Massimiliano Tani

Have Europeans become more mobile? A note on regional evolutions in the EU: 1988-1997

Abstract This note studies how European workers react to a labour demand shock using the method of Blanchard and Katz [Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 0(1) (1992) 1] and a panel of 166 regions during 1988–1997. Europeans are found to be significantly more mobile than previous literature suggests.

Immigrant Over- and Under-Education: The Role of Home Country Labour Market Experience

Literature on the immigrant labour market mismatch has not explored the signal provided by the quality of home country work experience, particularly that of education-occupation mismatch prior to migration. We show that type of work experience in the home country plays a significant role in explaining immigrant mismatch in the destination country’s labour market. We use the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia and find that having been over-educated in the last job held in the home country increases the likelihood of being over-educated in Australia by about 45 percent. Whereas having been under-educated in the home country has an even stronger impact, as it increases the probability to be similarly mismatched in Australia by 62 percent.

The impact of culture on learning : exploring student perceptions

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse similarities and differences in perceptions of learning among students from diverse cultural backgrounds, using the responses of 2,200 undergraduate students surveyed at an Australian University.Design/methodology/approach – A survey questionnaire is designed to elicit perceptions about the impact of prior learning, competence in language and communication, quality of student‐staff relations and cultural interactions, on student learning. It draws from disciplines including cognitive psychology, social sciences, higher education and economics. The questionnaire is implemented to approximately 2,200 undergraduate students at one of the Australias largest and most diverse universities. The results are analysed through quantitative techniques.Findings – There are statistically significant differences between the experiences and learning perceptions of students born in Australia, Asian countries and elsewhere. Differences emerge in prior learning and preparat...

Raising the in‐class participation of Asian students through a writing tool

This paper discusses the use of written communication as a tool to promote the participation of Asian students. It is suggested that teachers can unlock active participation through the use of written communication. To support this stance, the paper reviews existing work, and discusses empirical evidence collected from a large student survey carried out in Singapore and an example of the successful technique implemented by the author in Australia.

Motivation, study habits, and expectations of medical students in Singapore.

Objectives: To determine the motivation and incentives in education, learning experience and teaching techniques, and expectations about future careers among medical students from a multi-ethnic Asian country. Methods: Pre-validated questionnaire-based survey with stratified random sampling among medical students. The questionnaire combined qualitative responses with semi-quantitative measures of available alternatives. Results: The response rate was 83.1%. The most important factor for pursuing university study was ‘prospect of finding an interesting challenging job’ (rank 1–75%). Family made a significant contribution in decision making. Given the chance, a majority (67.2%) of respondents would prefer to study overseas. The main deterring factors were cost (67.7%), distance from home (28%), and local opportunity for post-graduation (23.4%). Despite their inclination of study overseas, the majority (73.9%) of the respondents indicated they were either very satisfied or satisfied with their current choice of university study. Only 20% of students were comfortable in asking questions in classroom as asking questions was deemed ‘too risky’ and ‘unnecessary to get better grades’. Students adopted strategies related to assessment and competition to monitor their study. Senior students reported university education as less relevant to their future careers as compared to junior students (p = 0.002). Conclusions: Students’ learning behaviour is determined by complex factors such as educational incentives, learning support, assessment and competition. Among several external factors, family, job prospects and expectations about the future play a critical role in education.

Job Search as a Determinant of Graduate Over-Education: Evidence from Australia

We analyse the relationship between job search and over-education for recent Australian bachelor degree graduates using data from the 2011 Beyond Graduation Survey. Results from panel estimation suggest that jobs found through university careers offices are associated with lower probability of over-education relative to jobs found through advertisements and personal contacts. This result arises regardless of gender and age. In contrast, direct employer contact is only beneficial to older males. The role of university careers offices and fairs in matching the skills of graduates with the needs of employers appears more effective than other forms of job search.

The Determinants of employment choice of rural migrant workers in China : SOEs and non-SOEs

Abstract Ownership structure is endogenous to the formation of the economic entity in China. This paper investigates the determinants of employment choice of rural migrant workers across state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and various subtypes of non-state owned enterprises (non-SOEs). Two self-selection models are adopted to comparatively identify how the unobserved factors related to the migration decision affect employment choice. Using pooled cross-section data for 1995 and 2002, results indicate that employment choice is positively selected with respect to the unobserved characteristics. Furthermore, wage and pension benefits exhibit positive relationships with the probability of employment in either type of enterprise.

Business Visits and the Quest for External Knowledge

This paper contributes to existing work on innovation by studying the determinants of various types of interaction between a firm and its external environment. In particular, it focuses on face-to-face interactions carried out through international business visits. The results indicate that accessing external knowledge is a key determinant of the decision to interact, regardless of the chosen form of interaction. Conferences and trade fairs are the interactions with the highest probability of knowledge gain, while visits to new customers and suppliers are those with the lowest. The likelihood of accessing external knowledge is also affected by the type of employer and functional unit involved, and the characteristics of the employee carrying the visit out. The results support that labour mobility aimed at interacting can add to an organisations efficient use of human resources. As a result, it highlights that cutting travelling budgets to reduce financial expenditures also reduces opportunities to interact and, with it, the access to external knowledge.

On the Motivations of Business Travel: Evidence from an Australian Survey

This paper presents the results of a survey of international business travelers to and from Australia carried out at Sydney Airport in May 2003 to understand the motivations underlying business travel. Data gathered from a sample of 210 business travelers indicate that knowledge sharing is a very common motivation to undertake a business trip while boosting sales is the least common. Business trips emerge as a mechanism to access, develop and transfer knowledge internationally, and possibly affect a countrys ability to innovate.

International Labor Visits and Knowledge Transfers

This paper presents new data on international work-related visits collected from a survey of about 2,000 people traveling to/from Australia. Visits emerge as the prime medium for face-to-face interactions to exchange knowledge rather than as a substitute for migration. Exchanging knowledge through visits is strong among outgoing visitors but statistically insignificant among incoming ones, implying that benefits to Australias knowledge stock are more likely to come from the former rather than the latter. Governments and universities use visits to exchange information and data. In contrast, Australian small- and medium-size enterprises are more likely to exchange knowledge related to operative competences, like product development, manufacturing and distribution.