This paper presents individuals experiences of the Swedish labor market and their opportunities to obtain, maintain employment, or pursue studies. People with disabilities are a socio-economic group with poorer living conditions and reduced participation in all areas of society. The purpose of the paper was to investigate the factors influencing individuals' opportunities to integrate into the open labor market, outside of segregated forms of employment. The conclusions of the paper were that individuals face challenges due to specific disabilities such as anxiety, pain, fatigue, weakened immune systems, and other difficulties that diminish their ability to work. However, it is in interaction with the surrounding society that these difficulties develop into disabilities. Inadequate efforts to develop individualized support measures and strict adherence to organizational guidelines result in undermining individuals' efforts to take control of their lives and find meaningful employment. This, coupled with other factors at the structural level, leads to people with disabilities failing to obtain, maintain employment, or pursue studies. The paper concludes with a discussion on possible further research.

Thesis advisor: Joanna Venator / This paper explores the impact of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs on wage outcomes in the U.S. labor market, particularly against a backdrop of shifting economic conditions and workforce needs. The study delves into how various CTE programs, specifically state-approved programs with stringent standards and federally- approved programs with more flexible requirements, shape the wage trajectories of high school students. The analysis is structured in two main phases: the first phase involves a detailed mapping of CTE courses to real-world occupations as categorized by the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), highlighting the alignment -- or lack thereof -- between educational offerings and labor market demands. The second phase employs an Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression with fixed effects to analyze the influence of CTE program participation on wage outcomes across different industry sectors and counties. This approach allows for a nuanced examination of how local industry definitions affect the perceived effectiveness of CTE programs and underscores the complex trade-offs involved in prioritizing vocational training for immediate employment versus broader educational and career advancement opportunities. The findings reveal significant variability in the impact of CTE programs on wages, influenced by the specificity of job sectors and the breadth of skills taught, with implications for policy decisions aimed at enhancing the role of vocational education in fostering economic mobility. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2024. / Submitted to: Boston College. Morrissey School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics. / Discipline: Departmental Honors.

by Chan, Yuk Fai Weslie. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 67-70). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgments --- p.ii / English Abstract --- p.iv / Chinese Abstract --- p.v / Table of Contents --- p.vi / List of Tables --- p.viii / List of Figures --- p.ix / List of Appendices --- p.x / Chapter Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2. --- Theoretical Background --- p.6 / Chapter 2.1 --- Concepts of Beveridge Curve --- p.7 / Chapter 2.2 --- Beveridge Curve Derived from Labori Market Stock-Flow Identities --- p.15 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Some Basic Labor Market Stork-Flow Identities --- p.15 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Steady State Properties of Beveridge Curve --- p.19 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Comparative Static Analysis of Beveridge Curve --- p.20 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Short Run Dynamics along Beveridge Curve --- p.24 / Chapter 2.3 --- Beveridge Curve Derived from Matching Function Approach --- p.25 / Chapter Chapter 3. --- Empirical Evidences --- p.28 / Chapter 3.1 --- Decomposition of Total Unemployment of Hong Kong --- p.28 / Chapter 3.2 --- Beveridge Curve of Hong Kong --- p.31 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Time Series Estimation of Hong Kong's Beveridge Curve --- p.32 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- Cross Sectorial Estimation of Hong Kong's Beveridge Curve --- p.33 / Chapter 3.3 --- Natural Unemployment Rate --- p.34 / Chapter 3.4 --- Unemployment-Vacancy Ratio --- p.36 / Chapter 3.4.1 --- Relation between U-V Ratio and K-L ratio --- p.38 / Chapter Chapter 4. --- Conclusion --- p.41 / Tables --- p.42 / Figures --- p.46 / Appendices --- p.56 / Bibliography --- p.64

In Chapter 1 of the dissertation, the role of social networks is analyzed as an important determinant in the search behavior of the unemployed. Based on the hypothesis that the unemployed generate information on vacancies through their social network, search theory predicts that individuals with large social networks should experience an increased productivity of informal search, and reduce their search in formal channels. Due to the higher productivity of search, unemployed with a larger network are also expected to have a higher reservation wage than unemployed with a small network. The model-theoretic predictions are tested and confirmed empirically. It is found that the search behavior of unemployed is significantly affected by the presence of social contacts, with larger networks implying a stronger substitution away from formal search channels towards informal channels. The substitution is particularly pronounced for passive formal search methods, i.e., search methods that generate rather non-specific types of job offer information at low relative cost. We also find small but significant positive effects of an increase of the network size on the reservation wage. These results have important implications on the analysis of the job search monitoring or counseling measures that are usually targeted at formal search only. Chapter 2 of the dissertation addresses the labor market effects of vacancy information during the early stages of unemployment. The outcomes considered are the speed of exit from unemployment, the effects on the quality of employment and the short-and medium-term effects on active labor market program (ALMP) participation. It is found that vacancy information significantly increases the speed of entry into employment; at the same time the probability to participate in ALMP is significantly reduced. Whereas the long-term reduction in the ALMP arises in consequence of the earlier exit from unemployment, we also observe a short-run decrease for some labor market groups which suggest that caseworker use high and low intensity activation measures interchangeably which is clearly questionable from an efficiency point of view. For unemployed who find a job through vacancy information we observe a small negative effect on the weekly number of hours worked. In Chapter 3, the long-term effects of participation in ALMP are assessed for unemployed youth under 25 years of age. Complementary to the analysis in Chapter 2, the effects of participation in time- and cost-intensive measures of active labor market policies are examined. In particular we study the effects of job creation schemes, wage subsidies, short-and long-term training measures and measures to promote the participation in vocational training. The outcome variables of interest are the probability to be in regular employment, and participation in further education during the 60 months following program entry. The analysis shows that all programs, except job creation schemes have positive and long-term effects on the employment probability of youth. In the short-run only short-term training measures generate positive effects, as long-term training programs and wage subsidies exhibit significant locking-in'' effects. Measures to promote vocational training are found to increase the probability of attending education and training significantly, whereas all other programs have either no or a negative effect on training participation. Effect heterogeneity with respect to the pre-treatment level education shows that young people with higher pre-treatment educational levels benefit more from participation most programs. However, for longer-term wage subsidies we also find strong positive effects for young people with low initial education levels. The relative benefit of training measures is higher in West than in East Germany. In the evaluation studies of Chapters 2 and 3 semi-parametric balancing methods of Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and Inverse Probability Weighting (IPW) are used to eliminate the effects of counfounding factors that influence both the treatment participation as well as the outcome variable of interest, and to establish a causal relation between program participation and outcome differences. While PSM and IPW are intuitive and methodologically attractive as they do not require parametric assumptions, the practical implementation may become quite challenging due to their sensitivity to various data features. Given the importance of these methods in the evaluation literature, and the vast number of recent methodological contributions in this field, Chapter 4 aims to reduce the knowledge gap between the methodological and applied literature by summarizing new findings of the empirical and statistical literature and practical guidelines for future applied research. In contrast to previous publications this study does not only focus on the estimation of causal effects, but stresses that the balancing challenge can and should be discussed independent of question of causal identification of treatment effects on most empirical applications. Following a brief outline of the practical implementation steps required for PSM and IPW, these steps are presented in detail chronologically, outlining practical advice for each step. Subsequently, the topics of effect estimation, inference, sensitivity analysis and the combination with parametric estimation methods are discussed. Finally, new extensions of the methodology and avenues for future research are presented. / In Kapitel 1 der Dissertation wird die Rolle von sozialen Netzwerken als Determinante im Suchverhalten von Arbeitslosen analysiert. Basierend auf der Hypothese, dass Arbeitslose durch ihr soziales Netzwerk Informationen über Stellenangebote generieren, sollten Personen mit großen sozialen Netzwerken eine erhöhte Produktivität ihrer informellen Suche erfahren, und ihre Suche in formellen Kanälen reduzieren. Durch die höhere Produktivität der Suche sollte für diese Personen zudem der Reservationslohn steigen. Die modelltheoretischen Vorhersagen werden empirisch getestet, wobei die Netzwerkinformationen durch die Anzahl guter Freunde, sowie Kontakthäufigkeit zu früheren Kollegen approximiert wird. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das Suchverhalten der Arbeitslosen durch das Vorhandensein sozialer Kontakte signifikant beeinflusst wird. Insbesondere sinkt mit der Netzwerkgröße formelle Arbeitssuche - die Substitution ist besonders ausgeprägt für passive formelle Suchmethoden, d.h. Informationsquellen die eher unspezifische Arten von Jobangeboten bei niedrigen relativen Kosten erzeugen. Im Einklang mit den Vorhersagen des theoretischen Modells finden sich auch deutlich positive Auswirkungen einer Erhöhung der Netzwerkgröße auf den Reservationslohn. Kapitel 2 befasst sich mit den Arbeitsmarkteffekten von Vermittlungsangeboten (VI) in der frühzeitigen Aktivierungsphase von Arbeitslosen. Die Nutzung von VI könnte dabei eine „doppelte Dividende“ versprechen. Zum einen reduziert die frühe Aktivierung die Dauer der Arbeitslosigkeit, und somit auch die Notwendigkeit späterer Teilnahme in Arbeitsmarktprogrammen (ALMP). Zum anderen ist die Aktivierung durch Information mit geringeren locking-in‘‘ Effekten verbunden als die Teilnahme in ALMP. Ziel der Analyse ist es, die Effekte von frühen VI auf die Eingliederungsgeschwindigkeit, sowie die Teilnahmewahrscheinlichkeit in ALMP zu messen. Zudem werden mögliche Effekte auf die Qualität der Beschäftigung untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass VI die Beschäftigungswahrscheinlichkeit signifikant erhöhen, und dass gleichzeitig die Wahrscheinlichkeit in ALMP teilzunehmen signifikant reduziert wird. Für die meisten betrachteten Subgruppen ergibt sich die langfristige Reduktion der ALMP Teilnahme als Konsequenz der schnelleren Eingliederung. Für einzelne Arbeitsmarktgruppen ergibt sich zudem eine frühe und temporare Reduktion, was darauf hinweist, dass Maßnahmen mit hohen und geringen „locking-in“ Effekten aus Sicht der Sachbearbeiter austauschbar sind, was aus Effizienzgesichtspunkten fragwürdig ist. Es wird ein geringer negativer Effekt auf die wöchentliche Stundenanzahl in der ersten abhängigen Beschäftigung nach Arbeitslosigkeit beobachtet. In Kapitel 3 werden die Langzeiteffekte von ALMP für arbeitslose Jugendliche unter 25 Jahren ermittelt. Die untersuchten ALMP sind ABM-Maßnahmen, Lohnsubventionen, kurz-und langfristige Maßnahmen der beruflichen Bildung sowie Maßnahmen zur Förderung der Teilnahme an Berufsausbildung. Ab Eintritt in die Maßnahme werden Teilnehmer und Nicht-Teilnehmer für einen Zeitraum von sechs Jahren beobachtet. Als Zielvariable wird die Wahrscheinlichkeit regulärer Beschäftigung, sowie die Teilnahme in Ausbildung untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass alle Programme, bis auf ABM, positive und langfristige Effekte auf die Beschäftigungswahrscheinlichkeit von Jugendlichen haben. Kurzfristig finden wir jedoch nur für kurze Trainingsmaßnahmen positive Effekte, da lange Trainingsmaßnahmen und Lohnzuschüsse mit signifikanten locking-in‘‘ Effekten verbunden sind. Maßnahmen zur Förderung der Berufsausbildung erhöhen die Wahrscheinlichkeit der Teilnahme an einer Ausbildung, während alle anderen Programme keinen oder einen negativen Effekt auf die Ausbildungsteilnahme haben. Jugendliche mit höherem Ausbildungsniveau profitieren stärker von der Programmteilnahme. Jedoch zeigen sich für längerfristige Lohnsubventionen ebenfalls starke positive Effekte für Jugendliche mit geringer Vorbildung. Der relative Nutzen von Trainingsmaßnahmen ist höher in West- als in Ostdeutschland. In den Evaluationsstudien der Kapitel 2 und 3 werden die semi-parametrischen Gewichtungsverfahren Propensity Score Matching (PSM) und Inverse Probability Weighting (IPW) verwendet, um den Einfluss verzerrender Faktoren, die sowohl die Maßnahmenteilnahme als auch die Zielvariablen beeinflussen zu beseitigen, und kausale Effekte der Programmteilahme zu ermitteln. Während PSM and IPW intuitiv und methodisch sehr attraktiv sind, stellt die Implementierung der Methoden in der Praxis jedoch oft eine große Herausforderung dar. Das Ziel von Kapitel 4 ist es daher, praktische Hinweise zur Implementierung dieser Methoden zu geben. Zu diesem Zweck werden neue Erkenntnisse der empirischen und statistischen Literatur zusammengefasst und praxisbezogene Richtlinien für die angewandte Forschung abgeleitet. Basierend auf einer theoretischen Motivation und einer Skizzierung der praktischen Implementierungsschritte von PSM und IPW werden diese Schritte chronologisch dargestellt, wobei auch auf praxisrelevante Erkenntnisse aus der methodischen Forschung eingegangen wird. Im Anschluss werden die Themen Effektschätzung, Inferenz, Sensitivitätsanalyse und die Kombination von IPW und PSM mit anderen statistischen Methoden diskutiert. Abschließend werden neue Erweiterungen der Methodik aufgeführt.

No description available.

No description available.

Studien syftar till att förstå unga lagöverträdares marginaliseringsprocesser i relation till skolan och arbetsmarknaden. För att förstå dessa processer har vi genom en kvalitativ studie av biografier analyserat resultatet med den symboliska interaktionismen, stämplingsteorin och Ted Goldbergs redogörelse för avvikarkarriären tillsammans med tidigare forskning kring ämnet. Studiens resultat visar att de unga lagöverträdarnas marginaliseringsprocesser börjar i skolan med social marginalisering. De unga lagöverträdarna beskriver svårigheter med att bli socialt accepterade. Studiens resultat visar också att de unga lagöverträdarnas marginaliseringsprocesser som är en följd av upprepad stämpling fortgår även utanför skolan då de ansluter sig till umgängeskretsar med en lagöverträdande livsstil och liknande visioner. Studien pekar på att de unga lagöverträdarna möter svårigheter med att nå en förankrad position på arbetsmarknaden. Dessa svårigheter beror på deras brottsbelastning och att de genom stämpling har upprättat en negativ självbild. / The study aims to understand the young offenders marginalization processes in relation to the school and the labor market. To understand these processes, we have used a qualitative study of the biographies and analyzed the results with the symbolic interactionism, the labeling theory and Ted Goldberg's account of deviation career together with previous research in this topic. Study results show that young offenders processes of marginalization begins in school with social marginalization. Young offenders describes the difficulties to be socially accepted. 2 The study also shows that young offenders processes of marginalization as a result of repetitive labeling continues even outside the school when they join social circles with an offending lifestyle and similar visions. The study suggests that young offenders faced difficulties in reaching an entrenched position in the labor market. These difficulties are due to their crimes burden and by labeling has drawn up a negative self-image.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis deals with poverty and inequality in Mozambique and with the link of education to wellbeing through the labour market. Earlier studies that analysed well-being in Mozambique drew counter-intuitive conclusions about the spatial distribution of poverty and inequality. They focused excessively on money-metric indicators of well-being and adjusted the poverty line so as to make it reflect taste and price differentials across regions. This thesis suggests the use of a wealth index based on asset holdings and derived by employing Multiple Correspondence Analysis to support the money-metric results. If results are not also confirmed by other indicators of well-being, one should be sceptical of simply unquestioningly applying best practice approaches. In this thesis the moneymetric results drawn by earlier studies are not confirmed by this other indicator of well-being. Since education is a policy lever that can be used to influence the existing patterns of poverty and inequality, one needs to understand how it operates through the labour market in improving wellbeing. Developing and poor economies such as Mozambique are characterised by a very segmented labour market and by a small wage sector. A large proportion of the working-age population is engaged in subsistence agriculture and self-employment activities. Using a multinomial logit model this thesis demonstrates that schooling has an influence on the choice of employment segment. For instance, schooling increases an individual’s chances of getting a public sector job, but lowers his or her chances of falling into self-employment activities. This study also links schooling to earnings. It argues that when analysing the relationship between schooling and earnings in a poor developing economy one should account for the multiple segmentation of the labour market as well as for sample selection bias. To estimate the effects of schooling on earnings this thesis thus employs a modified version of Dubin and McFadden’s model. It finds a positive association between education and earnings in the public wage sector, the private wage sector and in the selfemployment segment. Convex returns to education are also found, and accounting for selectivity bias does improve the earnings functions relative to those based on ordinary least squares regressions. Education quality has a bearing on an individual’s performance in the labour market and therefore affects the role of education in alleviating poverty. Thus, this thesis identifies the correlates of education quality in Mozambique. Employing education production functions based on ordinary least squares multivariate regressions it finds that most of the correlates of educational achievement suggested by the literature are indeed associated with educational outputs. Employing Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition techniques often used in labour studies to study earnings discrimination, the thesis attempts to explain the reasons behind the average deterioration in education quality in Mozambique. The initial hypothesis on this matter was that the average deterioration in education quality over time was associated with the increase in the proportion of pupils from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This hypothesis, however, is not confirmed. Likely explanations include the decline in the efficiency of the education system and more lenient pupil promotion policies. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie proefskrif handel oor armoede en ongelykheid in Mosambiek en die effek van onderwys op welsyn deur die arbeidsmark. Vroeëre studies het gevolgtrekkings oor welsyn in Mosambiek getrek wat nie met intuïsie oor die ruimtelike verdeling van armoede en ongelykheid strook nie. Sulke studies het slegs geldelike maatstawwe van welsyn gebruik en die armoedelyn aangepas om pryse en smaak in verskillende streke te reflekteer. Hierdie tesis stel die gebruik van nie-geldelike maatstawwe voor om geldelike maatstawwe aan te vul, en spesifiek ’n bate-indeks van welsyn wat verkry word deur die gebruik van Veelvuldige-Korrespondensie-Analise. Daar is rede tot skeptisisme wanneer die sogenaamde ‘beste’ metode vir die berekening van geldelike maatstawwe sonder bevraagtekening gebruik word en die resultate nie deur ander indikatore van welsyn bevestig word nie. Aangesien onderwys ’n beleidsinstrument bied om bestaande patrone van armoede en ongelykheid te beïnvloed, is dit nodig om te verstaan hoe dit deur die arbeidsmark werk om welsyn te verbeter. Ontwikkelende en arm ekonomieë soos Mosambiek word gekenmerk deur ’n baie gesegmenteerde arbeidsmark en ’n klein loonsektor. Groot persentasie van die bevolking van werkende ouderdom is by onderhoudslandbou en ander self-indiensneming betrokke. Veelvoudige-logit-model toon hoe opvoeding die keuse van indiensnemingsektor beïnvloed. Onderwys verhoog byvoorbeeld iemand se kanse om pos in die openbare sektor te kry, maar verlaag die waarskynlikheid van selfindiensneming. Die studie koppel verdienste ook aan onderwys. Daar word aangevoer dat die groot arbeidsmarksegmentasie en seleksie-sydigheid in berekening gebring moet word wanneer die verband tussen onderwys en lone in arm ontwikkelende land bestudeer word. Dus word aangepaste vorm van Dubin en McFadden se model in hierdie proefskrif gebruik om die effek van onderwys op verdienste te bereken. Positiewe verband bestaan tussen onderwys en lone in die openbare loonsektor, die private loonsektor en self-indiensname. Die opbrengsstruktuur op onderwys is konveks, en inagneming van seleksie-sydigheid verbeter die verdienstefunksies relatief tot gevalle wat net op gewone kleinste-kwadrate-regressies gebaseer is. Onderwysgehalte het invloed op persoon se vertoning in die arbeidsmark en raak daarom die rol van onderwys in armoedeverligting. Faktore wat met onderwysgehalte in Mosambiek verband hou word dus geïdentifiseer. Die gebruik van gewone-kleinste-kwadrate-veelvoudige-regressies in onderwysproduksiefunksies toon dat die meeste van die bepalende faktore wat in die literatuur genoem word inderdaad met onderwysuitsette verband hou. Deur gebruik van Oaxaca-Blinder dekomposisie-tegnieke – wat meer dikwels gebruik word om arbeidsmarkdiskriminasie te ontleed – word gepoog om die redes vir die agteruitgang van gemiddelde onderwysgehalte in Mosambiek te verklaar. Die aanvanklike hipotese hieroor was dat die agteruitgang in die gemiddelde vertoning deur die toename van leerlinge van laer sosio-ekonomiese agtergrond verklaar sou kon word. Ontleding van die data bevestig egter nie hierdie hipotese nie. Moontlike verklarings sluit in agteruitgang in die doeltreffendheid van die onderwysstelsel en minder streng beleid rakende promosie van leerlinge na hoër grade.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Microeconometric techniques have improved understanding of South Africa’s labour market substantially in the last two decades. This dissertation adds to this evidence by considering three separate labour market questions, with particular attention to data quality and the application of credible methodology. Firstly, wage flexibility is investigated. Whereas selected previous microeconometric evidence suggests that wage setters in South Africa are highly responsive to external local labour market circumstances, it is not corroborated by macroeconomic and other microeconometric studies. This question is interrogated again, with particular attention to methodological issues in wage curve estimation. The latter is a robust negative relationship between individual wages and local unemployment rates, found in most countries, except where bargaining is highly centralized. Adding time variation to the data allows controls for spatial heterogeneity to be introduced, leading to the conclusion that wages are really inflexible in the short-run. Rather, the trade-off between wages and local unemployment that previous work has found represents a long-run spatial equilibrium. This finding is robust to instrumentation for reverse causality and the measurement error that is associated with choosing incorrect labour market demarcations. Secondly, the reliability of retrospective data related to childhood is investigated, with the view of estimating the long-run influence that early life circumstances have on adult outcomes. Two indicators, parental education and subjective rankings of childhood socioeconomic status, are evaluated. The first set of indicators has poor response rates, as many South African children live without their parents. Where respondents do volunteer this information, they answer consistently across waves. Subjective rankings have higher response rates, as they require respondents to provide information about their own past, and not about those of their parents. However, individuals’ assessments are inconsistent over time, despite being asked about the same point in the life cycle. They tend to change their view of the past in line with adjustments to perceptions of their position in the village income distribution and subjective well-being, providing clear evidence of anchoring. Instrumental variables analysis has been used in previous studies to account for measurement error in subjective data. However, if anchoring affects all assessments of the past and potential outcome variables (such as employment), microeconometric techniques will yield biased estimates of the effects of childhood on long-run outcomes. Finally, age-period-cohort models for South African labour force participation are estimated. This chapter is the first contribution to relax the assumption that cohort differences must remain permanent over the life cycle. Monte-Carlo simulation studies show that highly interactive specifications can partially recover the true underlying process. Using a variety of techniques (imposing behavioural restrictions and atheoretical approaches), this study shows that cohort effects in labour force participation can be temporary in South Africa, though more data is required to verify this conclusively. Regardless of technique, a distinct surge in labour force participation is noted for the group born after 1975. Pertinently, the combination of testable assumptions and highly flexible estimation can yield credible age-period-cohort profiles, despite the many disputes noted in the literature. Previous evidence of a surge in participation for the post-1975 cohort can now be shown to be temporary rather than a part of a long-run generational increase. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Mikro-ekonometriese tegnieke het kennis oor die Suid-Afrikaanse arbeidsmark aansienlik uitgebrei in die afgelope twee dekades. Hierdie proefskrif dra by tot hierdie bewyse deur drie afsonderlike arbeidsmark vraagstukke te beskou, met die klem op datagehalte en toepassing van geloofwaardige metodologie. Eerstens word die kwessie van loonaanpasbaarheid beskou. Waar sekere vorige mikro-ekonometriese bewyse aandui dat loonbepalers in Suid-Afrika sterk op eksterne plaaslike arbeidsmarktoestande reageer, word hierdie bevinding nie deur makro-ekonomiese en ander mikro-ekonometriese studies ondersteun nie. Hierdie vraag word dus opnuut ondersoek, met die klem op metodologiese kwessies wat ‘n invloed op die beraming van die loonkurwe het. Laasgenoemde is die negatiewe verhouding tussen individuele lone en plaaslike werkloosheidskoerse wat in die meeste lande geld, behalwe daar waar loonbedinging sterk gesentraliseer is. Deur tydsvariasie by die data te voeg, is dit moontlik om vir heterogeniteit oor ruimte voorsiening te maak, wat tot die gevolgtrekking lei dat lone inderdaad onbuigsaam oor die korttermyn is. Die afruiling tussen lone en plaaslike werkloosheidskoerse wat vorige navorsing bevind het, verteenwoordig eerder ‘n langtermyn ruimtelike ewewig. Hierdie bevinding is nie sensitief vir instrumentasie nie. Laasgenoemde is nodig om voorsiening te maak vir moontlike sydigheid wat kan ontstaan indien die rigting van kousaliteit omgekeerd is, sowel as metingsfoute wat daarmee gepaard gaan as navorsers die plaaslike arbeidsmark verkeerd definiëer. Tweedens word die betroubaarheid van data wat volwassenes vra om hulle kinderomstandighede te onthou, ondersoek. Die uiteindelike doel is om vas te stel of omstandighede vroeg in die lewe ‘n invloed op die uitkomstes van volwassenes het. Twee veranderlikes, naamlik ouers se opvoedingsvlakke en die subjektiewe terugskouende sosioekonomiese rang in respondente se kinderdae, word geëvalueer. Die eerste stel veranderlikes is onderhewig aan lae reaksiekoerse omdat ‘n aansienlike hoeveelheid Suid-Afrikaanse kinders sonder een of beide ouers grootword. Waar respondente wel hierdie inligting verskaf is individue se antwoorde konsekwent tussen twee golwe van ‘n paneelopname. Die vraag na die subjektiewe rang lewer beter reaksiekoerse omdat dit vereis dat respondente inligting oor hulle eie verlede verskaf, en nie oor dié van hul ouers nie. Nietemin is individue se antwoorde strydig oor tyd, ten spyte daarvan dat hulle inligting oor dieselfde tydstip in die lewenssiklus moet verskaf. Hulle is geneig om hulle opinies oor die verlede in lyn met veranderende persepsies van hul huidige posisie in die dorpsinkomsteverdeling, sowel as hulle eie subjektiewe welstand, aan te pas. Dit verskaf dus ‘n sterk aanduiding dat mense hulle antwoorde oor die verlede in huidige toestande anker. Instrumentele veranderlike analise is in vorige studies aangewend om voorsiening te maak vir metingsfoute in subjektiewe data. Indien inligting oor die verlede, asook moontlik uitkomsteveranderlikes (soos indiensname), geanker word in huidige persepsies, sal mikroekonometriese tegnieke egter steeds sydige beramings van die impak van kinderdae op langtermyn uitkomstes bied. Laastens, word sogenaamde ouderdom-periode-kohort modelle op Suid-Afrikaanse arbeidsmarkdeelname data toegepas. Hierdie hoofstuk is die eerste bydrae wat die aanname dat kohortverskille permanent moet bly oor die lewenssiklus laat vaar. Monte-Carlo simulasies dui aan dat hoogs interaktiewe spesifikasies die onderliggende proses gedeeltelik kan weerspieël. Verskeie tegnieke word aangewend (insluitend dié wat gedragsaannames afdwing asook ateoretiese benaderings) wat wys dat kohorteffekte in arbeidsmarkdeelname tydelik kan wees. Tog word meer data benodig om hierdie stelling sonder twyfel te bevestig. Onafhanklik van die tegniek wat gebruik word, is dit duidelik dat ‘n skerp toename in arbeidsmarkdeelname plaasgevind het vir die groep wat na 1975 gebore is. Verder is dit beduidend dat die kombinasie van toetsbare aannames en hoogs buigsame beramers ‘n geloofwaardige oplossing vir die ouderdoms-periode-kohort probleem verskaf, ten spyte van die vele twispunte wat in die literatuur uitgelig word. Vorige bewyse van ‘n toename in arbeidsmagdeelname vir die post-1975 kohort kan nou as ‘n tydelike tendens bestempel word, eerder as ‘n deel van die langtermyn toename oor generasies.

Thesis (MComm (Economics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / A new political dispensation in 1994 heralded a period of optimism for many ordinary South Africans, who hoped for freedom and an escape from poverty. Since this transition, however, South Africa has registered steady increases in unemployment, which was already high and widespread at that stage. The new policy environment introduced a mix of legislation which changed the way in which South African society was to be structured: separate development was abandoned, the pillars of Apartheid dismantled, and equitable access to education and jobs was enacted. At the same time, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), as well as the Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) document addressed, amongst other issues, socioeconomic and labour market disparities. Economic growth was to bolster employment generation. Rising unemployment is, in light of these diverse changes, a source of considerable concern to labour market participants and policymakers alike: the benefits of better understanding the dynamic forces at play are potentially large. Given the many and farreaching changes referred to above, it is a complex task to disentangle specific reasons for the outcomes realised in the labour market, and more so the manner in which these have interacted to arrive at the status quo...