In 1996, statutory sick pay was reduced for private sector workers in Germany. Using the empirical observation that trade union members are dismissed less often than non-members, we construct a model to predict how absence behaviour will respond to the sick pay reform. We show that union members...

In settings where most workers have full-time schedules, hourly wages are appropriate primary indicators of job quality and worker outcomes. However, in sectors where full-time schedules do not dominate— primarily service-producing activities—total hours matter, in addition to hourly wages,...

This paper presents statistical evidence about the validity of the sibling sex ratio instrument proposed by Angrist and Evans (1998), a prominent natural “natural experiment” in the sense of Rosenzweig and Wolpin (2000). The sex ratio of the first two siblings is arguably randomly assigned...

This paper studies the interactions between an individual's self-esteem and his social environment - in the workplace, at school, and in personal relationships. Because a person generally has only imperfect knowledge of his own abilities, people who derive benefits from his performance (parent,...

Women married to unemployed men in Britain have lower participation rates than those married to employed men. Possible reasons include unfavourable local labour market conditions affecting both, their both having poor labour market characteristics, and the means testing of benefits, which...

Women married to unemployed men in Britain have lower participation rates than those married to employed men. Possible reasons include (1) husbands and wives fac-ing similar unfavourable local labour market conditions, (2) their both having characteristics which make it more likely that they...

Les transformations dans les rapports sociaux de travail sont analysees a l'aide de la theorie de la modernite avancee d'A. Giddens. Celle-ci permet de reunir les explications economiques et culturelles qui sont habituellement proposees pour expliquer ces transformations. Cette theorie illustre...

Observers have argued about whether highly-educated women are opting out of their careers and for families. If so, it is natural to expect fertility to increase and, insofar as children are associated with lower employment, further declines in employment. This paper provides a comprehensive...

It is well known that estimation of the labour supply function is complicated by the non-linearity of the individual's s budget constraint. Non-linearity may be caused by a number of factors such as the structure of the tax/benefit scheme or overtime rates. Non-linearities also cause problems in...

The paper examines aspects of outsourcing which can be defines as the situation where an external vendor provides, on a recurring basis, a service that would normally be performed within the organisation.