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.
Crime and immigration
Do poor labor market opportunities lead to migrant crime?
Immigration is one of the most important policy debates in Western countries. However, one aspect of the debate is often mischaracterized by accusations that higher levels of immigration lead to higher levels of crime. The evidence, based on empirical studies of many countries, indicates that there is no simple link between immigration and crime, but legalizing the status of immigrants has beneficial effects on crime rates. Crucially, the evidence points to substantial differences in the impact on property crime, depending on the labor market opportunities of immigrant groups.
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- Migration and ethnicity
- Labor markets and institutions
- Transition and emerging economies
- Development
Aggregate labor productivity
Labor productivity is generally seen as bringing wealth and prosperity; but how does it vary over the business cycle?
Michael C. Burda, April 2018Aggregate labor productivity is a central indicator of an economy’s economic development and a wellspring of living standards. Somewhat controversially, many macroeconomists see productivity as a primary driver of fluctuations in economic activity along the business cycle. In some countries, the cyclical behavior of labor productivity seems to have changed. In the past 20–30 years, the US has become markedly less procyclical, while the rest of the OECD has not changed or productivity has become even more procyclical. Finding a cogent and coherent explanation of these developments is challenging.MoreLess -
- Migration and ethnicity
- Labor markets and institutions
- Education and human capital
- Country labor markets
The labor market in New Zealand, 2000–2017
Employment has grown steadily and the gender gap and skill premiums have fallen
David C. Maré, April 2018New Zealand is a small open economy, with large international labor flows and skilled immigrants. Since 2000, employment growth has kept pace with strong migration-related population growth. While overall employment rates have remained relatively stable, they have increased substantially for older workers. In contrast, younger workers as well as the Maori and Pasifika ethnic groups experienced a sharp decline in employment rates and a rise in unemployment around the time of the global financial crisis. Wage gains have been modest and there has been a compression of earnings differentials by gender as well as by skill.MoreLess -
Working in family firms
Family firms offer higher job security but lower wages than other firms
Thomas Breda, April 2018Family firms are ubiquitous in most countries. The differences in objectives, governance, and management styles between those firms and their non-family counterparts have several implications for the workforce, which scholars have only recently started to investigate. Family firms offer greater job security, employ different management practices, have a comparative advantage to avoid conflicts when employment relations are more hostile, and provide insurance to workers through implicit contracts when labor market regulation is limited. But all this also comes at a cost.MoreLess -
The labor market in India since the 1990s
Productivity growth and low unemployment have not been matched by comparable rises in wages
Indraneel DasguptaSaibal Kar, March 2018The Indian economy entered an ongoing process of trade liberalization, domestic deregulation, and privatization of public sector units in 1991. Since then, per capita output has increased significantly, while the overall unemployment rate has remained low. However, labor force participation rates have fallen sharply, especially for women. In addition, youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, an overwhelming proportion of the labor force continues to work in the informal sector, and there is little evidence of a sustained rise in wages for either unskilled rural or factory workers.MoreLess
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South Korea’s capital shuts off the power to fight overtime culture
The Seoul Metropolitan Government is iencouraging employees to improve their work–life balance by powering down their computers on Friday evenings. -
Apr 19, 2018
Growing “vocabulary deficiency” stifling children’s development
Almost half of UK students in their first year of primary school have such a limited vocabulary that it is affecting their learning, according to new research. -
Apr 17, 2018
Despite great strides, Canada should invest more in early childhood education, says report
A recent report finds that Canada has made great improvements in early education since 2004, but allocations for young children have flat-lined since the last assessment in 2014.
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Apr 16, 2018
Failure to match parents’ success has negative impact on men’s mental health
Men experience levels of psychological distress equivalent to going through a divorce if they fail to match or surpass the levels of educational achievement of their parents, according to a new study.
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Apr 26, 2018 - Apr 27, 2018
2nd IZA Labor Statistics Workshop: The Returns to Skill in the Labor Market
IZA, Bonn
The aim of the 2018 workshop of IZA’s “Labor Statistics” program area is to bring together senior and junior researchers to discuss their recent empirical research related to skill attainment and the returns to skill in the labor market.
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May 02, 2018 - May 03, 2018
International Labour Organization: Innovations for Decent Jobs for Youth
Room XI, ILO, 4 route des Morillons, Geneva, Switzerland
The event will provide a global platform for governments, social partners, youth and civil society, the private sector, UN entities and beyond to foster collaboration on Decent Jobs for Youth under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
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May 03, 2018 - May 06, 2018
17th IZA/SOLE Transatlantic Meeting of Labor Economists (TAM) - Call for papers
Buch/Amersee
We are pleased to announce the organization of the Seventeenth IZA/SOLE Transatlantic Meeting of Labor Economists to be held at the Ammersee Conference Center in Bavaria
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May 14, 2018
Bank of England: Gender and Career Progression
Bank of England
The Bank of England, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the European Central Bank are organizing a conference on Gender and career progression, with a focus on issues specific to finance, economics, and central banks, to be held on May 14, 2018 at the Bank of England. Governor Mark Carney (Bank of England) will provide opening remarks, and Dr. Brian Bell will be giving a keynote speech.
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May 15, 2018 - May 16, 2018
6th IZA Workshop on Environment and Labor Markets - Call for papers
IZA, Bonn
The optimal environmental policy aims at equalizing benefits and costs of improving environmental quality. While the benefits generally accrue in form of increased health, worker productivity and human capital, quality of life, and amenity values, the costs of environmental regulations are mostly borne through potential impacts on industrial activity and employment.
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Jun 04, 2018 - Jun 15, 2018
University of Maryland School of Public Policy: Understanding and Synthesizing Evidence-Based Research
Paris
The University of Maryland School of Public Policy will offer a for-credit international graduate course on understanding and synthesizing evidence-based research in Summer 2018.
Women at Work Around the World
Job insecurity is bad for our health
Should policymakers worry about a declining female labor force participation rate?