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Article
Publication date: 12 September 2024

Cristian Barra, Sergio Destefanis, Vania Sena and Roberto Zotti

This paper provides novel evidence on the role of gender in the performance of university students, which is particularly relevant to the debate on the performance of female…

130

Abstract

Purpose

This paper provides novel evidence on the role of gender in the performance of university students, which is particularly relevant to the debate on the performance of female students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Design/methodology/approach

Our approach relies on the metafrontier approach proposed by Huang et al. (2014), which measures students' efficiency within a given faculty and the impact of the faculty’s technology on students’ efficiency. We use a sample of 53,159 first-year students in 8 faculties from a large university in southern Italy from 2002–2003 to 2010–2011.

Findings

Students’ efficiency is relatively low, reflecting an essential role of unobserved heterogeneity. The different technologies of somewhat similar faculties have minimal impact on efficiency. There is a performance gap against women in five faculties, which on average is strongest for the faculties in the pure and applied science area. This gap increases with the proportion of female students and decreases with female lecturers.

Practical implications

The metafrontier has the benefit of providing relevant policy information on the drivers of student success by relying on data that universities routinely generate and preserve.

Originality/value

The stochastic metafrontier approach allows us to separate the group-specific frontiers from the metafrontier, yielding a decomposition of the efficiency scores of various faculties into technical efficiency scores and technological gaps.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 51 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

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Article
Publication date: 19 October 2010

Sergio Destefanis and Giuseppe Mastromatteo

The purpose of this paper is to assess the evolution of labour‐market performance in the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) over the last decade…

953

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the evolution of labour‐market performance in the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) over the last decade, considering the robustness of the claims made in an important OECD follow‐up study.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper sets up an empirical framework calibrated on an important OECD follow‐up study, and suggests some ways in which the impact of unobserved heterogeneity and outliers on policy estimates can be treated in a cross‐section framework. The framework applies to the data for 30 OECD countries.

Findings

The paper finds that changes in labour‐market performance are inversely linked to lagged unemployment. Changes in the share of construction workers are also significant even in the presence of various kinds of policy change indicators. As far as the latter are concerned, the results highlight the role of unemployment benefits and, especially, active labour‐market policies.

Research limitations/implications

The kind of policy change indicators used do not allow the adoption of panel data techniques.

Practical implications

An important policy role seems to emerge for unemployment benefit reforms and, even more so, active labour‐market policies. The evidence also supports the contention that the construction sector is important for labour‐market performance.

Originality/value

The paper brings to the fore novel evidence about cross‐country labour‐market performance at a time when this issue is of high interest for citizens and policy‐makers.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

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Article
Publication date: 19 October 2010

Enrico Marelli and Francesco Pastore

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue on “Labour, productivity and growth”.

2709

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue on “Labour, productivity and growth”.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses the articles in the special issue, which investigate the main theme – labour, productivity and growth – from different points of view by employing a variety of econometric methods. These include improvement of the evaluation of the impact of labour market flexibility on economic performance, analysis of the macroeconomic law of decreasing returns to labour, a new panel co‐integration method, and a reinterpretation of co‐integration analysis to assess the impact of incomes policy. Institutional variables, in particular the system of industrial relations, are duly considered.

Findings

The papers in the special issue highlight different causes of sluggish economic (productivity) growth in Europe, in the light of not only traditional macroeconomic variables, such as total factor productivity and labour market flexibility, but also such factors as neo‐corporatist industrial relations and management practices, which are generally neglected in the literature.

Originality/value

The paper introduces a number of articles proposing innovations in the interpretation and application of a wide range of theoretical approaches and econometric methodologies. It also discusses several policy suggestions for fighting sluggish productivity growth, including investment in research and development, human capital, flexicurity, innovative industrial relations practices and high‐performance workplace practices also considered capable of affecting macroeconomic performance.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 31 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 11 November 2013

193

Abstract

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 34 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

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Article
Publication date: 7 January 2014

Emanuele Millemaci and Ferdinando Ofria

The aim of this study is to investigate the validity of the Kaldor-Verdoorn's law in explaining the long-run determinants of the labor productivity growth for the manufacturing…

927

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study is to investigate the validity of the Kaldor-Verdoorn's law in explaining the long-run determinants of the labor productivity growth for the manufacturing sector of some developed economies (Western European Countries, Australia, Canada, Japan and the USA).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors consider the period 1973-2006 using data provided by the European Commission – Economics and Financial Affairs. The method is instrumental variable. The robustness of estimates is checked by means of the Chow and the CUSUM and CUSUMQ tests. The authors consider the traditional specification of the dynamic Verdoorn law and the one which also includes investment to output ratio (I/Y), as a proxy of the capital growth rate, and the average labor cost growth, as a proxy of supply factors.

Findings

The findings suggest that the law is valid for the manufacturing as countries show increasing returns to scale. Capital growth and labor cost growth do not appear important in explaining productivity growth. The estimated Verdoorn coefficients are found to be substantially stable throughout the period.

Originality/value

The authors consider the most recent years, which has been characterized by a constant decline in the average GDP growth rates; a productivity growth decline; the long-term reduction in the manufacturing share of total employment. The authors examine the importance of alternative hypotheses such as those related to the existence of supply constraints. The authors check the stability of the KVL throughout the period under the consideration and across countries. The authors evaluate whether, in the case of the developed countries, economies of scale are significant.

Details

Journal of Economic Studies, vol. 41 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0144-3585

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Article
Publication date: 6 August 2021

Sergio Sparviero and Massimo Ragnedda

The purpose of this paper is to suggest that, to build a digital sustainable society, core terminal and instrumental values of sustainability and sustainable development should be…

2269

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to suggest that, to build a digital sustainable society, core terminal and instrumental values of sustainability and sustainable development should be followed across different worldviews, and in the formulation of policies or other initiatives form private and public stakeholders. These values are normative, they support the coordination of efforts of different stakeholders and can serve as guidelines for driving the development trajectory of technologies contributing to a sustainable society.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper defines digital sustainability from the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development. From the Rio Process (1992), through the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), this paper analyzes and theoretically discusses the intersection between digital aspects of human life and wider sustainability concerns for humanity and the planet. Technologies and digital processes are functional catalysts to the achievement of the UN 2030 SDGs and crucial for individuals’ everyday life, but their adoptions is also conditional to a variety of conflicting worldviews.

Findings

This paper focused on the role of digital technologies in innovation and transformation and their impact on the environment, individuals, society and economy, from a theoretical point of view. Digital technologies have changed the way in which people communicate, study, work, interact and even look for friends, relationships and love. It is, therefore, important to reflect upon the impact that this revolution would have on the individuals and on the wider socio-economic, political and environment context. In this vein, this paper attempted to reflect on the sustainability of this revolution, by sketching the concept of digital sustainability drawing upon the concept of sustainability.

Originality/value

Digital sustainability – like sustainability – relies on three universal values: equality, harmony, self-determination. In fact, to be sustainable, the use of digital technologies should be led by the equality value, namely, the need to not compromise the future generations, both in terms of exploitation of natural resources to produce them and in terms of to create and nor reduce job opportunities for future generations. Second, digital technologies might help tackling both the ecological and social crises through a universal collaboration according to the harmony’s value. Finally, the third value for digital sustainability is self-determination. It applies to individuals and social formations and it refers to the capability of being in control of your destiny.

Details

Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-5038

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 January 2021

Anna Maria Ferragina, Stefano Iandolo and Erol Taymaz

This study aims to consider how migrants may act as channel of diffusion of knowledge which contributes to the dynamics of trade and comparative advantages of EU and MENA…

1089

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to consider how migrants may act as channel of diffusion of knowledge which contributes to the dynamics of trade and comparative advantages of EU and MENA countries for the period 1990–2015.

Design/methodology/approach

Adopting an IV approach and a gravity framework to instrument for migration, the authors document how variations in stocks of migrants coming from (in) countries that are already competitive exporters of a given product impact on the probability that the destination (home) country starts to export competitively new products or succeed in exporting more intensively.

Findings

Controlling for potential confounding factors which can be correlated to knowledge flows and productivity shifts, the authors find trade-promoting effects via migration flows (mostly immigration) between the two areas, testing our hypotheses by different technology classes of products and different specifications.

Originality/value

The contribution of this work to the literature is threefold. First, by providing evidence on international knowledge diffusion induced by migration flows between MENA and EU regions, like no other work before, the authors document the effects of migration on trade and comparative advantages. Second, unlike standard literature on migration-trade link, the authors focus more on long-term structural changes in comparative advantages than on trade volumes. Third, we exploit how the effect of migration on margins of trade varies according to different types of goods, classified by technological level.

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 42 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 15 March 2022

Giuseppe Lucio Gaeta, Giuseppe Lubrano Lavadera and Francesco Pastore

The wage effect of job–education vertical mismatch (i.e. overeducation) has only recently been investigated in the case of Ph.D. holders. The existing contributions rely on…

374

Abstract

Purpose

The wage effect of job–education vertical mismatch (i.e. overeducation) has only recently been investigated in the case of Ph.D. holders. The existing contributions rely on ordinary least squares (OLS) estimates that allow measuring the average effect of being mismatched at the mean of the conditional wage distribution.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors implement a recentered influence function (RIF) to estimate the overeducation gap along the entire hourly wage distribution and compare Ph.D. holders who are overeducated with those who are not on a specific sample of Ph.D. holders in different fields of study and European Research Council (ERC) categories. Moreover, the authors compare the overeducation gap between graduates working in the academic and non-academic sector.

Findings

The results reveal that overeducation hits the wages of those Ph.D. holders who are employed in the academic sector and in non-research and development (R&D) jobs outside of the academic sector, while no penalty exists among those who carry out R&D activities outside the academia. The size of the penalty is higher among those who are in the mid-top of the wage distribution and hold a Social Science and Humanities specialization.

Practical implications

Two policies could reduce the probability of overeducation: (a) a reallocation of Ph.D. grants from low to high demand fields of study and (b) the diffusion of industrial over academic Ph.Ds.

Originality/value

This paper observes the heterogeneity of the overeducation penalty along the wage distribution and according to Ph.D. holders' study field and sector of employment (academic/non-academic).

Details

International Journal of Manpower, vol. 44 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-7720

Keywords

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