Employment risk, unemployment insurance and search strategies: a disaggregated equilibrium approach with application to the Swiss labour market in the 1990-ies

The Organization of the Thesis The remainder of the thesis comprises five chapters and a conclusion. The next chapter formalizes the envisioned theory into a tractable model. Section 2.2 presents a formal description of the model economy: the individual heterogeneity, the individual objective, the UI setting, the population dynamics and the equilibrium. The welfare and efficiency criteria for qualifying various equilibrium outcomes are proposed in section 2.3. The fourth section shows how the model-generated information can be computed. Chapter 3 transposes the model from chapter 2 in conditions that enable its use in the analysis of individual labor market strategies and their implications for the labor market equilibrium. In section 3.2 the Swiss labor market data sets, stylized facts, and the UI system are presented. The third section outlines and motivates the parameterization method. In section 3.4 the model's replication ability is evaluated and some aspects of the parameter choice are discussed. Numerical solution issues can be found in the appendix. Chapter 4 examines the determinants of search-strategic behavior in the model economy and its implications for the labor market aggregates. In section 4.2, the unemployment duration distribution is examined and related to search strategies. Section 4.3 shows how the search- strategic behavior is influenced by the UI eligibility and section 4.4 how it is determined by individual heterogeneity. The composition effects generated by search strategies in labor market aggregates are examined in section 4.5. The last section evaluates the model's replication of empirical unemployment escape frequencies reported in Sheldon [67]. Chapter 5 applies the model economy to examine the effects on the labor market equilibrium of shocks to the labor market risk structure, to the deep underlying labor market structure and to the UI setting. Section 5.2 examines the effects of the labor market risk structure on the labor market equilibrium and the labor market strategic behavior. The effects of alterations in the labor market deep economic structural parameters, i.e. individual preferences and production technology, are shown in Section 5.3. Finally, the UI setting impacts on the labor market are studied in Section 5.4. This section also evaluates the role of the UI authority monitoring and the differences in the Way changes in the replacement rate and the UI benefit duration affect the labor market. In chapter 6 the model economy is applied in counterfactual experiments to assess several aspects of the Swiss labor market movements in the nineties. Section 6.2 examines the two equilibria characterizing the Swiss labor market in the nineties, the " growth" equilibrium with a "moderate" UI regime and the "recession" equilibrium with a more "generous" UI. Section 6.3 evaluates the isolated effects of the structural shocks, while the isolated effects of the UI reforms are analyzed in section 6.4. Particular dimensions of the UI reforms, the duration, replacement rate and the tax rate effects, are studied in section 6.5, while labor market equilibria without benefits are evaluated in section 6.6. In section 6.7 the structural and institutional interactions that may act as unemployment amplifiers are discussed in view of the obtained results. A welfare analysis based on individual welfare in different structural and UI settings is presented in the eighth section. Finally, the results are related to more favorable unemployment trends after 1997. The conclusion evaluates the features embodied in the model economy with respect to the resulting model dynamics to derive lessons from the model design." The thesis ends by proposing guidelines for future improvements of the model and directions for further research.

Understanding globalization through football: the new international division of labour, migratory channels and transnational trade circuits

Among all sports, football is the one that saw the largest diffusion during the 20th century. Professional leagues exist on all continents and professional footballers are constantly on the move, trying to reach the wealthiest European clubs. Using the football players' market as an example, this article highlights some key features of economic globalization: the new international division of labour, the ever increasing role played by intermediaries to bind the demand and supply of work on a transnational scale, and the setting up of spatially fragmented trade circuits. These processes form the basis for the creation of a global market of footballers in which clubs and championships play complementary roles and are more than ever functionally integrated beyond national borders.

Treatment of genital mycoplasma in colonized pregnant women in late pregnancy is associated with a lower rate of premature labour and neonatal complications.

Mycoplasma hominis and Ureaplasma spp. may colonize the human genital tract and have been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm labour and preterm premature rupture of membranes. However, as these bacteria can reside in the normal vaginal flora, there are controversies regarding their true role during pregnancy and so the need to treat these organisms. We therefore conducted a retrospective analysis to evaluate the treatment of genital mycoplasma in 5377 pregnant patients showing symptoms of potential obstetric complications at 25-37 weeks of gestation. Women presenting with symptoms were routinely screened by culture for the presence of these bacteria and treated with clindamycin when positive. Compared with uninfected untreated patients, women treated for genital mycoplasma demonstrated lower rates of premature labour. Indeed preterm birth rates were, respectively, 40.9% and 37.7% in women colonized with Ureaplasma spp. and M. hominis, compared with 44.1% in uncolonized women (Ureaplasma spp., p 0.024; M. hominis, p 0.001). Moreover, a reduction of neonatal complications rates was observed, with 10.9% of newborns developing respiratory diseases in case of Ureaplasma spp. colonization and 5.9% in the presence of M. hominis, compared with 12.8% in the absence of those bacteria (Ureaplasma spp., p 0.050; M. hominis, p <0.001). Microbiological screening of Ureaplasma spp. and/or M. hominis and pre-emptive antibiotic therapy of symptomatic pregnant women in late pregnancy might represent a beneficial strategy to reduce premature labour and neonatal complications.

Wishes or Constraints? Mothers' Labour Force Participation and its Motivation in Switzerland

The aim of this article is to estimate the impact of various factors related to role conflict theory and preference theory on the reduction of women's labour force participation after their transition to parenthood. Objective and subjective dimensions of women's labour force participation are assessed. The empirical test is based on a survey of couples with children in Switzerland. Results show that compared to structural factors associated with role conflict reduction, preferences have little impact on mothers' labour force participation, but explain a good deal of their frustration if the factual situation does not correspond to their wishes. Structural factors, such as occupation, economic resources, childcare, and an urban environment, support mothers' labour force participation, whereas active networks and a home centred lifestyle preference help them to cope with frustrations.

Molecular and social regulation of worker division of labour in fire ants.

Reproductive and worker division of labour (DOL) is a hallmark of social insect societies. Despite a long-standing interest in worker DOL, the molecular mechanisms regulating this process have only been investigated in detail in honey bees, and little is known about the regulatory mechanisms operating in other social insects. In the fire ant Solenopsis invicta, one of the most studied ant species, workers are permanently sterile and the tasks performed are modulated by the worker's internal state (age and size) and the outside environment (social environment), which potentially includes the effect of the queen presence through chemical communication via pheromones. However, the molecular mechanisms underpinning these processes are unknown. Using a whole-genome microarray platform, we characterized the molecular basis for worker DOL and we explored how a drastic change in the social environment (i.e. the sudden loss of the queen) affects global gene expression patterns of worker ants. We identified numerous genes differentially expressed between foraging and nonforaging workers in queenright colonies. With a few exceptions, these genes appear to be distinct from those involved in DOL in bees and wasps. Interestingly, after the queen was removed, foraging workers were no longer distinct from nonforaging workers at the transcriptomic level. Furthermore, few expression differences were detected between queenright and queenless workers when we did not consider the task performed. Thus, the social condition of the colony (queenless vs. queenright) appears to impact the molecular pathways underlying worker task performance, providing strong evidence for social regulation of DOL in S. invicta.

Annual Review of the European Football Players' Labour Market / Etude annuelle du marché du travail européen des footballeurs

The key reference on the labour market and the logics of squad formation in the five main European leagues. One hundred richly coloured pages, illustrated by graphics, maps, rankings, statistical models and analysis in French and English which... - inform managers about potential strategies to put their clubs on the road to success - help managers of federations and players' unions to understand current trends and to take decisions - suggest to journalists new lines of investigation likely to interest the general public - allow researchers and students to benefit from reliable and comparable sources, developed with the greatest possible rigour - give fans the possibility to understand in detail the dynamics at work in their favourite sport and club Demographic Study of Footballers in Europe The Demographic Study of European Footballers is an annual publication destined for anyone who wishes to acquire a scientific understanding of the European football players' labour market. It presents the dynamics at work in 36 first division leagues in UEFA member countries. This edition covers our biggest ever survey comprising more than 520 clubs and 13,000 footballers. Statistical indicators relative to nine thematics (morphology, age, experience training, origin, etc.) allow the comparison of player profiles and squad compositions at league and club level. Through easily-understable regression analyses, the Study brings to light the principle differences between clubs and leagues according to economic and sporting level of championships. The final part presents the list of the most promising players under 23 years of age by league and position