MID‐DAY MEAL PROGRAM AND INCIDENCE OF CHILD LABOUR IN A DEVELOPING ECONOMY

The present paper purports to examine the consequence of a mid‐day meal program and/or cash stipend scheme on the incidence of child labour in a developing economy using a three‐sector general equilibrium model. It has been found that the policy may be counterproductive as it lowers both the initial incomes of the working families and the return on education. Direct cash payments to the working families instead of a mid‐day meal program are likely to be effective in eradicating the problem of child labour.     

INACTIVITY AND LABOUR MARKET ATTACHMENT IN BRITAIN

This paper examines the transitions between the labour market and inactivity in Britain between 1995 and 2004. A substantial degree of behavioural heterogeneity exists between inactive individuals, and the social security system appears to influence both the timing and probability of moving between labour market states. The results presented here suggest that policy makers should not be misled by the term ‘hidden unemployment’, into thinking that substantial spare capacity exists on the periphery of the labour force. In light of recent proposals to reduce the number of Incapacity Benefit claimants, it is important to note a high degree of detachment among the long‐term sick and disabled, reinforced by duration dependence and poorer educational attainment.     

SEGREGATION IN THE AUSTRALIAN LABOUR MARKET*

An important measure of the success of immigration is the assimilation of immigrants into the labour force of the host country. This criterion is important from both the perspective of immigrants themselves and that of the host country. Conversely, concentration of migrants in a few sectors is undesirable because of its adverse socio‐economic consequences. Since the pattern of distribution of migrant employment influences the structure and outcomes in the labour market in various ways, it attracts public, academic and policymakers’ attention. The present paper employs various numerical measures to estimate the degree of immigrant segregation across occupations and industries in Australia. The results indicate that the occupational distribution of immigrants is very similar to the proportion of native workers employed in the various occupations. This similarity also characterises the industrial distribution of immigrant employment. Thus, contrary to popular perception and findings for the United States, evidence from the Australian labour market does not indicate the existence of widespread immigrant segregation.     

THE MYTH OF FREE LABOUR MARKET IN KOREA

The paper challenges the conventional view that a free labourmarket has played a crucial role in producing good growth andequity performance in Korea. The paper first shows that thisview is based on problematic models of growth and equity, andthat it is not supported by the empirical evidence from Koreaeven in its own terms. Then we discuss the conceptual problemswith the notion of ‘free labour market’. It is pointedout that, without explicit moral judgement concerning the underlyingsystem of rights, it is not possible to maintain a coherentnotion of ‘free labour market’. It is then shownthat, contrary to the conventional wisdom, the Korean labourmarket has been heavily regulated, with the state taking anactive role in the management of conflict and in the promotionof learning. We show that the Korean state has tried to manageconflict in the labour market through a combination of politicalrepression, appeasement and mobilisation and has tried to promoteskill formation and learning through manpower planning, subsidiesto education, and various training and retraining schemes. Itis argued that, while by no means unambiguous successes, suchstate involvements in the labour market have been critical inthe industrial success of Korea.     

改革开放以来广东省劳动力行业结构变化

本文通过劳动力分配多样化指数、行业流动率、劳动力就业重心转移等分析。揭示了广东省改革开放以来劳动力行业结构变化的特点、划分了劳动力行业结构类型区、探讨了未来劳动力行业结构的发展趋势．从优化劳动力行业结构出发、提出了加速农业发展．加快发展后进地区的重要意义。