Sweden is a country with an increasing foreign born population, where more and more people growing up with two parents born outside of Sweden. In this paper I examine the different labor market outcome for native Swedes and the six largest groups of second generation immigrants in the ages 30-39 years. The analysis is divided in two part where the first examining the level of gainful employment and the second the distribution in line of work. By using data from population register there was possible to perform detailed analysis. The gainfully employment rate are lower for the different groups of second generation immigrants. Unlike earlier studies regarding employment differences depending on parental origin, there are however not as distinct pattern of ethnic penalties. The result regarding line of work from the second part of the analysis show that some groups of second generation have a higher risk of being in less-qualified jobs after controlling for education, personal- and parental variables.

<p>How households and individuals respond to adverse and unanticipated shocks is an important concern for both economists and policy makers. This is especially true in developing countries where poverty, weak infrastructure, and a lack of social safety nets often exacerbate the effects of adverse shocks on household welfare. My research addresses these issues in the context of three economic outcomes and behaviors - early life health and the accumulation of human capital, willingness to take on financial risk, and behavior in the labor market. The results of this research project both adds to our understanding of how life experiences shape individuals' well-being and behavior and how policy can help individuals achieve long-term improvements in the lives following adverse events.</p><p>My research focuses on households and individuals affected by a large-scale natural disaster, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. I utilize data from the Study of the Tsunami Aftermath and Recovery (STAR), a unique longitudinal survey of individuals and households living in coastal communities in Aceh and North Sumatra, Indonesia, at the time of the tsunami. The STAR surveys were conducted annually for five years after the disaster and include a wide range of demographic, economic, and health measures.</p><p>In the first chapter, Child Height after a Natural Disaster, co-authored with Elizabeth Frankenberg, Duncan Thomas, and Jed Friedman, we investigate the immediate and long-run impacts on child health of in utero exposure to stress induced by the tsunami. We investigate whether in utero exposure to stress, as measured by tsunami-induced maternal posttraumatic stress, affected the growth of children born in the aftermath of the tsunami in the critical first five years of their lives. Although previous studies suggest that in utero exposure to stress is related to a number of adverse birth outcomes such as prematurity and lower birth weight, there is little evidence of the impact on linear growth, a strong correlate of later life income. We find evidence that children exposed to high levels of stress beginning in the second trimester experienced reduced growth in the first two years of their lives. We also find evidence that growth reductions largely disappear by age five. This suggests that significant catch-up growth is possible, particularly in the context of pronounced post-disaster reconstruction and economic rehabilitation.</p><p>In the second chapter, The Impact of a Natural Disaster on Observed Risk Aversion, I investigate the short and long-term impacts of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on attitudes toward risk. Attitudes toward risk are important determinants of economic, demographic, and health-related behaviors, but how these attitudes evolve after an event like a natural disaster remains unclear because past research has been confounded by issues of selective exposure, mortality, and migration. My study is the first to directly address these problems by utilizing exogenous variation in exposure to a disruptive event in a sample of individuals that is representative of the population as it existed at the time of the event. In addition, intensive efforts were made to track migrants in the sample population, which is important for this study because migration is common following events like natural disasters and is likely related to attitudes toward risk. I find that physical exposure to the tsunami (e.g., seeing or hearing the tsunami or being caught up in the tsunami) causes significant short-term decreases in observed aversion to risk, especially for the poor, but few longer-term differences. This finding has important implications for the design of effective post-disaster assistance policies. In particular, it implies that post-disaster assistance programs should include aid that is consistent with the observed risk attitudes of the survivors such as job training and capital to start-up businesses.</p><p>In the last chapter, Labor Market Outcomes following the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, I investigate how labor market outcomes changed in coastal communities in Aceh and North Sumatra following the tsunami and the post-disaster recovery efforts. Although restoring the livelihoods of survivors of adverse events is critical for their long-term recovery, there is little evidence from developing countries of how labor market outcomes change after such events. Using the STAR data, I find a significant and persistent increase in paid employment for younger women in urban communities. The increase occurred in communities that were heavily damaged by the tsunami and those that were not, suggesting that the impacts of the disaster on livelihoods are likely long-lasting and extend beyond the communities that were directly stuck by the disaster.</p> / Dissertation

Les villes Indonésiennes telles que Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan et Semarang ont un niveau de développement très rapide. Elles concentrent beaucoup d'activités économiques et d'emplois. L'infrastructure du transport ne soutient pas ce développement économique et le marché de l'emploi. La recherche sur mobilité et accessibilité au marché de l'emploi dans les villes Indonésiennes est quasiment rare. Dans cette recherche, nous voulons essayer de montrer les caractéristiques de la mobilité et du marché de l'emploi en Indonésie afin d'enrichir la connaissance de ce domaine notamment pour le cas du pays en voie de développement / IIndonesian cities such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Semarang have a rapid development level. These cities concentrate many economic activities and employments. Transport infrastructure do not support this rapid economic development and labor market. Research on mobility and accessibility of labor market in Indonesian cities is quite few. In this research, we would like to show the characteristic of mobility and labor market in Indonesia in order to enrich the knowledge of this domain especially for developing country case

This master thesis analyzes the differences in the labor laws and their impacts on the development of the labor markets in large selection of OECD countries, including the Czech Republic. The thesis covers both historical and current data including the late-2000s recession. The labor market performance is measured by hours worked per person, which combines the extensive margin (employment rate) and the intensive margin (hours worked by employed individuals). Labor laws are represented by the average and marginal tax wedges, employment protection legislation, labor market policies and trade union density. The thesis contains an empirical model of the relationship between the labor market performance and labor laws for 24 OECD countries for the period 2000-2008. The thesis shows that the lower hours worked are associated with more strict employment protection legislation and lower trade union density. The effect of taxation (in terms of tax wedges) varies substantially among different subgroups of the population, but it is generally quite weak (elasticity around -0.15) and it cannot explain the overall differences in the development of the labor market performance among countries.

Bc. Erika Smereková Strategy of Slovak Republic's Government to use higher education as an investment in human capital Abstract The Master thesis on the topic "Strategy of Slovak Republic's government to use higher education as an investment in human capital" presents results to the following research question: To what extent is it a part of strategy of Slovak Republic's educational policy to use higher education as an investment in human capital? The thesis specifically focuses on the idea of human capital contributing to growth of economy and society, however it does not oppose and refuse other importance and value of human capital. The thesis presents theoretical background of the concepts of human capital, higher education and the higher education as an investment in human capital. In the analytical part, there is research of Governmental strategic documents concerning higher education presented; international discourse and other related studies considered; and results of empirical research based on interviews with experts on higher education in the Slovak Republic presented. The results of analysis are, for example, that based on legislative regulation, long-term strategy of government serves only as a guideline for individual universities/colleges, which are obliged to prepare their own long-term...

This was a quantitative-descriptive study which utilized survey research techniques to examine reports of labor market participation and participation in drug trafficking by incarcerated African-American males from urban enclaves. A stratified sample of 100 was selected from among 678 incarcerated African-American males, who had been arrested for alleged drug trafficking. From the response pattern of those surveyed, Measures of Central Tendency, Measures of Variability, and Frequency Analysis were utilized for statistical procedures. This study provided a glimpse into the development and socialization of a generation of African-American males who made an initial decision to participate in irregular (illegal) economic activities. Data obtained from respondents provided information on how individuals respond to extremely powerful pressures which exist in their environment. The most prominent of these pressures is the attractiveness of possibly earning high incomes by participating in the irregular (illegal) economic activity of drug trafficking. The possibility of earning a high income from drug trafficking was juxtaposed with the reality that participation could lead to serious injury, death, arrest and incarceration. Nevertheless, many African-American males weighed the advantages and disadvantages of participation in drug trafficking activities, and elected to participate. Preliminary findings of this study identified some of the factors which may influence many young African American males to forego participation in educational systems which would provide some skills, allowing them to participate in legitimate employment enterprises. One factor of influence which was identified is the relatively low self-esteem expressed by some respondents. Another factor of influence was the perception that society has targeted African-Americans, in general, as failures. These findings have implications for social work in the areas of counseling and supporting an increasing number of young African-American women who will be forced to raise children without the presence of fathers; increases of criminal and mental health problems in certain age cohorts; development of even greater levels of anomie by African-American males; and development of a range of support services for families which have males incarcerated with long sentences.

This paper investigates in what way employment for low-skilled workers is connected to the wage dispersion in a country by comparing Sweden to six European countries. Previous research on this topic used cross-section analysis, but this essay takes another approach by comparing the changes in the wage dispersion and employment and by breaking down the change in the wage dispersion into parts and studying the change in the wage for different percentiles. The paper finds that wages in Sweden have not converged, which likely contributed to the increase in the employment gap between people with high and low skills. Two countries with different development were Germany and Norway. In line with recent research, in Germany, wage inequality increased and the employment gap between people with high and low skills decreased. In comparison, the case of Norway has not received much attention among researchers. Wages converged more in Norway than in Germany, yet employment increased more in Germany. The paper suggests a potential explanation: wages for the bottom percentiles of the earnings distribution fell in Germany, which it did not in Norway.

The work deals with education, with emphasis on academic and professional life of graduates. The practical part includes a general overview of graduate programs, business organizations in the Czech Republic and developed a case study for the graduate program at Tesco. This program is described and analyzed to determine its strengths and weaknesses. Studies also include surveys of program participants, dedicated to their experience with it.

By the end of the year 2007 and the beginning of the year 2008, the financial crisis struck the world market and over time the labor market as well. The thesis focuses on the analysis of establishing the labor market in the South Moravian region by comparing districts Brno-city and Vyskov. In the theoretical part, I explain relevant definitions in the field of labor markets and a definition of economic recession. Next, I discuss the South Moravian region's characteristics, which promote the district's means to resist the recession. I point out its weaknesses in the labor market as well. The practical part compares general indicators of labor markets in the districts Brnocity and Vyskov. The measures used are employment and unemployment rates. Towards the end, the thesis shifts its focus on employment policies. The Active Employment Policy is the main subject of concern in this chapter. Directors of various labor offices commented on the Active Employment Policy and its means of control, which helped clarify some inconsistencies resulting from the statistics.

Magister Artium (Development Studies) - MA(DVS) / Social entrepreneurship has spread worldwide, as social entrepreneurs seek the solutions to developmental challenges. This is especially true in Nairobi, Kenya, as social entrepreneurship has established itself in the labor market. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the impact of social enterprises in African countries, especially with regards to the labor market. It is for this reason that this study aims at highlighting the impact of social enterprises on the labor market in Nairobi, Kenya. It also provides an outline of the labor market structure in Nairobi. The study employed a mixed methods approach, using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, collected concurrently as part of a concurrent triangulation design. Five social enterprises located in Nairobi were involved in the study, and were chosen through snowball sampling. These social enterprises offered direct employment, training programmes or support for beneficiaries to start their own businesses. The research instruments used in this study were as follows; 10 interviews (5 interviews with beneficiaries and 5 with social entrepreneurs), 50 questionnaires distributed to beneficiaries through random sampling, field work observations and a literature review. The results of this study were that social enterprises in Nairobi have a significant impact on the livelihoods of beneficiaries by directly employing them, providing necessary skills for later employment or supporting them to start their own businesses. However, these increases in income are often either inadequate or inconsistent as most beneficiaries are forced to diversify their livelihoods. Social enterprises also fail to reduce the gender wage gap among their beneficiaries. Social enterprises also increase market access among their beneficiaries by providing them with advice and training, as well as, direct access to customers. In the same vein, they increase the level of training of beneficiaries. This helps beneficiaries improve their relations with customers, produce high quality goods, hone their skills, gain employment, gain experience, build a repertoire, earn profits and start businesses. The subject of training also affects the income levels of beneficiaries, as many of those who study entrepreneurship, quality training and customer service earn above minimum wage.