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Bulletin N°154

26 mai 2008 - May 26, 2008

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PAUVRETE - POVERTY

. Keeping up or falling behind ? The impact of benefit and tax uprating on incomes and poverty,
H. Sutherland, Institute for Social and Economic Research, Colchester, Working paper, n° 2008-18, May, 32 p., (2008).

Résumé - Summary :  Each year, the Government decides how much to raise benefits and tax allowances. In the UK the basis for these upratings is rarely debated, yet has major long-term consequences for the relative living standards of different groups as well as for the public finances. This paper considers the medium term implications of present uprating policies which vary across parameters of the tax-benefit system. Continuing for 20 years, other things staying the same, would result in a near doubling of the child poverty rate alongside a substantial gain to the public finances. At the same time pensioners are largely protected by the earnings indexation of pensioner benefits and, in time, the basic state pension. We show how difficult it will be to meet the UK child poverty targets unless the greater inequality inherent in the current regime for uprating payments and allowances is redressed.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Royaume Uni / United Kingdom

. More older Americans are poor than the offcial measure suggests,
B. A Butrica and S. R. Zedlewski, The Urban Institute, Washington, The retirement policy program, n° 15, May, 2 p., (2008)
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Etats-Unis / United States

. Participation of mothers in government assistance programs : 2004,
J. Lawler Dye, Census Bureau, Washington, Household economic studies, n° 70-116, May, 16 p., (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Etats-Unis / United States

. The social situation in the European Union 2007 : Social cohesion through equal opportunities,
European Commission, Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities,Brussels, April, 199p., (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

. Welfare reform in the United States : Implications for the British social policy,
J. Midgley with commentaries by K Stewart, D. Piachaud and H. Glennerster, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, London, CASE/paper n° 131, April, 57 p., (2008).

Résumé - Summary : Recent government pronouncements in the UK and above all the recent Conservative Party (2008) policy document on welfare reform suggest that US welfare reform is increasingly being taken as a model for the UK. What lessons should the UK draw from US experience? The long established means tested programme for needy families known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was replaced in 1996 with a welfare to work programme known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The historical background and features of the new program are elaborated and the way it has been implemented in varied ways in different states is documented. The findings of a number of outcome studies assessing the programme’s impact and effectiveness are reviewed. Three commentaries on the paper consider how far American experience should be a guide to welfare policy in Britain.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Etats-Unis / United States

. Youth homelessness in the UK : A decade of progress ?,
D. Quilgars, S. Johnsen and N. Pleace, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, London, May, 168 p., (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Royaume Uni / United Kingdom

EMPLOI - EMPLOYMENT

. Avis du coe sur les conditions de la réussite du rsa pour l’emploi
, Conseil d’Orientation de l’Emploi, Paris, 23 mai, 32 p., (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

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Derrière les diplômes et certifications, les parcours de formation et leurs effets sur les parcours d'emploi. XVes journées d'étude sur les données longitudinales dans l'analyse du marché du travail,  B. Cart et alii, Céreq, Marseille, Relief, n° 24, mai, 483 p., (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

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Employment effects of welfare reforms : Evidence from a dynamic structural life-cycle model, P. Haan, V. Prowse and A. Uhlendorff, Paris-Jourdan Sciences économiques, Paris, Document de travail, n° 2008-225, April, 47 p. (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Allemagne / Germany

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Fléxibilité interne et fléxibilité externe : complémentarité, substitution et impact des 35 heures, M. Bunel, Centre d'études de l'Emploi, Noisy-le-Grand, Document de travail, n° 98, mai, 37 p., (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

. Normes du Travail, migrations internes et emploi : une analyse théorique
, R. Bazillier,
Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne, Paris,  Documents de Travail, n° 34, mars, 36 p., (2008).

Résumé : Cet article vise à déterminer l'impact de la mise en place de normes de travail sur le niveau de dualisme, d'emploi et de salaire dans le secteur traditionnel et dans le secteur moderne. Contrairement aux idées reçues, nous montrons que le renforcement du dualisme lié à l'amélioration des normes dans le secteur formel n'a rien d'automatique. Sous certaines conditions, notamment liées à l'impact des normes sur la productivité, au niveau initial de normes et au rapport capital-travail, l'amélioration des normes peut améliorer l'emploi dans le secteur formel, réduire le poids relatif du secteur traditionnel et augmenter le salaire dans ce secteur. Nous étudions également les effets des normes lorsqu'elles constituent une incitation supplémentaire à migrer. Nous montrons que cela peut créer une pression à la hausse sur le chômage urbain si l'écart entre les conditions de travail dans les deux secteurs est trop importante.

Summary :
The goal of this paper is to determine the impact of the settings of labour standards on the level of dualism, employment and wages. Contrary to the "conventional wisdom", we show that the reinforcement of dualism due to the improvement of labour standards is not automatic. Under certain assumptions (impact of labour standards on productivity, initial level of labour standards and ratio capital/labour), the improvement of labour standards can improve employment in the formal sector, reduce the relative weight of traditional sector and increase the wage in this sector. We also study the effects of labour standards when these standards creates an additional incentive to migrate. We show that it can create a upward pressure on the level of urban unemployment if the gap between working conditions in the two sector is too large.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : none

. Quarterly EU labour market review : Spring 2008,
European Commission, Brussels, 14 p., (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

. Les réformes Hartz des politiques de l'emploi : Instrument ou reflet de la normalisation du marché du travail ?,
O. Giraud et A. Lechevalier, Ifri, Paris, Note du Cerfa, n° 54, avril, 20p., (20008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Allemagne / Germany

REVENU - INCOME

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Geographical income polarization : House prices and labour market linkages,
M. A. Hussain and A. Bruun Jonassen, The Danish National Institute for Social Research, Copenhagen, Working paper, n°06:2008, 27 p., (2008).

Résumé - Summary : In this paper we estimate the degree, composition and development of geographical income polarization based on data at the individual and municipal level in Denmark from 1984 to 2002. Rising income polarization is reconfirmed when applying new polarization measures, the driving force being greater inter municipal income inequality. Counter factual simulations show that rising property prices to a large part explain the rise in polarization. One side-effect of polarization is tendencies towards a parallel polarization of residence location patterns, where low skilled individuals tend to live in cheaper areas, and highly skilled individuals in more expensive areas. This may threaten cohesion in the comprehensive universal welfare state of Denmark.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Danemark / Denmark

. Social inclusion and income distribution in the European Union : 2007,
Coordinated by Applica,  European Observatory on the Social Situation, Brussels,  312 p., Executive summary, 14 p., (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

. Sticky wages : Evidence from quarterly microeconomic data,
T. Heckel, H. Le Bihan et J. Montornes, European Central Bank, Frankfurt-am-Main, Working paper series, n° 893, May, 56 p., (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

. Would a legal minimum wage reduce poverty ? A microsimulation study of Germany,
K-U. Müller and V. Steiner, Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn, IZA discussion paper, n° 3491, May, 35 p., (2008).

Résumé - Summary : In view of rising wage inequality and increasing poverty, the introduction of a legal minimum wage has recently become an important policy issue in Germany. We analyze the distributional effects of the introduction of a nationwide legal minimum wage of € 7.5 per hour on the basis of a microsimulation model which accounts for the complex interactions between individual wages, the tax-benefit system and net household incomes. Simulation results show that the minimum wage would be rather ineffective in reducing poverty, even if it led to a substantial increase in hourly wages at the bottom of the wage distribution and had no negative employment effects. The ineffectiveness of a minimum wage in Germany is mainly due to the existing system of means-tested income support
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Allemagne / Germany

AUTRES DONNEES SOCIALES - OTHER SOCIAL ISSUES

. Age of selection counts : a cross-country comparison of educational institutions,
D. Horn, Mannheimer  Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung, Mannheim, Working papers, n° 107, 30 p., (2008).

Résumé - Summary
: In this paper I combine a theoretically developed construction of the school to work transition literature, namely the stratification and standardization dimensions of the education system, and the more data oriented inequality of opportunity research of the economics of education. I collect several possible indicators for both dimensions to compare the countries: utilizing the PISA 2003 data and some other OECD sources I run multilevel analysis to test the effect of the collected country level stratification and standardization indicators on the inequality and on the effectiveness of education. Inequality of opportunity is indicated by the size of the parental background effect on the PISA literacy scores, while effectiveness is the literacy score adjusted for parental background and other individual characteristics. The results show that stratification associates strongly and positively with the inequality of educational opportunity, while standardization in general seems to enhance equality. I reject that stratification would increase effectiveness, and the association between standardization and effectiveness is not straightforward. The most robust finding of the study is that the early age of selection links closely with high inequality of opportunity
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Pays de l'OCDE / OECD countries

. L'approche par les capabilités d'Amartya Sen, une voie nouvelle pour le socialisme libéral,
A. Bertin, GREThA, Bordeaux, Cahiers du GREThA, n° 2008-09, 17 p., (2008).

Résumé : En confrontant les idées du ‘nouveau libéralisme’ anglo-saxon du XIXème siècle avec l’approche par les capabilités proposée par Sen, l’objectif de cet article est de montrer que cette dernière peut constituer une nouvelle voie pour le socialisme libéral. Conjuguant le respect d’une liberté inconditionnelle et la recherche d’une égalité réelle, Sen grâce à l’approche par les capabilités, propose un cadre revivifiant à la théorie de la justice.

Summary : The goal of this paper is to show that Amartya Sen’s idea can be rooted in the socialliberal paradigm. Combining the respect of an unconditional freedom and the research of a real equality, Sen, thanks to the Capability Approach, proposes a framework for a new theory of justice.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : none

. Back on track : A strategy for modernising alternative provision for young people,
Department for Children, Schools and Families, London, May, 71 p., (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Royaume Uni / United Kingdom

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Improving education outcomes in Germany, D. Carey, OCDE, Paris, Economics department working paper, 611, May, 49 p., (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Allemagne / Germany

. The Nordic models : solutions to Continental Europe’s problems?,
Center for European Studies,  Harvard, Conference papers,  May 9-10, (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

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Public pensions and intra-eu mobility: an unfinished agenda, R. Fenge and J. Von Weizsäcker, Bruegel, Bruxelles, Working paper, n° 2, May, 47 p.,  (2008).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

. La vie des femmes et des hommes en Europe : un portrait statistique,
Eurostat, Luxembourg, 252 p., (2008).
English version
: "The life of women and men in Europe : A statistical portrait"
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe