Evidence-based policy making
IZA World of Labor is an online platform that provides policy analysts, journalists, academics and society generally with relevant and concise information on labor market issues. Based on the latest research, it provides current thinking on labor markets worldwide in a clear and accessible style. IZA World of Labor aims to support evidence-based policy making and increase awareness of labor market issues, including current concerns like the impact of Covid-19, and longer-term problems like inequality.
View our content on Covid-19—Pandemics and the labor market
Encouraging women’s labor force participation in transition countries
UpdatedGovernment policies can stimulate female labor force participation if coherent and well thought-out
Increasing women's labor force participation is important to sustainable economic development, especially in economies with highly educated women and an aging population. Women's participation varies across transition countries, driven by such economic and social factors as traditional views of gender roles and limited government support for caregivers. Still, in all countries there is clear scope for policies aimed at increasing women's participation. In particular, in countries where women's educational attainment is already high, policies to support a better work–life balance and female entrepreneurship look particularly promising.
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The value of language skills Updated
A common language facilitates communication and economic efficiency, but linguistic diversity has economic and cultural value too
Gilles GrenierWeiguo Zhang, March 2021In today's globalized world, people are increasingly mobile and often need to communicate across different languages. Learning a new language is an investment in human capital. Migrants must learn the language of their destination country, but even non-migrants must often learn other languages if their work involves communicating with foreigners. Economic studies have shown that fluency in a dominant language is important to economic success and increases economic efficiency. However, maintaining linguistic diversity also has value since language is also an expression of people's culture.MoreLess -
Do labor costs affect companies’ demand for labor? Updated
Overtime penalties, payroll taxes, and other labor policies alter costs and change employment and output
Daniel S. Hamermesh, February 2021Higher labor costs (higher wage rates and employee benefits) make workers better off, but they can reduce companies’ profits, the number of jobs, and the hours each person works. The minimum wage, overtime pay, payroll taxes, and hiring subsidies are just a few of the policies that affect labor costs. Policies that increase labor costs can substantially affect both employment and hours, in individual companies as well as in the overall economy.MoreLess -
Statistical profiling of unemployed jobseekers
The increasing availability of big data allows for the profiling of unemployed jobseekers via statistical models
Statistical models can help public employment services to identify factors associated with long-term unemployment and to identify at-risk groups. Such profiling models will likely become more prominent as increasing availability of big data combined with new machine learning techniques improve their predictive power. However, to achieve the best results, a continuous dialogue between data analysts, policymakers, and case workers is key. Indeed, when developing and implementing such tools, normative decisions are required. Profiling practices can misclassify many individuals, and they can reinforce but also prevent existing patterns of discrimination.MoreLess -
Correspondence testing studies Updated
What is there to learn about discrimination in hiring?
Dan-Olof Rooth, January 2021Anti-discrimination policies play an important role in public discussions. However, identifying discriminatory practices in the labor market is not an easy task. Correspondence testing provides a credible way to reveal discrimination in hiring and provide hard facts for policies, and it has provided evidence of discrimination in hiring across almost all continents except Africa. The method involves sending matched pairs of identical job applications to employers posting jobs—the only difference being a characteristic that signals membership to a group.MoreLess
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Mar 08, 2021
Deliveroo announces “thank you” bonuses up to £10,000 for riders
The payments will range from a minimum of £200 to a maximum of £10,000. -
Mar 05, 2021
Friday news roundup March 5, 2021
Green jobs could help fight employment inequality and California's new basic income experiment yields interesting results. Here’s a snapshot of some of the news stories you might have missed. -
Mar 04, 2021
China: Later retirement age debate raised for the first time since 2012
The options at the moment include increasing the retirement age for male workers by five years—from 60 to 65. -
Feb 26, 2021
Friday news roundup February 26, 2021
10% of the world's wealth may be hidden offshore and a Chinese court ordered a man to compensate his ex wife for household work. Here’s a snapshot of some of the news stories you might have missed.
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Apr 22, 2021 - Apr 24, 2021
4th IZA Labor Statistics Workshop: Measurement of Labor Market Conditions
Online
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May 14, 2021 - May 15, 2021
SOLE's 26th Annual Meeting
Philadelphia, United States
The Society of Labor Economists will hold the 26th Annual Meetings on May 14-15, 2021 at the Sonesta Philadelphia, 1800 Market Street Philadelphia, PA, 19103.
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May 28, 2021 - May 29, 2021
17th IZA Annual Migration Meeting
Online
The 17th Annual Migration Meeting is following a long and successful tradition of bringing together experienced scholars and talented young economists to discuss cutting-edge work on migration.
Measuring income inequality: Ija Trapeznikova in conversation with Daniel S Hamermesh
Income inequality and social origins: Lorenzo Cappellari in conversation with Daniel S Hamermesh
Automation and the future of jobs: Stijn Broecke in conversation with Daniel S Hamermesh
Inequality and informality in transition and emerging countries: Roberto Dell'Anno and Dan Hamermesh
Fighting a coronavirus recession
Pandemics and the labor market—Then and now
Pricing the lives saved by coronavirus policies
Health effects of the coronavirus recession
The long-term consequences of missing a term of school
Korea: A paragon of dealing with coronavirus
Trading off lives for jobs
Graduating during the Covid-19 recession
Effects of Covid-19 on spending and saving
Elections and the Covid-19 pandemic