Racial discrimination in the Boston housing market

Recent studies suggest that price differentials between what whites and blacks pay for housing are largely a function of changes in supply and demand in the two submarkets. These studies, however, estimate models that assume a unified housing market. As a result, imputed prices of housing attributes cannot vary with location, and the analyses obscure important racial price differentials. Based on a more realistic and complex housing market theory, the model described in this paper indicates that housing prices are substantially higher in the ghetto and transition areas than in white areas, and that within the same area blacks must pay more than whites for equivalent housing.     

Sexual orientation discrimination in the labour market

This research examines the possible discrimination faced by gay men compared to heterosexuals when applying for jobs in the Greek private sector. This issue was addressed through the observation of employer hiring decisions. Mailing pairs of curriculum vitae, distinguished only by the sexual orientation of the applicants, led to the observation that gay men faced a significantly lower chance of receiving an invitation for an interview. However, in cases where employers called applicants back, the wages offered did not differ significantly between gay and heterosexual applicants. Nevertheless, there is substantial evidence to suggest that discrimination based on sexual orientation does exist in the Greek labour market, and at alarmingly high levels.     

How tight is the UK labour market?

With the unemployment rate touching 25-year lows and some signs of a pick-up in earnings growth, concern has again focussed on how much scope the labour market has to meet the requirements of the above-trend growth forecast for the UK. This article by David Tinsley reviews some of the evidence for how 'tight' the UK labour market is. It suggests that, although the labour market has probably tightened over the last year or so, the headline figures give a somewhat misleading picture. It goes on to argue that there are a number of other margins for adjustment by which the demands of the robust growth forecast for the UK over the next few years can be met without igniting significant inflationary pressure.     

Enlargement and the labour market: perception,theory and fact

Favourable labour market outcomes are essential for economic and social cohesion within the newly enlarged European Union. However, Eurobarometer evidence indicates that many in the 10 incoming countries are not convinced that membership will deliver such a result. Also, there is no unambiguous theoretical framework that suggests otherwise. A more optimistic scenario can be obtained by reference to the experiences of earlier low‐income Community entrants during their first years of membership, although long‐term convergence has remained elusive.     

The myths and realities of structural change in the UK labour market

Recent discussion of developments within the UK labour market has highlighted the growth of more 'flexible' types of employment: part-time work, temporary jobs, and self-employment. The structure of employment has also been shifting – away from manufacturing and manual employment and towards the service sector and non-manual employment. In this article, Peter Robinson argues that these are not new developments and in some respects the pace of structural change in the labour market has slowed down. Together with evidence that the labour market is now adapting successfully to earlier structural changes, this bodes well for the prospect of further gradual reductions in unemployment.     

The responsiveness of wages to labour market conditions in the UK

If wages are more flexible in the sense that pay is more responsive to labour market conditions, this has important implications for the workings of the aggregate economy. First, the real fluctuations generated by both demand and supply shocks are smaller, and second, the economy can operate at a higher level of activity relative to potential without adverse inflationary consequences (i.e., the NAIRU is lower). Our empirical analysis of wage flexibility suggests that UK wages have become more responsive to labour market conditions since the mid-1980s, at least relative to the previous decade. Furthermore, this has happened within certain industrial sectors. Finally, a part of this move towards greater responsiveness has been due to the decline in national pay bargaining over the relevant period. However, the majority of this change is due to some other factors.     

The labour market consequences of self-employment spells: European evidence

We examine how those re-entering paid-employment after a brief self-employment spell fare upon return using data from the European Community Household Panel. Unconditionally, those re-entering paid-employment appear to have considerably lower wages than those staying in the wage sector. This difference appears to be larger in Europe than in the US. Conditional analysis suggests, however, that the difference is more apparent than real: It seems that Europeans select negatively into (and possibly out-of) self-employment, i.e., the likelihood of entering (and exiting) entrepreneurship correlates negatively with unobserved ability and/or in-paid-employment productivity. Our analysis of non-wage outcomes indicates that the selection is mostly involuntary, and that for highly educated men, the brief self-employment spells are unemployment in disguise.     

Structure of the labour market and wage inequality: evidence from European countries

The aim of this paper is to explore how the structural changes that have occurred in the labour market, in terms of employment composition by skill levels, affect wage inequality in three developed countries of Western Europe that are in close geographical proximity but have disparities in their labour market characteristics. More precisely, the analysis compares, from an international perspective, France, Germany—whose labour markets have been characterised in recent years by job polarization and the upgrading of occupations, respectively—and Italy, where neither of the two phenomena can be clearly identified. Using EU-SILC (European Union—Survey on Income and Living Conditions) data, in the first step, RIF-regression (Recentered Influence Function) enables an exploration on the primary factors that are likely to explain the differences in generating personal labour earnings and, in the second step, a decomposition of the change in wage inequality between 2005 and 2013 to evaluate how much of the overall gap is accounted for by the endowments in employees’ individual characteristics (composition effect) rather than the capability of labour markets to transform these characteristics into job opportunities and earnings (wage structure). Regarding France and Germany, the main results highlight how the endowment effect plays a key role in decreasing or, at least, not increasing wage inequality, whereas in Italy the rising inequality may be due to the lower efficiency of the country’s labour market in creating job opportunities, better job-related careers, and higher-salaries for employees.     

A field experiment to study sex and age discrimination in the Madrid labour market

This article presents the findings of a field experiment carried out in Madrid which aims to analyse gender and age discrimination in hiring in the labour market of Madrid. A set of five pairs of fictitious man–woman curricula was sent in response to 1062 job offers in six occupations which were advertised on Internet over an eight-month period. It was quantified subsequently the extent to which the different firms contacted more or less the candidates of different sex, age and marital status. No discrimination is detected against women in terms of access to job interviews; however, discriminatory conduct is seen regarding the phenomenon of occupational gender segregation, in the sense that there is a continuance among employers of stereotyped views on the greater suitability of women for certain tasks. No evidence is found to indicate firms showing relative discrimination against married women with children in the first phase of hiring process. And a clear evidence of discrimination is obtained on the basis of age: firms show a substantial fall in interest over interviewing 38-year-old candidates (compared to those aged 24 or 28). This would imply that the tendency to discriminate against older workers may be high, and, what is more, it may start at a surprisingly young age.     

Gender discrimination in education,health, and labour market: a voice for equality

The objective of the study is to examine the impact of gender discrimination in education, health, and labour market on economic growth in a panel of 20 high-income OECD countries for the period of 1980–2015. In addition, the study proposed an index of pro-equality growth, which is flared with education, health, and labour market initiatives to promote economic growth. The results show that gender parity index for educational attainment significantly promotes economic growth while health and labour market required substantial policy reforms to reduce health and labour market inequalities to sustain long-term economic growth. The results classified three countries as highly equitable growth, one country for equitable growth, two countries are moderate growth, four countries are less equitable growth while remaining 10 countries fall in the category of inequitable growth, where greater inequality promotes economic growth on the cost of education, health, and labour market inequalities.     

Testing a discrete switching disequilibrium model of the UK labour market

This paper develops a test procedure for serial correlation for discrete switching disequilibrium models which include both an endogenous price adjustment equation and lagged dependent variables. The tests are applied to a model of the UK labour market and the model is respecified in the light of the test results.     

The down-payment constraint and UK housing market: Does the theory fit the facts?

This paper considers empirical implications of the down-payment constraint for the UK housing market. It shows that, at the aggregate-level, models of the housing market with this constraint are consistent with a number of stylized facts. The paper then exploits variation across local housing markets and considers how leverage affects the response of house price inflation to shocks. The evidence, based on data for 147 district-level housing markets for the period 1993–2002, suggests that a large incidence of households with high leverage (loan-to-value ratios) raises the sensitivity of house prices to a shock. This is also consistent with the down-payment constraint model.     

From London to Los Angeles: a comparison of local labour market processes in the US and UK film industries

Addressing the issue of the embeddedness of labour markets, this paper compares the processes of finding employment in the film industry within two local labour markets. Drawing on studies of freelance film crews in London (UK) and Los Angeles (US), the paper concludes that the importance of social networks in job mobility in both contexts is a consequence of common production structures. However, common labour market practice varies in each geographical space as industry processes and structures are mediated by local institutional contexts.     

Participation in continuous,on-the-job training and the impact on job satisfaction: longitudinal evidence from the German labour market

A number of studies in the human resources literature acknowledge the importance of workplace training for inducing organizational commitment on the part of workers. However, small sample sizes and the absence of relevant panel data have raised concerns about the general validity of results and highlighted the need for further research to explicitly include on-the-job training as an important facet of job satisfaction. A similar empirical gap exists in the economics and industrial organization literature, where, despite the importance of both on-the-job training and job satisfaction to influence labour productivity, the relationship between the two has received surprisingly little attention. The aim of this paper is to bridge this gap in our knowledge and assess the impact of further training on job satisfaction in the western regions of Germany. We use data derived from the German Socio-economic Panel, which covers the period 1984 to 2002. Concentrating on full-time employed individuals, we focus in particular on the 1989, 1993 and 2000 interview waves, which include a number of questions on work-related training and offer detailed information on the type and duration of training received, and whether employers sponsored such training. The empirical results of the study provide information about the decision to participate in further training and the latter's impact on job satisfaction. Gender inequality issues in Germany's segmented labour market are explained by reference to discrepancy theory, equity theory, social exchange theory and the perception of a breach in the psychological contract between firms and female trainees.     

Testing for redlining in the labour market

When an employer refuses to recruit a job applicant due to the applicant's place of residence, we speak of redlining in the labour market. There are two explanations for this practice by the employer. The first is the excessive distance between the applicant's place of residence and the workplace, justified by a logic of spatial mismatch. The second is based on the characteristics of the neighbourhood in line with a signal logic. We propose to measure the effects of these two mechanisms using a correspondence test conducted in the Paris region of France for two occupations: waiters and cooks. It appears that distance plays a significant role and reinforces the effect of a disreputable neighbourhood. The most deprived neighbourhoods combine these two types of drawbacks.     

Cementing skills: training and labour use in UK construction

This article explores questions of labour reproduction and skill development under different contract arrangements within the UK construction and civil engineering industry. The central concerns of the article relate to the impact skills shortages within the sector have had on recruitment practices, training provision and the use of contract alternatives in terms of both direct and non‐standard labour. The argument primarily draws on data from a national postal survey conducted in 2002, covering firms of all sizes within this key economic sector. The article reveals some interesting findings regarding recruitment and training practices which, despite encouraging headline figures on the existence of training, reveal an over‐dependency on contingent labour and low levels of apprenticeships – particularly among small firms, which are predominant in the industry. This suggests that the recognised problems of labour shortages within the sector are ongoing, and that the aim of attracting new workers into the industry remains unrealised.     

Price discrimination in the housing market

There is little credible evidence on whether price discrimination exists in the housing market. Using a large sample of single-family home sales from Florida where both the race of the seller and buyer are known, we present evidence using the traditional and Harding et al. [HRS, Harding, J.P., Rosenthal, S., Sirmans, D.F., 2003. Establishing bargaining power in the market for existing homes. The Review of Economics and Statistics 85, (1) 178–188] approaches to empirical estimation. Omitted variable bias is found to plague the traditional approach. Results from following the HRS approach indicate that price discrimination exists by whites and Hispanics against blacks and Asians. Price discrimination against blacks is restricted to non-majority black neighborhoods and is smaller in magnitude in neighborhoods containing younger and more educated homeowners.