Olga Kupets

Gross Job Flows in Ukraine: Size, Ownership and Trade Effects

This paper documents and analyses gross job flows and their determinants in Ukraine using a unique data set of more than 2200 Ukrainian firms operating in both the manufacturing and the non-manufacturing sector for the years 1998-2000. There are several important findings in the paper. Job destruction is dominating job creation in both 1999 and 2000. In connection with other evidence we infer from this that Ukraine is only at the beginning of the restructuring process. The most clear-cut result of our analysis is the strong positive effect of new private firms on net employment growth, a finding established for other transition economies as well. At the same time, we do not find differences in the employment growth of state-owned and privatised firms. Apart from ownership effects we also find, at the firm level, an inverse correlation of size and net employment growth and of size and job reallocation. Finally, we establish that strong foreign trade links force firms to shed labour more aggressively and to engage in more restructuring when trade is directed to and originating from Western economies. This disciplining function is absent when the trade flows are confined to CIS countries.

Brain Gain or Brain Waste? The Performance of Return Labor Migrants in the Ukrainian Labor Market

Return migration is an important channel through which international labor migration can have a direct positive effect on development of the sending country. Using the unique individual-level data set, this study identifies the main characteristics of return labor migration to Ukraine and analyzes the economic activities chosen by migrants after their return. Return migration to Ukraine is of limited scale, and it often occurs due to the temporary nature of employment abroad, family reasons or failed migration experience. Applying a multinomial probit model, we find that return migrants are more likely to find employment in the non-farm informal sector than in the formal sector compared to nonmigrants but this effect becomes insignificant when we correct for the sample selection into return migration. At the same time, return migrants are found to have higher probability of being nonemployed and this effect is stronger among returnees with re-migration intention. Overall, there is no strong evidence of “brain gain” from return labor migration in Ukraine.

Characteristics and Determinants of Internal Labor Mobility in Ukraine

Over the past 20 years Ukraine experienced fundamental structural changes due to transition to a market economy and integration with the world. Transition reforms accompanied by the collapse of traditional trade and production links with the other republics of the former USSR and Comecon countries entailed asymmetric effects on regions, reflecting an uneven distribution of winners and losers from transition. Geographical mobility of labor is one of the major mechanisms (alongside with capital mobility, wage and price flexibility, and institutional mechanisms for redistributing income across regions) in facilitating regional adjustment to idiosyncratic shocks. The ability of workers to move freely from one geographical location to another inside the borders of their country, in pursuing the same occupation or changing occupations, is of particular importance for efficient matching of labor demand and supply and reducing structural unemployment. This paper seeks to fill gap in the literature on patterns of internal labor mobility in Ukraine, its main characteristics and potential for reducing persistent regional labor market disparities and imbalances in economic and human development. The next chapters of the paper are organized as follows: second chapter evaluates the magnitude of disparities in regional labor market and socio-economic indicators over time, with a special focus on its potential impact on decision of individuals to migrate to another settlement; third chapter provides an overview of the available data sources on internal labor mobility in Ukraine, quantifies internal migration based on aggregate administrative data, discusses its trends over time and compares it levels to those found in developed and transition economies. Fourth chapter provides multivariate statistical analysis of the determinants of inter-regional migration in 2002-2010 based on administrative region-level data. Fifth chapter summarizes the findings of empirical studies on determinants of the migration decision of Ukrainians. Sixth chapter examines short-term labor migration including everyday commuting in 2005-2010 and measures its covariates using individual-level Labor Force Survey (LFS) data. Seventh chapter summarizes the main findings and concludes.

Employer-provided training, innovation and skills in post-Soviet countries

This paper analyzes the extent of employer‐provided training in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine and investigates its relationship with innovation, having international business contacts, use of computers at work, reported skills shortages and other firm characteristics. It contributes to the literature by examining different types of training – initial on‐the‐job learning, more formal in‐house training and external training, which is provided by firms to two categories of workers – white‐ and blue‐collar workers. After controlling for a range of firm characteristics, we find a positive link between technological innovation and intensity of training of all types provided to white‐collar workers that points to the technology‐skills complementarity. Furthermore, the level of computer use at work is a significant determinant of the incidence and intensity of external training provided to white‐collar and blue‐collar workers.

Economic Aspects of Ukrainian Migration to EU Countries

This chapter synthesizes our current understanding of the economic aspects of the migration of Ukrainian workers to the EU. The analysis is divided into three parts. It first reviews the main reasons for the migration of Ukrainian workers abroad and the factors determining their choice of destination country. It also looks at the impact of the changing economic situation in Ukraine and in the destination countries on migration flows. Second, it appraises the evidence on the labour market performance of Ukrainians working abroad. Its third part is devoted to analysis of the economic impact of migration on Ukraine as a sending country. The chapter concludes with a summary of the main topics in the migration-related economic literature that deserve further research attention in view of their academic and policy importance.