published_or_final_version / abstract / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

"November 2003" / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 307-334) / xvi, 334 leaves : ill., maps, photos (col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, Discipline of Geographical and Environmental Studies, 2004

This thesis presents two applications of the incompleteness and one application of the imperfection of the market economy. The first application, Chapter 2, studies the decision making problem of an individual seeking to accumulate an optimal amount of human capital realizing that the wage income derived from the accumulated human capital is subject to incompletely insured uncertainty. In other words, the financial market that insures against wage income risk is not fully functional. We find that the individual's inability to diversify wage income risk tends to increase the need to accumulate more human capital in order to elevate wage path and compensate for the burden of its associated risk. This is particularly true when (i) the wage income risk is positively correlated with the rate-of-return risk in the financial market, resulting in an even greater risk burden to the individual, and (ii) the individual is more risk averse. There are two possibilities that no human capital is needed. The first possibility occurs when it is optimal to work as an unskilled worker because both the burden from wage income risk and the rate of return from education are low. The second possibility is the case where the risk burden is so high that the optimal time spent in school to acquire sufficient human capital to cover the risk is so long that the discounted rate of return from education is negative. In this case, the best strategy is to invest in financial assets alone and forfeit the opportunity to earn wage income - either as an educated or as an unskilled worker - to avoid its associated risk. Chapter 3 applies equilibrium unemployment theory with a frictional labor market to study the impact of immigration on the local labor market. Markets are imperfect in the sense that job matching takes time and recruitment is costly. We find that labor market outcomes of both the natives and existing immigrants depend crucially on how the economic surplus from successful matching is divided between the firms and the workers or, in other words, on the bargaining power of the workers. An arrival of immigrants with low bargaining power tends to benefit both the natives and the existing immigrants. A disparity between the two worker types in the matching efficiency also plays a major role. An inferior matching technology among the immigrants, interpreted here as reflecting their less established social network, lowers their wage rate and increases their unemployment rate. The natives are more likely to benefit from additional immigration than the existing immigrants and, when they do, the overall benefit can be decomposed into "job creation spillover" effect resulting from the immigrants' low bargaining power, and "job stealing" effect resulting from the immigrants' less efficient matching. The implications on the pattern of international migration flows are also discussed. In Chapter 4, a simple macroeconomic model is constructed and applied quantitatively to OECD countries, to analyze the effect of incomplete insurance on saving, growth and welfare in a closed economy. In this economy, precautionary saving motivated by uninsured idiosyncratic shocks raises growth rates but lowers risk-free returns. Welfare is measured by the sum of growth rates and risk-free rates of return, not growth rates alone. This welfare measure takes the negative impact of precautionary saving into consideration. Applied to the OECD data, three major results emerge: (i) the heterogeneous performance of growth and saving across the countries reflects different degrees of insurance incompleteness, (ii) since the externality of growth on productivity was very strong in the 1960's, the heavily constrained insurance market itself improves productivity by promoting growth, thereby enhancing welfare, (iii) while the externality of growth became weaker in the 1980's, the development of insurance markets lowered growth, but still contributed to a raise in welfare.

Objectius: Analitzar l’exposició a riscos psicosocials dels treballadors assalariats immigrants a Espanya comparant-la amb la dels espanyols i estudiar el paper dels riscos psicosocials en la relació entre la immigració i la salut mental. Mètodes: Estudi transversal realitzat per l’Institut Sindical de Treball, Ambient i Salut (ISTAS) entre el 2004 i el 2005 sobre una mostra representativa de població assalariada resident a Espanya. La informació s’obtingué a través d’un qüestionari estandarditzat administrat per entrevistador a domicili. La grandària de la mostra d’estudi fou de 7.555 treballadors, dels quals 6.868 eren espanyols i 687 eren immigrants. Per les exigències i la inseguretat, l’exposició es va definir segons el tercil més alt, mentre que per les altres dimensions, va ser definida segons el tercil més baix. La salut mental es dicotomitzà en bona i dolenta segons la mediana, que fou 76. Principals resultats: Els treballadors que estaven més exposats als riscos psicosocials van ser els immigrants manuals, especialment, en les baixes possibilitats de desenvolupament (PR: 2,87; IC95%: 2,44-3,73), i les dones immigrants, particularment en el baix control sobre els temps a disposició (PR: 1,72; IC95%: 1,55-1,91). Els treballadors immigrants amb elevades exigències quantitatives (PR: 1,46; IC95%: 1,34-1,59), elevades exigències emocionals (PR: 1,42; IC95%: 1,30-1,56), elevades exigències d’amagar emocions (PR:1,35; IC95%: 1,21-1,50), baixes possibilitats de desenvolupament (PR: 1,21; IC95%: 1,09-1,33), baixos nivells de suport social entre companys (PR: 1,41; IC95%: 1,30-1,53) i baixa estima (PR: 1,53; IC95%: 1,42-1,66) eren els treballadors que percebien pitjor salut mental. Conclusions: Els treballadors immigrants, especialment, els manuals i les dones, eren els més exposats a riscos psicosocials. Els treballadors més exposats als riscos psicosocials eren els que percebien pitjor salut mental. Per a millorar la salut mental dels treballadors, és necessari implementar mesures preventives per tal d’eradicar els riscos psicosocials, especialment dels grups més vulnerables. / Objetivos: Analizar la exposición a riesgos psicosociales de los trabajadores asalariados inmigrantes en España comparandola con la de los españoles y estudiar el papel de los riesgos psicosociales en la relación entre la inmigración y la salud mental. Métodos: Estudio transversal realizado por el Instituto Sindical de Trabajo, Ambiente y Salud (ISTAS) entre el 2004 y el 2005 sobre una muestra representativa de población asalariada residente en España. La información se obtuvo a través de un cuestionario estandardizado administrado por entrevistador en domicilio. El tamaño de la muestra de estudio fue de 7.555 trabajadores, de los cuales 6.868 eran españoles y 687 eran inmigrantes. Por las exigéncias y la inseguridad, la exposición se definió según el tercil màs alto, mientras que por las otras dimensiones, fue definida según el tercil más bajo. La salud mental se dicotomizó en buena y mala según la mediana, que fue 76. Principales resultados: Los trabajadores que estaban más expuestos a los riesgos psicosociales fueron los inmigrantes manuales, especialmente, en las bajas posibilidades de desarrollo (PR: 2,87; IC95%: 2,44-3,73), y las mujeres inmigrantes, particularmente en el bajo control sobre los tiempos a disposición (PR: 1,72; IC95%: 1,55-1,91). Los trabajadores inmigrantes con altas exigéncias cuantitativas (PR: 1,46; IC95%: 1,34-1,59), altas exigéncias emocionales (PR: 1,42; IC95%: 1,30-1,56), altas exigéncias de esconder emociones (PR: 1,35; IC95%: 1,21-1,50), bajas posibilidades de desarrollo (PR: 1,21; IC95%: 1,09-1,33), bajos niveles de apoyo social entre compañeros (PR: 1,41; IC95%: 1,30-1,53) y baja estima (PR: 1,53; IC95%: 1,42-1,66) fueron los trabajadores que percibieron peor salud mental. Conclusiones: Los trabajadores inmigrantes, especialmente, los manuales y las mujeres, eran los más expuestos a riesgos psicosociaels. Los trabajadores más expuestos a riesgos psicosociales eran los que percibieron peor salud mental. Para mejorar la salud mental de los trabajadores, es necesario implementar medidas preventivas para erradicar los riesgos psicosociales, especialmente de los grupos más vulnerables.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 120).

This thesis presents two applications of the incompleteness and one application of the imperfection of the market economy. The first application, Chapter 2, studies the decision making problem of an individual seeking to accumulate an optimal amount of human capital realizing that the wage income derived from the accumulated human capital is subject to incompletely insured uncertainty. In other words, the financial market that insures against wage income risk is not fully functional. We find that the individual's inability to diversify wage income risk tends to increase the need to accumulate more human capital in order to elevate wage path and compensate for the burden of its associated risk. This is particularly true when (i) the wage income risk is positively correlated with the rate-of-return risk in the financial market, resulting in an even greater risk burden to the individual, and (ii) the individual is more risk averse. There are two possibilities that no human capital is needed. The first possibility occurs when it is optimal to work as an unskilled worker because both the burden from wage income risk and the rate of return from education are low. The second possibility is the case where the risk burden is so high that the optimal time spent in school to acquire sufficient human capital to cover the risk is so long that the discounted rate of return from education is negative. In this case, the best strategy is to invest in financial assets alone and forfeit the opportunity to earn wage income - either as an educated or as an unskilled worker - to avoid its associated risk. Chapter 3 applies equilibrium unemployment theory with a frictional labor market to study the impact of immigration on the local labor market. Markets are imperfect in the sense that job matching takes time and recruitment is costly. We find that labor market outcomes of both the natives and existing immigrants depend crucially on how the economic surplus from successful matching is divided between the firms and the workers or, in other words, on the bargaining power of the workers. An arrival of immigrants with low bargaining power tends to benefit both the natives and the existing immigrants. A disparity between the two worker types in the matching efficiency also plays a major role. An inferior matching technology among the immigrants, interpreted here as reflecting their less established social network, lowers their wage rate and increases their unemployment rate. The natives are more likely to benefit from additional immigration than the existing immigrants and, when they do, the overall benefit can be decomposed into "job creation spillover" effect resulting from the immigrants' low bargaining power, and "job stealing" effect resulting from the immigrants' less efficient matching. The implications on the pattern of international migration flows are also discussed. In Chapter 4, a simple macroeconomic model is constructed and applied quantitatively to OECD countries, to analyze the effect of incomplete insurance on saving, growth and welfare in a closed economy. In this economy, precautionary saving motivated by uninsured idiosyncratic shocks raises growth rates but lowers risk-free returns. Welfare is measured by the sum of growth rates and risk-free rates of return, not growth rates alone. This welfare measure takes the negative impact of precautionary saving into consideration. Applied to the OECD data, three major results emerge: (i) the heterogeneous performance of growth and saving across the countries reflects different degrees of insurance incompleteness, (ii) since the externality of growth on productivity was very strong in the 1960's, the heavily constrained insurance market itself improves productivity by promoting growth, thereby enhancing welfare, (iii) while the externality of growth became weaker in the 1980's, the development of insurance markets lowered growth, but still contributed to a raise in welfare. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

Anglophone women, working in a new capacity as federal civil servants, exercised a significant influence on Canadian immigration policy in the interwar years. This dissertation focuses on the women's division of the Canadian Department of Immigration and Colonization, an agency charged with recruiting British women for domestic service from 1919 to 1938. The division was a product of the women's wing of the social reform movement and prevailing theories of gender difference and anglo-superiority. Tracing its nearly twenty years of operations shows how the division, initially regarded as a source of imperial strength and a means of English Canada's cultural survival, came to symbolize the disadvantages of Canada's connection to Great Britain and supposed weaknesses inherent in the female character. This institutional study explores the real and imagined connections among gender, imperialism, and the changing socio-economic landscape of interwar Canada.

No description available.

In this study, an examination of the everyday experiences of the contract migrant Filipina domestic helpers exposes a culture of indifference which pervades the Hong Kong society on all levels--individual, community, and judiciary. At the centre of the abuses inflicted upon the Helpers is the employment contract with extraordinarily restrictive terms which promotes abuse by many employers. This study also looks at the transnational informal social infrastructure which has been organized by the Filipino community to mediate the hostile working environment engendered by the indifference of the global economic and political climate upon their lives. Faced with the task of implementing new policies for controlling labour migration into Hong Kong, the legislators have focused on the end result and finding the means with which to accomplish their goal. Embedded within this process are unexamined cultural mores and practices. Although the starting point is to benefit the community, by providing domestic helpers to serve the middle and upper class households, too often the abusive consequences to individual migrants are ignored as the women become the means to an end. Migration has often been viewed as an aberration to the notion of the sedentary community. Treated as an anomaly, it is the migrant who problematizes simple theoretical positions of social organization and structure. The migrant is always treated as the one who does not conform to the ideal community and is conveniently merged into existing social categories, such as the lower status of women in Hong Kong, and the lower status of domestic workers -- relegated thereby to the periphery of the society's consciousness.