Thesis (M.B.A.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

This work analyzes the saving and consumption behavior of agents faced with the possibility of unemployment in a dynamic and stochastic life cycle model. The intertemporal optimization is based on Dynamic Programming with a backward recursion algorithm. The implemented uncertainty is not based on income shocks as it is done in traditional life cycle models but uses Markov probabilities where the probability for the next employment status of the agent depends on the current status. The utility function used is a CRRA function (constant relative risk aversion), combined with a CES function (constant elasticity of substitution) and has several consumption goods, a subsistence level, money and a bequest function. / Diese Arbeit modelliert das Spar- und Konsumverhalten von Individuen in Deutschland mit einem Lebenszyklusmodell. Dabei hat das Modell zwei Besonderheiten, erstens trifft die Möglichkeit arbeitslos zu werden nicht jeden Agenten des Models mit der gleichen Wahrscheinlichkeit, sondern wird von Bildungsabschluss und dem Beschäftigungsstatus des Agenten beeinflußt und zweitens weicht die verwendete Nutzenfunktion von den Standardnutzenfunktionen ab und implementiert Vererbung, Geld, verschiedene Güter und Subsistenzlevel. Der Optimierungsalgorithmus basiert auf Dynamischer Programmierung.

This thesis consists of three papers which evaluate the effects of the Adult Education Initiative (AEI) in Sweden relative to the vocational part of Labor Market Training (LMT). Paper [I] studies unemployment incidence and unemployment duration for participants in the AEI relative to LMT. When evaluating the relative program effects on duration, one needs to take into account both the problem of selection and the fact that the outcome variable is right hand censored. The method used is an instrumental variable adaptation of the symmetrically trimmed least squares estimator. A bivariate probit model is used in order to study unemployment incidence. The results indicate a beneficial effect of the AEI relative to LMT on unemployment incidence, but longer duration in unemployment among the AEI participants. Paper [II] uses annual wage earnings in 1999 to compare the AEI and LMT for individuals that do not continue in education following program completion. Two separate estimation methods are used, the classical selection model and the method of matching on the propensity score. The results of both methods indicate negative effects of the AEI relative to LMT on wage earnings. The earnings effect of the AEI for individuals with a weak position in the labor market is particularly poor, implying that the official target to assist those individuals appear not to have succeeded. Paper [III] employs data for those enrolled in 1997 as well as 1998 to study the annual wage earnings of 1999 and 2000 and data on attachment to branches of employment before and after program. Data on branches of employment indicate less mobility among the AEI participants. This is largely due to a stronger attachment to the public service sector. The analysis of wage earnings of the sample enrolled in 1997, indicate that the effects on wage earnings tended to be more advantageous for the AEI in 2000 rather than 1999, possibly implying a lag in the effects of the program.

When Sweden was hit by the massunemployment of the 1920s the preferred way of distributing the help to the unemployed was to engage them in publicly financed and run relief works. This dissertation investigates why the work approach made such a strong imprint on the Swedish unemployment policy. It also analyses why the work approach, viewed as a social political measure, to understand how it structured national, local and individual conditions. In previous research there has been a tendancy to treat the work approach as the only natural way to handle unemployment. A comparison with the British case has shown that there clearly existed other ways of dealing with the problem of unemployment, and hence that the work approach should be viewed as a deliberate chiose. The study has also shown that existing institutional arrangements do not in any binding way stake out the course for future policies, and that the conditions for adopting the work approach was not any more favourable in Sweden than in Britain. The explanation suggested here is that the unemployed was looked upon with greater mistrust in Sweden than in Britain. The study shows that the work approach was designed to enforce norms and values connected to work ethics, self-support and gender. To enforce the norm of self-support it both discouraged people from seeking help, with low wges and strict conditions, and by putting them to work if they did. To enforce the norm of the male breadwinner the relief jobs were reserved mainly for male breadwinners, and women were excluded from the eligibility to appaly for unemployment support. In spite of the National Unemployment Commission's rather stron hold over the work approach, much of the implementation was left to the local authorities. This rendered them a certain amount of freedom of action, which put them in a difficult position. The local authorities had to balance long term economic goals and short term immediate needs, they had to carefully weigh the interests of different preassure groups against national, local and individual interests. Despite the powers of the Commission it was very much up to each local council to decide what the experiences of the unemployed would be. People were, by the unemployment authorities, assigned to three main categories: unemployed deemed undeserving, those on cash support and the relief workers. Creating different categories meant that the unemployed were split up, and made it very difficult to organise the unemployed to a powerful opponent to the authorities. The dissertation has shown that the social dimension is important in addition to the economical and political if you want to understand the choice and effekts of the work approach. It has also shown that it was a choice made in spite of prevailing conditions. Finally it suggests that the creation of the work approach was the really ground breaking move in the unemployment policies of the inter.war period, and that the "new" policy of the 1930s, with relief salaries paid according to negotiated rates, was rather a minor revision of the existing polcy. The main reason for the relief works in 1930s, as well as in teh 1920s, was to test the willingness to work. the aim of the work approach was to get the unemployed to take a job at any cost, and the primary method to achieve thi goal was to put the unemployed to work - at any cost.

Work has a great influence on most of individuals in society. It influences both identity as well as the structure of the day. Unemployed people are often affected in a negative way through economic and psychological problems. In order to help people with reduced work capacity back to the labour market and decrease unemployment, the Labour Market Board works with vocational rehabilitation. The aim of this study is to investigate experiences of vocational rehabilitation within the Labour Market Board among unemployed people. A qualitative method was used by which interviews were made with 11 unemployed persons who participated in an investigation as a part of vocational rehabilitation within the Labour Market Board. The result shows both positive and negative experiences of the investigation period. The identified experiences were sorted into code groups: Support, Insight, Confidence in the investigation and result, Belief in the future, Motivation, and Participation. Both the actions of the personnel and the presence of the group members influenced the experiences. The support given by the personnel and how it is experienced is of great importance for the future of the unemployed. When the investigation was pursued during a short period of time, there was a lack of confidence in the investigation and result. A suggestions for future studies is to design a questionnaire that can be used in a larger study including a large number of individuals who are participating in vocational rehabilitation within the Labour Market Board.

<p>This study aimed at looking at children&rsquo / s perceptions of violence, exploring the experiences on child violence and lastly perceptions of children about intervention strategies in children&rsquo / s homes. The participants were sourced from the rehabilitation centres, at the children&rsquo / s homes in Khayelitsha. A manageable group of between 8 participants was used in the study. The participants were adolescents aged between 14-16 years old. The data was collected through individual interviews and was analysed in terms of thematic analysis. Each interview was tape recorded and transcribed. The ethics was taken into considerations from the onset process of recruitment, and for this reason the consent and assent letters were be provided and signed by both participants and care givers. Counselling support was provided for the participants. The common belief in this study was that the majority of the violence is found in the areas of their origin, which were the townships where they grew up. Generally, the participants held different beliefs on their sense of safety, which was related in the current area in which they live. The ultimate conclusions that have been drawn from the findings, suggest that children experience various difficulties and challenges, in their lives within children&rsquo / s home. Despite these challenges and difficulties that are encountered, participants appear to remain relatively contented with life in the home. Moreover, the participants also appeared to demonstrate a greater preference for living within the home over that of the previous living conditions from which they originate.</p>

This thesis consists of a summary and four papers. The first two papers are theoretical contributions within the area of optimal taxation and public expenditures under asymmetric information between the government and the private sector, and the last two are empirical contributions to the literature on local public expenditures. Paper [I] concerns the optimal use of publicly provided private goods in an economy with equilibrium unemployment. The paper points out that imperfect competition in the labor market gives rise to additional policy incentives associated with the self-selection constraint, which motivates adjustments in the public provision of private goods. It also addresses employment related motives behind publicly provided private goods. Paper [II] addresses optimal income and commodity taxation in a dynamic economy, where used durable goods are subject to second-hand trade. In our framework, the government is unable to directly control second-hand transactions via commodity taxation. We show how the appearance of a second-hand market affects the use of commodity taxation on the new durable goods as well as the use of income taxation. Paper [III] relates the existence and size of the flypaper effect to observable municipal characteristics. The analysis is based on a political economy model, which implies that the effect of a change in the tax base on the majority voter's tax share will be crucial for finding a flypaper effect. The empirical part is based on Swedish data on municipal expenditures and revenues for the period 1996-2004. The results show that the size of the flypaper effect varies among municipalities depending on the relative composition of grant and tax base. In Paper [IV], the composition of municipal expenditures in Sweden is analyzed by estimating a demand system for local public services, in which tax revenue collection is treated as endogenous. The estimation is based on the QAIDS specification and uses panel data for the period 1998-2005 and for six local public services. The results show that the point estimates of the income elasticities are positive (with one exception), whereas the point estimates of the own-price elasticities are negative and less than one.

Arbetslöshet är ett omfattande ämne med fokus på psykisk hälsa på grund av försämrad ekonomi. Psykisk ohälsa är ett svårdefinierat begrepp som bland annat innefattar sömnsvårigheter, ängslan och ångest. Under perioden 2004 till 2005 rapporterade arbetslösa individer i Sverige psykisk ohälsa i större utsträckning än arbetande individer. Att vara arbetslös och förälder till barn i förskoleåldern kan vara påfrestande. Studier som undersökt förskolans betydelse för arbetslösa föräldrar har påvisat positiva upplevelser av förskolan under självupplevd psykisk ohälsa. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka arbetslösa småbarnsföräldrars psykiska hälsa och deras upplevelser av hur öppna förskolan i Västerås påverkar den. Studiens metod var kvalitativ och totalt intervjuades fem föräldrar genom halvstrukturerad intervjuform. Intervjuerna analyserades genom innehållsanalys och studien visade att förändringen från arbete till arbetslöshet påverkade föräldrarnas psykiska hälsa negativt på grund av försämrad ekonomi. Barnen var en skyddande faktor för föräldrarnas psykiska hälsa trots den försämrade ekonomin. Föräldrarnas självkänsla försämrades under arbetslöshet och öppna förskolans betydelse upplevdes endast positiv, mestadels tack vare stödjande personal. Mer forskning om ämnet arbetslösa småbarnsföräldrars psykiska hälsa och öppna förskolans betydelse för dem är av stor vikt. / Unemployment is a huge subject with a focus on the change in mental health caused by a worsened economic situation. Poor mental health is a complex concept to define, for instance it include insomnia, nervousness and anxiety. During the period 2004 to 2005 it were reported that the amount of unemployed individuals in Sweden with poor mental health were greater than the amount of employed individuals with poor mental health. Being unemployed and the parent of a preschool child can be stressful. Studies that examined the importance of preschool for unemployed parents with poor mental health have shown positive experiences. The aim of this study was to examine unemployed parents’ mental health and the open preschools impact on it.  This study focus on parents with small children. The method of this study was qualitative and a total of five parents were interviewed by a semi-structured interview form. The interviews were analyzed with content analysis and the study showed that unemployed individuals got worse mental health caused by a worsened economic situation. In the worsened economic situation the children had a good impact on the parent’s mental health. The parents self-esteem was decreased during unemployment but the open preschool helped, most because the helpful personnel. More research on the subject of unemployed parents’ mental health and the impact of open preschool is of great importance.

Forskning kring arbetslöshet har ofta fokuserat på bemästringsstrategier (eng. coping strategies), men flera studier har även pekat på betydelsen av tron på den egna förmågan (eng. self-efficacy) och den kognitiva tolkningen (eng. cognitive appraisal) för valet av bemästringsstrategi. Genom att mäta individens tro på den egna förmågan, den kognitiva tolkningen och bemästringsstrategier syftar denna undersökning till att identifiera de faktorer som sannolikt leder till försämrad generell mental hälsa och längre tids arbetslöshet. I undersökningen deltog 194 arbetslösa som fick besvara en enkät. Resultatet visade att höga nivåer av de primära tolkningsdimensionerna hot och förlust tillsammans med låg tro på den egna förmågan relaterades till maladaptiva bemästringsstrategier, vilket kopplades till sämre generell mental hälsa och längre arbetslöshet. Både den primära tolkningen och tron på den egna förmågan är således fundamentala i processen att bemästra arbetslösheten.

The aim with this essay is to examine the individual's expectations in the meeting with a job coach. It has become all more common with job coaches, in order to meet the unemployment in the society. The survey builds on a quantitative method, where 29 individuals who are linked to a changeover-program towards new jobs, have replied to a questionnaire. The survey shows that the participants have expectations on the coach as a supporting function. There is also a trust to that the contact with a coach will lead to new employment. In conclusion, there is among some of the participants a view about that there is someone else than themselves that has a responsibility in order to reach employment.