed in Spain and a decrease in investments in active training policies. In this context, it is even more necessary to demand improvements in the degree of efficiency of the training programs aimed at unemployed people.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents the opinions of a group of experts in labor intermediation on the need to include transversal competences in the training contents of employment courses aimed at the tourism sector to improve the degree of employment of the unemployed.
Findings
All the experts consulted have indicated the need to enrich the subjects of the training courses by incorporating workshops that favor the implementation of certain transversal competences such as team work, management in stress situations, problem-solving, willingness to learn, self-initiative, verbal communication and mastery of social networks.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitations are given by the small number of experts in the field. However, their long career and participation in employment programs make their opinions valuable.
Practical implications
The main practical implication is in the fact that the proposed suggestions about modifications in the contents of the training courses for employment in the tourism sector are perfectly applicable, and according to the expert’s opinions, they would improve the degree of labor insertion of the participants.
Social implications
The improvement of the degree of employability of the unemployed who participate in the training actions and a greater adaptation to the specific characteristics of the jobs offered by the entrepreneurs of the sector.
Originality/value
The adaptation of the formative contents of the courses focused on the unemployed can make possible two desirable effects. On the one hand, the improvement of the quality of the tourist resources and on the other hand, increase the degree of employability of the unemployed, and in this way improve the efficiency of training programs.
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This paper aims to identify the level of contribution of different levels of education to remaining in unemployment as well as the transition from unemployment to employment in…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify the level of contribution of different levels of education to remaining in unemployment as well as the transition from unemployment to employment in Egypt.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, transition probabilities matrix differentiated by gender, age groups, educational levels, marital status and place of residence based on worker flows across employment, unemployment and out of labor force states during the period 2012–2018 using Egypt Labor Market Panel Survey of 2018. The results point to the highly static nature of the Egyptian labor market. Employment and the out of labor force states are the least mobile among labor market states. This is because employment state is very desirable and the out of labor force is the largest labor market states, especially for females. Also, this study examines the impact of different educational levels separately on remaining in unemployment and transition from unemployment to employment state using eight binary logistic regression models.
Findings
The main results of transitions from unemployment to employment are relatively large for males, elder-age, uneducated workers as well as workers who are not married and urban residents, and the results of the logistic regression models consistent with the transition probabilities matrix results, except for few cases. Based on the above findings, there is enough evidence to accept the null hypothesis that no education has a positive significant impact to transition unemployed individuals from unemployment to employment, while less than intermediate as well as higher education have a negative significant impact to transition unemployed individuals from unemployment to employment.
Originality/value
This paper proposes to address the problem of the unemployment among highly educated which is much higher compared with illiterates and try to understand the impact of different levels of education separately on the transition from unemployment to employment, to help the policymakers to eradicate the gap between education and the demand of the labor market in Egypt.
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Julia Mühlhaus, Onno Bouwmeester and Svetlana N. Khapova
This study seeks to explore the key themes in identity play during unemployment and the potential obstacles faced by unemployed individuals.
Abstract
Purpose
This study seeks to explore the key themes in identity play during unemployment and the potential obstacles faced by unemployed individuals.
Design/methodology/approach
This qualitative study is based on 23 interviews with unemployed individuals in Germany.
Findings
The authors identify three obstacles to identity play during unemployment: a lack of psychological safety to explore possible selves, a lack of opportunity to try out possible selves and a lack of social validation for possible selves. Several interviewees highlight the impact of social context, creating an absence of institutional support and a limited identity “playspace.” As such, the authors illustrate that when faced with these obstacles, the unemployed individuals of this study predominantly focus on identity work instead of identity play. Only a few interviewees seem to engage in and sustain identity play. The authors propose that the elaborate nature of their possible selves and their focus on future opportunities may overshadow the present self and immediate obstacles.
Originality/value
The authors argue that identity play is not readily available to all individuals in all situations. Instead, they suggest that some psychologically and socially threatening contexts such as unemployment are characterized by obstacles that constrain individuals' identity play and prevent the adoption of new work identities. Hence, the authors call for a more balanced and localized understanding of identity play.
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There is a global concern about the effectiveness of vocational education and training (VET) programmes in developing job-related skills and competencies for real-world…
Abstract
Purpose
There is a global concern about the effectiveness of vocational education and training (VET) programmes in developing job-related skills and competencies for real-world environments for disadvantaged and unemployed youths. Experiential learning (EL) is a major component of VET programmes. This article aims to examine the effects of facilitating VET through EL theory to promote youths' skills acquisition. The study looks at the effects of material resources on the use of experiential learning theory (ELT), the types of EL and the contribution of ELT to VET programmes.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design mainly entails a qualitative research design and research method to allow the researcher to view the reality as is experienced from the inside out by the trainees and training centre managers on important data for a thorough understanding. The study participants were 512 young trainees who completed different training courses from the VET programmes and 24 centre managers in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.
Findings
The findings reveal that the use of ELT in VET programmes helped the trainees to gain real-world skills, hence contributing to their empowerment in terms of work experience and competence for their future employment. Based on the findings, the study concludes that ELT is an effective instrument to promote VET programmes for disadvantaged and unemployed youths.
Practical implications
The practical and social implications of the findings are that, while disadvantaged youths cannot access and afford higher education, public and private sectors can remedy their situation by providing non-school-based technical and vocational training to help such youths enter the labour market. The findings will motivate the providers of skills development for unemployed youths to use ELT in designing course curricula, planning resources and directing teaching-learning approaches to help trainees to acquire skills and competencies to perform tasks close to real-work situations.
Social implications
The socio-economic implication of the article is that skills development plays an important role in poverty reduction. Investing in the skills development of citizens is vital to raise the incomes of poor groups and to reduce poverty (ILO, 2018). Although the causes of unemployment have also to do with economic factors in a country, skills development is an essential ingredient in developing capacities for labour market entry and increased income generation of a vulnerable group of people.
Originality/value
The article is significant because the study provides new insights into the use of ELT in VET programmes to improve their effectiveness in developing job-related skills and competencies for real-world environments for disadvantaged and unemployed youths. The study contributes to the body of knowledge by establishing a solid base for the evidence-informed practice of the effects of facilitating the VET programme through ELT to promote skills acquisition for the employment of unemployed and disadvantaged youths.
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Miguel Jerez, Alejandra Montealegre-Luna and Alfredo Garcia-Hiernaux
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of the 2008 and 2020 economic crises on employment in Spain.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of the 2008 and 2020 economic crises on employment in Spain.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors perform a counterfactual analysis, combining intervention (interrupted time series) analysis and conditional forecasting to estimate a “crisis-free” scenario. These counterfactual estimates are used as a synthetic control, to be compared with the observed values of the main variables of the Spanish Labor Force Survey (EPA).
Findings
The authors measure the effect on Spanish employment of the 2008 recession and the ongoing COVID/Ukraine crisis and the speed of recovery, which yields a rigorous dating for the beginning and end of the crises studied. Finally, the authors provide estimates about which part of the employed and unemployed people was in furlough (ERTE) based on microdata provided by the Spanish Institute of Statistics.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no counterfactual studies covering all the basic variables in EPA and no estimates for the effect of ERTEs on the basic employment variables. Finally, the authors combine well-known intervention and forecasting techniques into an integrated framework to assess the effects of both, past and ongoing crises.
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Katarzyna Ślebarska, Aneta Stremska and Grzegorz Kowalski
Self-employment is considered one of the responses to precarious employment, particularly among those who lost jobs during an economic crisis. Although starting a new business is…
Abstract
Purpose
Self-employment is considered one of the responses to precarious employment, particularly among those who lost jobs during an economic crisis. Although starting a new business is widely available, operating new ventures remains challenging. This article aims to explore the premises of self-employment success, namely self-employment intention and proactive coping as crucial predictors of further performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors recruited participants among initially unemployed individuals who participated in the entrepreneurial program aimed at creating self-employment. Since entrepreneurs are expected to have specific personal characteristics important for performance, the authors assessed proactive coping as the key factor for self-employment intention.
Findings
The results depicted proactive coping as crucial in performing own ventures in the long run, which suggests that self-employment intention may change over time.
Practical implications
Proactive coping is particularly appropriate for self-employed at any stage of the entrepreneurial process because it maintains the intention to perform own business. Thus, the findings underline the need for proactive coping training for entrepreneurs, particularly those previously unemployed.
Originality/value
As the self-employment intention may differ in time, the importance of being proactive in operating small businesses increases.
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Jose F. Baños, Ana Rodriguez-Alvarez and Patricia Suarez-Cano
This paper aims to model the efficiency of labour offices belonging to the public employment services (PESs) in Spain using a stochastic matching frontier approach.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to model the efficiency of labour offices belonging to the public employment services (PESs) in Spain using a stochastic matching frontier approach.
Design/methodology/approach
With this aim in mind, the authors apply a random parameter model approach to control for observed and unobserved heterogeneity.
Findings
Results indicate that when the information criteria of the estimates are analysed, it improves by controlling both, observed and unobserved heterogeneity in the inefficiency term. Also, results suggest that counsellors improve the productivity of labour offices and that the share of unemployed skilled persons, unemployed persons aged 44 or younger, as well as the share of unemployed persons in the construction sector, all affect the technical efficiency of PESs offices.
Originality/value
The model extends the previous specifications in the matching literature that capture only observed heterogeneity. Moreover, as far as the authors know, it is the first paper that estimates a matching frontier for the Spanish case. Finally, the database they use is at the office level and includes the work carried out by counsellors, which is a novelty in the analysis of this type of studies at the Spanish level.
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Corinna Ghirelli, Enkelejda Havari, Giulia Santangelo and Marta Scettri
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a recent training programme for graduates, implemented in Italy and entitled Work Experience Laureati and Laureate, i.e. Work Experience…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a recent training programme for graduates, implemented in Italy and entitled Work Experience Laureati and Laureate, i.e. Work Experience for Graduates. The aim of the programme was to increase the career prospects of unemployed graduates in the region of Umbria.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors rely on administrative data and matching methods to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in terms of employability of participants.
Findings
The results show that participants are more likely to be employed and to sign an apprenticeship contract within the region boundaries. The authors also find substantial differences in employability and type of contract by gender, with men having a higher probability of finding a job (permanent contract and apprenticeship). The authors show that this may be explained by the different choices in terms of field of study, with males being more prone to enrol in scientific areas and females in the humanities.
Research limitations/implications
It is an intervention implemented in one Italian region.
Originality/value
This is one of the few studies that analyses the effectiveness of active labour market policies targeting unemployed graduates, especially in the Italian context. The authors rely on different administrative data sources that allow them to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.
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Concetta Russo, Alessandra Decataldo and Marco Terraneo
This paper aims to investigate the extent to which family roles and settings can mediate the impact of unemployment on psychological well-being among Italian households.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the extent to which family roles and settings can mediate the impact of unemployment on psychological well-being among Italian households.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the European Health Interview Survey data for 2015, the authors adopt linear regression models to evaluate the effect of family settings on the mental health outcomes of unemployment, in particular on the likelihood of developing depression. The latter is measured using the internationally validated Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8). Since the gender gap in occupation has not ceased to exist in Italy, special attention is paid to the differences between males and females in the workforce.
Findings
The results suggest that involvement in parental roles has a moderating influence on unemployment mental health outcomes among both men and women, although it has a higher effect on the female workforce. Moreover, the study shows that “not living far from the family of origin” could be considered a crucial moderating factor for both gender categories.
Originality/value
The novelty of this paper lies in its consideration of the implications the social definition of gender roles may have on gender-related expectancies and attributions in life domains, such as work and family.
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