This paper attempts to explain welfare and labor market participation differentials between Saskatchewan and Alberta, with greater emphasis placed on welfare participation. Generous benefit levels encourage welfare participation but discourage labor market participation. We are interested in explaining if generous welfare policy has contributed to an increase in welfare participation and discouraged labor market participation. We employ a probit model to analyze the decision to participate in the welfare or the labor market among lone parents and singles (unattached individuals) in the two provinces. The results are then decomposed into the explained and unexplained parts, and these results are used to illustrate which variables contribute to welfare differentials. We find that benefit levels have a significant positive effect on welfare participation and a significant negative effect on labor market participation. We also find that welfare participation differentials exist between Saskatchewan and Alberta; other factors in addition to benefit levels play a role in explaining that gap. We conclude that welfare differentials between Saskatchewan may be a reflection of program administration differences.

This paper attempts to explain welfare and labor market participation differentials between Saskatchewan and Alberta, with greater emphasis placed on welfare participation. Generous benefit levels encourage welfare participation but discourage labor market participation. We are interested in explaining if generous welfare policy has contributed to an increase in welfare participation and discouraged labor market participation. We employ a probit model to analyze the decision to participate in the welfare or the labor market among lone parents and singles (unattached individuals) in the two provinces. The results are then decomposed into the explained and unexplained parts, and these results are used to illustrate which variables contribute to welfare differentials. We find that benefit levels have a significant positive effect on welfare participation and a significant negative effect on labor market participation. We also find that welfare participation differentials exist between Saskatchewan and Alberta; other factors in addition to benefit levels play a role in explaining that gap. We conclude that welfare differentials between Saskatchewan may be a reflection of program administration differences.

Thesis (M.B.A)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Bill Gates, Bill Hatch. "MBA professional report"--Cover. Includes bibliographical references (p. 65). Also available online.

For decades, research has explored how family background shapes access to and success in postsecondary education. However, much less is known about the effect of family background on one’s educational and occupation success within specific fields. Given rapid advances in science and technology and a changing global economy, understanding these processes within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are particularly important to the broader understanding of stratification. Many recent studies in the U.S. stress the importance of increasing our STEM labor force to remain competitive in the global market, and demand for highly skilled workers is at an all-time high and increasing. While the demand for these jobs is high, many researchers argue that the supply of highly skilled workers is lagging behind. In order to meet these demands, many of these researchers point to increasing the talent pool by drawing from underrepresented groups. This study looks at how family socioeconomic background affects entry into STEM majors, persistence in STEM major, and early labor market outcomes among college graduates from STEM fields, and compares these patterns and processes to those in non-STEM fields. Results from this study show stronger SES differences in STEM fields than non-STEM fields at each point from college major choice to the labor market. Together, these results suggest that less socioeconomically advantaged students may be at a particular disadvantage in STEM fields. / text

This thesis explores the incidence, the determinants and the consequences of overeducation and overskilling on individuals and firm performance in Malaysia. Three datasets were utilised: the 2007 Productivity Investment Climate Survey (PICS-2), the 1988 Malaysia Family Life Survey (MFLS-2) and the 2007 Graduate Tracer Study (GTS-07). The PICS-2 focused on overeducation and overskilling in the manufacturing sector whilst the MFLS-2 and GTS-07 highlighted overeducation on married respondents and graduates, respectively. With respect to the incidence, overeducation ranges from 19 to 32% whilst overskilling stands at 29%: moderately overskilled (7%) and severely overskilled (22%). As regards the determinants, workplace characteristics such as firm size, ownership, workforce composition and types of hiring practice play a role on overeducation and overskilling decision. Furthermore, labour market size and greater spatial flexibility, such as access to cars and public transportation, along with the individuals' heterogeneity in ability and skills also influence the overeducation incidence. On top of that, being overeducated increases the probability of being overskilled. In terms of consequences, overeducation and overskilling lead to lower earnings. Ordinary least square (OLS) and the random effects (RE) estimate that the earnings loss due to overeducation range from 2 to 24%, with a range of 2 to 11% for overskilled workers. The degree of overeducation and overskilling matters with the overeducation penalty (GTS-07) being larger for the severely overeducated than for the moderately overeducated, whilst severely overskilled workers (PICS-2) face a greater earnings loss compared with the moderately overskilled. Using a quantile regression, some evidences indicate overeducation and overskilling penalty related to unobserved individual abilities, especially for the males' sample. What is more, the GTS-07 reveals that overeducation leads to a lower job satisfaction and increases the on-the-job search behaviour amongst the overeducated workers. Both negative effects are much higher for the workers who are severely rather than moderately overeducated. As regards firm performance, negative externalities from having mismatched workers at the workplace are observed, as these tend to reduce firm performance. However, these negative externalities are largely contributed by having a higher proportion of overeducated as compared to overskilled workers. Apart from quit rate, overeducation decreased the workplace average pay, labour productivity, output and sales per worker but increased in absenteeism. By contrast, hardly any impact is observed regarding overskilling on firm performance apart from the average workplace pay. This suggests that reducing the incidence of mismatch, particularly educational mismatch in the workplace, is essential in improving firm performance thus remaining competitive domestically and globally. This thesis contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence on the incidence and the consequences of overeducation and overskilling on individuals and firm performance in Malaysia. Similar study remains to be very scarce in the context of a developing country.

The Japanese labour market is analyzed within a dual labour market context and an emphasis on firm size differentiation. Labour market segmentation theories are presented for the purpose of understanding the differences that can exist between industries, or in this case, between firm sizes. Data on labour market variables such as wages, unionism, and promotion illustrates the different employment package that employees face in small firms as compared to workers in large companies. Unique Japanese labour market traits such as the expectation of lifetime employment, enterprise unionism, and seniority-based wages are also observed to evaluate their application in different company sizes. Japan's labour market segmentation is primarily a study of differences between firm sizes. The dissimilarities in employment characteristics between small and large firms are thoroughly examined and evaluated for a solid understanding of Japan's duality in the labour market.

This thesis uses a comprehensive data set to examine the relationship between Canadian labour market outcomes and several changes in the policy environment. The data set, spanning the period 1981-98, is compiled from a number of comparable surveys and contains information on the demographics and job characteristics of individual workers. The first chapter examines the impact that the tariff reductions of the Canada- U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA) had on the inter-industry wage structure in the goods producing sector. Previous studies use industry-level data and consequently are unable to control for either differences in worker composition or divergent wage trends for different worker types. These studies find that tariff cuts either had no effect or increased the relative wages of workers in impacted sectors. In contrast, I use data with information on worker characteristics and find that the relative wages of non-union workers in impacted industries decreased. The second chapter investigates the link between the CUSFTA tariff reductions and several labour market outcomes that are potentially linked to industrial productivity. In particular, I examine whether tariff reductions are related to changes in the (i) the size of firm a worker is likely to be employed with, (ii) the probability that a worker will be represented by a union, and (iii) the mean skill level of workers. Although I find evidence that these outcomes have changed over time, none of them seem to be linked directly to CUSFTA. The final chapter, co-authored with David Green, examines the extent to which the declining market outcomes of successive cohorts of job entrants in Canada can be accounted for by changes in the minimum wage, unionization rate, and industrial composition of employment. A flexible density estimator is used, which allows for a comparison between cohorts across the entire wage distribution. The main findings are that for males, changes in unionization and industrial composition can account for about a quarter of the decline in wage outcomes for new job entrants between 1998 and 1981. Similar results are found for females; in addition, the minimum wage provides a "wall" against further erosion for more recent cohorts of entrants.

This thesis is concerned with various aspects of transitional labour reallocation either between different labour market states, or between less and more efficient enterprises, or between formal and informal sectors. The possibility of irregular employment opportunities receives special attention in this work. The substantive material is arranged in three independent essays. The first, empirical study portrays the most important trends in labour reallocation in Russia, and presents analyses of two types. First, transition probabilities are studied, and some determinants of worker flows are identified using a multinomial logit modelling. Second, a survival analysis of the non-employed is conducted to reveal possible causes of growing stagnancy of unemployment and inactivity. The findings are contrasted with the stylised theory of labour reallocation in transition (Aghion and Blanchard, 1994). The directions in which theoretical modifications should be attempted in future research are suggested. The second and the third essays draw upon some of these suggestions and are aimed at making a contribution on the theoretical front. The second essay puts forward a development of the seminal model of transition from planned to market economy by Aghion and Blanchard (1994). We introduce an informal sector to show that its presence can generate the dynamics qualitatively different from the types considered in the previous literature on the topic. It is argued that convergence to qualitatively different steady states can help explain varying transitional experiences of East European countries and the former Soviet Union republics. Attention is drawn to policy implications of the model, in particular to the creation of conditions favourable for the development of the new private sector as opposed to informal private initiative. Finally, the third essay takes the issue of coexistence of formal and informal sectors in transition further to see if such duality is possible in the long run, and to discuss the role of the government in creating preconditions for it. The study draws on the standard framework of Pissarides (2000) of search in the labour market. It demonstrates that a long-run equilibrium with both formal and informal economies is possible under very mild assumptions. It is also shown that labour market imperfections can create a situation when reduction in informality may be detrimental to economic welfare. Although the foci of the essays differ, the issues raised therein are closely knit so that many threads can be drawn together. In the concluding chapter we discuss the main areas to which this thesis contributes, summarise the main findings, and make some suggestions for future research.

In Singapore, employers lack a rational approach to decide whether a position should be externalized or internalized. Employers in Singapore put emphasis on short-term cost management and the minimization of overheads. However, maximizing organizational flexibility to the extreme may not be the best option for these firms in Singapore because they may lose control or even lose sight of core positions that are critical to a firm's success. To address the issue, a model can be developed, which will provide a rational approach to help a firm decide whether a position should be externalized or internalized. The rational approach will prevent firms from externalizing positions in an indiscriminate manner and hurting the firms' long term interests. Statistical analyses indicate that the majority of the hypotheses are supported. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2006.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed Aug. 13, 2008). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.