Energy subsidies from a climate and trade perspective

A short paper for dissemination based on a research piece published by the E15Initiative: Subsidies, Clean Energy, and Climate Change, February 2015. Implemented jointly by ICTSD and the World Economic Forum, the E15Initiative convenes world-class experts and institutions to generate strategic analysis and recommendations for government, business, and civil society geared towards strengthening the global trade and investment system. The paper is also published in Spanish and Portuguese.

Subsidies, Clean Energy, and Climate Change

Estimates show that fossil fuel subsidies average USD 400–600 billion annually worldwide while renewable energy (RE) subsidies amounted to USD 66 billion in 2010 and are predicted to rise to USD 250 billion annually by 2035. Domestic political rationales for energy subsidies include promoting innovation, job creation and economic growth, energy security, and independence. Energy subsidies may also serve social and environmental goals. Whether and to what extent subsidies are effective to achieve these goals or instead lead to market distortions is a matter of much debate and the trade effects of energy subsidies are complex. This paper offers an overview of the types of energy subsidies that are used in the conventional and renewable energy sectors, and their relationship with climate change, in particular greenhouse gas emissions. While the WTO’s Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (ASCM) is mostly concerned with harm to competitors, this paper considers the extent to which the Agreement could also discipline subsidies that cause harm to the environment as a global common. Beyond the existing legal framework, this paper surveys a number of alternatives for improving the ability of subsidies disciplines to internalize climate change costs of energy production and consumption. One option is a new multilateral agreement on subsidies or trade remedies (with an appropriate carve-out in the WTO regime to allow for it if such an agreement is concluded outside it). Alternatively, climate change-related subsidies could be included as part of another multilateral regime or as part of regional agreements. A third approach would be to incorporate rules on energy subsidies in sectorial agreements, including a Sustainable Energy Trade Agreement such as has been proposed in other ICTSD studies.

The Changing Nature of Employment and the Reform of Labor and Social Security Legislation in Post-Apartheid South Africa

This paper tries to understand the current status of South African labor market, which is changing in contradictory directions, i.e. a strengthening of the rights and protection of workers at the same time as the flexibilization of employment, in the context of the characteristics of labor and social security legislation in South Africa, as well as the nature of labor and social security reforms after democratization. We put emphasis on the corporatist nature of labor policy-making as the factor influencing the course of reforms; it is argued that the apparently contradictive changes can be explained consistently by the corporatist labor policy-making process which has been practiced notwithstanding the problem of representativeness.

The informal labour market in India : transitory or permanent employment for migrants?

The informal economy is a very important sector of the Indian economy. The National Council of Applied Economic Research estimates that the informal sector - "unorganised sector" - generates about 62% of GDP and provides for about 55% of total employment (ILO 2002, p. 14). This paper studies the characteristics of the workers in the informal economy and whether internal migrants treat this sector as a temporary location before moving on to the organised or formal sector to improve their lifetime income and living conditions. We limit our study to the Indian urban (non-agricultural) sector and study the characteristics of the household heads that belong to the informal sector (self-employed and informal wage workers) and the formal sector. We find that household heads that are less educated, come from poorer households, and/or are in lower social groups (castes and religions) are more likely to be in the informal sector. In addition, our results show strong evidence that the longer a rural migrant household head has been working in the urban sector, ceteris paribus, the more likely that individual has moved out of the informal wage sector. These results support the hypothesis that, for internal migrants, the informal wage labour market is a stepping stone to a better and more certain life in the formal sector.

From school to work : Muslim youths' education and employment strategies in a community in Uttar Pradesh, India

India's Muslim community, which accounts for 14.4 percent of India’s vast population and is thus the largest of all religious minorities, has been the subject of considerable development discourse as Muslims have the lowest level of educational attainment and standard of living among socio-religious groups in the country. This study addresses the meaning of education and career opportunities for Muslim youths in relation to their educational credentials and social position in the hierarchy of Muslim class and caste groups, with particular reference to a community in Uttar Pradesh. The author contends that the career opportunities, possibilities, and strategies of Muslim youths in Indian society depend on multiple factors: social hierarchy, opportunities to utilize economic resources, social networks, cultural capital, and the wider structural disparities within which the Muslims are situated and wherein they question the value of higher education in gaining them admission to socially recognized and established employment sectors.

Employment rate impacts of charging the Heavy Good Vehicle corridor (Madrid-Sevilla) across Spanish regions: a Random Utility Based Multiregional Input-Output approach

The implementation of a charging policy for heavy goods vehicles in European Union (EU) member countries has been imposed to reflect costs of construction and maintenance of infrastructure as well as externalities such as congestion, accidents and environmental impact. In this context, EU countries approved the Eurovignette directive (1999/62/EC) and its amending directive (2006 /38/EC) which established a legal framework to regulate the system of tolls. Even if that regulation seek s to increase the efficien cy of freight, it will trigger direct and indirect effects on Spain’s regional economies by increasing transport costs. This paper presents the development of a multiregional Input-Output methodology (MRIO) with elastic trade coefficients to predict in terregional trade, using transport attributes integrated in multinomial logit models. This method is highly useful to carry out an ex-ante evaluation of transport policies because it involves road freight transport cost sensitivity, and determine regional distributive and substitution economic effect s of countries like Spain, characterized by socio-demographic and economic attributes, differentiated region by region. It will thus be possible to determine cost-effective strategies, given different policy scenarios. MRIO mode l would then be used to determine the impact on the employment rate of imposing a charge in the Madrid-Sevilla corridor in Spain. This methodology is important for measuring the impact on the employment rate since it is one of the main macroeconomic indicators of Spain’s regional and national economic situation. A previous research developed (DESTINO) using a MRIO method estimated employment impacts of road pricing policy across Spanish regions considering a fuel tax charge (€/liter) in the entire shortest cost path network for freight transport. Actually, it found that the variation in employment is expected to be substantial for some regions, and negligible for others. For example, in this Spanish case study of regional employment has showed reductions between 16.1% (Rioja) and 1.4% (Madrid region). This variation range seems to be related to either the intensity of freight transport in each region or dependency of regions to transport intensive economic sect ors. In fact, regions with freight transport intensive sectors will lose more jobs while regions with a predominantly service economy undergo a fairly insignificant loss of employment. This paper is focused on evaluating a freight transport vehicle-kilometer charge (€/km) in a non-tolled motorway corridor (A-4) between Madrid-Sevilla (517 Km.). The consequences of the road pricing policy implementation show s that the employment reductions are not as high as the diminution stated in the previous research because this corridor does not affect the whole freight transport system of Spain.

Interventions for improving employment outcomes for workers with HIV

Acknowledgements We would like to thank Cochrane Work Trials Search Co-ordinators Leena Isotalo and Kaisa Neuvonen for developing the search strategy and Managing Editor Jani Ruotsalainen and Co-ordinating Editor Jos Verbeek for editing the text and providing helpful comments. We would also like to thank Richard Othieno for his contributions to the protocol.

O idoso e sua participação - aspectos da vida urbana componentes da cidade amiga do idoso

Esta investigação teve por objetivo analisar a participação de idosos em direção à promoção da saúde considerando a articulação com oito aspectos da vida urbana do projeto cidade amiga do idoso (espaços abertos e prédios, transporte, moradia, participação social, respeito e inclusão social, participação cívica e emprego, comunicação e informação, e apoio comunitário e serviços de saúde) do bairro Vila Tibério, município de Ribeirão Preto, estado de São Paulo, Brasil. Trata-se de pesquisa descritiva de abordagem qualitativa sustentada pelos conceitos e princípios da promoção da saúde, a partir da perspectiva da participação social e do estabelecimento de ambientes saudáveis, motivo do alinhamento com os aspectos da vida urbana do Projeto Cidade Amiga do Idoso. A pesquisa atendeu aos preceitos éticos, sendo sua realização aprovada por Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa. A captação do empírico se deu por meio da realização de grupos focais com base no Protocolo de Vancouver, desenvolvido pelo Government of British Columbia, somando 32 idosos e 6 representantes de prestadores de serviços em 5 grupos focais. Adicionalmente, foi aplicado instrumento de avaliação funcional para verificar condição de independência ou dependência dos 32 idosos, sendo feita avaliação qualitativa da capacidade autorreferida pelos idosos, segundo a escala utilizada. Realizou-se análise de conteúdo na vertente temática para o material dos grupos, com a identificação de três temas: território: lugar de vida e cidadania, formação de redes de suporte social ao idoso e participação dos idosos na vida do bairro. A violência, o abandono presentes no território, em especial nos espaços coletivos, trazem preocupação e medo aos idosos, pois dificultam a livre circulação no território. Por outro lado, há no bairro certa tradição e possibilidade de serem construídas relações de amizade e apoio, que permitem ao idoso sentir-se acolhido, sendo enfatizado que as relações de amizade e mesmo as institucionalizadas, como por exemplo, o trabalho dos agentes comunitários de saúde, são necessárias às relações de convivência e sustentação na vida dos idosos. É trazida a importância dos jornais do bairro e de seu papel como elemento constitutivo da rede apoio na área de comunicação e informação dentro do território. A vinculação ao mundo do trabalho, com atividades remuneradas, ainda é uma forma que os idosos encontram de se manterem próximos aos amigos e participantes da vida em comunidade. Há dificuldade em ampliar a participação dos idosos por diferentes motivos que vão desde a dificuldade de mobilidade dentro do bairro, acesso à informação sobre as atividades disponíveis, ausência de canais mais ágeis de comunicação, baixa adesão aos processos de participação social no campo da saúde e assistência social, trabalho dos idosos como cuidadores de outros idosos familiares ou de netos. Situações que dificultam maior adesão aos processos de participação social, embora seja assinalada a importância destes processos para a melhoria do bairro. O conjunto dos resultados aponta que os idosos apresentam muitas dificuldades para ampliar sua participação nos processos coletivos no bairro, que por vezes se mostra hostil em suas condições a este grupo. Por outro lado se fazem presentes potencialidades, nas brechas e sugestões que indicam a possibilidade para se situarem no processo de construção da Promoção da Saúde no território em que estão inseridos, utilizando de suas características, perfis de vida e atuação para agir com autonomia e constituírem-se como protagonistas dos processos e de ações no território. Com a ciência dos limites, credita-se a esta investigação a possibilidade de que os elementos aqui discutidos possam oferecer subsídios para que as políticas voltadas ao envelhecimento saudável nos âmbitos da saúde, segurança, educação, assistência social, dentre outras possam se repensadas ou reestruturadas

Minority Coaches in the NFL: An Examination of Hiring Patterns as a Basis for Recommendations for Improved Employment Practices

Hiring minority coaches is a serious concern in the National Football League (NFL). The NFL's hiring practices are inconsistent, specifically for minority candidates. The author investigates why NFL teams underutilize minority coaches with research from Central Florida University and the University of Pennsylvania. Research findings suggest that minority hires positively affect the NFL, yet the hiring process remains weak. Case study examples show the poor decision-making trends of NFL personnel, implying that although minority coaches' success is better than non-minorities, the negative perception of minorities, as aspiring head coaches and leaders, is a barrier. As a result, the NFL has a unique opportunity to improve its hiring process by aligning its approach to hiring within the guidelines of federal law.

Gender inequalities in occupational health related to the unequal distribution of working and employment conditions: a systematic review

Introduction: Gender inequalities exist in work life, but little is known about their presence in relation to factors examined in occupation health settings. The aim of this study was to identify and summarize the working and employment conditions described as determinants of gender inequalities in occupational health in studies related to occupational health published between 1999 and 2010. Methods: A systematic literature review was undertaken of studies available in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Sociological Abstracts, LILACS, EconLit and CINAHL between 1999 and 2010. Epidemiologic studies were selected by applying a set of inclusion criteria to the title, abstract, and complete text. The quality of the studies was also assessed. Selected studies were qualitatively analysed, resulting in a compilation of all differences between women and men in the prevalence of exposure to working and employment conditions and work-related health problems as outcomes. Results: Most of the 30 studies included were conducted in Europe (n=19) and had a cross-sectional design (n=24). The most common topic analysed was related to the exposure to work-related psychosocial hazards (n=8). Employed women had more job insecurity, lower control, worse contractual working conditions and poorer self-perceived physical and mental health than men did. Conversely, employed men had a higher degree of physically demanding work, lower support, higher levels of effort-reward imbalance, higher job status, were more exposed to noise and worked longer hours than women did. Conclusions: This systematic review has identified a set of working and employment conditions as determinants of gender inequalities in occupational health from the occupational health literature. These results may be useful to policy makers seeking to reduce gender inequalities in occupational health, and to researchers wishing to analyse these determinants in greater depth.

The evolution of gender inequality in tourism employment in Spain

Evolución de la desigualdad por género del empleo turístico en España. Si bien la inversión en capital laboral femenino en la industria turística ha aumentado en los últimos años y parece que la discriminación en el acceso a puestos directivos ha descendido, se siguen produciendo diferentes situaciones de desigualdad. La mujer mantiene un salario por debajo del hombre y han aparecido nuevas formas de segregación ocupacional entre hombres y mujeres e incluso entre las propias mujeres: la división entre trabajo a tiempo parcial y completo es un buen ejemplo de este proceso. La hipótesis que se plantea este trabajo es que esa combinación entre tiempo de trabajo remunerado (ámbito público) y no remunerado (ámbito privado, doméstico) es un obstáculo que provoca el acceso de los varones a empleos hasta ahora "femeninos"; así mismo, se observará la calidad del empleo turístico desde la perspectiva de género.

From the boom to the crisis: changes in employment conditions of immigrants in Spain and their effects on mental health

Background: Migrant workers have been one of the groups most affected by the economic crisis. This study evaluates the influence of changes in employment conditions on the incidence of poor mental health of immigrant workers in Spain, after a period of 3 years, in context of economic crisis. Methods: Follow-up survey was conducted at two time points, 2008 and 2011, with a reference population of 318 workers from Colombia, Ecuador, Morocco and Romania residing in Spain. Individuals from this population who reported good mental health in the 2008 survey (n = 214) were interviewed again in 2011 to evaluate their mental health status and the effects of their different employment situations since 2008 by calculating crude and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for sociodemographic and employment characteristics. Findings: There was an increased risk of poor mental health in workers who lost their jobs (aOR = 3.62, 95%CI: 1.64–7.96), whose number of working hours increased (aOR = 2.35, 95%CI: 1.02–5.44), whose monthly income decreased (aOR = 2.75, 95%CI: 1.08–7.00) or who remained within the low-income bracket. This was also the case for people whose legal status (permission for working and residing in Spain) was temporary or permanent compared with those with Spanish nationality (aOR = 3.32, 95%CI: 1.15–9.58) or illegal (aOR = 17.34, 95%CI: 1.96–153.23). In contrast, a decreased risk was observed among those who attained their registration under Spanish Social Security system (aOR = 0.10, 95%CI: 0.02–0.48). Conclusion: There was an increase in poor mental health among immigrant workers who experienced deterioration in their employment conditions, probably influenced by the economic crisis.

Wages, hours and employment in American manufacturing industries July, 1914-January, 1924

Includes bibliographical references.

Drafts of documents related to Harvard employment, 1822-1824, undated

This folder contains eight one-leaf documents with calculations, notes, and drafts of a statement accounting for Croswell's employment and financial situation with Harvard between 1812 and 1821.