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.
Language proficiency and immigrants’ economic integration
It is vital to measure language proficiency well, as it crucially determines immigrants’ earnings
Over recent decades, Western countries have admitted many immigrants from non-traditional regions (e.g. Philippines, India, China), which has coincided with poor economic integration. Language proficiency is an important determinant of economic integration; in addition to being a component of human capital, it plays a key role in facilitating the transmission of other components of human capital. Examining the strengths and weaknesses of objective and subjective measures of language proficiency is crucial for good integration policy, as is understanding the relationship between these measures and earnings, a key indicator of economic integration.
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Entrepreneurs and their impact on jobs and economic growth Updated
Productive entrepreneurs can invigorate the economy by creating jobs and new technologies, and increasing productivity
Alexander S. Kritikos , October 2024Entrepreneurs, creators of new firms, are a rare species. Even in innovation-driven economies, only 1–2% of the work force starts a business in any given year. Yet entrepreneurs, particularly innovative entrepreneurs, are vital to the competitiveness of the economy and may establish new jobs. The gains of entrepreneurship are only realized, however, if the business environment is receptive to innovation. In addition, policymakers need to prepare for the potential job losses that can occur in the medium term through “creative destruction” as entrepreneurs strive for increased productivity.
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Using instrumental variables to establish causality Updated
Even with observational data, causality can be recovered with the help of instrumental variables estimation
Grigory AleksinSascha O. Becker , September 2024Randomized control trials are often considered the gold standard to establish causality. However, in many policy-relevant situations, these trials are not possible. Instrumental variables affect the outcome only via a specific treatment; as such, they allow for the estimation of a causal effect. However, finding valid instruments is difficult. Moreover, instrumental variables (IV) estimates recover a causal effect only for a specific part of the population. While those limitations are important, the objective of establishing causality remains; and instrumental variables are an important econometric tool to achieve this objective.MoreLess -
Estimating the return to schooling using the Mincer equation Updated
The Mincer equation gives comparable estimates of the average monetary Returns of one additional year of education
Harry Anthony Patrinos , August 2024The Mincer equation—arguably the most widely used in empirical work—can be used to explain a host of economic, and even non-economic, phenomena. One such application involves explaining (and estimating) employment earnings as a function of schooling and labor market experience. The Mincer equation provides estimates of the average monetary returns of one additional year of education. This information is important for policymakers who must decide on education spending, prioritization of schooling levels, and education financing programs such as student loans.MoreLess -
Does increasing the minimum wage reduce poverty in developing countries? Updated
Whether raising minimum wages reduces—or increases—poverty depends on the characteristics of the labor market and Households
T. H. Gindling , August 2024Raising the minimum wage in developing countries could increase or decrease poverty, depending on labor market characteristics. Minimum wages target formal sector workers—a minority in most developing countries—many of whom do not live in poor households. Whether raising minimum wages reduces poverty depends not only on whether formal sector workers lose jobs as a result, but also on whether low-wage workers live in poor households, how widely minimum wages are enforced, how minimum wages affect informal workers, and whether social safety nets are in place.MoreLess
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Oct 17, 2024
NHS trainee doctors quit due to unfavorable working conditions
Reform that cut pay for unsocial hours has contributed to higher dropout rates and worsened patient outcomes -
Oct 14, 2024
Daron Acemoglu co-wins 2024 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
IZA Fellow honored “for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity” -
Oct 08, 2024
50 years of breakthroughs and barriers: Women in economics, policy, and leadership
Study shows persistent gender gaps and the complex factors hindering women’s advancement in top roles -
Oct 02, 2024
Apply now for a postdoc position at IZA
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How education drives the economic success of immigrants from China in the US
Unintended consequences: How Pinochet’s policies empowered Chilean women
The long-run effects of affirmative action bans
How fast internet is shaping local culture and harmful traditional norms?
Effects of parental death on labor market outcomes and gender inequalities
Are employers eager to hire the unemployed?
The surprising effects of education on family dynamics for men and women
Decoding gender bias: The role of personal interaction
10 years of IZA World of Labor
How political connections shape firm outcomes in Germany
Escaping the debt trap: Long-run effects of individual debt relief
Empowering local talent
ChatGPT in the workplace: Who's adopting and what's holding others back?
Small children, big problems
How perceived inequality shapes well-being
Reducing presenteeism
Essential yet vulnerable
Working from home increases work-home distances
Intergenerational mobility and credit
Mental health at scale
Parental investments
How differences in job search drive the gender earnings gap
From steel to skills
How human capital reshapes religious affiliation
From refugees to citizens
Transforming societies through education
The impact of abortion bans on birth rates
Reaching for gold!
Seasonal allergies and accidents
Redefining aging
Navigating innovation
Is vocational education and training (VET) an option to increase education and employment?
The parenthood penalty in mental health
How female leaders are transforming workplace dynamics
Managerial stress accelerates aging and increases mortality among CEOs
Traumas of the past
How Many Layoffs Could Be Avoided by Pay Cuts?
Were COVID and the Great Recession Well-being Reducing?
Closing the Gender Pay Gap: A Fresh Approach
Is Your Office Safe? Unpacking the #MeToo Numbers
Where are the fathers?
More accurate weather forecast and mortality
Why Degrowth won’t save the world
Exposure to war and its labor market consequences
Slow traffic, fast food: The effects of time lost on food store choice
Working from home during Covid and women’s job satisfaction
Do international tourist arrivals change residents’ attitudes toward immigration?
The child penalty for graduates
ChatGPT and IZA World of Labor
Does providing social services reduce the risk of repeated domestic abuse?
The direct and indirect effects of online job search advice
Ranking the happiness of countries and states
Telework during the Covid-19 pandemic
Mergers and the labor market
“If you have your health, you have everything”? The true value of health
Labor market concentration and competition policy across the Atlantic
The gift of a lifetime: The hospital, modern medicine, and mortality
The impact of limiting the outsourcing of jobs
Air pollution and the labor market
Judging affirmative action
Working from home around the world
Job loss during Covid-19 in sub-Saharan Africa
Pass-through and consumer responses to alcohol tax increases
Does gender inequality in today’s labor market perpetuate gender inequality in future generations?
Paying for amenities at work
Can wage transparency alleviate gender sorting in the labor market?
Has the willingness to work fallen during the Covid pandemic?
The recent push toward unionization in the US
Religious diversity improves trust and performance
Effects of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on food prices and well-being
The four-day workweek
Immigration, employment, and innovation
Transgender people face significant economic challenges
The importance of extracurricular activities at school for future managers
School closures and effective in-person learning during Covid-19: When, where, and for whom
Cutting back on work during Covid: How was it done?
A persistent casualty of Covid-19: Children’s skill development
Digital payments surged during Covid-19 in the developing world. What are the opportunities for workers?
Labor markets in low-income countries: Challenges and opportunities
Who benefits when migrants return to developing countries?
How do widespread shocks affect people’s desires to redistribute income?
Employer market power in Silicon Valley
Microfinance and rural non-farm employment in developing countries during the Covid-19 crisis
How do labor market institutions affect job creation and productivity growth?
Can market mechanisms solve refugee crises?
Saving the planet and creating jobs
Masking, Covid-19, and social identity
Does health professionalism among bureaucrats help weather the Covid-19 pandemic?
Solving pension crises
Emigration and the wages of those who stay behind
The shadow economy and the Covid-19 pandemic crisis
How to support the self-employed in developing countries
Substance use and academic performance
Pandemics and the prospects for higher education in developing countries
The challenges of regulating the labor market in developing countries
What economic value is there in speaking another language?: An interview with Gilles Grenier
Household production, what is it and how do we value it?: An interview with Leslie S. Stratton
Low pay jobs, do they “scar” future job prospects?: An interview with Claus Schnabel
Tutoring: An effective solution to help disadvantaged children
The challenging plight of widows
International trade restrictions and the impact on GDP: An interview with L. Alan Winters
Job search during a pandemic recession
What does the Covid-19 R&D response tell us about innovation?
Helping the poor to comply with social distancing
Lifestyle and mental health disruptions during Covid-19
Does Covid-19 make us more averse to inequality?
Covid-19’s impacts on the US labor market
The impact of Covid-19 on the life insurance market was minimal
Labor issues in the Biden administration
Exposure to epidemics and trust in scientists
Measuring the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on domestic violence