International Economics Commons^™

Some Remarks On The Effects Of Active Labour Market Policies In Post-Transition, Joanna Tyrowicz, Piotr Wojcik

Joanna Tyrowicz

Social cohesion is the principal goal behind active labour market policies (ALMPs), including those financed at supra-national level, like the European Social Fund. In this paper we use NUTS4 level data on the local labour market dynamics in an attempt to verify direct and indirect effects of ALMPs. We use data for 2000-2007 for Poland, while this period comprised both stark increases and reductions in the unemployment rates. Over this time also the financing of ALMPs has been increased considerably, transforming both to higher intensity of ALMPs (wider coverage) and higher extensiveness of these activities (increase in per treatment cost). …

Unemployment Convergence In Transition, Joanna Tyrowicz, Piotr Wojcik

Joanna Tyrowicz

In this paper an attempt is made to inquire the dynamics of regional unemployment rates in transition economies. We use policy relevant NUTS4 unemployment rates for transition economies characterised by both relatively intense (Poland, Slovaka) and relatively mild labour market hardships (Czech Republic). We apply diverse analytical techniques to seek traces of convergence, including beta- and sigma-convergence as well as time-series approach.

Transition economies typically experienced rapid growth of the unemployment rates due to profound restructuring. Naturally, these processes affected local labour markets asymmetrically, since regions were diversified with respect to industry composition and economic outlooks. Results in each of …

When Eastern Labour Markets Enter Western Europe - Ceecs Labour Market Institutions Upon Euro Zone Accession, Joanna Tyrowicz

Joanna Tyrowicz

This paper reviews the literature on the labour market institutions in European Union Member States in the context of monetary integration. Traditionally, labour markets are a key concept in the optimal currency area theory, playing the role of the only accommodation mechanism of asymmetric shocks after the monetary unification. There are several theoretical frameworks linking the institutional design of the labour market to the potential effectiveness of monetary policy in the context of currency areas. Many empirical studies addressed these issues too, yielding important policy implications for labour market reforms in the process of monetary unification. However, there seem to …

Nonlinear Stochastic Convergence Analysis Of Regional Unemployment Rates In Poland, Joanna Tyrowicz, Piotr Wojcik

Joanna Tyrowicz

This paper analyzes convergence of unemployment rates in Poland at NUTS4 level by testing nonlinear convergence, applying the modified KSS-CHLL for each pair of territorial units. The results suggest that actually the convergence is a rare phenomenon and occurs only in 1916 cases out of potential over 70 000 combinations. This paper inquires what systematic reasons contribute to this phenomenon.

There are some circumstances under which unemployment convergence should be more awaited than in the others. These include sharing a higher level territorial authority, experiencing similar labour market hardship or sharing the same structural characteristics. For each of these three …

Labour Market Racial Discrimination In South Africa Revisited, Joanna Tyrowicz, Maciej Szelewicki

Joanna Tyrowicz

Discrimination is a significant issue in labour market economics across developed as well as developing countries. In this paper we inquire the actual size of wage discrimination in the Republic of Soutn Africa, accounting for large differences in endowments. We apply the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition as well as propensity score matching to adequately determine the size of the pay gap. Although the size of the absolute racial pay gap is enormous, amounting for more than 500%, the actual estimated effect non-attributable to other factors ranges between 45%-55%. This estimator however assumes homogenous discrimination across the wage distribution, while data suggest that …

(In)Efficiency Of Matching - The Case Of A Post-Transition Economy, Joanna Tyrowicz, Tomasz Jeruzalski

Joanna Tyrowicz

This paper approaches the question of efficiency in job placement using regional data for Polish regions (policy relevant NUTS 4 level) over the time span of 2000-2008. Using a unique data set we estimate the matching function using stochastic frontier as well as difference-in-difference estimators. We use also managed to combine this unique data set with another unique source of data on the ALMPs

coverage, unemployment structure across time and regions as well as the individual capacity of local labour offices. We use these data to explain the exceptional variation in estimated efficiency scores.

Our findings suggest that matching abilities …