Dear colleagues,

 

The Department of Economics cordially invites you to the  WU Economic Research Seminar (Department Seminar) on Wednesday, December 11, with

 

Petra Sauer

(Luxembourg Institute for Socio-Economic Research)

 

on


Do Migrants Have Access to Decent Work?
 
Having a paid and decent job has been one of the most defining features of personal life since the emergence of wage labour during the Great Industrial Revolution. Being employed is not only a source of financial means, but it also affects social status, self-esteem, and is generally associated with establishing own identities. The relevance of decent working conditions for individual well-being as well as for the society as a whole has been well-established by various disciplines showing that the quality of work matters for a range of outcomes related to financial, social as well as mental and physical health aspects, among others. Yet, migrants have been shown to often find themselves trapped in labour market segments which don't secure access to decent work, endangering the integrative function of work.

 

In this paper we conduct an integrated analysis of the multiple dimensions of work quality that affect the integration of migrants in European labour markets. Theoretically, our analysis is based on the perception of contemporary labour markets being segmented along various social, cultural and economic lines. This new segmentation-theory approach enables to understand why population groups are simultaneously disadvantaged along multiple dimensions of work quality. Moreover, the vast institutional, political as well as scientific contributions that have aimed at conceptualising work quality since the 1960s and 1970s build the basis of the 7 dimensions of work quality we consider in our empirical analysis, i.e. skills, autonomy, social environment, decent work intensity, employment quality, and pay. To quantify each dimension, we use the Adult Skills Survey (PIIAC). Comparatively analysing job quality across 16 European countries enables us to identify the characteristics of labour market segments in which migrants work, and to provide insights into the lines of discrimination that go beyond pay differentials. Building on the descriptive analysis, we use an ordered probit model in order to establish a causal relation between migration background, gender and work quality, controlling for confounding factors at the individual and at the industry level.
 

 

Time and place: Wednesday, December 11, 3.00 – 4.30 p.m., Campus WU, Welthandelsplatz 1, 1020 Vienna, building D4, entrance A, 2nd floor, Department meeting room 2.008.

 

 

With best regards,

Harald Oberhofer

 

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Univ.-Prof. Dr. Harald Oberhofer

 

Institute for International Economics

WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

Phone: +43/1/31336-4984

Fax: +43/1/31336-4984

Email: harald.oberhofer@wu.ac.at

Webpage: https://www.wu.ac.at/ie/mitarbeiter/harald-oberhofer/

 

Austrian Institute of Economic Research (WIFO)

Phone: +43/1/7982601-468

Fax: +43/1/7989386

Email: harald.oberhofer@wifo.ac.at

Webpage: http://www.wifo.ac.at/harald_oberhofer