Temesgen Kifle

Gender Differences in Domains of Job Satisfaction: Evidence from Doctoral Graduates from Australian Universities

Based on data from a study of graduates from PhD programs at Australia’s Group of Eight (Go8) universities, a gender gap in job satisfaction domains is estimated using a Mann-Whitney U test. Findings from the aggregate model show significant gender differences in only 5 out of 17 domains of job satisfaction. Further, separate analyses by age, employment status and family type/living arrangement broadly support the absence of gender differences in domains of job satisfaction. For aspects of job satisfaction that show significant gender differential it is found that males are more satisfied than females with their hours worked, opportunity for career advancement and workload, whereas females are more satisfied than males with their relationship with co-workers and contribution to society. This implies that males are more satisfied with intrinsic dimensions of job satisfaction while females are more satisfied with extrinsic aspects of job satisfaction.

Are women really that happy at work? Australian evidence on the 'contented female'

This article investigates the apparent paradox of females possessing higher levels of job satisfaction compared to their male counterparts despite possessing worse employment outcomes. Postulating that the female workforce is heterogeneous by age, education and the presence of children, we create four groups; the aggregated, young and childless, young with children and the educated. The article finds statistical evidence of significant gender differences, though not uniformly so. Econometric results, however, paint a muddier picture, indicating that statistical results alone should not be used to categorically report incidences of gender differences in job satisfaction. Sample-selection bias results also evince sub-group heterogeneity and require further study. The determinants of job satisfaction vary between measures and sub-groups, though not necessarily so across gender. In sum, the article finds that the paradox does exhibit itself for the aggregated and young and childless sub-groups, but is largely absent for the young with children group. As well, there is a clear bifurcation in job satisfaction between genders for the educated sub-group. This suggests that employed females should not be viewed as a monolithic bloc in the labour force.

The relationship between body mass index and socioeconomic and demographic indicators: evidence from Australia

ObjectivesThis paper explores the association of body mass index (BMI) with socioeconomic and demographic factors using data from the 6th wave of the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey.MethodsThis study applies a stereotype logit model (SLM) to assess 10,875 individuals on the relationship between BMI and socioeconomic and demographic indicators.ResultsAggregate results from the SLM show a positive (and concave) association between age and higher BMI. Further, males are more likely than females to have higher BMI. Higher BMI is positively associated with long-term health problems, reduced prosperity, being married, and being born in Australia and negatively associated with possessing a diploma or above.ConclusionsResults show that there is a positive and concave relationship between age and higher BMI. Further, males tend to have higher BMI as compared to females. Higher BMI is also positively related to long-term health problems, reduced prosperity, being married and being born in Australia. Negative association with BMI is observed on those possessing a diploma and above.

Immigrant occupational mobility in Australia

This research note takes an occupational attainment approach to examining the economic assimilation of immigrants in Australia. This approach differs from much of the existing literature, which tends to examine economic assimilation by looking at levels of (un)employment or wages. Focusing on occupational attainment is useful, in that disadvantage in the labour market is not limited to employment status and earnings, and an individual’s occupation may provide a broader signal of their economic and social well-being. Findings indicate that, on arrival, immigrants from a non-English speaking background face significant disadvantage in occupational attainment, particularly those from Asian countries. There is also evidence to suggest that those who arrive later in life, or are from an Asian non-English speaking background, are the least likely to assimilate over time. Results are indicative of the need for policies to better integrate immigrants from more diverse cultures and societies into the Australian labour market.

Immigrant job satisfaction : the Australian experience

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to study the level of job satisfaction among Australian immigrants relative to the native-born over time as a measure of their labour market assimilation. Design/methodology/approach - – Using the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia panel data set, six measures of job satisfaction are tested using the random effects Generalised Least Squares method with a Mundlak correction. Labour market assimilation is defined by “years since arrival” and also via cohort effects. Findings - – The authors find statistical evidence of general job dissatisfaction amongst immigrants in Australia relative to the native-born, driven mainly by non-English Speaking Background (NESB) immigrants, though this dissipates for long-term immigrants, irrespective of English Speaking Background (ESB) or NESB status. Econometric results strengthen these results though improvements over time are only strongly evident for NESB immigrants, whilst results for ESB immigrants remain mixed, and is dependent on the definition of “assimilation”. Originality/value - – This paper extends the immigrant labour market assimilation literature by introducing job satisfaction as a measure of assimilation.

The power of the pram: do young children determine female job satisfaction?

Policy-makers worldwide have attempted a number of strategies over the last few decades to increase female labour-force participation without jeopardizing their choice of also maintaining a fulfilling family life, should they choose to do so. One such Australian strategy heavily subscribed by females with young children has been to promote part-time employment. Results provide evidence that females with young children at home engaged in part-time employment are generally more satisfied with their working hours and work–life balance relative to those with older and no children, whilst the opposite holds when looking at those in full-time employment. This suggests that part-time employment should be pursued as a policy tool to aid females with young children maintain a relationship with the labour market without having to also give up being the primary carer of their children.

Partner influences on smoking cessation: a longitudinal study of couple relationships

ABSTRACT Introduction: Despite declines in population tobacco use, smoking remains unacceptably high. Smoking cessation may be particularly difficult in couple relationships when partners continue to smoke, and when relationship satisfaction is low. This study examined the longitudinal influence of partner tobacco use and relationship satisfaction on the likelihood of smoking cessation. Methods: Data were obtained from 238 tobacco-using couples aged between 18 and 45 over three assessments from a nationally representative sample of Australian households. Results: There was high concordance between partner smoking six years after the initial assessment, with a little more than three-quarters (76.1%) of non-smokers residing with partners who had also ceased smoking. Step-wise logistic regression models indicated that females were more likely to cease smoking if their partners had previously quit. Males were more likely to quit smoking when they perceived their relationship as highly satisfying and their partner had stopped smoking. Female partners were also more likely to quit smoking when they were highly satisfied with their relationships. Conclusions: Both partner’s smoking status and relationship satisfaction are important considerations in smoking-related cessation. For entrenched smokers in couple relationships, involvement of partners in interventions may be useful.

Heavy Alcohol Use in the Couple Context: A Nationally Representative Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT Background: For young couples, a partners heavy alcohol use may be a point of conflict and relationship distress, particularly when there are disparities in the severity of drinking across partners. Objective: The aim was to examine the longitudinal impact of discrepancies in heavy alcohol use, particularly in couples with parenting responsibilities. Methods: Data were obtained from 554 heterosexual couples (with at least one partner aged between 18 and 30 years of age) over two assessments from a well-established longitudinal study of Australian households. Results: Multilevel analyses (examining time within partners within couples) indicated a high level of couple-level variation in individual reports of relationship satisfaction. Discrepancies in heavy alcohol use were negatively associated with relationship satisfaction over the assessment period and this was significantly moderated by parenthood. More specifically, heavy drinking discrepancies were associated with lower relationship satisfaction amongst parents more than nonparents. Conclusion: Among dissatisfied couples, managing discrepancies in alcohol use and helping heavy drinking partners may be an important intervention focus, particularly when providing professional support for young parents.

Export-Led Growth in India: A Bounds Testing Approach

ABSTRACT:Neoclassical economic theory suggests there is a positive relationship between economic growth and growth in exports. An increase in exports leads to an increase in income due to the multiplier effect of production. This paper examines whether the Export-Led Growth (ELG) hypothesis is valid for India. Though the existing literature on this field is extensive, the results are ambiguous. Past studies have suffered from various methodological drawbacks. Early studies were hampered by a lack of time series data. The next stage used OLS analysis and simply assumed causation rather than testing for it. A third stage of investigations tested for Granger causality using the standard tests which was not applicable due to the presence of cointegrated variables. Therefore this paper re-investigates the ELG hypothesis for India; taking advantage the longer time series now available, with annual data from 1980 to 2013, and using more sophisticated tests. The paper tests for the presence of a long run relationship between exports and economic growth using the more robust autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) bounds test for cointegration developed by Pesaran et al. (2001). The paper then tests for causality between exports and GDP using the Todo and Yamamoto (1995) and Dolado Lutkepohl (1996) (TYDL) causality test. The advantage of the latter test is that it indicates the direction of causality. The results indicate that exports have no significant long run impact on economic growth. While in the long run the result exhibits no relationship between exports and economic growth, the short run model is highly significant. Furthermore, the results indicate that capital formation, imports, real exchange rate and terms of trade are significant and have an impact on economic growth in the long and short run. The short run dynamics further indicate that the Indian economy recovers from a shock is relatively quickly. In addition, the causality test results show that there is a significant unidirectional causal relationship from GDP to exports but no causality is found from exports to GDP. Thus, the results show no support for the ELG hypothesis and indicate that India has not directly benefited from the trade reforms implemented in 1991. The findings suggest that to improve and sustain long run economic growth the government should target policies that further enhance domestic demand and capital accumulation.

The assimilation of Australian immigrants: does occupation matter?

ABSTRACT This paper utilises the occupational attainment approach to investigate immigrant labour market assimilation, complementing other assimilation approaches such as employability, earnings, skills-match and job satisfaction. Our results show that all immigrant groups suffer from initial occupational attainment disadvantage. Worryingly, no ‘catch-up’ over time is evident – even when disaggregated to reflect different cultures and backgrounds. Nor is there much evidence that the occupational status of younger arrivals matches those of Australian born residents, despite being immersed in local mores and institutions while undertaking schooling in Australia. Newer cohorts of immigrants (those who arrived between 2000 and 2014) are also more prone to suffering an occupational penalty. We recommend policymakers subsidise bridging courses to aid recognition of overseas-obtained qualifications and encourage immigrants to obtain local qualifications that can complement their overseas-obtained work experience. This will increase their ‘Australian-ready’ skill-set and occupational attainment in their new host country.