No description available.

The objective of this essay is to explain if there exist a mismatch on the Swedish labour market, with a main emphasis on overeducation. We frame our empirical work according to mismatch theories the human capital theory, technological change theory and the education-occupation mismatch theory. Using panel data from the European Social Survey covering the period 2002 and 2016 were we able to define overeducation at different levels to observe which is the most suitable for the topic of this essay. Our main result will be focusing on the 20 percent level, which means: “I and 20% other workers acquire a higher education than the other 80%”. Our result indicated that immigrants experienced a higher likelihood of being overeducated in comparison to natives. When we looked at the different birth regions did we found that individuals from the Central/South American countries were the ones who experienced the highest likelihood of being overeducated. Our result indicates that the further away your home country is from Sweden the higher is the probability of being overeducated, which goes hand in hand with the theories presented.

The thesis itself proceeds according to the following outline. Chapter One is concerned with the neoclassical theory of the labour market. Three particular models are surveyed all of which attempt to explain wage differentials and labour adjustments within a competitive equilibrium framework. The basic model of the labour market which rests upon the marginal productivity theory of labour demand, the utility-maximising approach to labour supply and the competitive theory of market equilibrium is dealt with first.This is followed by an outline of human capital theory which emphasises the crucial role played by education and training in determining individual earnings . Finally, attention is focused on disequilibrium wage models of adjustment which account for wage dispersion in terms of the amount and quality of information available to transactors in the labour market.(Introduction, p. 3-4)

Magister Commercii - MCom / The transition of South Africa's political system from an apartheid administration to a democratic rule in 1994 resulted in the end of years of international sanctions imposed on the country. This move placed the country back on the global trading market. In addition, improvements in living conditions, education attainment, and labour market outcomes of societal groups who were previously disadvantaged by the apartheid administration were expected. Looking at the labour market in greater detail, government devised policies aimed at addressing, amongst others, the racial and gender inequalities in job access and remuneration as well as improving the employment conditions. Despite these attempts, women have been known to be subjected to different kinds of discrimination. As a result, they have been segregated, and in most case were over-represented in low income, less secure employment as well as over-represented in the unemployed pool of the labour force. Numerous South African studies in the past only derived the “trends” labour market activities by gender since the transition by comparing the 1995 October Household Survey (OHS) with the latest available Labour Force Survey (LFS), without taking into consideration the comparability issues of the datasets. Hence, this thesis uses all the South African labour survey data in 1995-2009 to investigate the trends in the performance of each gender in the labour market since the transition, specifically looking at the following: labour force participation likelihood, employment likelihood, remuneration and working conditions of the employed, characteristics of the unemployed, as well as whether gender discrimination in the labour market (with specific focus on employment probability gap and wage gap) still exists since the advent of democracy.

Magister Economicae - MEcon / The South African economy faces a challenging socio-economic problem of high and persistent unemployment since the transition. Looking at the unemployment problem in greater perspective, numerous studies found that it is most serious amongst the youth. Since the beginning of the 2000s, a few studies focused particularly on youth and graduate unemployment, but there has been a lack of research in this area in recent years. Hence, this dissertation aims to fill some gap in the available research by investigating the extent, nature and causes of graduate unemployment in South Africa. This study firstly defined the relevant concepts and discussed some theories relevant to graduate unemployment, before reviewing the results of the past studies on the nature and extent of graduate unemployment. Thereafter, the possible causes were investigated, such as lack of experience, lack of soft skills, skills mismatch, poor quality of education of the graduates, discrimination by employers, etc. Graduate unemployment in India, China and Europe were also considered, and it was found that graduate unemployment was not in a unique problem in South Africa. The study proceeded with an analysis the Statistics South Africa 1995-2010 labour survey data and conducted more up-to-date statistical analyses of the profile of graduate unemployed. The results showed that the characteristics of unemployed graduates were, in general, the same as what was found by the previous studies, as graduate unemployed were more likely to be female and black, aged 15-34 years at the time of the survey, residing in Gauteng, with only post-Matric certificates or diplomas, and graduating from the fields of Business /Commerce / Management, and Education / Training / Development. The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition was also applied, and the results indicated that employment discrimination against black graduates was very likely, after controlling for differences in demographic and educational attainment blacks and whites. Hence, the results of the empirical analysis showed that graduate unemployment persists. Finally, graduate employment elasticity coefficients and employment absorption rates were derived by educational attainment category, and the results showed that although graduate unemployment is clearly less serious than unemployment in other educational categories, the labour demand for graduates is not rapid enough to absorb all the graduates.

Immediately after the discovery of oil, the State of Kuwait put in place a plan for massive economic and social development for its people. This proposed plan required sophisticated labour skills to implement development requirements. However, over the years the country has continued to witness a labour market imbalance due to an inadequate supply of graduate skills that did not satisfy the demand from its workplace. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mismatch between outputs from higher education and labour market requirements. The present study employed a mixed approach to address its main research questions. It applied a quantitative approach using questionnaires prepared for graduates currently working and employers from both the public and private sector. It also utilized a qualitative approach using interviews with stakeholders in the labour market such as higher education personnel and policy makers. The literature review provided an overview of educational objectives and their relation to economic, social, and human resource development. It also looked at the nature of the relationship between higher educational institutions and the labour market, as well as providing some examples of the labour market gap around the world. The key findings indicated that higher educational institutions faced problems with regard to their role in the provision of knowledge and skills. The study found that employers believe that the quality of education provided by the institutions is low. Similarly, the study found that employers believe that the communication amongst stakeholders in the education system is not effective. In addition, employers reckoned that the main factors influencing graduates’ quality of education were the lack of skills, lack of motivation and weak communication. Similarly, graduates believed that the main factors influencing their quality of education were lack of skills, as well as overestimating job privileges and area of study. Furthermore, graduates satisfaction with their current jobs was influenced by many factors; such as low-quality education, disappointment with career development, source of skills, area of study, and gender. In fact, the literature identified the low quality of education as the main cause of the skills-gap worldwide, while it had always valued communication for closing the skills-gap. This study has confirmed that there is an imbalance within the Kuwaiti labour market. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed in the concluding chapter of the thesis.

There are currently millions of domestic workers as vulnerable and underclass workers in China. The demand for domestic workers will continue to increase in another millions of urban families in time of ageing and labour shortage. Domestic workers are predominantly working poor female, low-skilled migrant and informal: these three characteristics have determined their poor conditions in the cities. When such a large body of domestic workers live in the improvised, disadvantaged and discriminated conditions in urban China, it is crucial to undertake a critical analysis of this issue to explore why this has happened and why it has been so hard to change their conditions. This thesis seeks to explain: why is there a persistent lack of social and legal protection for these vulnerable workers in urban China? To do so, I first explore two lines of theoretical frameworks to construct the issues of domestic workers in 1) the gender implications of domestic work and 2) the relationship between migration and labour market mechanism. Second, I analyse the larger socioeconomic structures that shape the working and living conditions of domestic workers. The process of reconstructing the dual labour system integrated with the institutionalized urban registration system in China has exacerbated the divergence between countryside and cities, between men and women, and between formal and informal labour. Third, I use the case studies to present the consequences of the informality of domestic work service in China, including the unrecognition of labour law, the unequal power relationship between service employers and domestic workers, and the media’s biased position in promoting the in-home care model. I find that the state has designed multiple institutions to secure a pool of cheap labour from the rural regions to facilitate the urbanisation at a low price. In particular, the central government has prioritised the urban development by encouraging more women to participate in the labour force and justified its absence in the provision of public elderly care by outsourcing the care services to the private market of domestic workers.

Main content of this thesis is analysis of flexicurity and its principles, which became a model for reformation of labour markets and social insurance nets in european region. Other than the research on functioning of flexicurity itself, thesis is focused on czech labour market, social insurance net, its flexibility and its main defections. Thesis also contains considerations on applying of the flexicurity principles in Czech Republic and fulfilling of goals determined by the European union strategies. Closure of the thesis is dedicated to calculations of the price of establishing flexicurity in Czech republic and determination if it is possible to finance it.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / This research paper is a review of the assertion by some commentators that the regulation of the labour market is a cause of the high unemployment rate in South Africa. It starts by providing a historical background of statutory industrial relations in South Africa leading to the current labour dispensation. The discussion includes a review of the current labour legislation and assessment of its compliance with international law. The rating of the South African labour market by the Doing Business study is discussed. This study seeks to ascertain whether there is a causal relation between labour market regulation and the unemployment rate. The conclusion reached is that South African labour legislation complies wit international law as espoused in International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions, is not excessively rigid and, most importantly, that there is no convincing evidence of a causal relation between labour market regulation and the unemployment rate.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / The study examines female-male differentials in earnings and factors associated with them within the labour market of South Africa. Dating back from the end of apartheid in 1994, a few labour policies have been implemented to reduce poverty especially in the area of gender equity and wage discrimination. However, little evidence has been produced to inform on the magnitude of changes in reducing differences and progress achieved so far. Therefore the study attempts to assess and explain the structural changes in female-male differentials in earnings within the labour market. Sparsely conducted studies during the early years of post-apartheid South Africa showed strong racial divide in terms of wage gaps. This proposed study extends this analysis to socio-demographic attributes and also considers a more encompassing notion of earnings. Thus controlling for individual attributes, the overarching issue in this study stems from the following questions: do male workers earn more than their female counterparts within the Labour market? And if it is the case, what are some of the underlying social and demographic variables contributing to this difference? To assess the structural changes in earnings, data utilized for this study are derived from the Labour Force Survey of 2007 and 2011 carried out respectively under Statistics South Africa. Other public records are used to supplement these two sources. In the first step bivariate analysis are carried out to establish patterns and statistical relationships amongst variables selected. Drawing from that, the study makes use of a predictive model to analyse the combined effect of these variables taken together onto the dependent variable. It is expected to observe varying differences in the magnitude of earnings across the selected variables. Differences could be specific to occupation or industrial sector. Temporal variation provides insights about the dynamics of female-male differentials in earnings. From this the study draws some recommendations to guide policy interventions in the labour market.