International Journal of Manpower

Shamsuddin, Mrittika

2016 International Journal of Manpower

doi: 10.1108/IJM-03-2014-0087

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether migrants from Bangladesh choose the destination that offers them the highest earnings and whether the relative stock of the skilled migrants in a destination increases with the earnings differences between the skilled and the unskilled. Design/methodology/approach– Using a nationally representative sample of both stayers and migrants from Bangladesh to all destinations and correcting for self-selection bias in earnings using a semi-parametric method developed by Dahl (2002), the author tests whether selection and sorting of Bangladeshi migrants depend on cross-country differences in the rewards to skills as suggested by the Roy (1951) model of comparative advantage. Findings– Migrants from Bangladesh not only choose the destinations that offer the highest earnings but also the destination that offers the highest earnings relative to the skill level of the migrants. Research limitations/implications– Due to the unavailability of data on recruiting agencies, we cannot investigate the role played by recruiting agencies in the migrant’s decision. Social implications– Policy-makers in both the sending and destination countries need to know how migrants choose their destinations in order to formulate effective and welfare-enhancing migration policies. Originality/value– This paper is the first to study how skill composition and earnings shape migration from Bangladesh using micro-level data. It is also the first to study sorting behavior of migrants from any South Asian countries.

Tumen, Semih; Zeydanli, Tugba

2016 International Journal of Manpower

doi: 10.1108/IJM-04-2014-0095

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to test empirically whether there exist spillover externalities in job satisfaction, i.e., to test whether individual-level job satisfaction is affected by the aggregate job satisfaction level in a certain labor market environment. Design/methodology/approach– The authors use a linear-in-means model of social interactions in the empirical analysis. The authors develop an original strategy, motivated by the hierarchical models of social processes, to identify the parameters of interest. BHPS and WERS datasets are used to perform the estimations both at the establishment and local labor market levels. Findings– The authors find that one standard deviation increase in aggregate job satisfaction leads to a 0.42 standard deviation increase in individual-level job satisfaction at the workplace level and a 0.15 standard deviation increase in individual-level job satisfaction at the local labor market level. In other words, the authors report that statistically significant job satisfaction spillovers exist both at the establishment level and local labor market level; and, the former being approximately three times larger than the latter. Originality/value– First, this is the first paper in the literature estimating spillover effects in job satisfaction. Second, the authors show that the degree of these spillover externalities may change at different aggregation levels. Finally, motivated by the hierarchical models of social processes, the author develop an original econometric identification strategy.

Verhaest, Dieter; Verhofstadt, Elsy

2016 International Journal of Manpower

doi: 10.1108/IJM-04-2014-0106

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how job demands and control contribute to the relationship between overeducation and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach– The analysis is based on data for Belgian young workers up to the age of 26. The authors execute regression analyses, with autonomy, quantitative demands and job satisfaction as dependent variables. The authors account for unobserved individual heterogeneity by means of panel-data techniques. Findings– The results reveal a significant role of demands and control for the relationship between overeducation and job satisfaction. At career start, overeducated workers have less control than adequately educated individuals with similar skills levels, but more control than adequately educated employees doing similar work. Moreover, their control increases faster over the career than that of adequately educated workers with a similar educational background. Finally, demands have less adverse effects on satisfaction for high-skilled workers, irrespective of their match, while control moderates the negative satisfaction effect of overeducation. Research limitations/implications– Future research should look beyond the early career and focus on other potential compensation mechanisms for overeducation. Also the role of underlying mechanisms, such as job crafting, deserves more attention. Practical implications– The results suggest that providing more autonomy is an effective strategy to avoid job dissatisfaction among overeducated workers. Originality/value– The study connects two areas of research, namely, that on overeducation and its consequences and that on the role of job demands and control for workers’ well-being. The results contribute to a better understanding why overeducation persists. Moreover, they are consistent with the hypothesis that employers hire overeducated workers because they require less monitoring and are more able to cope with demands, although more direct evidence on this is needed.

Addabbo, Tindara; García-Fernández, Rosa María; Llorca-Rodríguez, Carmen María; Maccagnan, Anna

2016 International Journal of Manpower

doi: 10.1108/IJM-06-2014-0125

Purpose– The current economic crisis has significantly increased unemployment, showing higher persistence than expected. However, since microdata from household surveys are issued with delay, they do not allow a prompt analysis of the impact of the economic cycle on households’ living conditions. The purpose of this paper is to propose a microsimulation methodology to achieve an evaluation of the impact of economic shocks in terms of household’s living conditions to guide policy makers. Design/methodology/approach– The microsimulation technique developed in this paper is based on a nowcasting approach by using different sources of data and by taking into account a whole set of potential transitions across the different statuses of the labour market and the related changes in income. To validate this microsimulation method, the authors apply it to Italy, a country that has been deeply affected by the crisis. Findings– Data have been drawn from the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions Survey for Italy (IT SILC) and from the Labour Force Survey for Italy. The latter data allow us to take into account the changes in the labour market status of individuals due to economic shocks. The validation results support the capability of the model to simulate the effect of the cycle before actual data on income are available. Social implications– The results obtained would encourage the use of the suggested methodology to anticipate the effect of the economic cycle on household’s income therefore enabling the design of effective policies to sustain household income with positive practical and social implications. Originality/value– Distinct from other microsimulation techniques the methodology proposed in this paper allows us to take into account behavioural effects and the change in the composition of employment and unemployment. Moreover, the authors contribute to the existing literature by considering a whole set of transitions across different labour market statuses and the related changes in income.

Steenackers, Kelly; Guerry, Marie-Anne

2016 International Journal of Manpower

doi: 10.1108/IJM-09-2014-0184

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the determinants of job-hopping. More specifically, the authors investigate the effect of age, gender, educational level, organizational size and sector on the job-hop frequency. Design/methodology/approach– Due to a lack of an existing appropriate measure of job-hopping, the authors introduce a new measure, namely, the job-hop frequency. Based on the data collected from a survey in Belgium, a linear regression analysis is performed. Findings– Through an empirical analysis, the authors show that age is negatively related to the job-hop frequency. Gender moderates this relationship. Therefore, the analysis supports the view that young women tend to job-hop significantly more than young men, but as they age, women are significantly more likely than men to remain within the same company. Furthermore, the authors find that the educational level has no influence on the job-hop behavior, indicating that having more job alternatives does not necessarily result in actual job-hop behavior. Both the sector and the size of the organization are found not to be significantly related to the job-hop frequency. Practical implications– This research provides human resource managers more insight into the job-hop behavior of employees and offers some useful suggestions for their retention management. Originality/value– Existing literature on turnover is very extensive, but literature on job-hopping remains rather underexplored. Therefore, the study extends previous research on voluntary turnover and job mobility by focussing on job-hopping in particular.

Di Paolo, Antonio

2016 International Journal of Manpower

doi: 10.1108/IJM-10-2014-0197

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to analyse differences in overall job satisfaction and specific job domain satisfaction among PhDs employed in different sectors four years after completing their doctorate degrees. The author take job satisfaction as a comprehensive proxy of perceived job quality. The author draw on data from two successive cohorts of PhD graduates from public universities of Catalonia (Spain). Design/methodology/approach– First, the author estimate covariate-adjusted job satisfaction differentials for PhD holders employed in different employment sectors, namely: university, research institutes, public sector (government and public administration) and private sector. A stepwise inclusion of job-related covariates enables appreciating the underlying mechanisms that that generate the observed job satisfaction differentials across sectors. Second, the author take into account the endogenous sorting of PhDs into different sectors by jointly modelling sector choice and job satisfaction, where the former is assumed to follow a mixed multinomial logit model. Findings– The results indicate that PhD holders employed outside academic and research jobs are more satisfied with the pecuniary facets of their work, but significantly less satisfied with non-monetary aspects of job quality. The selectivity-corrected job satisfaction differentials highlight the importance of self-selection and confirm that PhD holders suffer a penalisation for working in non-academic occupations, thus revealing the existence of “academic rents”. Originality/value– This is the first paper that presents a systematic and consistent analysis of job satisfaction differentials among PhD holders that work in different types of occupations, taking into account that sector choice is an endogenous variable, potentially related to unobserved traits that affect job satisfaction. The results are rich of policy implications, which are especially relevant in the light of the existing debate regarding the excess of PhD in the labour market of several European Countries and their subsequent risk of underemployment.

Pecoraro, Marco

2016 International Journal of Manpower

doi: 10.1108/IJM-10-2014-0207

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to propose an improved concept of educational mismatch that combines a statistical measure of over- and undereducation with the worker’s self-assessment of skill utilization. The novelty of this measurement approach consists in identifying the vertical and horizontal nature of skills mismatch, that is, a mismatch in which skills are either over/underutilized or not utilized. Design/methodology/approach– Cross-sectional data from the Swiss Household Panel survey for the years 1999 and 2004 are used to determine the true extent of educational mismatch among workers. Moroever, different versions of the Duncan and Hoffman wage equation are estimated depending on whether basic or alternative measures of educational mismatch are included. Findings– The empirical analyses provide the following results: first, at least two-third of the statistically defined overeducated workers perceive their skills as adequate for the job they hold and are then apparently overeducated; second, overeducated workers whose skills are not related to the job do not receive any payoff to years of surplus education; and third, apparently overeducated workers have similar wage returns compared to others with the same schooling level but who are statistically matched. All in all, these findings confirm that most of those overeducated according to the statistical measure have unobserved skills that allow them to work in a job for which they are well-matched. Originality/value– The paper indicates the need to consider both vertical and horizontal skill mismatches when measuring educational mismatch in the labour market. In that way, it is possible to account for worker heterogeneity in skills whose omission may generate biased estimates of the incidence and wage effects of over- and undereducation.

Kucel, Aleksander; Vilalta-Bufi, Montserrat

2016 International Journal of Manpower

doi: 10.1108/IJM-01-2015-0021

Purpose– Promotion of entrepreneurial skills is often considered as an adequate policy to enhance job creation and economic growth. However, neither the definition of entrepreneurial skills, nor the costs and benefits of such a policy are clear. The purpose of this paper is to check whether the benefits of entrepreneurial skills extent beyond self-employment. The authors denote entrepreneurial skills as those competencies that enhance the likelihood of self-employment. Then the authors analyze whether they are rewarded in wage employment. Design/methodology/approach– The authors estimate a Heckman selection model with wages in a salaried job as the main dependent variable and working in wage employment vs self-employment as the selection equation. The authors use a sample of higher education graduates from Spain, from the year 2000 interviewed in 2005 within the REFLEX survey. Findings– Results reveal that alertness to new opportunities, ability to mobilize others and knowledge of other fields are the competencies that enhance self-employment in Spain. Yet, these skills are not rewarded in a salaried job. Therefore, benefits of policies fostering entrepreneurial skills do not extend to wage employment in Spain. Research limitations/implications– The exclusion restriction used in the analysis is father’s education. The authors assume that all the effect of parental education on wages goes through education attainment of the individual and her ability (proxied by her grade in secondary education). A better proxy for ability would be desirable. Originality/value– The authors identify which competencies enhance self-employment in Spain. The authors find that these competencies are not rewarded in wage employment, so the benefits of policies promoting entrepreneurial education remain within self-employment activity only.