Jonathan Wadsworth

Unemployment and the Inter-regional Mobility of Labour

This paper investigates the effect of unemployment on interregional mobility in Great Britain by estimating household migration probabilities with data from the 1977 and 1984 Labour Force Surveys. It finds that households with unemployed heads are much more likely to move than households with employed heads, but regional unemployment differentials do not play an independent explanatory role in migration decisions. It also finds that, at higher overall unemployment rates, the migration probabilities of the unemployed are reduced everywhere, but those of the employed show little change. Copyright 1989 by Royal Economic Society.

On-the-job search: Some empirical evidence from Britain

Abstract This paper considers evidence from the Labour Force Survey concerning job search by employed workers. The unconditional probability of observing on-the-job search is decomposed into the product of two constituent probabilities upon which maximum likelihood estimation is performed. The analysis facilitates the identification of who searches and whether search takes place in work or from unemployment. Temporary or part-time employment encourages continued search by men but not women. Skilled workers search more than the unskilled and demonstrate a preference for employed search. Inter-industry wage relativities encourage search on-the-job. Job tenure is a significant determinant of the quality of a job match and the subsequent likelihood that on-the-job search is undertaken. Employed job seekers adopt search strategies that are more readily integrated into a working environment.

Tenures That Shook the World: Worker Turnover in Russia, Poland, and Britain☆

Abstract We study worker turnover to investigate to what extent the length of time a worker has been employed by a firm shapes the turnover process in a transition economy. Using survey data, we compare the pattern of turnover with a Western economy, Britain. We show that tenure-turnover rates are higher in Russia and lower in Poland than in Britain. The characteristics of workers hired in the state and private sectors do not look very different. State and private sector firms in Poland offer the same wages to new recruits, but new private sector jobs in Russia appear to offer wage premia relative to new state jobs. We argue that these observations are consistent with a framework in which the value of seniority in jobs begun under the old order may be small and the value of a continued job match unsure, offset, in Poland at least, by insider resistance to layoffs. J. Comp. Econom., December 2000, 28(4), pp. 639–664. Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, IZA, Bonn, The William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan Business School, Ann Arbor, and EERC, Kiev; Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics, Royal Holloway College, University of London, IZA, Bonn, and The William Davidson Institute, University of Michigan Business School, Ann Arbor.

UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND SEARCH EFFORT IN THE UK LABOUR MARKET

In this paper, the impact that receipt of unemployment benefit has on job-search effort is investigated. Utilizing data drawn from the 1984 Labor Force Survey, reduced-form search-effort equations are estimated conditional on the decision to seek work. After controlling for potential selectivity bias, personal characteristics, and demand conditions, those claiming benefit are shown to search more extensively than nonclaimants. Benefit claimants maintain a clear attachement to the labor market and appear more able to prolong search effort. Receipt of unemployment benefit increases the likelihood of contacting a job vacancy. Copyright 1991 by The London School of Economics and Political Science.

In the pink: Homosexual‐heterosexual wage differentials in the UK

There are few systematic studies of wage discrimination against homosexuals: none for the UK. This paper studies the earnings of homosexual men and women in the UK relative to their heterosexual counterparts. Homosexuals are identified as individuals living with “same sex partners”. Although gays of either sex earn more than non‐gays, once allowance is made for differences in characteristics gay men appear to be paid less than heterosexuals, while lesbians appear to be paid more. As this implies, the gender pay gap is smaller amongst homosexuals than amongst heterosexuals. The gay male pay penalty is significantly lower in London than elsewhere.

Mind the Gap, Please: The Changing Nature of Entry Jobs in Britain

Benzothiophenedioxideisoquinoline ladder polymers are synthesized by the condensation of 2,3,7,8-tetraaminodibenzothiophene-5,5-dioxide with an aromatic tetracarboxylic acid or dianhydride thereof. The highly fused, aromatic-heterocyclic polymers so prepared have a high degree of thermal stability, a property that renders them particularly useful for high temperature applications, such as for plastic composites, fibrous materials and protective coatings.

Strike incidence in British manufacturing in the 1980s

In British manufacturing during the 1980s, about one in forty wage settlements involved a strike. Using data provided by the Confederation of British Industry, the authors analyze the incidence of strikes in some 6,000 negotiations at the level of the bargaining group. Among their findings are that multi-unionism (the presence in a workplace of more than one union with the authority to bargain) was associated with higher strike incidence than was single unionism; changes in industrial relations laws during the 1980s were associated with reduced strike incidence; and, contrary to the findings of most similar studies of North American strikes, strike incidence in Britain during the 1980s appears to have been counter-cyclical, increasing as unemployment increased. Three strike theories are assessed in light of the empirical evidence.

Job Tenure in Britain, 1975-2000. Is a Job for Life or Just for Christmas?

We use household survey evidence to assess whether job tenure has changed in Britain over the last twenty years and, if so, which individuals are affected and what are the possible causes. After first reconciling apparently conflicting evidence from two separate data sources, we show that small falls in job tenture measures at the aggregate level disguise more obvious changes across age and gender. For nearly three quarters of the workforce, men and women without dependent children, job tenure has fallen over the past twenty-five years. Job tenure has risen only amongst women with dependent children, driven, we believe, by the increasing propensity of women to return to the same employer after child birth. Allowing for the cycle, the results suggest that there has been only a modest increase in short-term employment spells, but more dramatic falls are observed among long-term jobs. The decline in long-term jobs is most pronounced for older workers. The changing nature of jobs on offer, specifically the movement from full-time to higher turnover part-time, temporary jobs or self-employment and the changing industrial composition of the workforce can explain around one quarter of these trends. These developments do not appear to be influenced by the level of educational attainment.

The Labour Market in Winter: The State of Working Britain

This collection of essays, from leading economic experts on the UK labour market, provides an overview of the key issues concerning the performance of the labour market, and the policy issues surrounding it, with a focus on the recent recession and its aftermath. The book contains assessments of the effects of many policies introduced over the last 10 years in employment, education, and welfare. The result is the first serious comprehensive analysis of the economic downturn and the Labour governments record in the field of employment, spanning its time in office. An indispensable reference source on contemporary labour market developments in the UK, this book will be required reading, and of lasting use, to academics, students, practitioners, and policy makers. Available in OSO: http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/oso/public/content/economicsfinance/9780199587377/toc.html Contributors to this volume - Jo Blanden, University of Surrey, UK Alex Bryson, National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) Andrew E. Clark, Paris School of Economics, France Richard Dickens, University of Sussex, UK Richard Disney, University of Nottingham, UK Peter Dolton, Royal Holloway College, University of London, UK Christian Dustmann, Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CReAM), UCL, UK Giulia Faggio, Spatial Economic Research Centre (SERC), LSE, UK John Forth, NIESR, Tommaso Frattini, University of Milan, Italy Antoine Goujard, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE, UK Francis Green, Institute of Education, London, UK Paul Gregg, University of Bristol, UK Stephen Machin, University College London, UK Lindsey Macmillan, University of Bristol, UK Gerry Makepeace, Cardiff Business School, UK Abigail McKnight, London School of Economics, UK Sandra McNally, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE, UK Stephen Nickell, Nuffield College, Oxford, UK Barbara Petrongolo, London School of Economics, UK Anita Ratcliffe, University of Bristol, UK Chiara Rosazza-Bondibene, Royal Holloway College, University of London, UK Jumana Saleheen, Bank of England, UK Sarah Smith, University of Bristol, UK Joanna K. Swaffield, University of York, UK Nikolaos Theodoropoulos, University of Cyprus John Van Reenen, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE, UK Jonathan Wadsworth, Royal Holloway College University of London, UK Jane Waldfogel, Columbia University School of Social Work

The Uk Labour Market And Immigration

Rising immigration has undoubtedly been one of the most significant demographic developments experienced by the United Kingdom over the past fifteen years. This article reviews the evidence on the effects of immigration on the UK labour market. On average, it seems that immigration has not had much of an effect on either employment or pay. However, there may be some evidence of downward pressures on pay and jobs impact in the low skill sector, though these effects are not large.