The main focus of this thesis is the employment decisions of firms. The thesis consists of three self-contained but closely related essays, all enlightening employment dynamics in different ways. The thesis is mainly empirical but there are also some theoretical developments when existing theory is insufficient to explain the empirical findings. The impact on employment of product market conditions and labor market conditions facing firms are investigated. The results suggest that product demand has a robust impact on firms’ employment dynamics, but also the market price, the wage costs, and the matching between vacancies and unemployed workers seem to matter. The empirical evidence of the relevance of imperfect competition in the product market is important, particularly since most research on labor market dynamics has assumed perfect competition. The results with respect to matching of vacancies and unemployed workers contradict the standard search and matching model as well as simple efficiency-wage or bargaining models with wage rigidity and excess supply but no frictions in the labor market. A richer model of the labor market is needed to explain the results, including on-the-job search and perhaps more heterogeneity between employed and unemployed workers. Essay I, “What are the Determinants of Hiring? - The Role of Demand and Supply Factors”, studies the importance of demand and supply factors for hiring in local labor markets. Essay II, “Vacancy Matching and Labor Market Conditions”, studies the probability of filling a vacancy, how it varies with the number of unemployed and the number of vacancies in the local labor market, and what impact it has on firms’ employment dynamics. Essay III, “The Dynamics of Firms’ Factor Demand”, studies firm-level adjustments of employment, the capital stock, and inventories in response to exogenous shocks theoretically and empirically. These three decisions have typically been studied one at the time, but here they are studied together in a way which allows for interactions and a better understanding of firm behavior.

This thesis is about Charlotte Whitton’s advisory role to Conservative Prime Minister R.B. Bennett during the summer and fall of 1932 researching and producing the only official report on unemployment and relief ever commissioned by the Bennett administration during the Great Depression. By 1932, the collapse of Bennett’s previous relief policies convinced him to reconsider his approach to relief. At Bennett’s behest, Charlotte Whitton, one of Canada’s most prominent social workers, undertook a June to August tour of Western Canada, observing how each province experienced and dealt with unemployment and relief. Whitton then prepared a report for Bennett which informed him of her observations and made specific recommendations for how Canada’s relief system could be reformed. Her final product, however, was far from an impartial policy document. As this thesis argues, Whitton’s report was a biased document which reveals as much about Whitton’s personal ideology and professional ambitions as it does the conditions facing the Western provinces; the observations and suggestions contained within it were heavily conditioned by Whitton’s pre-existing belief in social and fiscal conservatism. Although Whitton’s tour allowed her a first-hand view of the amount of poverty and despair faced by Canada’s unemployed, as this thesis argues, her beliefs conditioned her response and nothing she encountered changed her hard-line, traditionalist approach to relief. Yet, while Whitton’s report reveals much about its author, as this thesis contends, an analysis of Bennett’s reaction to it also sheds light on Bennett’s approach to unemployment and relief during this time. His commissioning of the report marks a moment three years before his New Deal legislation when Bennett pondered reforming the relief system. Yet, instead of taking action, Bennett did nothing to change the status quo. While Whitton’s conservative report certainly agreed with his personal assessment of relief and unemployment in Canada, her central suggestion, that professional social workers be placed in charge of Canada’s relief system at all levels to increase efficiency and curtail abuse, was still too costly for Bennett to implement. His failure to seize on this earlier opportunity to introduce a solution to Canada’s unemployment issues challenges the sincerity of his New Deal legislation, and his claims to support reform.

The main goal of this Masters thesis is to analyse the unemployment problem of the discriminated work force groups in Vilnius city and to propose the possible ways for increasing the unemployment. In theoritical part of the unemployment in Lithuania is being compared with the EU-15 countries. The situation of discriminated work force groups in Vilnius labor market is rewiewed. The author also analyses the grounds for unemployment occurence and the outcomes it may couse.

The unemployment is one of the greatest social problems not only in Lithuania, but probably in whole world. There is no country, which totally solved this problem, therefore the subject of employment is topical not only to the law science of Lithuania, but to the whole society in general. The objective of the master thesis is to examine and evaluate the competence of the EU and Lithuanian institutions in the area of employment, to identify the main problems, that these institutions face while implementing their powers and to suggest possible solutions for these problems. The author analyses the background and the development of the employment policy in the European Union and in the Republic of Lithuania. The competence of the institutions of the European Union and the Republic of Lithuania is also presented and examined in this master thesis. The unemployment is one of the greatest social problems not only in Lithuania, but probably in whole world. There is no country, which totally solved this problem, therefore the subject of employment is topical not only to the law science of Lithuania, but to the whole society in general. The objective of the master thesis is to examine and evaluate the competence of the EU and Lithuanian institutions in the area of employment, to identify the main problems, that these institutions face while implementing their powers and to suggest possible solutions for these problems. The author analyses the background and the development of the... [to full text]

Darbo tikslas. Įvertinti Kauno miesto bedarbių nuomonę apie prieinamumą sveikatos priežiūros paslaugoms ir pasitenkinimą jomis. Tyrimo metodika. Tyrimas buvo atliekamas Kauno mieste 2012 m. kovo – balandžio mėnesį. Tiriamąjį kontingentą sudarė tuo laikotarpiu Kauno teritorinėje darbo biržoje besilankantys darbo neturintys, darbingo amžiaus asmenys. Iš viso gautos 448 tinkamai užpildytos anketos (atsako dažnis – 58,0 proc.). Statistinė duomenų analizė buvo atlikta naudojant SPSS programos 17.0 versiją. Rezultatai. Dauguma (61,1 proc.) bedarbių savo sveikatą vertino teigiamai, tačiau ilgalaikiai bedarbiai vertino ženkliai blogiau, negu trumpalaikiai. 45,1 proc. bedarbių neoficialiai mokėjo už sveikatos priežiūros paslaugas. Ilgalaikiai bedarbiai statistiškai reikšmingai dažniau turėjo finansinių sunkumų perkant reikiamus vaistus, lyginant su trumpalaikiais. Ketvirtadalis respondentų teigė patyrę diskriminaciją iš sveikatos priežiūros personalo. Dauguma pacientų palankiai vertino (58,2 proc.) paslaugų teikimą pirminėje sveikatos priežiūros gydymo įstaigose Ilgalaikiai bedarbiai kritiškiau vertino pasitenkinimą sveikatos priežiūros paslaugomis nei trumpalaikiai. Privačioje sveikatos priežiūros įstaigoje prisiregistravę respondentai, buvo labiau patenkinti suteiktomis paslaugomis, negu valstybinėje įstaigoje. Išvados. Dauguma darbo neturinčių asmenų, teigiamai atsiliepė apie sveikatos priežiūros paslaugų prieinamumą ir gydytojo – paciento bendravimo apsektus, tačiau pasitenkinimas... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of the study. To evaluate satisfaction and accessibility to health care services among unemployed population in Kaunas city. Methods. The data was collected in cross – sectional study, in 2012. We received 448 filled-in questionnaires (response rate – 58.0%) from unemployed persons, who were attending the Kaunas labor market office (Lithuania). The statistical analysis of data was performed using statistical package SPSS Statistics 17.0. Results. The majority (61.1 %) of unemployed evaluated their health positively. However, long–term unemployed persons rated their health status more negatively, then short term unemployed ones. 45.1% of unemployed made non–official payments to health care providers. Long-term unemployed has experienced more financial difficulties in purchasing the necessary medication, compared with short–term ones. One quarter of respondents reported episodes of discrimination from health care staff. The majority of unemployed (58.2 %) were satisfied with health care services. Short–term unemployed were more satisfied with health care, then long–term ones. Clients of private medical health care facilities were more satisfied with the quality and accessibility of health care service, comparing with those from public health units. Conclusions. The majority of respondents were satisfied with quality of health care services. Higher satisfaction has been observed among short-term unemployed, comparing with long–term ones. The results showed that short–term... [to full text]

Studiens syfte är att undersöka relationen mellan unga arbetslösa och kriminalitet, så kallad ungdomsbrottslighet. Studiens fokus ligger på relationen mellan arbetslöshet och kriminalitet enligt professionellas perspektiv och hur detta stämmer överens med tidigare forskning. Empirin har inhämtats genom kvalitativa intervjuer och analyserats med stigma som huvudsakligt perspektiv. Resultatet i studien tyder på att arbetslösheten har en stor inverkan på kriminalitet. Dock spelar flera andra faktorer in, såsom boende, hälsa, utbildning och uppväxt. Slutsatsen är att alla olika delar påverkar varandra och skapar en helhet samt att problemområdet är komplext, utanförskapet är genomgående. / The study’s purpose is to examine the relation between youth unemployment and crime, so called youth crime. The focus of the study lies on the relation between unemployment and crime according to professionals’ perspective and how this confirms with former research. The empirical has been collected through qualitative interviews and analysed with stigma as main theory. The result of the study indicates that unemployment has a big impact on crime. However, there are several other parts involved, such as residence, health, education and upbringing. The conclusion is that all parts affects one and another and creates the bigger picture plus that the problematic area is complex, alienation is pervasive.

Pasitelkiant mišriojo tipo nuosekliąją tiriamąją tyrimo strategiją disertacijoje nagrinėjamas bedarbystės patyrimo fenomenas bei atskleidžiamos bedarbystės patyrimo ir psichologinės gerovės sąsajos. Bedarbystės patyrimui analizuoti naudojamas iki šiol postsovietinėse šalyse empiriškai netikrintas teorinis M. Jahoda (1982) deprivacijos modelis, kurį sudaro šie komponentai (modelyje vadinami netiesioginėmis darbo naudomis): aktyvi veikla, laiko struktūra, socialiniai kontaktai, statusas bei kolektyvinis tikslas. Atlikus reprezentatyvų populiacijos tyrimą, M. Jahoda deprivacijos modelis patvirtintas Lietuvoje. Rasta, kad netiesioginės darbo naudos bei tiesioginė nauda teigiamai prognozuoja bedarbių psichologinę gerovę (optimalų funkcionavimą, subjektyviai suvokiamą gerą psichinę sveikatą bei subjektyviai suvokiamą gerą fizinę sveikatą). Kokybinių tyrimų radinių analizė atskleidė, kad bedarbystės patyrimo fenomenas pasireiškia kaip kokybiniai socialinių santykių, statuso ir identifikacijos, tikslų kūrimo, dienos struktūros, aktyvumo bei psichologinės gerovės pokyčiai. / Using sequential exploratory design of mixed-methods approach the phenomenon of unemployment experience and its relation with psychological well-being is analyzed in dissertation. Theoretical Jahoda’s (1982) deprivation model (composed of so called latent functions of employment – activity, time structure, social contact, status, and collective purpose), which has not been empirically tested in post-Soviet countries so far, is invoked for analysis of unemployment experience. Based on the results of a representative population study, Jahoda’s model was confirmed in Lithuania. Latent employment functions and manifest function positively predict psychological well-being (optimal functioning, subjectively perceived good mental health, and subjectively perceived good physical health) of the unemployed people. Analysis of the results of qualitative studies revealed that the phenomenon of unemployment experience manifests as qualitative changes in social relationships, status and identification, goal setting, daily structure, activity and psychological well-being.

The findings of this thesis are somewhat at variance with the literature on Canadian public policy. The literature tends to accord primary importance in the federal policy-making process to forces such as political parties, bureaucratic groups, pressure groups, and the provinces. This study demonstrates that the political leadership of an individual cabinet minister and, subsequently, the political leadership of the government as a whole were of primary importance in the development of unemployment insurance policy in the 1970's. The policy interests of political leadership took precedence over those of other forces in the policy-making process. Moreover, the input of other forces with the exception of political parties, was negligible. Political leadership required the support of sympathizers within the major political parties to exercise leadership functions of surveillance and legitimation. / Bryce Mackasey, who introduced a new program in 1971, carried out these leadership functions so effectively that he became an agent of policy reform. Mackasey exercised surveillance over the policy-making activities of his public servants and legitimized the scheme to opponents within the major political parties, other bureaucratic groups, and the provinces. However, during the amending process, the government as a whole was not required to exercise surveillance but it successfully legitimized its policy interests to the same forces.

A lo largo de los ultimos diez años los economistas hemos reconocido que en muchos casos las decisiones individuales se ven afectadas por las decisiones, los comportamientos las preferencias de otros agentes no solamente atraves del mercado sino tambien directamente por imitacion o aprendimiento, por el desarrollo de reglas sociales compartidas, por la difusion de informacion. Muchos estudios han estudiado estos mecanismos en varios contextos. Entre otros destacan la educacion, el mercado laboral, la criminalidad, las habitudines sanitarias. La relevancia de estos efectos de neighborhood es positiva y normativa a la vez. Por un lado, su existencia contribuye a la comprension de la extrema variabilidad de algunos fenomenos economicos entre grupos de individuos aparentemente homogeneos. Por otro lado, su existencia es una componente fundamental para el desarollo de intervenciones eficientes por parte del policy maker. Los estudios de la tesis analizan estos efectos en el contexto de las decisiones esscolares y en el mercado laboral. En el primer capitulo se muestra como la decision y el exito en completar la educacion segundaria por parte de los varones adolescentes afecta positivamente la de las mujeres de la misma edad residentes en las mismas ciudades. La muestra campionaria utilizada permite conlcuir que la correlacion entre los exitos de los varones y de las mujeres corresponde de hecho a una relacion causal entre las dos variables. Se concluye que cualquier intervencion que consiga aumentar la probabilidad de completar los estudios segundarios de los varones del uno por ciento tendrà como consequencia tambien un aumento de la probabilidad de las mujeres adolescentes de completar estos estudios entre 0.6 y 0.7 por ciento. En el segundo capitulo se evaluan los efectos sobre la durada del paro de pertenecer a un grupo social mas amplio.

Traditional macroeconometric models of the Australian economy estimate the behaviour of wage and price inflation separately, thereby ignoring the possibility that there is a contemporaneous relationship between these two variables. This thesis follows a recent trend emerging in other small open economies, such as the UK and Norway, which is to estimate the behaviour of wage and price inflation in a simultaneous-equations model. In order to capture the behaviour of the major variables which drive wages and prices, a complete model is constructed which embeds these important transmission channels. The model is developed in three stages. First, underpinned by a theoretical framework of a unionized economy with imperfect competition, the core wage- price system is developed whereby consumer prices and average weekly earnings are jointly estimated in a simultaneous-equations framework. Particular atten- tion is given to estimating two identified cointegrating relationships for wages and prices. These equations are interpreted as the long-run targets of workers and firms respectively and are embedded in a parsimonious system of short-run dynamics which drive wages and prices towards their long-run levels. Second, llie behaviour of llie main feedback variables driving llie wage-price system is modelled, with particular attention given to the unemployment rate. While several of the most recent models of unemployment show that the aggregate unemployment rate in Australia does indeed behave differently during periods of low and high unemployment, none can explain what drives the unemployment rate to increase at such a rapid rate and what contributes to its much slower decrease. Another central issue of this thesis, therefore, is to propose a rationale for this as yet unexplained phenomenon. The remaining behavioural variables in the model, including aggregate labour productivity, domestic output and the real exchange rate, are all estimated in a single-equation framework. Third, these equations are then combined with a number of important identi- ties and an interest-rate reaction function to close the model. Then, the impacts of several simulated economic scenarios on Australia's economic landscape are considered. Special emphasis is given to analysing the impact of a large nomi- nal wage shock. The outcomes from these simulated scenarios are pertinent to understanding the inflation process and have important implications for a small open economy like Australia with an explicit inflation target. Overall, the major result to emerge from this thesis is that there is significant statistical support for the hypothesis that wage and price inflation in Australia are jointly determined. This phenomenon has not yet been fully exploited in current macroeconometric models of the Australian economy. The modelling exercise also reveals that the Australian unemployment rate is linear in demand and labour productivity shocks, with nonlinear behaviour caused by real wage rigidity and generous unemployment benefits. Importantly, this simple model is able to simulate the behaviour of the Australian economy extremely well. The outcome from the policy scenarios is clear: both demand-side and supply-side shocks have real and nominal effects on the economy in the short- to medium- run, ceteris paribus. Moreover, a large nominal wage shock to the economy, which results in a real wage rise, will have no sustained effect on the level of domestic activity in the economy, the inflation rate or the real exchange rate. Unemployment is, however, pushed slightly above equilibrium in the short- to medium-run due to a sustained higher real wage level.