The purpose of this paper is to deal with the problem of labour law effectiveness, i.e. the comparison between the protective rules’ reasons for existence and their practical…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to deal with the problem of labour law effectiveness, i.e. the comparison between the protective rules’ reasons for existence and their practical effects.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper briefly reviews the most important economic models from which arguments can be drawn in support of (or against) the coherence between labour law aims and effects, particularly focusing on the principal/agent model, which considers the work contract as partially functioning as a sort of insurance policy aimed to guarantee a certain degree of equality among workers notwithstanding their different ability and luck. The paper then assumes the traditional labour law commitment to building equality among workers as a test‐bench of the labour law effectiveness. It then proposes a crucial test for the equalization principle's practical functioning: when is it fair to dismiss an inefficient worker? The paper analyses the current mechanism of judicial application of just cause for dismissal, showing how, in its Italian version, it actually causes the most rigid courts’ orientation – instead of the average one, or the median one – to be assumed by employers and employees as a benchmark for their behaviour in case of litigation.
Findings
This mechanism appears theoretically coherent with the guarantee, traditionally pursued by labour law, of equality among workers independently of the differences among their performances; but this effect is based on the prerequisite that they are hired “under the veil of ignorance” about the efficiency of their future performance; this is why this effect can operate only within the firm where they are employed. Outside the firm, in the external labour market, the same traditional mechanism causes an effect of exclusion for the worker whose lack of efficiency is already visible. The paper concludes that the best effective guarantee of welfare for the worker who turns out to be the loser in the natural or social lottery is today given – rather than by a strong protection of stability of the work relationship – by a system of education, professional training, information and intensive assistance in the labour market, capable of reducing as much as possible, or even eliminating, his/her deficit of initial endowment or handicap, either pre‐existing or acquired.
Originality/value
The paper offers insight into the issue of whether labour law actually produces equality among workers.
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Giacomo De Giorgi, Marco Paccagnella and Michele Pellizzari
In this paper we provide estimates of the short-run elasticity of substitution between male and female workers, using data from Italian provinces for the period 1993–2006. Our…
Abstract
In this paper we provide estimates of the short-run elasticity of substitution between male and female workers, using data from Italian provinces for the period 1993–2006. Our identification strategy relies on a natural experiment. In 2000, the Italian Parliament passed a law to abolish compulsory military service. The reform was implemented through a gradual reduction in the number of draftees; compulsory drafting was eventually terminated in 2004. We use data on the (planned) maximum number of draftees at the national level (as stated in the annual budgetary law), interacted with sex-ratios at births at the provincial level, as instruments for (relative) female labor supply. Our results suggest that young males and females (who are those mainly affected by the reform) are imperfect substitutes, with an implied elasticity of substitution ranging between 1.0 and 1.4. Our results have important implications for the evaluation of policies aimed at increasing female labor market participation.
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Pietro Garibaldi, Espen R. Moen and Christopher A. Pissarides
We discuss the connections between epidemiology models and the search and matching (SAM) approach and draw conclusions about modeling the trade-offs between lockdowns and disease…
Abstract
We discuss the connections between epidemiology models and the search and matching (SAM) approach and draw conclusions about modeling the trade-offs between lockdowns and disease spread. We review the pre-COVID epidemics literature, which was mainly by epidemiologists, and the post-COVID surge in economics papers that use meeting technologies to model the trade-offs. We argue that modeling the decentralized equilibrium with economic trade-offs gives rise to substantially different results from the earlier epidemics literature, but policy action is still welfare-improving because of several externalities.
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Emanuela Ghignoni, Giuseppe Croce and Alessandro d’Ambrosio
The purpose of this paper is to consider the enrolment at university and the subsequent possible dropout as a piece of the school-to-work transition and ask whether it improves or…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the enrolment at university and the subsequent possible dropout as a piece of the school-to-work transition and ask whether it improves or worsens the labour market outcomes a few years after graduation from the high school.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis exploits data from the upper secondary graduate survey by ISTAT on a cohort of high school graduates and investigates the effect of dropping out four years after graduation. The labour market outcomes of university dropouts are compared to the outcomes of high school graduates who never enrolled at university. A propensity score matching approach is applied. The model is also estimated on the subsamples of males and females.
Findings
The findings show that spending a period at university and leaving it before completion makes the transition to work substantially more difficult. Both the probability of being NEET and getting a bad job increase in the case of dropout, while no relevant effect is found on earnings. Moreover, the impact of university dropout tends to be more harmful the longer the spell from enrolment to dropping out. Separate estimates by gender point out that females appear to be relatively more affected in the case of dropping out without a fallback plan.
Originality/value
While the existing studies in the literature on the school-to-work transition mostly focus on the determinants of the dropout, this paper investigates whether and how the employment outcomes are affected by dropping out in Italy. Moreover, university dropouts are compared to high school graduates with no university experience, rather than to university graduates. Finally, evidence on the mechanisms driving the effect of dropping out is provided, by considering timing and motivations for dropping out.
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Antonino Callea, Flavio Urbini and Delaney Bucknor
The purpose of this paper was to establish whether precariousness of life as determined by temporary employment contributed to anxiety and depression and whether its consequences…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to establish whether precariousness of life as determined by temporary employment contributed to anxiety and depression and whether its consequences on daily life were differentiated in relation to gender.
Design/methodology/approach
A structural equation analysis of anxiety and depression with aspects of precariousness of life as model predictors was explored with t‐test and correlation analyses used to explore gender differences in the study variables.
Findings
The structural equation model produced strong evidence to suggest that precariousness of life was a significant predictor of both anxiety and depression. Women reported significantly higher scores than men on distrust toward the professional future and the emotional consequences on everyday life, anxiety and depression. As hypothesized, the negative consequences of temporary work in personal and family life appear more evident in women.
Practical implications
The results suggest that organizations should promote training courses on coping strategies to prevent the negative impact of precariousness of life aspects on anxiety and depression.
Originality/value
This study provides evidence supporting that temporary employment contributes to health consequences, which apply differently by gender. The study broadens understanding of temporary work management especially in regards to its health impact on female temporary workers. Furthermore, the Precariousness of Life Inventory has demonstrated an ability to tap into the latent factors of precariousness of life, revealing important gender differences and an ability to contribute to anxiety and depression.