Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This thesis gathered survey data to investigate American willingness to participate in short-time compensation programs and what attributes found in other countries’ programs they find palatable. Because multiple workers in similar states were surveyed online, the data show what various workers need from a short-time compensation program.

Building on the conceptual lens of Hero and Tolbert (1999), this study examines differences between policy restrictiveness in states with high minority populations and states with low minority populations for three policies areas: felony voting policies, Unemployment Insurance (UI) and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). This study examines whether states with minority populations greater than the national average have public policies that are more restrictive than states with minority populations at or below their national average and the patterns that emerged. Overall, I found higher levels of restrictive policies for states with high minority populations in the instances of felony voting policies and the Unemployment Insurance program. The findings imply a need for accountability and uniformity from the state to improve the outcomes for racial and ethnic minorities. / Ph. D.

This thesis covers two areas of the labour market not commonly studied in the context of discrimination: potential bias of job seekers against employers based on ethnicity and gender, and discrimination against employment seekers in the context of the unemployment insurance system. Utilizing survey experiments, both studies yield robust null results. Overall, these studies contribute to the understanding of discrimination dynamics in the labour market and welfare systems. Paper I shows that job seekers may not be motivated by discriminatory practices when seeking employment. However, more research is needed, and future work should be focused on natural experiments to prevent limitations similar to those in our study. Paper II highlights the importance of strict legal frameworks and of maintaining rigorous standards in public service delivery to mitigate discriminatory practices. / <p><strong>Funding:</strong> Swedish Unemployment Insurance Inspectorate</p>

任何一個制度或政策的形成，他國的實施經驗是相當重要的參考依據。我國就業保險制度從規劃至實際執行，加拿大就業保險制度的規劃方式與實施經驗一直都是我國重要的參考範例之一。本研究針對加拿大就業保險制度為研究對象，先探討加拿大就業保險制度形成之環境背景，研究該國失業狀況及就業保險制度之間的關聯，瞭解加拿大就業保險制度之發展過程，分析加拿大就業保險制度之運作方式及實施內涵，探討該國就業保險制度之實施對於該國人民以及經濟上的影響。並參考加拿大制度之實施經驗，比較分析我國新實施之就業保險制度，並觀察加拿大就業保險制度之優缺點，進而提供我國就業保險於未來可能之改進參考。 就目前加拿大就業保險制度之實施，本研究發現加拿大就業市場存在以下重要現象：(一)經濟景氣深受美國影響；(二) 勞動力老化與青壯年失業率持續居高不下；(三) 申請津貼者以部分工時者居多，以女性及初次就業青年為主；(四) 就業保險基金之帳戶餘額大幅增加。 加拿大就業保險制度有以下數點特色：一、在政策方面：(一)以特殊津貼的方式，加強對特定失業族群的社會扶助功能；(二)對詐領保險者的多重罰則，防止不當詐騙意圖；(三)嚴格限制津貼領取資格，強固就業保險基金之基礎。二、在執行方面：(一) 採用更準確的保險年資計算方式；(二) 更彈性的津貼申請與給付標準；(三)依據當地人口結構與經濟狀況規劃的行政組織；(四)獨立的保險督察機構。三、在財務規劃方面：(一)運用特殊基金創造就業機會；(二)保險費由雇主與勞工分攤，政府不另負擔。 而加拿大就業保險制度之優點為：一、就業促進措施發揮促進積極就業的功能；二、以工作時數為單位的保險年資計算，使投保資格更為公平準確；三、對於特定族群之特殊津貼給付有助於社會安定；四、因地制宜的行政組織，有效反映市場需求；五、由勞資政三方共同組成保險督察機構，可獨立且客觀的執行評估與監察功能；六、整合的資訊系統，使得就業資源的運用更有效率。缺點則是：一、津貼給付對象無法有效針對真正弱勢的失業族群；二、津貼給付對象過度限縮，就業保險基金大幅增加；三、保費僅來自雇主與勞工，缺乏穩定的支撐。 對加拿大之就業保險制度，本研究提出下列數項建議：一、放寬被保險人申請失業津貼的資格限制，造福更多失業者；二、修正津貼給付的方式，使資源集中在就業弱勢族群；三、修正保費支付額度與比例，以穩固就業保險基金來源。 同時，對我國就業保險之實施提出下列建議：壹、在制度方面：強化我國勞工行政體系，建立事權專一之就業保險制度；貳、在政策方面：強化就業保險之社會扶助功能、提高社會安定功能；參、在執行方面：一、採用更為彈性的資格認定方式，使資源有效分配；二、整合各部會機關之就業資訊網絡，使就業資訊更易於流通；三、避免過度限制津貼申請人的資格，以防止津貼給付之疏漏；四、強化就業服務機關的彈性，以利就業保險於各地之執行；五、持續就業保險的宣傳與教育。參、在財務面：調整現有的保費比例。

This thesis studies the effect of generosity of unemployment insurance on economic growth. More generous unemployment insurance is argued to cause an increase in unemployment on the one hand and better job match quality on the other. Our model shows that in the developed countries, there may be some level of unemployment insurance which ensures that the productivity gain offsets the loss due to higher unemployment. On the contrary, in the developing countries, any level of unemployment insurance was revealed to harm economic growth. Moreover, we present strong evidence in favour of a positive effect of unemployment insurance on the aggregate productivity growth. Key words: Unemployment Insurance, Distance to Frontier, Endogenous Growth Model, Technology Growth, Economic Growth

La thèse étudie les liens qui existent entre les recommandations issues de la littérature sur l'assurance chômage optimale et la qualité des emplois repris par les chômeurs. Nous nous intéressons en particulier à une dimension de la qualité de l'emploi qu'est la stabilité des emplois dans un contexte où les contrats de courte voire de très courte durée sont en pleine expansion en France. En utilisant les modèles théoriques de recherche d'emploi et d'appariement, nous analysons la manière dont les caractéristiques de l'assurance chômage affectent la stabilité des emplois repris. La particularité de notre analyse consiste à intégrer la manière dont les employés sont influencés par les paramètres de l'assurance chômage. En effet, si l'on souhaite analyser de manière globale l'impact des paramètres du système d'indemnisation sur l'évolution du taux de chômage, il convient de déterminer comment ces derniers influencent le taux de sortie du chômage (analyse du comportement des demandeurs d'emploi) mais aussi comment ils affectent le taux d'entrée au chômage (analyse du comportement des employés). Pour étudier le comportement des employés nous considérons que ces derniers influencent leur probabilité de conserver leur emploi en fournissant des efforts de rétention d'emploi. Nous montrons notamment que les chômeurs qui quittent rapidement le chômage retrouvent fréquemment des emplois peu stables. Une fois en emploi, ils exercent relativement peu d'efforts pour conserver leur emploi augmentant par là même leur probabilité de retourner rapidement au chômage. L'impact final d'une réduction du montant de l'indemnisation sur l'évolution du chômage est donc indéterminé dès lors que l'on intègre les employés dans l'analyse. / The thesis studies the relationships between the Optimal Unemployment Insurance (UI) literature recommendations and post unemployment job stability. We focus on one particular job quality dimension that is job stability within a context of a huge increase of very short duration job contracts in France since the 2000’s. Using job search and matching frameworks, we analyse how the features of the UI system affect job stability. The particularity of our approach is that we account for employees’ behaviors while the majority of the literature on optimal UI focuses only on jobless workers behaviors. We show notably that job-seekers who leave quickly unemployment tend to find unstable jobs. Once employed they have a greater probability to return to unemployment because the job-retention efforts they exert are not sufficient.

In the literature on the emergence of the welfare state, the strength of trade unions and the organized working class is often touted as the primary driving force behind the welfare state project. Furthermore, much of the previous literature has tended to assume union homogeneity across countries, federations, industries and professions. What is conspicuously lacking from the current political science literature is a systematic analysis of real-world trade unions’ choice of labor market advocacy focus. Using a qualitative approach and studying both published union material as well as conducting a number of elite interviews with high-level union officials, this thesis studies the degree to which Swedish trade unions’ labor market policy preferences are defined by the union members’ labor market risk exposure and whether the union adheres to white-collar or blue-collar unionism. While the conclusions indeed suggest that labor market risk and blue-collar/white-collar unionism do have a systematic impact on cartain aspects of trade unions’ labor market advocacy, future “large N” studies utilizing alternative methodological approaches will be required to draw more easily generalizable conclusions.

根據行政院主計處2009年人力資源調查統計顯示，當年度自營作業人口約為一百三十三萬餘人，約占我國就業人口百分之十三的比例，高出歐美國家許多，由於國人普遍存在「寧為雞首不為牛後」的文化心態，故自營作業者為我國勞工就業時重要的選項之一。過去，自營作業者一直被當作衡量國家經濟發展落後的指標，這類人口不論是在勞動條件或社會保障方面，向來較不受重視，然而隨著貿易自由化與產業結構轉變的衝擊，農林漁牧業能吸納的就業人口逐漸減少，勞動市場所提供的正職工作也持續減少，在失業率攀升的壓力下，先進國家開始重視自營作業者吸納失業人口、調節勞動市場供需的功能，為了鼓勵失業或一般受僱勞工開創自己的就業機會，近年來歐洲國家已經逐步改善自營作業者的社會安全保障，以降低勞工投入自營作業的風險。 有鑑於自營作業者對我國就業市場之重要性，以及國際間積極改善自營作業者社會保險條件的趨勢，本研究遂以建構我國完善的自營作業者社會保障制度為目的，分別從勞工保險、職災保險與就業保險三方面，分析我國現行社會保險制度所存在之問題與缺失，再針對相關問題提出解決建議。本研究採取深度訪談的方式，瞭解自營作業者參加勞工保險的經驗與實務上所面臨的問題，更進一步透過訪談瞭解自營作業者對於本身失業風險的認知以及參加就業保險的意願。此外，本研究也透過比較研究的方式，進而瞭解其他國家對於自營作業者社會保障所採取的作法，以作為我國自營作業者社會保險政策調整方向之參考。 研究發現，我國自營作業者在勞工保險方面存在以下問題：一、勞工保險所主張的「申報主義」制度，並未一體適用於自營作業者；二、自營作業者投保資格審查責任未作明確劃分；三、自營作業者投保薪資調整的作法可能產生公平性的疑慮；在職災保險方面，目前自營作業者參加職災保險存在著職災保險給付與第三人不法行為損害賠償兼得之問題；在就業保險方面，研究發現自營作業者同樣存在著失業的風險，風險可能來自於景氣影響、同業之間的競爭或是從業地點變動等因素，加上自營作業者普遍具有教育程度偏低和中高齡的特徵，在學歷與年齡的雙重限制下，自營作業者一旦退出自營作業部門，就可能因為轉業困難而導致長期失業，甚至被迫退出勞動市場。 最後，本研究針對目前自營作業者社會保險制度相關問題，分別提出以下建議，包括勞工保險的投保資格審查作業應明確授權由職業工會行使；輔導自營作業者辦理營業登記，以實際所得作為投保薪資調整依據；勞工保險條例應增列保險人代位權之規定；將自營作業者納入就業保險之保障對象；以營業登記之註銷或繳回相關執業證照，作為自營作業者失業之認定標準。

The experience of unemployment puts individuals at risk of long-term negative scarring and the longer the unemployment spell, the greater the risk of negative scarring. In Sweden, labour market policies aim at reducing such risks in the form of unemployment benefits, active matching and active labour market policy programmes (ALMPs). However, there is frequent discussion regarding the extent to which these kinds of policies actually reduce the risk of negative scarring. It is often argued that the programmes are of poor quality, particularly during economic downturns, and participants are often not motivated for the task. Likewise, it is claimed that unemployment insurance tends to counteract a quick return to the regular labour market. One problem related to labour market policies is that it has been difficult to examine the impact of such policies. Studies often present results that appear scattered due to differences in what is actually being measured and methodological problems. The uniqueness of this thesis is that it is based on a large-scale longitudinal register of data that has provided important empirical information regarding the long-term effects of labour market policy investments. The quality of data has also enabled the use of evaluation techniques which largely can help to reduce the uncertainty of the findings. More precisely, the research questions examine (1) in what way the level of unemployment benefit functions as protection against unemployment scarring, (2) in what way the ALMPs protect long-term unemployed people from long-term unemployment scarring, (3) at what point in a business cycle the ALMPs are efficient and finally, (4) for whom do the ALMPs function to reduce the risk of negative scarring. In this thesis, scarring effects are measured as the risk of labour market exit, the risk of labour market instability and the risk of future negative wage trajectories. The methods used in most studies are Cox regressions in combination with instrumental variable analysis (the Heckman two-step procedure). The empirical findings indicate that ALMPs worked well to reduce such negative effects both in times of booms (1999) and recessions (1993) and particularly among the youngest and oldest actors on the labour market. They also function particularly well for people with a low level of education. However, it is important not to exclude unemployed people who have a high level of education, in the belief that ALMPs have nothing to offer them, since such people are particularly helped by ALMPs as regards reducing the risk of future labour market instability. It was also found that generous unemployment benefit helped to reduce the risk of future negative wage scarring. In addition to these findings, some mechanisms were identified which proved to be important tools for transforming policies into valuable resources for the unemployed. In this thesis, the value of the findings of these mechanisms is discussed from the perspective of the capability approach. Even if the same investments were made in all unemployed persons, the participants would respond differently to the investment. Some reasons for the inequality in outcomes were found within the programmes and were due to heterogeneity in the unemployment group but some reasons can actually be explained by the converters (mechanisms) that were identified in the studies. Thus, the results emphasise the importance of investing in labour market policies, particularly during economic downturns. This is the time when cuts in unemployment benefit do not help the unemployed back to the labour market since there are very few available jobs to apply for. It is also the time when the long-term unemployed should participate in ALMP-training in order to be prepared for new challenges when the labour market improves again. As a matter of fact, the results show that skills from ALMP-training have a bridging effect which indicates that these skills will be valuable on the labour market for at least another five years after the year of investment. The findings in this thesis are controversial since they differ from most research findings from the beginning of the 1990s which point to poor micro level outcomes. However, the long-term approach of this thesis is the main explanation for these new and different results.  It is argued here that a long-term approach is needed to find out the long-term effects because ALMP participation, particularly ALMP-training, is meant to be a long-term investment in human capital. A long period of time needs to pass between ALMP-investment and evaluation before the effects can show. Reported effects from ALMP investments at the beginning of the 1990s have often been measured on a short-term basis. It is not suggested that short-term effects should be ignored but it is argued that a short-term analysis provides only a fragmental description of reality, and long-term effects should be given greater priority than is usually the case since they affect the labour market prospects of the individuals over a long period of time. This thesis dispels the “myth” about the negative effects generated from ALMPs during the 1990s.

This paper describes the rules of the Swedish unemployment insurance as regards the demands on the individual, the obligation posed on the individual based on these demands and the considerations taken by the law regarding the specific situation and personal circumstances of the individual. Special attention is paid to the demand to be available to the labour market and what is considered suitable employment from the viewpoint of geographical mobility. This paper treats “Arbetslinjen” (Everyone able to work, thereby contributing to his/her own and others' support, shall have the opportunity to do so.), and the amendments of ALF, the law (1997:238) about unemployment insurance, that became active between 1/1 2007 and 1/1 2008, since many alterations were introduced in this period. The result illustrates the demands posed on the individual for him/her to be entitled to unemployment benefit, and the far-reaching demands posed on the unemployed for him/her to be considered available to the labour market from the viewpoint of geographical mobility. The result also shows some of the specific situations and personal circumstances of the individual taken into consideration, but since the amendments are as recent as 1.5 years, the list can not be considered complete, as practice is limited in this field. This paper also treats the Official Employment Agency's monitoring function of the unemployed's willingness to work, and the effect of the regulations not being followed as strictly as per the letter of the law by the Employment Agency officers, leading to insecurity regarding the rights of the individual. / Denna uppsats beskriver reglerna i den svenska arbetslöshetsförsäkringen vad det gäller de krav som ställs på individen, de skyldigheter som åligger individen utifrån dessa krav och den hänsyn lagstiftningen tar till individuella förutsättningar och personliga förhållanden. Särskild uppmärksamhet fästs vid kraven att stå till arbetsmarknadens förfogande och vad som är ett lämpligt arbete utifrån perspektivet geografisk rörlighet. Uppsatsen behandlar Arbetslinjen och de ändringar i ALF som trätt i kraft mellan den 1 januari 2007 och den 1 januari 2008 eftersom en mängd förändringar införts under denna tid. Resultatet belyser några av de krav som ställs på den enskilde för att han eller hon skall ha rätt till arbetslöshetsersättning samt de långtgående krav som ställs för att den arbetssökande skall anses stå till arbetsmarknadens förfogande utifrån perspektivet geografisk rörlighet. Resultatet belyser också några av de hänsyn som tas till individuella förutsättningar och personliga förhållanden, men eftersom förändringarna inte är äldre än 1,5 år kan listan inte sägas vara uttömmande då praxis är begränsad inom området. I uppsatsen behandlas även Arbetsförmedlingens kontrollfunktion av de arbetssökandes arbetsvilja och några effekter av att regelverket inte efterlevs så strikt som lagen säger bland arbetsförmedlarna, vilket leder till en rättsosäkerhet för individen.