April 2020 issue of the Journal of Population Economics published.

New issue publishedLink to articles

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Understanding Teacher Labor Markets in Developing Countries

A new GLO Discussion Paper studies how markets and non-market institutions determine the quantity, wages, skills, and spatial distribution of teachers in developing countries.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 473, 2020

Teacher Labor Markets in Developing Countries Download PDF
by
Crawfurd, Lee & Pugatch, Todd

GLO Fellow Todd Pugatch

Author Abstract: The types of workers recruited into teaching and their allocation across classrooms can greatly influence a country’s stock of human capital. This paper considers how markets and non-market institutions determine the quantity, wages, skills, and spatial distribution of teachers in developing countries. Schools are a major source of employment in developing countries, particularly for women and professionals. Teacher compensation is also a large share of public budgets. Teacher labor markets in developing countries are likely to grow further as teacher quality becomes a greater focus of education policy, including under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Theoretical approaches to teacher labor markets have emphasized the role of non-market institutions, such as government and unions, and other frictions in teacher employment and wages. The evidence supports the existence and importance of such frictions in how teacher labor markets function. In many countries, large gaps in pay and quality exist between teachers and other professionals; teachers in public and private schools; teachers on permanent and temporary contracts; and teachers in urban and rural areas. Teacher supply increases with wages, though teacher quality does not necessarily increase. However, most evidence comes from studies of short-term effects among existing teachers. Evidence on effects in the long-term, on the supply of new teachers, or on changes in non-pecuniary compensation is scarcer.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers)Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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What explains gender gaps in wellbeing?

A new GLO Discussion Paper finds wellbeing gender gaps in South Africa are explained mainly by gender differences in endowments.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 472, 2020

Women’s optimism, the gender happiness equaliser: a case of South AfricaDownload PDF
by
Greyling, Talita & Fisher, Bianca

GLO Fellow Talita Greyling

Author Abstract: This paper investigates whether there is co-movement in subjective wellbeing (swb) gender gaps and objective wellbeing (owb) gender gaps over time and whether swb gender gaps are caused by gender differences in endowments or by the different ways men and women value the pre-mentioned. This is important, as global goals and national policy focus on the improvement of owb gender equality, ignoring the importance of swb gender equality. We use the NIDS dataset, comparing 2008 and 2017 data, and employ the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition method in the analysis. We find i) the trends in owband swb gender gaps are unrelated and ii) the swb gender gaps are explained mainly by gender differences in endowments, but in 2017, due to women’s “optimism”, notwithstanding their lower levels of endowments, the swb between genders was equalised. These results indicate the need for a swb gender equality policy.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers)Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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Labour-saving robots: origins and impacts.

A new GLO Discussion Paper shows that labour-saving innovations challenge manual activities (e.g. in the logistics sector), activities entailing social intelligence (e.g. in the healthcare sector) and cognitive skills (e.g. learning and predicting).

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 471, 2020

Robots and the origin of their labour-saving impact – Download PDF
by
Montobbio, Fabio & Staccioli, Jacopo & Virgillito, Maria Enrica & Vivarelli, Marco

GLO Fellows Fabio Montobbio, Maria Enrica Virgillito & Marco Vivarelli

Author Abstract: This paper investigates the presence of explicit labour-saving heuristics within robotic patents. It analyses innovative actors engaged in robotic technology and their economic environment (identity, location, industry), and identifies the technological fields particularly exposed to labour-saving innovations. It exploits advanced natural language processing and probabilistic topic modelling techniques on the universe of patent applications at the USPTO between 2009 and 2018, matched with ORBIS (Bureau van Dijk) firm-level dataset. The results show that labour-saving patent holders comprise not only robots producers, but also adopters. Consequently, labour-saving robotic patents appear along the entire supply chain. The paper shows that labour-saving innovations challenge manual activities (e.g. in the logistics sector), activities entailing social intelligence (e.g. in the healthcare sector) and cognitive skills (e.g. learning and predicting).

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers)Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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How to deal with Youth Transition Challenges in critical times? Interdisciplinary conference supported by the GLO had debated this over two intensive days in Geneva.

Youth Transitions to the labor market and society: A Global Interdisciplinary Policy Research Conference discussed the challenges in Geneva/Switzerland on February 20-21, 2020 under the leadership of GLO Policy Director Azita Berar. A number of GLO Fellows were participating, including Mohamed Ali Marouani, Ruttiya Bhulaor, Francesco Pastore and GLO President Klaus F. Zimmermann.

The initiative correspondence to the GLO Research Cluster on School-to-Work-Transitions lead by Francesco Pastore, which had recently organized and published two 2019 special issues in the International Journal of Manpower (details).

GLO was supporting the Global Interdisciplinary Policy Research Conference on Youth Transitions, which was organized at the Center for Finance and Development of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies. The event brought together researchers from academia across disciplines with policy practitioners across public and private stakeholders, to  review the state of policy research and debate on youth transitions.

Multiple dimensions of youth transitions were discussed: the crises in school to work transition and future of work prospects for young people; youth transitions in situations of conflict and peace-building; and youth participation in civic and political spheres. Detailed program of the event.

The Conference also launched the Global Network of Policy Research on Youth Transitions that will promote and partner for expanded policy and research interface on priority issues. For partnerships and contributions to the debate and to the Global Network, please contact GLO Policy Director Azita Berar.

Some selective pictures from the first conference day below.

GLO Policy Director Azita Berar

Anthony Mann (OECD), Mohamed Ali Marouani (IRD & GLO), Klaus F. Zimmermann (GLO), Irina Burak (Moscow) & Dominic Richardson (UNICEF INNOCENTI)

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Ethnic Attrition, Assimilation, and the Measured Health Outcomes of Mexican Americans

A new GLO Discussion Paper finds for the USA that ethnic attrition biases conventional estimates of health disparities between Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites as well as those between Mexican Americans and recent Mexican immigrants.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 470, 2020

Ethnic Attrition, Assimilation, and the Measured Health Outcomes of Mexican AmericansDownload PDF
by
Antman, Francisca M., & Duncan, Brian & Trejo, Stephen J.

GLO Fellow Francisca Antman

Author Abstract: The literature on immigrant assimilation and intergenerational progress has sometimes reached surprising conclusions, such as the puzzle of immigrant advantage which finds that Hispanic immigrants sometimes have better health than U.S.-born Hispanics. While numerous studies have attempted to explain these patterns, almost all studies rely on subjective measures of ethnic selfidentification to identify immigrants’ descendants. This can lead to bias due to “ethnic attrition,” which occurs whenever a U.S.-born descendant of a Hispanic immigrant fails to self-identify as Hispanic. In this paper, we exploit information on parents’ and grandparents’ place of birth to show that Mexican ethnic attrition, operating through intermarriage, is sizable and selective on health, making subsequent generations of Mexican immigrants appear less healthy than they actually are. Consequently, conventional estimates of health disparities between Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites as well as those between Mexican Americans and recent Mexican immigrants have been significantly overstated.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers)Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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How oil prize booms may cause well-being losses. Results from Kazakhstan.

A new GLO Discussion Paper documents that an oil price boom may trigger dissatisfaction with one’s income, and that this dissatisfaction is independent of the effect of the boom on real economic conditions. Using data from Kazakhstan, it seems that the oil price boom creates a gap between people’s expectations of the benefits from the boom and the observed economic conditions.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 469, 2020

Inflated Expectations and Commodity Prices: Evidence from Kazakhstan – Download PDF
by 
Girard, Victoire & Kudebayeva, Alma & Toews, Gerhard

GLO Fellow Victoire Girard

Author Abstract: We document that an oil price boom triggers dissatisfaction with one’s income, and that this dissatisfaction is independent of the effect of the boom on real economic conditions. Unique data from Kazakhstan allows us to exploit time, sectoral and spatial variation to identify the impact of the recent oil boom on reported satisfaction with income. Oil related households whose heads are employed in the private sector of the oil rich districts report a decrease in satisfaction with their income during the boom compared to other households (whose heads work in other sectors and/or districts). The estimated drop in satisfaction is statistically and economically significant: a 20% increase in the price of oil decreases satisfaction with income by 1/3 of a standard deviation. We discuss different interpretations of this drop in satisfaction. The only interpretation consistent with our results is that an oil price boom creates a gap between people’s expectations of the benefits from the boom and the observed economic conditions. Our results call for devoting more attention to the dynamic of satisfaction, not only during resource busts, but also during resource booms.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers)Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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Association of African Young Economist (AAYE) joines GLO as a supporting organization.

The Association of African Young Economist (AAYE) has joined GLO as a supporting organization. GLO Fellow Christian-Lambert Nguena is the President of AAYE. GLO President Klaus F. Zimmermann expressed his excitement about this additional connection of his organization on the African continent.

The Association of African Young Economists (AAYE), established in 2013, is a public not-for-profit organization. It aims to facilitate scientific collaboration to generate and disseminate knowledge for the development of the African continent.

AAYE operates its own discussion paper series.

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How to use econometric and machine learning models for predicting poverty?

A new GLO Discussion Paper compares the performance of econometric and machine learning models in predicting poverty.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 468, 2020

Which Model for Poverty Predictions? – Download PDF
by
Verme, Paolo

GLO Fellow Paolo Verme

Author Abstract: OLS models are the predominant choice for poverty predictions in a variety of contexts such as proxy-means tests, poverty mapping or cross-survey imputations. This paper compares the performance of econometric and machine learning models in predicting poverty using alternative objective functions and stochastic dominance analysis based on coverage curves. It finds that the choice of an optimal model largely depends on the distribution of incomes and the poverty line. Comparing the performance of different econometric and machine learning models is therefore an important step in the process of optimizing poverty predictions and targeting ratios.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers)Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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Do gender-based board quotas lead to a higher share of women in top management positions?

Affirmative Action and Intersectionality in South Africa: A new GLO Discussion Paper finds supporting evidence that affirmative action has induced sizable increases of women in top management positions in South Africa.

The Global Labor Organization (GLO) is an independent, non-partisan and non-governmental organization that functions as an international network and virtual platform to stimulate global research, debate and collaboration.

GLO Discussion Paper No. 467, 2020

Affirmative Action and Intersectionality at the Top: Evidence from South Africa Download PDF
by
Klasen, Stephan & Minasyan, Anna

GLO Fellow Anna Minasyan

Author Abstract: Gender-based board quotas do not always lead to higher share of women in top management positions. We study the consequences of an affirmative action policy that stipulates gender- and race-based targets in top management positions, beyond boards. We focus on the representation of intersectional group identities, such as race and gender, at the top. We find sizable increase in the likelihood of Black women employment in top positions in the post-policy period relative to Black men, White women and White men in South Africa. We extend our analysis and estimate policy spillovers for years of schooling, earnings gaps and self-employment.

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS,  EconPapers)Complete list of all GLO DPs – downloadable for free.

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