[retour accueil Cerc]  - [Home Cerc]

Bulletin N°129

11 juin 2007 - June 11, 2007

Accueil - Home

PAUVRETE - POVERTY

. The challenge of inequality,
International Poverty Centre, Brasilia, Poverty in Focus, June, 28 p., (2007).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Données internationales / International data

. Does vulnerability create poverty traps ?,
A. Barrientos, Chronic Poverty Research Centre, Manchester, CPRC working paper, n° 76, May, 22 p., (2007).

Résumé - Summary :
The paper discusses whether vulnerability generates poverty traps. It contains a review of models of poverty traps and a discussion of whether these can accommodate vulnerability; it also includes a discussion of the empirical evidence available in support of these models and a discussion of their policy implications. The conclusions of this study delineate an important area of research, to which the CPRC is in a position to make a significant contribution. A clearer perspective on how to approach the linkages between vulnerability and persistent poverty, and a stronger, and comparative, body of evidence are needed to make the case that risk and vulnerability are significant factors behind poverty traps. The research planned under the Insecurity, Risk and Vulnerability theme of the CPRC will aim to develop a conceptual framework for examining the links between insecurity and vulnerability on the one hand and chronic poverty on the other. Special attention will be given to developing research in two areas: household dynamics and informality. The effectiveness of policy options will be assessed.

Zone géographique / Geographical area : aucune / none

. New directions in the analysis of inequality and poverty,
S. P. Jenkins and J. Micklewright, ECINEQ, Palma de Mallorca, Working paper, n° 71, June, 41 p., (2007).

Résumé - Summary :
Over the last four decades, academic and wider public interest in inequality and poverty has grown substantially. In this paper we address the question: what have been the major new directions in the analysis of inequality and poverty over the last thirty to forty years? We draw attention to developments under seven headings: changes in the extent of inequality and poverty, changes in the policy environment, increased scrutiny of the concepts of ‘poverty’ and inequality’ and the rise of multidimensional approaches, the use of longitudinal perspectives, an increase in availability of and access to data, developments in analytical methods of measurement, and developments in modelling.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Données internationales / International data

. On synthetic indices of multidimensional well-being : Health and income inequalities in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom,
A. Brandolini, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics, Torino, ChilD Working papers, n° 07/2007, 33 p., (2007).

Résumé - Summary :
The multidimensional view of well-being is receiving growing attention, both in academic research and policy-oriented analysis. This paper examines empirical strategies to measure poverty and inequality in multiple domains, concentrating on two problems in the use of synthetic multidimensional indices: the weighting structure of different functionings and the functional form of the index. These problems are illustrated by comparing inequality and deprivation in income and health in the four largest countries of the EU: France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France, Allemagne, Italie, Royaume-Uni / France, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom

EMPLOI - EMPLOYMENT

. The effectiveness of targeted wage subsidies for hard-to-place workers,
U. Jaeniche and G. Stephan,
Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung der Bundesagentur für Arbeit, Nürnberg, IAB discussion paper, n° 16/2007, 43 p., (2007).

Résumé - Summary :
Targeted wage subsidies paid to employers are an important element of active labour market policies in Germany. This paper uses propensity score matching to investigate their effect on subsidised hard-to-place workers. In a first scenario, we estimate the average treatment effect of a subsidy on previously unemployed individuals. A second scenario analyses the effects of a subsidy on employment probabilities conditional on taking up employment. The third scenario investigates the additional effect of a subsidy on individuals, who have participated in a short-term training measure beforehand. Summing up and in line with the literature, the results show that subsidies have a favourable effect on the employment prospects of participants.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Allemagne / Germany

. Employment and working conditions of migrant workers,
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, Dublin, May, (2007.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

. Les entreprises de services à la personne : Des chefs d'entreprise optimistes, un dynamisme à soutenir,
CCIP, Crocis, Paris, Les cahiers du Crocis, n° 24, mai, 85 p., (2007).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

. Equality at work : Tackling the challenges, International Labour Office, Geneva, International labour conference, 96th session, 141 p., (2007).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Données internationales / International data

. Is the "real" US unemployment rate 13 percent ?,
J. Schmitt, Center for Economic and Policy Research, Washington, Issue brief, June, 7 p., (2007).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Etats-Unis, Suède / United States, Sweden

. La sécurisation des parcours professionnels,
E. Arnoult-Brill, Conseil économique et social, Paris, Avis et rapports du CES, 180 p., (2007).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

. Les sept premières années de vie active des jeunes non diplômés : La place des mesures publiques pour l'emploi,
C. Gasquet et V. Roux, Insee, Paris, Economie et statistique, n° 400, 28 p., (2007).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

. Working time around the world,
S. Lee, D. McCann and J. C. Messenger,  International Labour Office, Geneva, June, 242 p., (2007).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Données internationales / International data

REVENU - INCOME

. Analysing the effects of tax-benefit reforms on income distribution : A decomposition approach,
O. Bargain and T. Callan, ESRI, Dublin, Working paper, n° 197, May, 14 p., (2007).

Résumé - Summary : To assess the impact of tax-benefit policy changes on income distribution over time, we suggest a decomposition methodology based on counterfactual simulations. First, it provides an absolute measure of the impact of tax-benefit changes on inequality, which combines changes in policy structure (rules, rates, etc.) and changes in monetary parameters (benefit amounts, tax bands, etc.) against a distributionally-neutral benchmark, i.e., a situation where monetary parameters are nominally adjusted in line with income growth. We apply this measure to analyze the effect of recent policy changes in twelve European countries. Secondly, we focus on France and Ireland to assess the relative role of policy changes compared to changes in pre-tax income (distribution, composition, demographic structure, etc.). We conduct this exercise for a battery of poverty and inequality measures and check the sensitivity of the results to the decomposition order.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France, Irlande / France, Ireland

. Educational mismatches, wages and economic growth : A causal analysis for the French case since 1980,
J-P. Guironnet and M. Jaoul-Grammare, Lameta, Montpellier, Document de recherche, n° 2007-03, 18 p., (2007).

Résumé - Summary :
In the last two decades, France has experienced an increase in mismatches between education and work. This article studies twenty two years of French productivity to highlight the causes and effects of overeducation on the employee wages and the national income. From the INSEE and Cereq data, this analysis shows a positive effect in the short term on wages of the least qualified and overeducated worker. Furthermore, overeducation phenomenon does not penalize the higher graduates. Paradoxically, if it is always profitable for individuals to increase their education investment; in term of growth, overeducation of the higher graduates produce an unfavourable short term effect on GDP.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

. The European wage structure, 1980-2005 : How much flexibility do we have ?,
J. K. Galbraith and D. RoyChowdhury, The University of Texas, Inequality project, UTIP,  Austin, UTIP working paper, n° 41, May, 44 p., (2007).

Résumé - Summary : High unemployment has been a problem in Europe for three decades. The orthodox view points to the institutional rigidity of national labor markets in Europe as a principal cause of high unemployment, and to labor market ‘flexibilization’ as the cure. An alternative view argues that the problem of unemployment in Europe indicates macroeconomic policy failure – an insufficiency of aggregate effective demand, given the wage structure. Both of these perspectives accept that the European wage structure is inflexible. This paper examines the rigidity of the European wage structure at the continental level, using average wages by sectors within countries as the unit of observation. We analyze the variation in the movement of relative European wages from 1980 to 2005 with a combination of cluster and discriminant analysis, which permits us to isolate the largest variations, and then to focus in on progressively smaller one. We find that there is variability in the European wage structure, and that the variations we observe are mainly associated with differing rates of change of investment, consumption and overall GDP growth between countries. This source of flexibility is usually ignored in analyses of European labor markets, but as Europe has become an integrated continental economy, it deserves to be taken into account. Doing so casts doubt on the labor market flexibilization prescription for European unemployment, since there appear to be no cases where falling relative wages led to higher employment, as the LMF hypothesis would predict.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

AUTRES DONNEES SOCIALES - OTHER SOCIAL ISSUES

. The European welfare state : Golden achievements, silver prospects,
M. Ferrera, URGE, Moncalieri, URGE working paper, n° 4, 26 p., (2007).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

. Families with children in Britain : Findings from the 2005 families and children study (FACS),
L. Hoxhallari, A. Conolly and N. Lyon, Department for Work and Pensions, London, Research report, n° 424, May, 492 p., (2007).

Résumé - Summary :
The 2005 Families and Children Study (FACS) is the seventh in a series of annual surveys, which investigate the circumstances of British families with dependent children. This report presents descriptive findings, and is divided into a number of chapters, each of which looks at distinct features of family life. The first part of the report focuses on the circumstances, lives and conditions of families, and topics covered include: family characteristics, health, education, work, income, benefits and tax credits, social capital and material deprivation. The second part of the report focuses on the circumstances, conditions and lives of children, and topics covered include: child characteristics, health, schooling, children’s activities, and childcare.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Royaume-Uni / United Kingdom

. Fiscal deficits in the US and Europe : Revisiting the link with interest rates,
A. Terzi, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, New York, SCEPA working paper, n° 2007-4, May, 33 p., (2007)
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe, Etats-Unis / Europe, United States

. Repairing Canada's social safety net,
S. Torjman, Caledon Institute of Social Policy, Ottawa, May, 14 p., (2007).

Résumé - Summary :
The Department of Human Resources and Social Development Canada invited departmental representatives and four outside panelists to a roundtable to consider options for repairing Canada’s social safety net.  This paper summarizes the highlights from Caledon’s contribution, which made the case for the need to reform Employment Insurance and welfare in concert and in association with labour market changes.  The presentation noted the problems in the current social security system as well as the economic, social and political pressures that are driving the need for reform.  Our proposals included the diversion of funds from the current Universal Child Care Benefit and newly-introduced child tax credit into an enhanced Canada Child Tax Benefit.  The federal-provincial Child Care Agreements should be resurrected in respect of the need throughout the country for high-quality, affordable space.  The Registered Disability Savings Plan announced in the federal Budget was a welcome measure but does not replace the importance of reforming the disability income system and investing in the supply of disability supports.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Canada