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Older male labour force participation in OECD countries: Pension reform and “the reserve army of labour”
Martin O’BRIEN
Many governments have treated older workers as a “reserve army of labour”‚ allowing
early exit from the labour force by various means, so the OECD recommends that
the fiscal strain associated with population ageing be addressed through pension
reform to increase older workers’ labour force participation. Modelling the labour
force participation of males aged 55–59 and 60–64 in 12 OECD countries over the
period 1967–2007, the author finds that labour market variables dominate pension
reform variables – and country-specific causal factors also – in explaining older males’
participation rates. Without consideration of labour market conditions, the OECD’s
standard prescription of pension reform would thus seem doomed to fail.
KEYWORDS: OLDER WORKER, LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION, PENSION SCHEME,
SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM, OECD COUNTRIES
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Employment protection legislation and job stability: A European crosscountry analysis
Sandrine CAZES and Mirco TONIN
Based on Eurostat data on wage employment for the period 1999–2006, this article
investigates the dynamics of job tenure across the European Union. The authors’
analysis shows no generalized decline in job tenure, but a trend towards shorter tenure
among young workers (aged 15–24 years) in many European countries. Their
regression results indicate that this trend is associated with the weakening of
employment protection provided by law and by trade unions. Given young workers’
weak individual bargaining power, the trend towards individualization of the
employment relationship may thus affect them disproportionately.
KEYWORDS: EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, YOUNG WORKER, LABOUR LAW, EU COUNTRIES
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Measuring firing costs: The case for direct methods
Benoît Pierre FREYENS
Firing costs, together with the legislative and regulatory frameworks governing employment
relations, are often blamed for poor labour market outcomes. Yet,
research on the economic impacts of these costs is inconclusive. There has been
much focus on functional assumptions and the significance of parameters, but very
little on the quality and precision of the cost measures upon which most results
hinge. Reviewing the indirect and direct measurement methods commonly used, the
author argues that direct quantitative methods, rarely used in research, are much
needed to complement more popular indirect measures. A recent survey experiment
conducted in Australia illustrates this point.
KEYWORDS: DISMISSAL, REDUNDANCY, LABOUR TURNOVER, LABOUR COST, MEASUREMENT,
AUSTRALIA, OECD COUNTRIES
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On-the-job training in Europe: Determinants and wage returns
Cecilia ALBERT, Carlos GARCÍA-SERRANO and Virginia HERNANZ
Using data from the European Community Household Panel on six countries over
the period 1995–2001, this article investigates the determinants of workers’ participation
in training activities and the effects of training on wages. Based on measures
of four distinct training types, the authors find that while OLS estimates yield significant
wage returns to training for nearly all of the countries, fixed-effects estimations
show returns to be not statistically different from zero. This suggests that wage
returns to training might be overstated due to failure to take adequate account of
the correlation of training with confounding factors that affect wages.
KEYWORDS: ON-THE-JOB TRAINING, WAGES, WAGE DIFFERENTIAL, FRANCE, GERMANY,
ITALY, PORTUGAL, SPAIN, UNITED KINGDOM.
Notes and debates
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Female executives and the glass ceiling in Spain
Cecilia CASTAÑO,
Juan MARTÍN, Susana VÁZQUEZ and José Luís MARTÍNEZ
This paper examines the findings of a survey of the personal, educational and professional
profiles of a sample of male and female senior executives of companies operating
in Spain. The women were found to be younger; they had fewer children, resorted
to more domestic help, and earned less than the men, although they often had higher
qualifications. Yet cultural patterns and institutional barriers still prevent them from
making full use of their capabilities. In spite of recent legislative efforts to promote
gender equity at work, more than nine out of ten senior executives are still men.
KEYWORDS:WOMAN MANAGER, GENDER EQUALITY, EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY,
SPAIN.
Flexicurity in Belgium: A reform proposal based on economic principles
Bart COCKX and Bruno VAN DER LINDEN
Belgium’s systems of unemployment insurance and employment protection legislation
were set up in the context of typically enduring and stable relationships between
workers and firms. Economic globalization and rapid technological and organizational
change, however, are now demanding more flexibility of both workers and
firms. As a result, current labour market institutions are in urgent need of reform to
reconcile such increased flexibility with adequate security for workers. Though the
call for a “flexicurity” approach is not new, there is no single view of what institutional
model the latter implies. This paper proposes a reform explicitly guided by
economic principles.
KEYWORDS:LABOUR FLEXIBILITY, EMPLOYMENT SECURITY, UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT,
BELGIUM.
Thailand’s work and health transition
Matthew KELLY,
Lyndall STRAZDINS, Tarie DELLORA, Suwanee KHAMMAN,
Sam-ang SEUBSMAN and Adrian C. SLEIGH
Thailand has experienced a rapid economic transition from agriculture to manufacturing
and services, and to more formal employment. Its labour market regulation andworker representation, however, are much weaker than they are in developed countries,
which underwent these transitions more slowly and sequentially, decades earlier.
The authors examine the strengthening of Thailand’s policy and legislation on occupational
safety and health in response to international standards, a new democratic
Constitution, fear of foreign trade embargoes, and fatal workplace disasters. In concluding,
they identify key challenges remaining for policy-makers, including enforcement
of legislation and measurement of new mental and physical health effects.
KEYWORDS:OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY, OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH, WORKING CONDITIONS,
INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK, LABOUR LEGISLATION, COMMENT, THAILAND.
Documents and communications
Communication from the authors of “Hungary’s experiment in legalizing
casual employment” (International Labour Review, Vol. 149, No. 1,
pp. 121–129): Hungary’s casual employment regime is superseded
by a stricter regulatory framework with effect from October 2010.
Communication from the International Association of Labour Law
Journals: Call for Papers for the 2011 Marco Biagi Award.
Details available at: http://www.labourlawjournals.com.
Book reviews
L’esprit de Philadelphie. La justice sociale face au marché total, by Alain SUPIOT
Reviewed by Francis MAUPAIN
Les droits fondamentaux au travail. Origines, statut et impact en droit international, by Claire LA HOVARY
Reviewed by Franz Christian EBERT
Child labour in a globalized world: A legal analysis of ILO action, edited by Giuseppe NESI, Luca NOGLER and Marco PERTILE
Reviewed by Jean ALLAIN
Flexibility of labour in globalizing India: The challenge of skills and technology, by Jeemol UNNI and Uma RANI
Reviewed by Irmgard NÜBLER
World crisis effects on social security in Latin America and the Caribbean: Lessons and policies, by Carmelo MESA-LAGO
Reviewed by Hedva SARFATI
