Vacancy Dynamics and Labor Market Efficiency in the Dutch Labor Market

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on cyclical and regional variations in vacancy dynamics in labor markets with persistent imbalances between demand and supply. In particular the so-called matching approach is used to investigate labor market efficiency across regions and over the business cycle. In this matching approach the relationship between the flow of filled vacancies and regional stocks of unemployed job seekers and vacant jobs is specified in a “search production” function. The matching approach is applied to the Dutch labor market, which is characterized by strong disequilibria and persistent regional differences in unemployment and vacancy rates. To explore the development of these regional imbalances from a demand side perspective, the dynamic structure of regional data on vacancies is analyzed over the business cycle. The movements of vacancy duration and the change in the vacancy stock over time appear to be similar across Dutch regions. Moreover, an investigation of the structural causes of regional variations in vacancy duration via shift-share analysis makes clear that regional differences in sectoral composition of unfilled vacancies do not contribute to regional differences in vacancy duration in the period 1989–93. Estimation results of a matching model reveal that there are no region-specific differences in labor market efficiency to produce filled vacancies. The ratio of vacancies to unemployment appears to be the critical determinant of the matching process in the Dutch regions. Another general (non region-specific) finding is that the estimated labor market efficiency increases during recessionary and recovery periods while it decreases during an economic boom.     

Evaluating Alternative Regional Planning Models

The REMI and IMPLAN models are widely used approaches to estimating economic impacts for small regions. However, few benchmarks exist for assessing these estimates. This paper evaluates the relative performance of these models in terms of a given impact: the opening of an automobile assembly plant in central Illinois. Although our results are not conclusive and are limited by our application, we find that in terms of several indirect performance criteria, IMPLAN's outcomes, on balance, are somewhat more plausible than those for REMI.     

Labor Market Segmentation in Urumqi,Xinjiang: Exposing Labor Market Segments and Testing the Relationship between Migration and Segmentation

Labor market segmentation and migration are two phenomena that are dramatically reshaping the spatial, economic, and social relationships of many urban cities in both developed and developing countries. To this point, the bulk of Chinese literature falls within the context of area studies, without much effort to link Chinese migration and emerging labor market outcomes to larger global trends and discourse. This research attempts to link the body of internal Chinese migration and emerging labor markets to labor market segmentation theory, primarily developed by urban economists and sociologists. My findings provide evidence that applying labor market segmentation theory to examine emerging markets in China offers fruitful results that help to identify the new urban stratification that exists in China. I employ a set of quantitative methods using employee‐level field data that I collected in Urumqi in 2008 to identify distinct segments within Urumqi's labor market and argue that migration is a major driver of labor market segmentation. Cluster analysis shows Uyghur minorities and women are found to be overwhelmingly concentrated in the lower sector, composed mostly of “bad” jobs. Discriminant analysis reveals that migrant status and ethnicity are the most important variables that deepen the gap among the labor market segments. The social inequality created as a result of market segmentation can partially explain Uyghur discontent in the region and the July 2009 riots, one of the worst riots in Xinjiang's modern history.     

Labor Market of a U.S.-Japanese Automobile Joint Venture

Starting with a brief location analysis of the plant site, in this paper we analyze the characteristics and geography of the labor market for a U.S.- Japanese automobile joint venture. Based on a survey of the firm's employees, we show that the labor market is two-tiered and stretches over many states in the United States. There are clear differences in skills, gender and socio-demographic characteristics between short and long distance movers, and American workers are willing and able to adapt to technology and work practices originating in a different culture. Most employees hold positive opinions of the work environment and practices at the plant, Japanese influence in the U.S. economy and U.S.-Japanese economic relations, despite perceiving Japan as an economic threat to the United States. We conclude with some policy implications of our findings and an agenda for future research.     

Labor Market Dynamics During a Period of Structural Change: California inEarly 1990s

This paper contributes to the literature on labor market dynamics in four ways. First, unlike most of the existing literature, it uses the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). This panel survey, with a 32‐month window of observation, allows a more precise measure of employment flows than other data sources. It was found that one out of three workers experiences a job transition during the observation period. Second, it focuses on the state of California during an economic cycle. According to these estimates, the net decline in employment represents just 2.6 percent of all job rotations (separations offset by accessions), and gross job flows were as important during the downturn as they were during the economic expansion. Third, it estimates gross flows by sector, and finds significant variation in gross flows relative to employment across sectors of economic activity. Fourth, it examines the coexistence of cyclical and structural changes of California in the early 1990s. The results suggest a labor market link between structural changes and economic cycles.     

U.S. Farm Wages and Labor Market Efficiency

This study examines convergence in real wages for hired farm labor in the U.S. agricultural sector over the period 1978‐92,using the ‘average farm’ in each county as an observation. Convergence is investigated at the aggregate (or the entire U.S. level)and regional levels. Evidence supports convergence with a slower rate at the aggregate level than that at the regional level. Suggested by the evidence is the possibility that absolute benefits of wage equalization across states are ‘contagious’—that one state's successful investment raises productivity and factor payments in neighboring states and that agricultural labor markets are efficient and integrated all over the country.     

The Labor Market Impacts of Post-school Occupational Training for Young Men

ABSTRACT The period 1966 to 1976 was a decade of change, contrast and challenge. In this article a model is developed and estimated contrasting the labor market experiences of young men who participated in post-school occupational training during this period with those young men who did not participate. Participation in post-school forms of occupational training is identified as a significant contributor to individual labor market success during the period and racial differences in returns to training participation are highlighted. The results prompt questions concerning the direction of current federal training policy.     

The Spatial Organization of a Local Labor Market: Employment and Residential Patterns in a Cohort of Engineering and Scientific Workers

A case study of the local labor market for engineers and scientists at three Lockheed plants in the Los Angeles metropolitan area is presented. The specifications of a questionnaire survey are described and a detailed statistical profile of questionnaire respondents is laid out. It is shown that the local labor market is highly concentrated in geographical space and that both job shifts and residence shifts of sampled workers tend to be extremely localized within the urban area. It is suggested that local labor markets with features like these are a source of significant agglomeration economies for employers.     

The Influence of Plant Profitability on Plant Closures in Multi-locational Firms

This paper explores the effect of plant profitability on the closure decision in multi-locational manufacturing firms where the firm is selecting between different sites undertaking similar production activities. The paper draws upon a new interview survey of large multi-locational manufacturing firms. Analysis of the interview data shows that plant profitability is the key to understanding only one-third to one-half of selective closures and that decisions taken by subsidiaries are more likely to rely on plant profitability measures than decisions taken at the corporate head office. In analyzing a regional economy, a poor level of plant profitability is indicative of a plant at risk of closure but the absence of such a characteristic is not necessarily an indication of an assured future for a plant.