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.
The role of cognitive and socio-emotional skills in labor markets
Cognitive skills are more relevant in explaining earnings, socio-emotional skills in determining labor supply and schooling
Common proxies, such as years of education, have been shown to be ineffective at capturing cross-country differences in skills acquisition, as well as the role they play in the labor market. A large body of research shows that direct measures of skills, in particular cognitive and socio-emotional ones, provide more adequate estimations of individuals’ differences in potential productive capacity than the quantity of education they receive. Evidence shows that cognitive skills in particular are quite relevant to explain wages, while socio-emotional skills are more associated with labor force and education participation decisions.
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Market competition and executive pay
Increased competition affects the pay incentives firms provide to their managers and may also affect overall pay structures
Priscila Ferreira, February 2019Deregulation and managerial compensation are two important topics on the political and academic agenda. The former has been a significant policy recommendation in light of the negative effects associated with overly restrictive regulation on markets and the economy. The latter relates to the sharp increase in top executives’ pay and the nature of the link between pay and performance. To the extent that product-market competition can affect the incentive schemes offered by firms to their executives, the analysis of the effects of competition on the structure of compensation can be informative for policy purposes.MoreLess -
Efficient markets, managerial power, and CEO compensation
CEO pay, often contentious, is the product of many forces
Michael L. Bognanno, February 2019The escalation in chief executive officer (CEO) pay over recent decades, both in absolute terms and in relation to the earnings of production workers, has generated considerable attention. The pay of top executives has grown noticeably in relation to overall firm profitability. The pay gap between CEOs in the US and those in other developed countries narrowed substantially during the 2000s, making top executive pay an international concern. Researchers have taken positions on both sides of the debate over whether the level of CEO pay is economically justified or is the result of managerial power.MoreLess -
Social protection programs for women in developing countries
How to design social protection programs that poor women can benefit from
Lisa Cameron, February 2019Women are more likely than men to work in the informal sector and to drop out of the labor force for a time, such as after childbirth, and to be impeded by social norms from working in the formal sector. This work pattern undermines productivity, increases women's vulnerability to income shocks, and impairs their ability to save for old age. Many developing countries have introduced social protection programs to protect poor people from social and economic risks, but despite women's often greater need, the programs are generally less accessible to women than to men.MoreLess -
Happiness as a guide to labor market policy
Happiness is key to a productive economy, and a job remains key to individual happiness, also under robotization
Jo Ritzen, January 2019Measures of individual happiness, or well-being, can guide labor market policies. Individual unemployment, as well as the rate of unemployment in society, have a negative effect on happiness. In contrast, employment protection and un-employment benefits or a basic income can contribute to happiness—though when such policies prolong unintended unemployment, the net effect on national happiness is negative. Active labor market policies that create more job opportunities increase happiness, which in turn increases productivity. Measures of individual happiness should therefore guide labor market policy more explicitly, also with substantial robotization in production.MoreLess
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Feb 22, 2019
Friday news roundup February 22, 2019
Kenya's High Court delayed its ruling on same-sex relationships and Venezuela closed its border with Brazil. Here's a snapshot of some of the news stories you may have missed this week. -
Feb 21, 2019
Brazil's new president lays out plans for pension reforms
The pension reforms would raise the number of years of pension contributions that are currently required. -
Feb 19, 2019
Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi plans to end child labor in his lifetime
Kailash Satyarthi is an Indian children's rights activist who has been fighting against child labor most of his life. -
Feb 15, 2019
Friday news roundup February 15, 2019
School children in England are protesting about climate change and almost 300 million new working-age people will need employment across Africa by 2030. Here's a snapshot of some of the news stories you may have missed this week.
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Apr 12, 2019 - Apr 13, 2019
3rd IZA Workshop on Gender and Family Economics, Joint with Universidad Adolfo Ibañez
Viña del Mar, Chile
IZA and Universidad Adolfo Ibañez are organizing the 3rd IZA Annual Workshop on Gender and Family Economics. The workshop will create a stimulating environment that will enable participants to engage in discussion and receive valuable feedback on pressing issues in gender- and family-related research and policy.
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May 16, 2019 - May 17, 2019
9th ifo Dresden Workshop on Labor Economics and Social Policy
Dresden, Germany
The workshop aims to facilitate the networking of young scientists and to promote the exchange of their latest research across the range of labour economics, social policy, education economics, demography and migration. Policy relevant contributions, either theoretical or applied, are highly welcome. We particularly encourage PhD students to submit their latest research.
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Jun 06, 2019 - Jun 07, 2019
2019 Jobs & Development Conference
Washington, D.C., United States
Following the success of the 2016 and 2018 Jobs and Development Conferences in Washington DC and Bogotá, the World Bank in collaboration with IZA (Institute of Labor Economics) and the Network on Jobs and Development are organizing a follow up conference focused on “Improving Jobs Outcomes in Developing Countries.”
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Jun 06, 2019 - Jun 07, 2019
2nd IZA/World Bank/NJD Conference on Jobs and Development: Improving Jobs Outcomes in Developing Countries
Washington DC, USA
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Jun 17, 2019 - Jun 23, 2019
22nd IZA Summer School in Labor Economics
Buch/Ammersee, Germany
The IZA Summer School in Labor Economics was created in 1998, as an annual event taking place at the conference center of Deutsche Post DHL at Ammersee Lake (near Munich) in Bavaria, Germany.
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Jun 27, 2019 - Jun 30, 2019
18th IZA/SOLE Transatlantic Meeting for Labor Economists (TAM)
Buch/Ammersee, Germany
We are pleased to announce the organization of the 18th IZA/SOLE Transatlantic Meeting of Labor Economists to be held at the Ammersee Conference Center in Bavaria, Germany, on June 27-30, 2019.
Integrating refugees into labor markets
Income inequality and social origins
Should divorce be cheap and easy?