Ilias Livanos

The Wage–Local Unemployment Relationship in a Highly Regulated Labour Market: Greece

Livanos I. The wage–local unemployment relationship in a highly regulated labour market: Greece, Regional Studies. Using data obtained from 80 000 employees, this paper examines the relationship between individual wages and regional unemployment in Greece. The findings highlight the dynamics of the local labour markets in a case such as Greece, where the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) claims that wage flexibility is limited. This study does not find evidence that wages in Greece are rigid, but finds a wage curve elasticity of close to − 0.1, which corresponds to evidence from many counties. Interestingly, graduates are found to be the most responsive group of workers to the behaviour of local labour markets. Livanos I. Le rapport salaire-chômage local dans un marché du travail extrêmement réglementé: la Grèce, Regional Studies. A partir des données provenant de 80.000 salariés, cet article cherche à examiner le rapport entre les salaires des individus et le chômage régional en Grèce. Les résultats soulignent la dynamique des marchés du travail locaux dun pays, tel la Grèce, où lOCDE prétend que la flexibilité des salaires est limitée. Les résultats de cette étude ne témoignent pas de la rigidité des salaires en Grèce, mais montrent que lélasticité de la courbe des salaires se chiffre à près de − 0,1, ce qui correspond aux résultats provenant de beaucoup de pays. Il est à noter que les diplômés constituent le groupe de travailleurs qui répond le mieux au comportement des marchés du travail locaux. Courbe des salairesu2003Courbe de Philipsu2003Marchés du travail locauxu2003Effets fixesu2003Grèce Livanos I. Das Verhältnis zwischen Löhnen und lokaler Arbeitslosigkeit in einem hochgradig regulierten Arbeitsmarkt: Griechenland, Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag wird anhand der Daten von 80.000 Arbeitnehmern die Beziehung zwischen den einzelnen Löhnen und der regionalen Arbeitslosigkeit in Griechenland untersucht. Die Ergebnisse verdeutlichen die Dynamik von lokalen Arbeitsmärkten in Fällen wie Griechenland, wo die Löhne laut Angaben der OECD nur begrenzte Flexibilität aufweisen. In dieser Studie wurden keine Belege dafür gefunden, dass die Löhne in Griechenland rigide ausfallen; stattdessen wurde eine Elastizität der Lohnkurve in Höhe von annähernd − 0,1 festgestellt, was den Belegen aus zahlreichen Bezirken entspricht. Interessanterweise sind nach den Ergebnissen dieser Studie Hochschulabsolventen diejenige Gruppe an Arbeitnehmern, die am stärksten auf das Verhalten der lokalen Arbeitsmärkte reagiert. Lohnkurveu2003Philips-Kurveu2003Lokale Arbeitsmärkteu2003Fixed-effectsu2003Griechenland Livanos I. La relación entre desempleo local y salario en un mercado laboral altamente regulado: Grecia, Regional Studies. Con ayuda de datos obtenidos a partir de 80.000 empleados, en este artículo examino la relación entre los salarios individuales y el desempleo regional en Grecia. Los resultados destacan las dinámicas de los mercados laborales locales en un caso como el de Grecia, donde la OCDE afirma que la flexibilidad de salarios es limitada. En este estudio no se halla evidencias de que los salarios en Grecia sean rígidos sino más bien veo una elasticidad de la curva de salarios de aproximadamente − 0,1, lo que corresponde al ejemplo de muchos países. Es interesante observar que los licenciados son el grupo de trabajadores más receptivos al comportamiento de los mercados locales de trabajo. Curva salarialu2003Curva de Philipsu2003Mercados laborales localesu2003Efectos fijosu2003Grecia

Gender employment discrimination: Greece and the United Kingdom

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors affecting the labour market status of females in Greece and the UK respectively and also attempts to explore what accounts for the differences in the employment status between males and females. In particular, the study seeks to assess whether these differences can be explained by employees endowments or by discrimination in the labour market. Design/methodology/approach - Labour Force Survey (LFS) data are used to examine the impact of observable characteristics on female labour market participation, unemployment, and self-employment through the use of logit models. An extension of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique is used to estimate the gender employment discrimination gap. Findings - Clear evidence of gender differences was found in both countries, although differences are substantially larger in the case of Greece. Evidence of female employment discrimination was also found in both labour markets. Originality/value - The paper explores the factors affecting the labour market situation of females and, for the first time, assesses the level of gender employment discrimination in Greece and the UK analysing the differences between the unemployment rates of males and females.

Wage Returns to University Disciplines in Greece: Are Greek Higher Education Degrees Trojan Horses?

This paper examines the wage returns to qualifications and academic disciplines in the Greek labour market. Exploring wage responsiveness across various degree subjects in Greece is interesting, as it is characterised by high levels of graduate unemployment, which vary considerably with the field of study, and relatively low levels of wage flexibility. Using micro-data from recently available waves (2002–2003) of the Greek Labour Force Survey, the returns to academic disciplines are estimated by gender and public/private sector. Quantile regressions and cohort interactions are also used to capture the heterogeneity in wage returns across the various disciplines. The results show considerable variation in wage premiums across the fields of study, with lower returns for those that have a marginal role to play in an economy with a rising services/shrinking public sector. Educational reforms that pay closer attention to the future prospects of university disciplines are advocated.

The incidence of long-term unemployment: evidence from Greece

In this article, I use the 2000–2004 data from the Greek Labour Force Survey in order to estimate a logit model for the incidence of long-term unemployment. The model computed is similar to the one estimated by Obben et al . (2002). It is found that attributes of the individual such as gender, age category, marital status and region of residence affect the odds of being long-term unemployed. On the other hand, the level of someones qualification does not affect the odds of whether someone will be short or long-term unemployed.

What determines self-employment? A comparative study

This article consists of a comparative study of the incidence of self-employment (SE) between Greece, which has the highest rate of SE in the European Union and the United Kingdom, which has amongst the lowest. Data from the Greek and the UK Labour Force Surveys are used in order to assess how personal attributes of an individual have an impact on the incidence of SE. It is found that common patterns exist between these two countries. In particular, it is found that for both countries, males have greater odds of being self-employed than females, older people have greater odds than younger, individuals employed in the primary and tertiary sectors have greater odds than the ones employed in the secondary, and that individuals with primary or secondary education have greater odds of being self-employed than individuals holding higher degrees. The incidence of SE is also found to differ according to the occupation of the individual. On the other hand, the findings indicate that individuals, residing in London, have greater odds of being self-employed than individuals working outside UKs capital, whereas in Greece the pattern is reversed.

Educational segregation and the gender wage gap in Greece

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent to which differences in the subject of degree studied by male and female university graduates contributes to the gender pay gap in Greece, an EU country with historically large gender discrepancies in earnings and occupational segregation. In addition, the paper explores the reasons underlying the distinct educational choices of men and women, with particular emphasis on the role of wage uncertainty. Design/methodology/approach - Using micro-data from the Greek Labour Force Survey (LFS), Oaxaca-Blinder decompositions are employed to detect the extent to which gender differences in the type of degree studied can explain the male-female pay gap. “Risk-augmented earnings functions” are also used to examine the differential wage premiums offered to men and women in Greece in response to the uncertainty associated with different fields of study. Findings - It is found that the subjects in which women are relatively over-represented (e.g. Education, Humanities) are also those with the lowest wage returns. Gender differences in the type of degree studied can therefore explain an additional 8.4 per cent of the male-female pay gap in Greece. A potential reason for distinct gender educational choices is that women opt for less uncertain educations that consequently command lower wage premiums in the job market. Practical implications - The findings suggest that the promotion of gender equality in Greece should pay closer attention to removing informal barriers to entry for women in educational fields traditionally chosen by men (e.g. more effective careers advice, work-experience placements, matching of young girls with professional “mentors”). Originality/value - The paper is the first to investigate the contribution of individuals field of study to the gender wage gap in Greece. In addition, it includes the first-ever estimations of “risk-augmented earnings equations” for that country.

Multiple Job-holding among Male Workers in Greece

Livanos I. and Zangelidis A. Multiple job-holding among male workers in Greece, Regional Studies. This paper studies the incidence of multiple job-holding in Greece and contributes to the literature by examining its determinants, its variance across different regions, and the effect of the business cycle on its occurrence. The empirical analysis highlights the importance of both pecuniary and non-pecuniary motives behind multiple job-holding, and reveals significant variations in its incidence across regions, with areas that have a large primary sector having higher multiple job-holding rates. Finally, multiple job-holding is found to be pro-cyclical, with the probability of holding a second job estimated to increase during economic expansion. Livanos I. et Zangelidis A. Les emplois multiples masculins en Grèce, Regional Studies. Larticle cherche à étudier la fréquence des emplois multiples en Grèce et contribue à la documentation en examinant ses déterminants, sa variance à travers les diverses régions, et limpact du cycle économique. Lanalyse empirique souligne limportance des raisons pécuniaires et non-pécuniares qui expliquent les emplois multiples, et laisse voir des variations non-négligeables de sa fréquece à travers les régions, dont les zones dotées dun grand secteur primaire ont des taux demplois multiples plus élevés. Pour conclure, les emplois multiples savèrent procycliques, avec la probabilité que les emplois multiples augmentent en période de croissance économqiue. Emplois multiplesu2003Grèceu2003Régionsu2003Cycle économique Livanos I. und Zangelidis A. Mehrfachbeschäftigung unter männlichen Arbeitnehmern in Griechenland, Regional Studies. In diesem Beitrag untersuchen wir die Inzidenz der Mehrfachbeschäftigung in Griechenland und ergänzen die Literatur durch eine Analyse ihrer Determinanten und Varianz in verschiedenen Regionen sowie der Auswirkung des Geschäftszyklus auf ihre Häufigkeit. In der empirischen Analyse zeigt sich die Bedeutung von sowohl finanziellen als auch nichtfinanziellen Motiven für Mehrfachbeschäftigung; ebenso lassen sich signifikante Schwankungen der Inzidenz in verschiedenen Regionen feststellen, wobei der Anteil der Mehrfachbeschäftigten in Regionen mit großem Primärsektor höher ausfällt. Ebenso erweist sich die Mehrfachbeschäftigung als prozyklisches Phänomen; die Wahrscheinlichkeit einer zweiten Beschäftigung erhöht sich den Schätzungen zufolge in einer Zeit der wirtschaftlichen Expansion. Mehrfachbeschäftigungu2003Griechenlandu2003Regionenu2003Geschäftszyklus Livanos I. y Zangelidis A. El pluriempleo entre trabajadores varones en Grecia, Regional Studies. En este artículo analizamos la incidencia del pluriempleo en Grecia y contribuimos a la literatura al examinar sus determinantes, su varianza en las diferentes regiones y el efecto del ciclo comercial en su incidencia. El análisis empírico destaca la importancia de los motivos pecuniarios y no pecuniarios detrás del pluriempleo e indica variaciones significativas de la incidencia en las regiones: las áreas que tienen un gran sector principal tienen tasas más altas de pluriempleo. Finalmente, se observa que el pluriempleo es procíclico, y se estima que la probabilidad de tener un segundo empleo aumenta durante una fase de expansión económica. Pluriempleou2003Greciau2003Regionesu2003Ciclo comercial

Modelling the incidence of unemployment: the case of Greece

In this article, micro-data from the 2004 Labour Force Survey are used to model the incidence of unemployment in Greece and assess whether personal attributes of the individual, such as educational level, affect the probability of being unemployed. For that purpose, a logit regression model was constructed. It is found that the type of qualification (PhD, Masters, University degree, etc.) that an individual holds does not affect the probability of being unemployed. However, the incidence of unemployment is found to be affected by the subject studied. Other attributes of the individuals that were found to affect the probability of unemployment are: gender, marital status and region of residence.

The effect of higher education on the gender wage gap

In this paper, we investigate the effect of an academic degree on the gender wage gap, examining the cases of Greece and the UK. Using Labour Force Survey (LFS) micro-data, we first compare the returns to higher education for each gender separately, we then decompose the gender wage gap between graduates and individuals with secondary education only, and finally we analyse the effect of higher education on the (un)explained part of the wage gap. For that purpose, an extension of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique is used. We find that the unexplained part, which is often related to discrimination is lower for graduates in both countries.

The extent and determinants of precarious employment in Europe

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent and determinants of the so-called precarious employment across Europe and using different measures and based on individual’s self-assessment. Design/methodology/approach - – Data on over two million workers across Europe (EU-15) from the European Union Labour Force Survey are utilised and a Heckman selection approach is adopted. Findings - – About one tenth of the total European workforce is in employment relationships that could be related to precariousness. The sources of precariousness are mainly involuntary part-time and temporary work. Less prominent as a source of precariousness is job insecurity related to fear of job loss. Vulnerable groups are found to have a higher risk of precariousness while significant country variations indicate that precariousness cannot be examined in isolation of the national context. Finally, signals of previous employment inability, such as lack of past working experience, as well as the state of labour market significantly increase the risk of precarious work. Originality/value - – The present study utilises a large-scale survey in order to investigate the incidence of precarious employment in a harmonised way and produce results that are comparable across EU-15 countries.