No description available.

This thesis examines the theoretical premises of and ways that macro deliberative approaches to decision making function in application to specific instances of science and technology governance. Macro-level deliberations constitute complex, extended, distributed decision making processes, in contrast to individual micro deliberation exercises undertaken in particular settings. Macro deliberations employ the mechanism of ‘division of labour' in terms of actors, tasks and methods in order to secure the two essential qualities of ‘inclusiveness' and ‘deliberativeness' – thus resolving the inherent tension between number of participants and deep discussion. Accordingly, the thesis focuses on the ways in which this paradoxical mechanism of ‘inclusion by division' functions in macro deliberations. An interrogation of two UK nationwide public deliberation cases – GM Dialogue (on GM crops) and the CoRWM process (on radioactive waste) – sheds light on the significant role of reflexivity in such macro deliberative approaches to decision making. The thesis adopts a triangulated approach towards both documents and interviews employing contending representations to cross-check the one with the other. In considering the ways in which reflexivity constitutes a critical quality of the process and outcome of division of labour in macro deliberations, the thesis argues that the notion of reflexivity is central to explaining how macro deliberation functions: The reflective and self-contingent feature of reflexivity enables participants to explore diverse rationales on division of labour through continuous generation of new rationales; this recursive self-reconfiguration process of rationales on division of labour entails an evolutionary development of division of labour. As division of labour is played out not in a static, exogenous fashion, but through a dynamic, endogenous construction process, reflexivity in real-world macro deliberations illuminates some significant contrasts in the ways that ‘deliberation' and ‘inclusion' take place to those characterised in theory. Indeed, deliberation emerges in practice as more than just open rational dialogue. In order to understand this more fully, it must be seen in terms of diversity of material, social and political interactions, and relationships – referred to here as ‘discursive relations'. In reality, then, inclusion occurs in more emergent ways than intended by design, rather, unfolding as participants engage with each other. In this way, actors' divergent views are cross-reflected and mutually influence each other, not through theoretically-envisaged top-down aggregation but via a kind of endogenous ‘fermentation' process. In this way, reflexivity actually makes macro public deliberation a more effectively inclusive and deliberative decision making process. In short, recognition of this inherent reflexivity in macro deliberations offers practically to aid improved understanding of the complex process of engagement in science and technology governance. It suggests that we would benefit from shifting our attention somewhat away from the direct provision of strictly prescriptive design protocols towards the construction of better general environments for facilitating more reflexivity, which should enable actors to shape their own reflexive deliberation. Then let them brew!

Bakalauro baigiamajame darbe nagrinėjamos Lietuvos apskričių darbo rinkų situacijos, remiantis mokslinėje literatūroje išskirtais darbo rinką apibūdinančiais rodikliais, kurie buvo suskirstyti į keturias grupes ir padėjo įvertinti keturis darbo rinkos aspektus: darbo rinkos pajėgumą, darbo pasiūlą, darbo paklausą ir darbo rinkos lankstumą. Darbe nustatyta, kurioje Lietuvos apskrityje situacija darbo rinkoje yra geriausia taip pat, kurioje yra prasčiausia. / Bachelor Final work examines the situation of Lithuania‘s counties labour markets with reference to in scientific literature defined labour market indicators, which were grouped into four groups and helped to assess four aspects of labour market: labour market capability, labour supply, labour demand and labour market flexibility. In this work it was assessed in which Lithuania‘s county labour market situation is the best, as well as, in which is the worst.

There are many potential determinants of women?s labour supply including wages, unearned income, human capital endowments, demographic characteristics and family traits. Fertility behaviour, including the number of children and age of children, is also an important factor in women’s labour supply decisions. Many factors which affect women’s decisions on participating in the labour market and hours of work are also key influences on their decisions on starting a family and having a desired number of children. This thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the determinants of labour supply and fertility behaviour of Australian women. Using cross-sectional data, labour supply models corrected for sample selection bias, and fertility models examining different aspects of family size, the thesis finds that women’s labour supply decisions are largely influenced by their wages and fertility behaviour. Their decisions on completed fertility, starting a family and having additional children are largely influenced by their actual or potential wages.

Diss. Göteborg : Univ., 2002.

Le Pakistan fait partie des dix grands pays qui reçoivent des transferts de fonds des immigrés. Les transferts de fonds qui arrivent dans le pays dépassent les autres flux publics ou privés. Dans cette étude, nous analysons quelques aspects de ces transferts de fonds, en ce qui concerne leur nature, leurs causes ainsi que leurs conséquences. Nos résultats montrent qu’ils constituent un flux relativement stable. Ils sont envoyés particulièrement pour des raisons altruistes. Les transferts réagissent également aux conditions des pays d’accueil des immigrés. D’ailleurs, nous constatons qu’ils diminuent l’incidence, la profondeur et la gravité de la pauvreté au Pakistan et atténuent les inégalités économiques. Néanmoins, ces flux provoquent les symptômes du syndrome hollandais et sont associés à la baisse de compétitivité. Les transferts provenant de l’étranger engendre une baisse de la participation au travail de ses bénéficiaires au Pakistan. Par conséquent leur impact global sur l’économie est mitigé. C’est pourquoi le role des transferts de fonds dans un plan pour le développement de l’économie demande une réflexion attentive. A la lumière de nos recherches, nous soulignons les defis auxquels le pays est confronté en raison des flux incessants des transferts de fonds. Nous suggérons donc quelques mesures qui permettent d’optimiser leurs bienfaits et éviter les effets néfastes. / Pakistan is one of the major remittance-receiving countries. Foreign remittances to the country exceed other public and private financial inflows. In this study, we examine some aspects pertaining to the nature, causes and consequences of migrant remittances. We find that remittances to Pakistan are relatively stable, and are motivated by mainly altruistic reasons. They also respond to host-country economic conditions. They also appear to lower the incidence, depth and severity of poverty in the country, and reduce economic inequality. However, remittances induce symptoms of Dutch disease in the economy, and are associated with falling trade competitiveness. Moreover, foreign remittances lead to a reduction in labour participation among the recipients. As a result, their over all influence on Pakistan’s economy is a mixed one, and their use as a part of the country’s development plans requires careful thinking. In the light of our findings, we highlight the challenges the country faces from sustained large inflows of remittances and suggest the measures which could maximize their beneficial impacts and avoid the pernicious ones.

This work deals with social consequences of population aging in relation to the employment market. Aging of Czech population is, according to Population Projection by 2050, collected by ČSÚ, inevitable. Growing rate of seniors in the population is accompanied by many negative economical and social consequences. Anticipated demographic progression will be especially charge on the social security system, health service, public finance, but also on the employment market. Considerable weight falls on the field of savings, on the productivity of labour, and on the population status. In the scope of the text, situation of labour demand on the emploers' side and labour supply from elder employers is discused as well. To increase the employment rate of elderly people, the measures stimulating labour supply and labour demand are mentioned. This work also contains the analysis of present status of elderly labour force on the labour market according to age, education and region, and the prediction of corporate behaviour change, due to growing rate of seniors as consumers.

Cette thèse étudie les politiques d’aide aux personnes âgées dépendantes à domicile menées au Japon, afin d’en tirer des enseignements pour la France. Nous développons notre étude à travers trois axes : i) l’analyse des différences entre le systèmes japonais et français dans l’organisation de l’aide publique et dans l’aide réellement perçue par les personnes en perte d’autonomie, ii) l’examen des barrières potentielles à l’accès aux aides publiques au Japon, iii) l’étude des conséquences de l’aide informelle sur l’emploi des femmes seniors au Japon. Dans cette perspective, nous avons effectué deux études qualitatives comparant les politiques japonaises et françaises, puis deux études micro-économétriques des comportements individuels et familiaux de prise en charge dans le contexte japonais. Ce travail met ainsi en exergue les spécificités des politiques menées dans les deux pays, et souligne les avantages et les faiblesses du modèle japonais. / This thesis focuses on the long term home care policies conducted in Japan, in order to draw lessons for France. Our analysis is developped through three topics : i) the analysis of the differences between the Japanese and the French systems in the public care organisation and in the care received by the elderly, ii) the examination of potential barriers to access to public elderly care in Japan; iii) the study of the impact of informal care on the labor participation of Japanese middle-aged women. In this regard, we carried two qualitatives studies comparing Japanese and French policies, and two microeconometrics studies of individual and family behaviour of caring in Japan. This study outlines the specificities of the policies conducted in both countries, and highlights the strenghts and weakness of the Japanese model.

This thesis consists of an introductory part and two self-contained chapters related to the supply of volunteers to the Swedish Armed Forces. Chapter [I] represents the first effort to explore the relationship between civilian labour market conditions and the supply of labour to the military in the all-volunteer environment that Sweden entered after the abolishment of the peacetime draft in 2010. The effect of civilian unemployment on the rate of applications from individuals aged 18 to 25 to initiate basic military training is investigated using panel data on Swedish counties for the years 2011 through 2015. A linear fixed-effects model is estimated to investigate the relationship, while controlling for a range of socio-demographic covariates and unobserved heterogeneity on the regional level, as well as aggregate trends on the national level. The results indicate a positive and statistically significant relationship between the unemployment rate and the application rate. The results are robust to non-linear form specifications, as well as allowing the civilian unemployment rate to be endogenous. As such, the results suggest that the civilian labour market environment in Sweden can give rise to non-trivial fluctuations in the supply of applications to initiate basic military training within the Swedish Armed Forces. Chapter [II] studies how local labour market conditions influence the quality composition of those who volunteer for military service in Sweden. A fixed-effects regression model is estimated on a panel data set containing IQ scores for those who applied for military basic training across Swedish municipalities during the period 2010 to 2016. The main finding is that low civilian employment rates at the local level tend to increase the mean IQ score of those who volunteer for military service, whereas the opposite is true if employment rates in the civilian labour market move in a more favourable direction. As such, the results suggest that the negative impact of a strong civilian economy on recruitment volumes is reinforced by a deterioration in recruit quality.

This thesis is, to my knowledge, the first study utilising data from the Swedish population and housing censuses between 1960 and 1990 merged with other data from the same period in order to estimate extensive margin labour supply responses to changes in municipal tax rate changes. Given that women historically have not faced the same structural labour market preconditions as men, the empirical strategy is designed to allow for an analysis of gender-based heterogeneity in labour supply responses. Using a weighted fixed effects framework, estimates of the average over time between municipal effects of tax rate increases are presented. Using the preferred main model specification, the estimate for the average tax rate elasticity is -0.165 for men and 0.3513 for women. Additionally, an attempt is made to estimate an effect using a difference-in-difference framework, treating the overall largest municipal tax rate changes as a form of quasi-experimental treatment. The results of the main analysis indicate the presence of gender-based heterogeneity in extensive margin labour supply responses during 1960 to 1990 within the administrative region in question.