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
Correspondence testing studies
What is there to learn about discrimination in hiring?
Anti-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.
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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 -
Individual and family labor market impacts of chronic diseases
Chronic diseases worsen labor market outcomes, but firms’ hiring and retention policies can reduce them
Amanda Gaulke, January 2021Chronic health conditions are a global concern and can impact labor market outcomes of those diagnosed and their caregivers. Since the global prevalence of many chronic health conditions is on the rise, it is important to know what firms can do to retain and hire workers who are impacted. Firms can improve hiring by addressing biases against potential employees with chronic health conditions. Furthermore, firms can retain impacted workers by offering workplace flexibility such as partial sick leave, work hour flexibility, and part-time work options.MoreLess -
The effect of overtime regulations on employment Updated
Strictly controlling overtime hours and pay does not boost employment—it could even lower it
Ronald L. OaxacaGaliya Sagyndykova, December 2020Regulation of standard workweek hours and overtime hours and pay can protect workers who might otherwise be required to work more than they would like to at the going rate. By discouraging the use of overtime, such regulation can increase the standard hourly wage of some workers and encourage work sharing that increases employment, with particular advantages for female workers. However, regulation of overtime raises employment costs, setting in motion economic forces that can limit, neutralize, or even reduce employment. And increasing the coverage of overtime pay regulations has little effect on the share of workers who work overtime or on weekly overtime hours per worker.MoreLess -
Health effects of job insecurity Updated
Job insecurity adversely affects health, but employability policies and otherwise better job quality can mitigate the effects
Francis Green, December 2020The fear of unemployment has increased around the world in the wake of Covid-19. Research has shown that job insecurity affects both mental and physical health, though the effects are lower when employees are easily re-employable. The detrimental effects of job insecurity could be partly mitigated if employers improved other aspects of job quality that support better health. But as job insecurity is felt by many more people than just the unemployed, the negative health effects during recessions are multiplied and extend through the majority of the population. This reinforces the need for effective, stabilising macroeconomic policies, most especially at this time of pandemic.MoreLess -
Do immigrants improve the health of native workers? Updated
Immigration crowds native workers out of risky jobs and into less strenuous work, with consequent benefits to their health
Osea Giuntella, December 2020Public debate on immigration focuses on its effects on wages and employment, yet the discussion typically fails to consider the effects of immigration on working conditions that affect workers’ health. There is growing evidence that immigrants are more likely than natives to work in risky jobs. Recent studies show that as immigration rises, native workers are able to work in less demanding jobs. Such market adjustments lead to a reduction in native occupational risk and thus an improvement in native health.MoreLess -
Encouraging women’s labor force participation in transition countries Updated
Government policies can stimulate female labor force participation if coherent and well thought-out
Norberto Pignatti, November 2020Increasing 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.MoreLess -
Impacts of regulation on eco-innovation and job creation Updated
Do regulation-induced environmental innovations affect employment?
Jens Horbach, November 2020New environmental technologies (environmental/eco-innovations) are often regarded as potential job creators—in addition to their positive effects on the environment. Environmental regulation may induce innovations that are accompanied by positive growth and employment effects. Recent empirical analyses show that the introduction of cleaner process innovations, rather than product-based ones, may also lead to higher employment. The rationale is that cleaner technologies lead to cost savings, which helps to improve firms’ competitiveness, thereby inducing positive effects on their market shares.MoreLess -
Public sector outsourcing Updated
The desirability of outsourcing the provision of public services depends on their characteristics and market conditions
Panu PoutvaaraHenrik Jordahl, November 2020The decision to outsource public provision of services is multifaceted and context dependent. Doing so tends to lower labor intensity and increase its efficiency. Costs are usually lower, but quality problems can affect services like health care, though consumer choice has stimulated innovation and quality in both education and health care. Natural monopolies are less suitable for outsourcing, while network services (public transportation) may be outsourced through public tenders. Though some jobs may be lost in the short term, the long-term effects are generally positive for a wide variety of activities.MoreLess
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Jan 21, 2021
Australia’s unemployment rate has dropped to 6.6%
30,000 more Australians have found work during the Covid-19 pandemic, causing the unemployment rate to drop to just over six percent. -
Jan 19, 2021
Germany to require big companies have at least one woman on their boards
The German cabinet has approved a new law that will require all large, publicly listed companies in the country to have at least one woman on their executive boards. -
Jan 15, 2021
Friday news roundup January 15, 2021
A UK supermarket chain raised its minimum wage to £10 an hour and German firms are testing wearable tech to enforce social distancing. Here’s a snapshot of some of the news stories you might have missed. -
Jan 14, 2021
Businesses need to work on improving age diversity, CEO says
A multi-generational workforce will be vital for companies as they recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
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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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Sep 07, 2021 - Sep 08, 2021
World Employment Conference 2020: Steering a labour market in transformation
Madrid, Spain
The 2020 World Employment Conference originally planned to take place from September 29 to October 1 in Madrid, Spain has been postponed to September 2021.
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Sep 16, 2021 - Sep 18, 2021
33rd Annual Conference of the European Association of Labour Economists
Padua, Italy
The European Association of Labour Economists are pleased to invite all labour economists to submit papers for presentations at the 33rd Annual Conference of the European Association of Labour Economists, to be held in Padua Italy, 16-18 September 2021.
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