This study examines the determinants of unemployment at the municipal level and as such aims to answer what the place-specific drivers of unemployment in South African cities and towns are. The purpose has been to test the arguments that local economies and labour markets matter for local unemployment. The empirical analysis makes use of a balanced panel data set for the period 1996 to 2012 for across 234 local and metropolitan municipalities to estimate a regression model in which the level of unemployment in a particular place is determined by a range of place-specific explanatory variables. It is found that the place-specific determinants of unemployment are a higher population growth rate and dense populations that are associated with lower unemployment rates, indicating the benefits from agglomeration economies. A large informal sector is negatively associated with unemployment, which supports the sentiments expressed in the literature that without agglomeration, economic opportunities for individuals in informal employment are limited. If people in a city or town are better educated this is associated with lower levels of unemployment on average. High inequality does not necessarily cause high unemployment; however, they do coincide. A positive association between specialisation and unemployment is found. Furthermore, the mining, manufacturing, construction and trade sectors that are locally bigger than in the national economy are associated with lower unemployment. The results support the findings that a link exists between geography and labour market outcomes and therefore the need exists for convergence of the social safety net and integration with the economic opportunities at the thriving cities and towns. / MCom (Economics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

This study examines the determinants of unemployment at the municipal level and as such aims to answer what the place-specific drivers of unemployment in South African cities and towns are. The purpose has been to test the arguments that local economies and labour markets matter for local unemployment. The empirical analysis makes use of a balanced panel data set for the period 1996 to 2012 for across 234 local and metropolitan municipalities to estimate a regression model in which the level of unemployment in a particular place is determined by a range of place-specific explanatory variables. It is found that the place-specific determinants of unemployment are a higher population growth rate and dense populations that are associated with lower unemployment rates, indicating the benefits from agglomeration economies. A large informal sector is negatively associated with unemployment, which supports the sentiments expressed in the literature that without agglomeration, economic opportunities for individuals in informal employment are limited. If people in a city or town are better educated this is associated with lower levels of unemployment on average. High inequality does not necessarily cause high unemployment; however, they do coincide. A positive association between specialisation and unemployment is found. Furthermore, the mining, manufacturing, construction and trade sectors that are locally bigger than in the national economy are associated with lower unemployment. The results support the findings that a link exists between geography and labour market outcomes and therefore the need exists for convergence of the social safety net and integration with the economic opportunities at the thriving cities and towns. / MCom (Economics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

<p>De omorganiseringar som under de senaste åren genomförts inom den offentliga sektorn kräver en ökad förståelse för vad som motiverar personalen inom hemtjänsten för att på så sätt säkerställa att produktiviteten upprätthålls trots förändringarna i organisationen. Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva hur hemtjänstpersonalens upplevelser av arbetsrelaterad motivation ser ut och för att uppfylla detta syfte genomfördes halvstrukturerade intervjuer med åtta vårdbiträden från fyra hemtjänstenheter. Resultatet av dessa intervjuer tolkades med hjälp av en induktiv tematisk analys och det framkom att relationen till vårdtagarna, arbetsledarens beteende, arbetskamraterna, delaktigheten i utformningen av det dagliga arbetet, upplevelsen av stress och lönen upplevdes påverka undersökningsdeltagarna motivation. Dessa faktorer har kunnat kopplas till tidigare forskning inom området och det är viktigt att de uppmärksammas i hemtjänsten eftersom de inte bara kan påverka produktiviteten hos de anställda utan även deras hälsa och välbefinnande.</p>

<p>Förändringar i arbetslivet, som påverkar individers drivkrafter kring arbetsmotivation, gör det relevant att undersöka hur mätvariabler kan anpassas till ett modernt arbetsliv. Med utgångspunkt i Herzbergs tvåfaktorteori, var syftet att kvantitativt pröva variablerna karriärsutveckling och kvalitet i produkt eller service, kopplat till arbetsmotivation. Studiens enkät reducerades till 10 items efter utförd faktoranalys, och ytterligare analyser fokuserade på de högsta laddningarna. För karriärsdimensionen (alpha 0,90) var det karriär som viktig del i yrkesval, möjligheter till karriärsutveckling och viljan att stanna i organisationer med möjlighet till avancemang, vilket antyder att den moderne arbetstagaren väljer yrke eller arbetsplats efter karriärsförutsättningar. Kvalitet i prestationer som bidrag till kvalitet i organisationens resultat och strävan efter kvalitetsförbättring av organisationens produkt eller service var mest framträdande i kvalitetsdimensionen (alpha 0,55). Studien fann inga skillnader mellan karriärs- eller kvalitetsdimensionerna i kommersiella och icke-kommersiella organisationer, vilket kan bero på att kvalitetsdimensionen inte var tillräckligt stabil och det finns anledning att arbeta vidare med instrumentets kvalitetsvariabel.</p>

<p>The main purpose of this Master Essay is to analyse the integration of Ethiopian immigrants in Sweden between 1990 and 2000. My hypothesis has been that Ethiopian immigrants in Sweden constitute a group whose prospects to integrate are fairly low, but whose prospects to integrate also depend on the sex-composition and the length of staying in Sweden. In my analysis of the chosen group’s immigration pattern and integration, I have used a longitudinal database of the Swedish population where information on income and employment are included. I have analysed the group’s labour market participation and their prospects to reduce and eventually close the income gap in relation to the working aged population in Sweden.</p><p>The regime of control in Ethiopia between 1977 and 1991 forced hundreds of thousands of mostly young Ethiopians to flee to Europe and USA. Between 1985 and 2000, 8033 Ethiopians immigrated to Sweden. The peak years were 1989 and 1991, preceded by a dramatic increase of the number of Ethiopians who immigrated to Sweden. After 1991 the immigration from Ethiopia to Sweden declined rapidly to a similarly low level as before 1985.</p><p>Nevertheless, when analysing the age-composition, those aged 18-29 years were shown to be in majority throughout the whole period as mostly young Ethiopians were forced to flee before 1991. Also, younger persons are more likely to migrate than older persons. The spectacular decrease of Ethiopian immigration to Sweden was probably linked to the former regime’s capitulation in 1991. In addition, Eritrea’s outbreak from Ethiopia in 1991 also had consequences on the numbers of Ethiopian immigrants to Sweden as Eritreans were no longer categorized as Ethiopians. Up to 1991, men were more likely to immigrate, but after then females were clearly in majority.</p><p>The frequency of not being employed has decreased considerably among Ethiopian immigrants throughout the period. At the same time, the income gap between them and the population in general was reduced even though it remained large in the whole period. The decrease in the proportion of Ethiopian immigrants without employment was larger for the females than for the males, and even if men had higher incomes throughout the period, women’s income approached that. Thus it seems that the integration process is on its way for Ethiopian immigrants, especially for the women. The age-composition is probably an important factor behind the group’s relatively successful integration given the large share of working aged persons.</p>

This thesis uses focus group interviews and survey questionnaires to examine perceptions of Ghanaian and Somali youth, residing in Toronto, about barriers to their labour market access. The emphasis is on perceptions that deal with labour market discrimination based on race, ethnicity and recency of immigration. The results show that perceptions of discrimination based on these factors are widespread among all of the participants interviewed or surveyed. This suggests a very strong belief that employment discrimination is pervasive and persistent in the Toronto labour market. The findings also show that the perceptions of discrimination are largely driven by ‘lived discriminatory’ experiences faced by the participants as well as revealing their desire for fairness and equality in society. The perceptions of discrimination negatively affected the level of trust the research participants have in people and institutions as well as impacting their sense of belonging to their communities and the wider society. The relationship between perceptions of discrimination and low levels of trust and sense of belonging is established in the findings of the Ethnic Diversity Survey. The consequences of this impact on the research participants and their communities are high levels of unemployment, high poverty rates and participant dissatisfaction with their own communities and society at large. It is my belief that this thesis contributes to the debate about the significance of discrimination due to race, ethnicity and immigrant status in the Canadian labour market.

This PhD examines the historical making and interpretation of West-German official labour statistics in the period 1950-1973: how did official statistics come to be inscribed in state and administrative attempts to intervene into the labour market with respect to (un-)employment? Rather than considering statistics as a resource for state action and scientific investigation, this thesis is concerned with statistics as a contested topic comprising different techniques and ideas, styles of reasoning, practices, technologies and institutional contexts. Drawing on archival material from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Federal Labour Office, the Federal Statistical Office, the Organisation for Economic Corporation and Development (OECD), and other sources, the thesis examines debates over the abolition of the federal labour office’s labour statistics 1950–1963, and the establishment of a new statistical infrastructure in the following decade. In bridging work in economic and social history, and the history and geography of official statistics and technology, this thesis shows how debate on the employment files – generated in 1935 and reestablished in 1950 – as the basis of quarterly official statistics was centred on the question of which statistics for which polity. This involved different ‘statistical gazes’ at different scales among labour administrators, bureaucratic officials, and statisticians. In studying the scientific-administrative issues of how and where statistics were produced and made credible, the analysis shows how authoritarian conceptions inscribed onto the files gave way, first, to more economical conceptions of data capturing (i.e. representative samples) and, from the late 1960s, to a statistical infrastructure based on electronic data processing. In examining the different rationalities – statistical-technical and political – the thesis shows how transformations in labour statistics were affected by dynamics between: federal state space and locality; technological dreams of labour administrators and statistical requirements; mathematisation and mechanisation of the statistical discourse; trust and credibility; public critique and legitimacy.

The aim of this study is twofold. First, the study aims to investigate how employment agency officers, in both public and private agencies, perceive how they help young people with immigrant background to access the labour market. Secondly, the study aims to investigate these professionals’ perspectives on the possibilities and barriers faced by young people with immigrant background in their process of labour integration. A qualitative study, with face to face semi - structured interviews was conducted with five professionals from both the public and private sector of the Swedish work agency in one municipality in mid Sweden. A social constructivist perspective and empowerment and advocacy theory were used. The results show the importance of the Swedish language and its importance to establish social contacts in the process of finding jobs and integrate. The results also show other difficulties immigrants may face in the labor market such as regulations laid by employers or recruiters as requirements such as being fluent in Swedish language. According to the professionals, the youth immigrants with educational background have an easier access to integration. With "Nystartsjobb" (new start job) the youth immigrants can build networks, increase their language knowledge, get references and experience and job benefits in case of job loss.

English title: “I still wander from country to country” The essay is about newly arrived immigrants, academics from countries outside Europe and their integration at the Swedish labour market. The purpose of this essay is to increase knowledge about non-European academic’s abilities and needs, and at the same time bring better understanding about how this group can contribute to the labour market. The essay is based on qualitative semi-structured research and interviews with ten unemployed individuals living in a medium-size city in south Sweden. The theoretical starting points are: postcolonial theory, Antonovsky’s KASAM theory and Bourdieu’s theoretical concept named social capital. The essay´s main conclusions are: This group of immigrants is facing several obstacles that aggravates their integration into Swedish labour market such as discrimination, ethnic hierarchy, stereotypes, contacts with Swedes and language barriers. Lack of network, informational contacts and communication with natives Swedes are some of challenges for the integration into the Swedish society. One of the causes that prolongs establishment in the labour market for unemployed immigrant’s is the long process of the Swedish school system for new arrivals which takes long time and isn’t combined with internship. The employers often undervalue and outlook foreign-born people’s education and this is a reason why some academics starts to look for jobs which they are overqualified for. Informants experiences of discrimination in the Swedish labour market are often related to their ethnicity and foreign name which is, according to the informants, the main reason why they don’t meet a Swedish employer. Overall there is a big dissatisfaction with Arbetsförmedlingen that doesn’t have working structure to offer internship or job to the new arrival non-European academic’s in the early phase of the integration process.

The impact of labour legislation on the labour market in the Czech Republic - institutional aspects The purpose of this master's degree thesis is to analyse how the labour legislation impacts on the labour market in the Czech Republic with a focus on institutional aspects of this impact. The thesis is (except the introduction and the conclusion) composed of three chapters. Each of the chapters deals with different aspects of labour market. Chapter one describes labour market as a very important part of every economy as well as labour market determinants leading to the economy's prosperity. Chapter two economically analyses efficiency of a selected labour market instituonal aspects. Economics is choosen for analysis as a science enabling to see not only the visible, but also the invisible impacts of human action. The chapter consists of five parts. Part one focuses on the impacts of employment protection. Part two deals with the labour union effect. Part three investigates labour policy tools, especially unemployment benefits, investment incentives and minimum wage. Part four focuses on tax policy. Part five addresses the issue of anti-discrimination law measures. These parts contain conclusions relevant for the following chapter three. Chapter three examines recent progress of Czech labour legislation and...