This paper uses a unique survey of Roma and non‐Roma in South Eastern Europe with the aim of evaluating competing explanations for the poor performance of Roma in the labour…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper uses a unique survey of Roma and non‐Roma in South Eastern Europe with the aim of evaluating competing explanations for the poor performance of Roma in the labour market.
Design/methodology/approach
Following a descriptive analysis, econometric models are employed to identify the determinants of educational achievement, employment and wages for Roma and non‐Roma. Limited information maximum likelihood (LIML) methods are employed to control for endogenous schooling and two sources of sample selection bias in the estimates. Non‐linear and linear decomposition techniques are applied in order to identify the extent of discrimination.
Findings
The key results are that: the employment returns to education are lower for Roma than for non‐Roma whilst the wage returns are broadly similar for the two groups; the similar wage gains translate into a smaller absolute wage gain for Roma than for non‐Roma given their lower average wages; the marginal absolute gains from education for Roma are only a little over one‐third of the marginal absolute gains to education for majority populations; and, there is evidence to support the idea that a substantial part of the differential in labour market outcomes is due to discrimination.
Research limitations/implications
The survey data employed do not include information on hours worked. In order to partially control for this, the analysis of wages is limited to employee wages excluding the self‐employed.
Practical implications
Explanations of why Roma fare so badly tend to fall into one of two camps: the “low education” and the “discrimination” schools. The analysis suggests that both of these explanations have some basis in fact. Moreover, a direct implication of the lower absolute returns to education accruing to Roma is that their lower educational participation is, at least in part, due to rational economic calculus. Consequently, policy needs to address both low educational participation and labour market discrimination contemporaneously.
Originality/value
This is the first paper to attempt to econometrically distinguish between discrimination and educational explanations of Roma disadvantage in the labour market in Central and Eastern Europe. The survey data employed are unique and appropriate for the task. Unusually for analyses dealing with returns to education, the LIML econometric approach employed controls for both endogenous schooling and two sources of sample selection bias.
Details
Keywords
Employment discrimination persists across global labour markets inflicting considerable social and economic costs. The existing literature tends to focus on explaining and…
Abstract
Purpose
Employment discrimination persists across global labour markets inflicting considerable social and economic costs. The existing literature tends to focus on explaining and measuring discrimination or on the measures to tackle it, overlooking the links between these areas. The paper contributes to filling this gap in order to inform policy design and empirical research on the impact of anti-discrimination policies.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper assesses the potential effectiveness of commonly used policy measures in tackling the types of discrimination described in the theoretical literature. The assessment is based on the underlying incentive structure of particular policies, which is matched with the behaviour of employers predicted by particular theories.
Findings
The potential effectiveness of commonly used anti-discrimination policies varies greatly depending on the source of discrimination and the target group. Some commonly used tools, such as wage subsidies are likely to have modest effects for several target groups, while employer counselling may be a more effective and cheaper alternative in many cases. Quotas may be effective against various types of discrimination, but setting them is challenging and they may yield adverse effects.
Practical implications
The findings call for more research on and consideration of the motives behind employment discrimination in the targeting and design of anti-discrimination measures.
Originality/value
The authors propose a framework to link discrimination types with measures against discrimination and potential target groups, which allows for systematically linking the literature on theories of discrimination and research on anti-discrimination.
Details
Keywords
Maxwell Poole, Ethan Pancer, Matthew Philp and Theodore J. Noseworthy
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an increase in online traffic, with many assuming that this technology would facilitate coping through active social connections. This study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered an increase in online traffic, with many assuming that this technology would facilitate coping through active social connections. This study aims to interrogate the nature of this traffic-engagement relationship by distinguishing between passive (e.g. browsing) and active (e.g. reacting, commenting and sharing) engagement, and examining behavioral shifts across platforms.
Design/methodology/approach
Three field studies assessed changes in social media engagement during the COVID-19 pandemic. These studies included social media engagement with the most followed accounts (Twitter), discussion board commenting (Reddit) and news content sharing (Facebook).
Findings
Even though people spent more time online during the pandemic, the current research finds people were actively engaging less. Users were reacting less to popular social media accounts, commenting less on discussion boards and even sharing less news content.
Research limitations/implications
While the current work provides a systematic observation of engagement during a global crisis, it does not claim causality based on its correlational nature. Future research should test potential mechanisms (e.g. anxiety, threat and privacy) to draw causal inference and identify possible interventions.
Practical implications
The pandemic shed light on a complex systemic issue: the misunderstanding and oversimplification of how online platforms facilitate social cohesion. It encourages thoughtful consideration of online social dynamics, emphasizing that not all engagement is equal and that the benefits of connection may not always be realized as expected.
Originality/value
This research provides a postmortem on the traffic-engagement relationship, highlighting that increased online presence does not necessarily translate to active social connection, which might help explain the rise in mental health issues that emerged from the pandemic.