Papers
"The Collective Voice of Unions and Workplace Training in Italy: New Insights from Mixed Methods", (with F Berton, A Carreri, F Devicienti, A Ricci), The British Journal of Industrial Relations, 2023.
Abstract: Using a three-phase approach that combines quantitative (pooled OLS, fixed effects and IV) with qualitative (semi-structured interviews) analyses, we find that in Italy, workplace unions are more likely to enhance training when they sign a firm-level agreement and when they can get access to external funds for financing. We also identify three channels: what we call a ‘maturation effect’, double-track communication and watch-dog function. We argue that these results are consistent with the idea that the impact of workplace unions on training depends on the empowerment of its collective voice within an institutional framework that does not fit either of the standard models provided by collective and liberal market economies. .
[a previsous version circulated as "Workplace unionism, collective bargaining and skill formation: new results from mixed methods", IZA Discussion Paper No. 12712].
"You can’t be what you can’t see: The role of gender in the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurship", by Noemi Oggero, F Devicienti, MC Rossi, and D VAnnoni, The Review of Income and Wealth, 2023.
Abstract: In this paper, we investigate how the intergenerational transmission of entrepreneurship varies between sons and daughters and whether such a process depends on living in a country characterized by a high gender gap. Using the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe data set, we find that the effect on daughters' entrepreneurial choices of having an entrepreneur as father is lower than the one on sons only in countries with a high gender gap. Moreover, it is just in countries with high gender inequality that the effect of having an entrepreneurial mother is different between sons and daughters, with the impact being positive for daughters only. We also develop an individual‐level indicator of gender gap within countries that corroborates our findings, which we interpret as evidence of the presence of a role‐modeling mechanism. However, we find evidence of convergence across time of the intergenerational transmission process to the gender‐independent transfer typical of more gender‐equal countries.
"How Entry into Parenthood Shapes Gender Role Attitudes: New Evidence from Longitudinal UK Data"
(By Elena Grinza, Francesco Devicienti, Mariacristina Rossi and Davide Vannoni), Feminist Economics, 2022.
Abstract: Attitudes of women and men about how paid and unpaid work should be divided in the couple largely determine women’s earnings and career prospects. Hence, it is important to understand how people’s gender role attitudes are formed and evolve over the lifetime. In this paper, we concentrate on one of the most path-breaking events in life: becoming a parent. Using longitudinal panel data for the UK, we first show that, in general, entry into parenthood significantly shifts women’s attitudes toward more conservative views, while leaving men unaffected. We also show that the impact on women emerges only after some time from the childbirth, suggesting that attitudes change relatively slowly over time and do not react immediately after becoming a parent. Finally, we show that the impact gets large and strongly significant for women and men whose prenatal attitudes were progressive. In particular, we find that the change in attitudes for such individuals increases as the postnatal arrangements are more likely to be traditional. Overall, these findings suggest that the change in attitudes is mainly driven by the emergence of a cognitive dissonance. Broad policy implications are drawn.
(media coverage: read here)
Why do Firms (Dis)Like Part-Time Contracts?
(with E. Grinza and D. Vannoni), Labour Economics, 55, 2020.
Abstract: This paper investigates the full-time/part-time wage gap using matched employer-employee data on the entire population of workers and firms in Italy over a 32-year period. Relying on regression models that control for worker, firm, and job match effects, we find that part-time work has historically attracted significant (and large) wage premia compared to full-time work for both females and males. Over the last three decades, these wage premia have significantly reduced for both sexes, remaining positive for females up to year 2015. These findings appear to be compatible with both structural changes in the demand and supply of part-time work as well as developments in wage bargaining institutions. Coupled with the detrimental effect of part-time work on firm productivity that we document elsewhere, the findings of this paper contribute to explain why firms are often unwilling to concede part-time positions to employees asking for them.
Networking: A Business for Women
(with M. Cisi, A. Manello and D. Vannoni). Small Business Economics, 65, 2020.
Abstract: This paper uses firm-level data and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methods to investigate the effects of participation in formal networking activities and of female representation in leadership positions on firm’s economic efficiency. Our findings show that firms belonging to a network have a higher level of technical efficiency (i.e. the position of network members is closer to the technical efficient frontier), while the presence of women in senior roles (CEO, President or member of the board of directors) is associated to lower efficiency scores. However, the observed performance strongly increases when firms with women in top positions participate to networks, and especially so in female-intensive working environments and networks, hinting at superior returns for female networking.
"Employment Protection legislation and Mismatch: Evidence from a Reform"
(with Fabio Berton and Sara Grubanov-Boskovic). IZA Discussion Paper no. 10904, 2017. Submitted.
Abstract: Liberalization of temporary contracts has been a hallmark of labor market reforms during the last decades. More recently, factors like the sovereign debt crisis pushed the most indebted countries to unprecedented reductions of employment protection legislation (EPL) also on open-ended contracts. These policies are justified under the assumption that EPL harms the allocation of workers on the jobs where they are most productive. How EPL affects the quality of job matches is nonetheless an underexplored issue. In this paper, we provide new evidence that exploits exactly one of these recent reforms, the so-called Fornero Law, introduced in Italy in 2012 in the background of austerity reforms. Results show that good matches have increased. Further, the reduction in EP favored labor reallocation. Eventually, it was also followed by an increase in productivity, albeit small. While the results are consistent with the economic theory that informed deregulation, we highlight caveats and limitations.
(featured in : OECD Economic Surveys: Italy 2017. Read the dedicated box at page 133 : here)
“Identifying Sorting in Practice”
(with Cristian Bartolucci and Ignacio Monzon). AEJ: Applied Economics, 10(4), 2018.
Abstract: We propose a novel methodology to uncover the sorting pattern in the labor market. Our methodology exploits the additional information contained in profits, which complements the information from wages and transitions typically used in previous work. We identify the strength of sorting solely from a ranking of firms by profits. To discern the sign of sorting, we build a noisy ranking of workers from wage data. We provide a test for the sign of sorting that is consistent even with noise in worker rankings. We apply our approach to a panel data set that combines social security earnings records for workers in the Veneto region of Italy with detailed financial data for firms. We find robust evidence of positive sorting. The correlation between worker and firm types is about 52%.
[An earlier version of the paper: “Better Workers Move to Better Firms: A Simple Test to Identify Sorting”, (with Cristian Bartolucci). IZA Discussion Paper no. 7601, 2013.]
(with Elena Grinza, Alessandro Manello, and Davide Vannoni. Industrial and Labor Relation Review, 72(4), 2019.
Abstract: Using three waves of a uniquely rich survey on Italian private firms, we explore the impact of female managers on the use of part-time work. Building on a literature arguing that female leaders are more sensitive to their employees' needs and more self-transcendent than their male counterparts, we assess whether such attitudes manifest themselves also in relation to working time arrangements. Results indicate that female managers are indeed more responsive to their employees' needs: they heavily limit the employment of involuntary part-time work, correspondingly increasing full-time employment, and concede more part-time arrangements to employees asking for them. All in all, our results show that there are some hitherto unexplored benefits from increasing the number of female leaders: on the one hand, they strongly contain the widespread phenomenon of involuntary part-time employment and, on the other hand, they enhance the work-life balance of workers engaged in child care or elderly care activities.
"The Impact of Formal Networking on the Performance of SMEs"
(with Maurizio Cisi, Alessandro Manello and Davide Vannoni). Small Business Economics, 54, 2020.
Abstract: Using a large sample of Italian small and medium enterprises (SMEs), we investigate the effect of membership in a formal business network (“contratto di rete”) on firms’ economic performance. We find that network participation has a positive effect on value added and exports, but not profitability. The advantages of networking are stronger in the case of: smaller SMEs, firms operating in traditional and on more turbulent markets, firms located in less developed areas and firms not already exploiting the weaker ties offered by industrial districts. Network characteristics, such as size, geographical dispersion and diversity, are also found to influence performance.
"Collective Bargaining and the Evolution of Wage Inequality in Italy"
(with Bernardo Fanfani and Agata Maida), British Journal of Industrial Relations, 57(2), 2019.
Abstract: Italian male wage inequality has increased at a relatively fast pace from the mid1980s until the early 2000s, while it has followed a flat trend since then. We analyse this trend focusing on the period of most rapid growth in pay dispersion. By accounting for worker and firm fixed effects, it is shown that workers’ heterogeneity has been a major determinant of increased wage inequalities, while variability in firm wage policies has declined over time. We also show that the growth in pay dispersion has entirely occurred between livelli di inquadramento, i.e. job titles defined by national industry-wide collective bargaining institutions, for which specific minimum wages apply. We conclude that the underlying market forces determining wage inequality have been largely channelled into the tight tracks set by the centralized system of industrial relations.
Other versions are available as WorkINPS Papers, n. 12/2018, and as IZA Discussion Paper no. 10293, 2016.
(media coverage: read here)
“The Impact of Part-Time Work on Firm Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Italy”
(with Elena Grinza and Davide Vannoni), Industrial and Corporate Change, vol. 7(2), 2018.
Abstract: In this paper we explore the impact of part-time work on firm productivity. Using a large panel dataset on all corporations in Italy for the period 2000-2010, we first recover an estimate of the total factor productivity (TFP) of each firm for each year. We use different approaches aimed at solving the simultaneity issue, including a version of Ackerberg et al. [2006]’s control function approach that accounts for firm-specific fixed-effects (ACF-FE). We then match TFP estimates with the information deriving from a uniquely rich firm-level survey conducted in Italy and estimate the impact of part-time work on TFP. We find that an increase of one standard deviation in the parttime share reduces TFP by 2.03%. The results suggest that this harmful effect is carried out by horizontal rather than vertical part-time arrangements. We also find that firms declaring to use part-time work in order to accommodate for workers’ requests suffer the most from part-time. Moreover, we show that the so called ‘flexible’ and ‘elastic’ clauses are successful in reducing the negative impact associated with part-time.
"Technical Efficiency, Unions and Decentralized Labor Contracts: New Empirical Evidence"
(with Alessandro Manello and Davide Vannoni). European Journal of Operational Research, no. 260(3), 2017.
Abstract: This paper explores the link between the presence of unions in the workplace, the adoption of decentralized labor agreements and technical efficiency, using a relatively new methodology and a large sample of Italian manufacturing firms. We apply the Data Envelopment Analysis, and its robust version based on bootstrap theory, to get reliable estimates of technical efficiency at the firm level in a standard first stage. We devote particular attention to the specific technology adopted, by distinguishing 20 different sector frontiers, as well as to the presence of outliers. The obtained efficiency scores are analyzed in a second stage applying a truncated regression model estimated via Maximum Likelihood, following the Simar and Wilson (2007) methodology. Our results highlight that the presence of workplace unionization decreases the level of technical efficiency, while other aspects limiting unions’ power such as a strong exposure to international markets, high debt levels or the prevalence of flexible assets partially reduce the union negative effect. However, when firms adopt decentralized labor contracts agreements, the effect on efficiency is positive and partially compensates the unions’ effect. The results are robust to the inclusion of many firm characteristics over which managers have no direct control and to different model specifications.
(media coverage: read here and here)
“Temporary employment, demand volatility and unions: Firm-level evidence”
(with Paolo Naticchioni and Andrea Ricci). Industrial and Labor Relation Review, 71(1), 2018.
Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of workplace unionization and product market volatility on firms' propensity to use temporary employment. Using Italian firm level data, we show that unionization and volatility have a positive impact on the share of temporary contracts. However, as volatility increases the union effect becomes negative, suggesting that in a highly volatile economic environment unions may be concerned about the weakening of their bargaining power associated with an extensive use of temporary workers. Furthermore, these effects are at work only for the use of non-training temporary contracts, while training temporary contracts are not affected by unions, volatility and their interplay. We argue that this occurs because non-training temporary contracts can be used by firms as a buffer stock to cope with uncertainty and by unions to protect insiders, while training temporary contracts are more likely to be used as a screening device for future permanent positions.
[Earlier version of the paper: Temporary employment, demand volatility and unions: Firm-level evidence, CEPS-Instead Working paper. August 2014.]
“Human Capital accumulation in Temporary Jobs: Specific or General?”
(with Fabio Berton and Lia Pacelli), in Politica Economica, Fascicolo 1, Aprile, 2016.
Abstract: Following Becker’s theory of human capital, we expect temporary workers to accumulate more general human capital than workers holding an open-ended contract. This should result in temporary workers having a relatively higher probability to change job across different occupations and economic sectors, or, from another perspective, to make external careers. Labor market reforms of the last twenty years, the debate on flexicurity and the parallel idea of «security in the labor market» instead of «security on the job» also rests on this hypothesis. Using a sample of entrants in the Italian labor market in the period 1998 – 2002 and using the sector at two digits for blue collars employed in the manufacture or constructions to approximate the occupation we find that this hypothesis holds, at least during the very first months of unemployment.
“Rent Sharing, Hold-up and Wages: Evidence from Matched Employer-employee Data”, (with D. Card and A. Maida). Review of Economic Studies, 2014, 81(1).
Abstract: Rent-sharing by workers can reduce the incentives for investment if some of the returns to sunk capital are captured in higher wages. We propose a simple measure of this “holdup” effect based on the size of the wage offset for firm-specific capital accumulation. Using Social Security earnings records for workers in the Veneto region of Italy linked to detailed financial data for their employers, we find strong evidence of rent-sharing, with an elasticity of wages with respect to potential rents per workers of around 4%, arising mainly at large firms in higher price-cost margins. N the other hand, we find little evidence that bargaining lowers the return on investment. Instead, firm-level bargaining appears to split the rents after deducting the full cost of capital.
“The Persistence Of Income Poverty And Life-style Deprivation: Evidence From Italy”, (with V. Gualtieri and M.C. Rossi), Bulletin of Economic Research, 2014, 66:3, pp 246-278.
Abstract: This article estimates poverty persistence over an individual's lifetime, using two definitions: income poverty and a multidimensional index of lifestyle deprivation. We stress the ability of the two definitions to provide a generally consistent characterization of poverty persistence risks faced by various population subgroups, but also the additional insights to be gained by analysing the two definitions in parallel in a longitudinal context. The results of multiple‐spell hazard rate models highlight the weaknesses of the Italian labour market, the insufficiencies of the existing social security system, and the deep territorial dualism in generating persistent poverty for certain groups of the population.
“Liquidity Constraints, Uncertain Parental Income and Human Capital Accumulation”, (with M.C. Rossi), Applied Economics Letters, 2013, no. 20, pp. 826-829.
Abstract: This note analyses the effect of parental income variability on investments in education when capital markets are imperfect. Our empirical results show that educational choices might act as a buffer choice when the environment is uncertain.
“Are Temporary Jobs a Port Of Entry Into Permanent Employment? Evidence From Matched Employer-employee Data” (with F. Berton and L. Pacelli), International Journal of Manpower, Issue 8, 2011.
Abstract: This paper explores whether temporary jobs are a port of entry into permanent employment and argue that the answer crucially depends on the type of temporary contracts being considered. We base our empirical evidence on a longitudinal sample of labour market entrants in Italy and estimate dynamic multinomial logit models with fixed effects to allow for the non-random sorting of workers into the different types of contracts. We show that the transition to permanent employment is more likely for individuals who hold any type of temporary contract than for the unemployed, thus broadly confirming the existence of port-of-entry effects. Yet, not all temporary contracts are the same. An order among non-standard contracts with respect to the probability of taking an open-ended job emerges, with training contracts at the top, freelance work at the bottom, and fixed-term contracts outperforming apprenticeships. Strong SSC rebates, lack of training requirements, and low legal constraints concerning renewals result in poor port-of-entry performance, as in the case of freelance contracts. Instead, mandatory training and more binding legal constraints on the use, extension, and renewals of training contracts tend to enhance the probability of getting a standard job.
“Income Poverty and Social Exclusion: Two Sides of the Same Coin or Dynamically Interrelated Processes?”, (with A. Poggi), Applied Economics, vol. 43, issue 25, 2011.
Abstract: There is growing interest in the analysis and measurement of social exclusion, to complement the static and dynamic literature on income poverty. On theoretical grounds, social exclusion and income poverty are seen as different processes, but with closely interrelated dynamics. However, our empirical understanding of the way these two processes dynamically interact at the individual level is still very limited. To shed some light on the issue, we use a dynamic bivariate probit model, controlling for unobserved heterogeneity and Wooldridge (2005)-type initial conditions. Both the first- and second-order Markov dynamics are examined. We estimate the model using the Italian sample of the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), waves 1–8, and find a sizable extent of state dependence in both poverty and social exclusion. Moreover, there are dynamic cross-effects implying that poverty and social exclusion are mutually reinforcing. Social policies aimed at eradicating poverty and avoiding individuals’ social and economic marginalization should take these interaction effects explicitly into account.
“Estimating Poverty Persistence in Britain”, in Empirical Economics, Volume 40, Issue 3, pp. 657-687, 2011.
Abstract: This article uses longitudinal data from the BHPS (1991–2006) to document low-income dynamics and persistence for individuals living in Britain. Poverty exit and re-entry rates are estimated, and the resulting distribution of time spent in poverty is calculated, both in single and in multiple-spell frameworks. Poverty persistence predictions are also produced for various subgroups of the populations. In order to do so, I estimate a multiple-spell model of transitions in and out of poverty, controlling for observed and correlated unobserved individual heterogeneity and for a potential initial condition problem. Components-of-variance models are also used to predict the number of years in poverty for the targeted groups. The two alternative modeling approaches are shown to produce a consistent picture of poverty persistence.
“Are Informality and Poverty Dynamically Interrelated? Evidence From Argentina”, (with F. Groisman and A. Poggi), in Research on Economic Inequality, no. 18, 2010.
Abstract: Poverty and informal employment are often regarded as correlated phenomena. Many empirical studies have shown that informal employment has a causal impact on household poverty, mainly through low wages. Yet other studies focus on the reverse causality from poverty to informality, arising from a range of constraints that poverty poses to jobholders. Only recently have empirical researchers tried to study the simultaneous two-way relationship between poverty and informality. However, existing studies have relied upon cross-sectional data and static econometric models. This paper takes the next step and studies the dynamics of poverty and informality using longitudinal data. Our empirical analysis is based on a bivariate dynamic random-effect probit model and recent panel data from Argentina. The method used provides a means of assessing the persistence over time of poverty and informal employment at the individual level, while controlling for both observed and unobserved determinants of the two processes. The results show that both poverty and informal employment are highly persistent processes. Moreover, positive spillover effects are found from past poverty on current informal employment and from past informality to current poverty status, corroborating the view that the two processes are also shaped by interrelated dynamics in segmented labor markets.
“Shapley-Value Decompositions of Changes in Wage Distributions: A Note”, Journal of Economic Inequality, no. 8: 35-45, 2010.
Abstract: This note shows how the Shapley value can be applied to the regression-based methods that are often used to decompose changes in wage distributions. The method remedies the path-dependency exhibited by existing approaches that compute the contributions due to (1) changes in sample observable characteristics, (2) changes in the return of characteristics, (3) changes in the distribution of unobservable characteristics.
“The Resurrection of the Italian Wage Curve”, (with A. Maida e L. Pacelli), Economics Letters, 98, 335-341, 2008.
Abstract: We show that the Italian wage curve, inexistent in the eighties and early nineties, has reemerged after the 1993 Income Policy Agreement, owing to the greater role granted to flexible and locally bargained top-up wage components.
“Downward Wage Rigidity In Italy: Micro-Based Measures And Implications”, (with A. Maida e P. Sestito), The Economic Journal, no. 117, 2007.
Abstract: Using the 1985–99 WHIP data, we find a sizable amount of downward wage rigidity in Italy, with a prevalence of real over nominal rigidity. The results hold when real rigidity is identified either with reference to collective bargaining dispositions or to price inflation. Consistently with the labour market reforms of the early 1990s, downward rigidities have become less important over time, with the reduction in real rigidities more than offsetting the rise in nominal rigidities. We also find that downward wage rigidities are positively related to labour reallocation and local unemployment rates, hinting at the macroeconomic relevance of our estimates.
“L’Aumento della Disuguaglianza dei Salari in Italia: Premi Salariali per le Nuove Skill?”, (with A. Borgarello), Politica Economica, n.2, 2006.
Abstract: This paper analyses the changes in the Italian wage distribution from 1985 to 1999, using the "Worker History Italian Panel" (WHIP). The rise in wage inequality is first documented using various statistical indicators. Standard decompositions of inequality indices by population subgroups shed light on the underlying causes of the observed distributional changes. Following Juhn et al. (1993), econometric-type decompositions are also employed to disentangle the effects of observed quantities, prices and unobservable factors on inequality trends. The changing prices of observable characteristics are found to play a major role in accounting for the observed inequality increase. This result, which appears in contrast with the "standard view" in the literature on wage inequality in Anglo-Saxon countries, is discussed in relation to the characteristics of the Italian wage bargaining system and casts doubts on the ability of the Italian labor market to reward the "skill" increasingly demanded in the new technological, organizational and competitive environment of the globalization era. This ability does not seem to have increased after the reforms in wage determination contained in July 1993 Income Policy Agreements.
“La Determinazione dei Salari in Italia: Rigidità Reali e Nominali Prima e dopo gli Accordi di Politica dei Redditi”, (with A. Maida e P. Sestito), Rivista Internazionale di Scienze Sociali, n. 2, 2005.
Abstract: This paper estimates the extent of downward wage rigidity in Italy using a micro-econometric model and the recently released WHIP longitudinal data. The econometric approach distinguishes between downward nominal wage rigidity – i.e., the impediment to nominal wage cuts – and downward real wage rigidity – i.e., when nominal wages cannot grow by less than a minimum positive threshold. The model accounts for measurement error and flexibly specifies the counterfactual, rigidity-free wage change distribution. The period analyzed goes from the mid eighties to the end of the century, within which the 1992-1993 income agreements – with the abolition of the scala mobile – are situated. Overall, downward wage rigidity impacts on about 70% of the observations. However, in the periods following the income agreements, the impact of wage rigidity is reduced, in particular with regards to real rigidities (with a slight increase in nominal rigidities). In each sub-period, however, real rigidities prevail over nominal rigidities.
“Willingness to Pay for Water and Energy: An Introductory Guide to Contingent Valuation and Coping Cost Techniques”, (with I. Klytchnikova and S. Paternostro),
Energy Working Notes, No. 3, December 2004, World Bank.
Abstract: In order to determine the impact of many water and energy reforms, analysts need to elicit the preferences of users and their demand for the goods in question. When these goods are not routinely bought and sold in the market, the standard approach of demand estimation based on observed prices and quantities is not viable. Instead, analysts must resort to the types of non-market methods described in this paper. The two methods most widely used in the context of water and energy are contingent valuation and coping cost. These methods are described in the paper with particular emphasis on their application in developing countries. The paper suggests that both the contingent valuation and coping cost methods are useful tools for the evaluation of water and energy projects, particularly if they are used together to validate results. Moreover, it is critically important that the analyst carefully confront a number of technical and practical issues before the results of these non-market approaches to preference elicitation may be validated. These issues are also described in the paper.
“Poverty persistence in Britain: a multivariate analysis using the BHPS, 1991-1997”, Journal of Economics, 2002, Suppl. 9.
Abstract: This paper uses longitudinal data from the BHPS, Waves 1–7, to document low-income dynamics for individuals living in Britain in 1990s. Poverty entry and exit hazard rates are estimated and used to calculate the distribution of time spent poor over a six-year period. The results underline the importance of accounting for individuals' repeated spells of poverty when measuring poverty persistence. Using discrete-time proprotional hazard rate models, the paper then seeks to ‘explain’ and forecast the observed chances of exit/entering poverty and the distribution of time spent in poverty for individuals with selected characteristics. The socio-economic correlates of the observed poverty patterns are investigated, including the relative importance of both household and individual characteristics.
“Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity in Italy: Evidence and Consequences”, Lavoro e Relazioni Industriali, 2002, n. 2.
Abstract: This paper uses administrative longitudinal micro-data from the Italian Social Security Institute (INPS) to estimate the extent of downward nominal wage rigidity. The determinants of wage changes are explicitly modelled, as is the measurement error deriving from the fact that earnings inclusive of benefits, not hourly wages, are available in the data. Estimates show that the degree of downward nominal wage rigidity is medium/high – between 51% and 68% of all notional wage cuts being prevented by the existence of proportional rigidity. The implications of the estimated nominal wage rigidity for the real side of the economy are also explored.
BOOKS:
“Employment Security and Employability: A Contribution to the Flexicurity Debate”, (L. Pacelli, F. Devicienti, A. Maida, M. Morini, A. Poggi, P. Veran), European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, 2008, Dublin (ISBN 978-92-897-0828-9).
Abstract: In the current EU debate on labour market and employment policies, the concept of ‘flexicurity’ – the balance between the flexibility and security needs of employers and employees – has emerged as a central issue. This report puts forward four key indicators to be taken into account in the discussion on flexicurity: objective job insecurity, subjective job insecurity, employability and vulnerability. The analysis is based on findings from the fourth European Working Conditions Survey carried out across 31 countries, including the 27 EU Member States. An executive summary is available.
“Differenziali salariali regionali e performance economica”, a cura di Silvana Porcari e Francesco Devicienti, Monografie sul Mercato del Lavoro e le Politiche per l’Impiego, n. 5/2007, ISFOL – RP(MDL)-5/07.
Abtract: Il rapporto presenta i risultati del progetto di ricerca su "Differenziali salariali territoriali e performance economica". Lo studio è diviso in una parte prima, più descrittiva, ed una seconda parte, in cui varie analisi econometriche sono impiegate allo scopo di accertare, e misurare, l'eventuale presenza di rigidità salariali. Obiettivo della prima parte è quello di raccogliere e presentare i dati e la letteratura esistente sui differenziali salariali territoriali al fine di delineare i principali fatti stilizzati sulle attuali caratteristiche e le recenti tendenze di tali differenziali; le caratteristiche strutturali delle aree territoriali oggetto di analisi; le relazioni tra queste due grandezze. Agli indicatori standard sui differenziali vengono affiancati dati e indicatori forse meno conosciuti ma altrettanto importanti al fine di delineare le relazioni tra caratteristiche strutturali e relatività salariali territoriali. Tra questi, indicatori sulla mobilità salariale e sulla qualità del lavoro. Le fonti di dati utilizzate sono di due tipi: dati aggregati a livello nazionale e, ove possibile, a livello regionale; microdati, in cui l'unità di analisi è il singolo percettore di salario. In entrambi i casi, lo studio è effettuato il più possibile in un'ottica comparativa europea, utilizzando dati confrontabili per i 25 paesi comunitari, con la disaggregazione territoriale regionale (NUTS2) definita da Eurostat. L'indicazione che sembra emergere con chiarezza è che i differenziali salariali tra le regioni italiane esistono ma sono insufficienti - senza interventi di politiche su altri fronti - ad esercitare il loro ruolo di allocazione degli input di lavoro. La seconda parte del rapporto è più propriamente dedicata all'analisi delle rigidità salariali e delle implicazioni in termini di performance economica, prendendo di volta in volta in considerazione le diverse manifestazioni/dimensioni di rigidità salariale. Tra queste dimensioni di rigidità spicca, se non altro per il consenso che sembra aver generato tra gli economisti del lavoro, la relazione tra salari reali e tassi di disoccupazione locali (la cosiddetta "curva dei salari"). In conclusione i numerosi risultati presentati nella ricerca possono contribuire a chiarire i meccanismi sottostanti alla relazione tra differenziali salariali locali, rigidità salariali e performance economica, oltre che a orientare ulteriori sviluppi di ricerca sulla tematica.
“The Dynamics of Poverty in Britain”, S. Jenkins, J. Rigg and F. Devicienti (2001), Department of Work and Pension, Research Report Number 157, Leeds. (ISBN 1 84123 417 6).
Abstract: This report analyses the dynamics of poverty using data from the first nine waves (1991-9) of the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS). It describes the extent and nature of persistent poverty in Britain, the main events (‘routes’) associated with movements into and out of poverty, and the length of poverty spells and the time between poverty spells.
BOOK CHAPTERS:
“Rent-sharing, Sindacato e Contrattazione: Il caso Italiano”, (with A. Carreri and F. Berton), in Dell'Aringa C., Lucifora C. e Treu T., “Salari, produttività, disuguaglianze. Verso un nuovo modello contrattuale?" Il Mulino, pp. 305-330, 2017.
“Contratti a Termine, Produttività e Costo del Lavoro: Il Ruolo dell’Eterogeneità delle Imprese”, (with P. Naticchioni and A. Ricci), ch. 4 in “Mercato del Lavoro, Capitale Umano e Imprese: Una Prospettiva di Politica del Lavoro”, 184 I Libri del Fondo Sociale Europeo, ISFOL, ROMA (ISSN: 1590-0002), 2014.
“Tipologie di Contratti a Termine, Sindacato ed Incertezza Economica: Evidenza Empirica dalle Imprese Italiane”, (with P. Naticchioni and A. Ricci), ch. 5 in “Mercato del Lavoro, Capitale Umano e Imprese: Una Prospettiva di Politica del Lavoro”, 184 I Libri del Fondo Sociale Europeo, ISFOL, ROMA (ISSN: 1590-0002), 2014.
“La Domanda di Contratti a Termine delle Imprese”, (with P. Naticchioni and A. Ricci), ch. 3 in “Istruzione, Formazione e Mercato del Lavoro: I Rendimenti del Capitale Umano in Italia”, 153 I Libri del Fondo Sociale Europeo, ISFOL, ROMA (ISSN: 1590-0002), 2011.
“Contratti a Termine, Produttività e Costo del lavoro”, (with P. Naticchioni and A. Ricci), ch. 2 in “Istruzione, Formazione e Mercato del Lavoro: I Rendimenti del Capitale Umano in Italia”, 153 I Libri del Fondo Sociale Europeo, ISFOL, ROMA (ISSN: 1590-0002), 2011.
“Povertà e Privazione Economica e Sociale: Nuove Analisi Dinamiche in Italia”, (with Ambra Poggi). In A. Brandolini, C. Saraceno and A. Schizzerotto, Dimensioni della Disuguaglianza. Povertà, Salute, Abitazione, Il Mulino, 2009.
“Persistenza e Transitorietà della Povertà in Italia: Soggettività, Multidimensionalità e Reddito a Confronto”, (with V. Gualtieri), in G. Rovati (eds) “Povertà e Lavoro. Giovani Generazioni a Rischio”, Carocci Editore, 2007.
“Introduzione”, (with B. Contini), in "Differenziali salariali regionali e performance economica”, a cura di Silvana Porcari e Francesco Devicienti, Monografie sul Mercato del Lavoro e le Politiche per l’Impiego, n. 5/2007, ISFOL – RP(MDL)-5/07.
“Riferimenti Teorici e Rassegna di Studi Analitici”, (with B. Contini and A. Maida), in "Differenziali salariali regionali e performance economica”, a cura di Silvana Porcari e Francesco Devicienti, Monografie sul Mercato del Lavoro e le Politiche per l’Impiego, n. 5/2007, ISFOL – RP(MDL)-5/07.
“La rigidità dei Salari in Italia ed in Europa: Nuove Analisi Micro-econometriche”, (with A. Maida, L. Pacelli and A. Poggi), in "Differenziali salariali regionali e performance economica”, a cura di Silvana Porcari e Francesco Devicienti, Monografie sul Mercato del Lavoro e le Politiche per l’Impiego, n. 5/2007, ISFOL – RP(MDL)-5/07.
“Dinamiche e Persistenza della povertà in Italia: Un’analisi con microdati panel di fonte ECHP”, (with V. Gualtieri), in G. Rovati (eds) “Le dimensioni della povertà”, Carocci Editore, 2006.
“Rigidità Salariali e Ruolo delle Istituzioni: un’Analisi Microeconometrica”, (with A. Maida). In Contini B. e Trivellato U. “Eppur si muove. Dinamiche e Persistenze nel Mercato del Lavoro Italiano”, 2005, il Mulino.
“Trends in the Italian Earnings Distribution, 1985-1996”, (with A. Borgarello). In “Labor Mobility and Wage Dynamics in Italy”, edited by B. Contini, Rosenberg & Sellier, 2002.
“Tendenze nella Distribuzione dei Salari”, (with A. Borgarello), in “Osservatorio sulla Mobilità del Lavoro in Italia”, a cura di B. Contini, Il Mulino, 2002.
“Earnings Mobility in Italy, 1985-1996”, (with A. Borgarello and C. Villosio). In “Labor Mobility and Wage Dynamics in Italy”, edited by B. Contini, Rosenberg & Sellier, 2002.
“Mobilità Retributiva”, (with A. Borgarello and C. Villosio), in “Osservatorio sulla Mobilità del Lavoro in Italia”, a cura di B. Contini, Il Mulino, 2002.
REPORT AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS:
“Rent sharing, hold-up and wages: evidence from matched employer-employee data”, (with D. Card and A. Maida). IZA Working paper 6086, October 2011. An earlier version of the paper containing additional material is: NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES, no. 16192, 2010.
“Quality of Life in Europe. Empirical Evidence”, (A. Poggi, G. Bizzotto, F. Devicienti, P. Vesan, C. Villosio), WALQING working paper 2011, 4. The WALQING Project (Work and Life Quality in New and Growing Jobs. SSH-CT-2009-244597) is funded by the European Commission‘s 7th Framework Programme.
“Il Sud per L’Italia”, (with Tito Boeri, Pietro Garibaldi e Anita Guelfi), 2008.
“Differenziali Salariali Territoriali, Rigidità dei Salari e Performance Economica”; (with B. Contini, M. Filippi, A. Giordanengo, L. Pacelli, A. Poggi, A. Maida); preparato per ISFOL, 2006 (project coordinator).
“Poverty and Social Impact Analysis Guidance on Sector-Specific Policy Reforms”, PREM, World Bank, Washington D.C, 2005.
“The Interaction of Labor Markets and Inflation: Analysis of Micro Data from the International Wage Flexibility Project”, IWFP, 2005.
“Rapporto sulle Politiche contro la Povertà e l’Inclusione Sociale”, Commissione d’Indagine sull’Esclusione Sociale, Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche Sociali, 2004.
“Essays on Earnings and Poverty”, Ph.D. Thesis, Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, 2003.
“Every Child Counts. New Global Estimates on Child Labor”, Report of the International Program on the Elimination on Child Labor, International Labor Office, Geneva, April 2002.
“Income Taxation, Redistribution and Endogenous Labor Supply”, Doctoral thesis, University of Bologna, 1999.
“Analysis of Passenger Rail Demand”, with J. Cubbin, S. Price, et al. Report prepared for OPRAF by NERA Economic Consulting, London, July 1999.
“Disuguaglianza Economica”, in Dizionario di Economia, Istituto Geografico De Agostini, Novara, 1998.