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PAUVRETE - POVERTY 

. Earnings inequality and in-work poverty, R. Gutierrez Palacios, A. M. Guillen Rodriguez and R. Pena-Casas, Reconciling Work and Welfare in Europe, Edinburg, RECWOWE working paper, n° 7, 29 p., (2009).

Résumé - Summary : Earnings are one of the most relevant dimensions of job quality. They are the main reward within the employment relation, the one most valued by workers and the most multi-faceted instrument for achieving other goals. Very frequently, it is also closely associated with other objective and subjective dimensions of employment quality. Still, sociological and politics research only rarely consider the monetary components of employment quality. In the last two decades, different factors stemming from the process of globalization, the evolution of the economy, changes in the labour market and social protection institutions and policies have led to changes in the level and patterns of earnings and income inequality. This contribution does not intend to draw a detailed picture of the state of that research; it rather aims to provide a quick glance into the situation and the most recent long or medium-term wage trends in a comparative international and European perspective. It is divided into 6 sections. The first deals with our level of knowledge about the impact of economic globalization on earnings inequalities. Sections 2 and 3 are devoted to the dynamics and present situation of the incidence of low paid work and in-work poverty respectively. Section 4 reflects on the different social, labour market and tax policies that may potentially rescue people from low pay and in-work poverty. Section 5 evaluates existing data and indicators. Finally, section 6 includes some tentative proposals for future research.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

. Economics and politics of work-family policy : The case for a state family leave insurance program, K. White and E. Appelbaum, The Working Poor Families Project, s. l., Policy brief, Spring, 8 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Etats-Unis / United States

. La pauvreté et les inégalités dans l'UE, EAPN, Bruxelles, EAPN explicatif, n° 1, 20 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

EMPLOI - EMPLOYMENT

. Flexicurity in Belgium. A proposal based on economic principles, B. Cockx and B. Van der Linden, CESifo, Munich, CESifo working paper, n° 2655, May, 19 p., (2009).

Résumé - Summary : The current unemployment insurance and employment protection legislation were set up in an environment in which relationships between workers and firms were typically long-lasting and stable. The increasing globalisation of the economy and the rapid technological and organisational changes require more flexibility leading to career paths which are much more volatile both within and between firms. Current institutions must be therefore urgently reformed to reconcile this new need of more flexibility with that of security for workers. Rather than proposing a reform on the basis of existing institutions abroad, we propose a reform that is explicitly guided by economic principles.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Belgique / Belgium

. Spécialités de formation et d’emploi : comprendre l’absence de correspondance,  P. Lemistre  et M. Bruyère, Céreq, Marseille, Net-doc, n° 52, juin, 24 p., (2009).

Résumé  : Le pilotage des politiques éducatives pour les formations professionnelles suppose souvent que la formation dans une spécialité procure un avantage relatif sur le marché du travail uniquement si l’emploi occupé est de spécialité identique. Cette hypothèse qualifiée « d’adéquationniste » est réinterrogée sur le plan théorique via la théorie de l’Assignment et empiriquement pour la génération de sortants des filières professionnelles en 1998 observés en 2001. Pour cette génération, la majorité des jeunes occupent en 2001 un emploi d’une spécialité autre que leur spécialité de formation. En effet, si travailler dans sa spécialité de formation permet effectivement de mieux valoriser les diplômes, la spécialité de formation a néanmoins un rendement salarial indépendant de la spécialité d’emploi. Ainsi, les employeurs ne rémunèrent pas seulement la correspondance avec la spécialité d’emploi, ils hiérarchisent également les spécialités de formation qui signalent donc une adaptabilité à des emplois d’autres spécialités. De plus, les jeunes qui ne travaillent pas dans leur spécialité de formation semblent disposer d’aptitudes non observables favorables, tant en ce qui concerne la sélection au chômage que les salaires. Ces résultats ne sont pas en contradiction avec les hypothèses de la théorie de l’Assignment pour laquelle les logiques d’allocation aux emplois sont multiples.

Summary : The educational policies for the vocational trainings often suppose that the formation in a speciality is necessary to reach a job of identical speciality. This assumption is interrogated on the theoretical and empirical level. The study is carried out from French data, representative of the young people left the education system into 1998 observed over the period 1998-2001. For this generation, the majority of the young people from the vocational trainings occupy in 2001 a job of another speciality than their speciality of formation. For as much, the training specific to employment is profitable, the wage returns of the adequacy being relatively important. However, the speciality of formation also has a wage output independently of the speciality of employment. Thus, the employers do not remunerate only the correspondence with the speciality of job, they also remunerate on a hierarchical basis the specialities which signal transferable contents. Results are not in contradiction with the Assignment theory.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

. Transitional labour markets, from theory to policy application. Can transitional labour markets contribute to a less traditional gender division of labour ?, J. Leschke et M. Jepsen, Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne, Paris, Document de travail,  n° 2009.27, 29 p., (2009).

Summary : Much of the gender inequality in the labour market is brought about by women’s dual role as worker and (potential) carer. In this regard transitional arrangements can contribute to mitigate the risks associated with parenthood and to distribute risks more equally. This paper looks at these issues in light of the transitional labour market (TLM) concept. The first section discusses various gender-equality models which imply different ways of organising, for example, childcare, parental leave and flexible working time. Sections two and three look at gender inequalities in labour market outcomes and discuss transitional arrangements that can contribute to the achievement of more gender equality in six countries taken as examples. The last section discusses the results of the labour market and institutional analysis in light of the TLM concept.

Résumé : La plupart des inégalités de genre sur le marché du travail sont dues au rôle dual rempli par la femme en tant que travailleuse et (potentielle) pourvoyeuse de soins. A cet égard, des dispositions transitionnelles peuvent contribuer à atténuer les risques associés à la parentalité et à répartir ceux-ci de manière plus équitable. Ce document examine ces questions à la lumière du concept de marché transitionnel du travail (MTT). La première section aborde les divers modèles d’égalité professionnelle. Les sections deux et trois étudient les inégalités de genre ainsi que les mesures « transitionnelles » pouvant contribuer à la réalisation d’une plus grande égalité entre hommes et femmes, dans six pays sélectionnés. La dernière section traite des résultats de l’analyse du marché du travail et des institutions à la lumière du concept MTT.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

 REVENU - INCOME

. The distribution of wealth in the population aged 50 and over in England, J. Banks and G. Tetlow, Institute for Fiscal Studies, London, Briefing note, n° 86, June, 13 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Royaume-Uni / United Kingdom

. The economic well-being of Canadians : Is there a growing gap?, C. Sarlo, The Fraser Institute, Vancouver, May, 58 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Canada

. The employment and hours of work effects of the changing national minimum wage, R. Dickens, R. Riley and D. Wilkinson, Report prepared for the Low Pay Commission, London, March, 102 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Royaume-Uni / United Kingdom

. The impact of recent upratings of the national minimum wage on competitiveness, business performance and sector dynamics, J. Forth and alii, Report prepared for the Low Pay Commission, London, February,  111 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Royaume-Uni / United Kingdom

. Monitoring the impact of the national minimum wage, Incomes Data Services, Report for the Low Pay Commission, March, 138 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Royaume-Uni / United Kingdom

. Le nombre d’allocataires du RMI au 31 mars 2009, M. Hennion-Aouriri, E. Nauze-Fichet et I. Siguret, Drees, Paris, Etudes et résultats, n° 693, juin, 6 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

AUTRES DONNEES SOCIALES - OTHER SOCIAL ISSUES

Résumé - Summary : Parmi les mesures d'évaluation des politiques publiques, l'expérimentation est aujourd'hui mise en avant comme procédé scientifique de contrôle ex ante de l'efficacité des instruments d'action publique. L'article propose d'explorer, sous trois dimensions, les fondements de la raison expérimentale invoquée au soutien des politiques publiques : au plan théorique, en situant l'expérimentation parmi les diverses formes d'observation qui gravitent autour de l'action publique ; au plan opérationnel, en étudiant un modèle expérimental particulier, celui qui a précédé la mise en place du Revenu de solidarité active (RSA) ; au plan politique, en suivant les destinées des résultats expérimentaux devant la représentation nationale. S'il apparaît que l'expérimentation constitue bien une forme nouvelle d'association des scientifiques à la prise de décision, l'analyse du dispositif RSA fait apparaître un décalage entre l'objet de l'expérimentation et la teneur du dispositif, et le suivi des débats à l'Assemblée montre que l’expérimentation a rempli surtout une fonction rhétorique de justification d'une politique classique de revenus. Pour autant, cette forme d'intervention n'est pas sans conséquences.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

. Future skill supply in Europe : medium-term forecast up to 2020, synthesis report, Cedefop, Thessoloniki, 160 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe

. How are Canadians really doing ?, Institute of Wellbeing, Toronto, First report, June, 41 p., (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Canada

 . The one-child family : France in European context, D. Breton and F. Prioux, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Demographic research, vol. 20, article 27, June, pp. 657-692, (2009).
Zone géographique / Geographical area : France

. Social capital and equality : Tocqueville's legacy, E. Ferragina, Luxembourg Income Study, Luxembourg, LIS working paper, n° 515, June, 31 p., (2009).

Résumé - Summary : Social capital theory has become increasingly important in the social science literature, integrating approaches previously based only on the classical forms of capital. In this article, the emergence of the concept of Social Capital is approached from a sociological and political point of view. A review of classical sociological theories introduces a critique of Putnam’s analysis to highlight an important gap in the literature. The relationship between inequalities and Social Capital at the macro level, in fact, has not been developed adequately in mainstream literature. The conclusion suggests a possible new way to look at the relation between Social Capital and inequalities, providing a theoretical basis for new research.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Italie / Italy

. Towards a framework for assessing family policies in the EU, H. Lohmann and alii, OECD, Paris, OECD social, employment and migration working papers, n° 88, June, 94 p., (2009).

Résumé - Summary :This report presents the results of a first attempt to create a framework for assessing the performance of national family policies. The report is part of a joint EU and OECD project, which aims to help the EU Government Expert Group on Demographic Issues in evaluating national family policies. The idea behind the framework is that it allows individual countries to compare their overall performance in the area of family policies with the performance of other countries. The main focus of the report is policies for families with smaller children. The framework provides a set of cross-nationally comparable indicators on contexts, policy measures, and outcomes, organised on a systematic basis. The policy measure indicators presented in the report cover leave schemes, early childhood education and care, family benefits and workplace policies. The indicators build upon, inter alia, previous work by the OECD in various studies on family-friendly policies that were carried out on a cross-national basis using different sets of indicators. Most of these indicators are today available in the OECD Family Database. Wherever the OECD Family Database contains indicators for the majority of EU member states and OECD countries, these data have been used in the present study. Otherwise, data from other cross-national databases have been included. Each indicator in the framework is presented as a single-standing indicator in the general absence of  scientific consensus on different aggregation weights. In the report no explicit ranking of countries has been attempted, instead the relative position of countries has been illustrated with the help of standard deviation scores. In the last part of the report the linkages between policy aims and the various context, outcome and policy measures are indicated, which help construct “score cards”. This “score card-approach” is illustrated for three countries: Denmark, Germany and the United Kingdom. The report offers tools for assessment that may be developed further, and should offer an approach to using the OECD Family Database, acknowledging this unique data source for cross-country comparisons in the field of family policy.
Zone géographique / Geographical area : Europe