register
Duncan McVicar

Queen’s University Belfast, UK, and IZA, Germany

World of Labor is a great idea and I hope policymakers and academics will find it a useful way to quickly learn the latest state of research on a wide range of important questions. I’m happy to contribute to it

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Professor of Economics, Queen’s University Management School, Queen’s University Belfast, UK

Research interest

Labor economics, economics of social policy

Website

http://bit.ly/McVicar_QUBpage

Positions/functions as a policy advisor

Past member of research advisory committees for Australian Department for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations; Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning; Northern Ireland Department of Education; Consultant to Northern Ireland Department for Employment and Learning and Department of Social Development

Past positions

Professorial Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne (March–July 2013); Principal Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of Melbourne (July 2010–February 2013)

Qualifications

PhD in Economics, University of Southampton, 1999

Selected publications

  • "The impact of paid parental leave on labour supply and employment outcomes." Feminist Economics (Forthcoming) (with B. Broadway, G. Kalb, and B. Martin).

  • "Zero hours contracts and their growth." British Journal of Industrial Relations (Forthcoming) (with E. Farina and C. Green).

  • "Contingent employment and labour market pathways: Bridge or trap?" European Sociological Review 35:1 (2019): 98–115 (with M. Wooden, I. Lass, and Y. K. Fok).

  • "Early illicit drug use and the age of onset of homelessness." Journal of the Royal Statistics Society Series A 182:1 (2019): 345–372 (with J. Moschion and J. C. Van Ours).

  • "Course choice and achievement effects of a system-wide vocational education and training voucher scheme for young people." Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 40:4 (2018): 507–530 (with C. Polidano).

article(s)

  • The impact of monitoring and sanctioning on unemployment exit and job-finding rates Updated

    Job search monitoring and benefit sanctions generally reduce unemployment duration and boost entry to employment in the short term

    Duncan McVicar, June 2020
    Unemployment benefits reduce incentives to search for a job. Policymakers have responded to this behavior by setting minimum job search requirements, by monitoring to check that unemployment benefit recipients are engaged in the appropriate level of job search activity, and by imposing sanctions for infractions. Empirical studies consistently show that job search monitoring and benefit sanctions reduce unemployment duration and increase job entry in the short term. However, there is some evidence that longer-term effects of benefit sanctions may be negative.
    MoreLess