scholarly journals Impediments to contract enforcement in day labour markets: a perspective from India

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 651-676 ◽  
Author(s):  
KARTHIKEYA NARAPARAJU
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Developing Countries ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Contract Enforcement ◽  
Informal Governance ◽  
Enforcement Mechanisms ◽  
Work Done ◽  
Formal Contract

AbstractIn developing countries, lack of formal contract enforcement mechanisms is compensated by informal governance enforced through trust, kinship, reputation, etc. This paper focuses on one such setting in India's urban informal economy: the ‘day labour’ market for casual labour. We survey seven such markets in Navi Mumbai (a city on the outskirts of Mumbai), and find considerable incidence of contract enforcement problems in the form of employers reneging on wage payments to labourers. We find that payments to labourers with access to social networks and a record of work done are less likely to be reneged. Further, consistent with the literature on the limits of informal enforcement, we find that labourers in large markets, with greater linguistic and caste-based diversity, are more likely to be reneged. We argue that interventions aimed at facilitating access to formal mechanisms might help overcome some of the limitations with informal enforcement.

New forms of intra-European migration, labour market dynamics and social inequality in Europe

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 125-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roland Verwiebe ◽  
Laura Wiesböck ◽  
Roland Teitzer
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Social Inequality ◽  
Social Stratification ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Second Step ◽  
Market Dynamics ◽  
Migration Patterns ◽  
European Continent ◽  
The Past ◽  
European Migration

This article deals mainly with new forms of Intra-European migration, processes of integration and inequality, and the dynamics of emerging transnational labour markets in Europe. We discuss these issues against the background of fundamental changes which have been taking place on the European continent over the past two decades. Drawing on available comparative European data, we examine, in a first step, whether the changes in intra-European migration patterns have been accompanied by a differentiation of the causes of migration. In a second step, we discuss the extent to which new forms of transnational labour markets have been emerging within Europe and their effects on systems of social stratification.

The Role of Migration in the Formation of Regional Labour Markets Amidst the Second Wave of Depopulation in Modern Russia

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 26-36
Author(s):  
A. V. Topilin ◽  
A. S. Maksimova
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Labour Migration ◽  
Sample Surveys ◽  
Balance Sheets ◽  
Permanent Migration ◽  
Regional Labour Markets ◽  
The Impact

The article reflects the results of a study of the impact of migration on regional labour markets amidst a decline in the working-age population in Russia. After substantiating the relevance of the issues under consideration, the authors propose a methodological analysis toolkit, the author’s own methodology for calculating the coefficients of permanent long-term external and internal labour migration in regional labour markets, and the coefficient of total migration burden. In addition, the authors provide an overview of the information and statistical base of the study. According to current migration records, data of Rosstat sample surveys on Russian labour migrants leaving for employment in other regions, regional labour resources balance sheets based on the calculated coefficients of labour market pressures, the authors analyzed the impact of migration on the Russian regional labour markets over the past decade. It revealed an increasing role of internal labour migration in many regions, primarily in the largest economic agglomerations and oil and gas territories. At the same time, the role of external labour migration remains stable and minimum indicators of the contribution of permanent migration to the formation of regional labour markets continue to decrease. It has been established that irrational counter flows of external and internal labour migration have developed, which indicates not only an imbalance in labour demand and supply but also a discrepancy between the qualitative composition of migrants and the needs of the economy. It is concluded that the state does not effectively regulate certain types of migration, considering its impact on the labour market. The authors justified the need for conducting regular household sample surveys according to specific programs to collect information about labour migrants and the conditions for using their labour. In addition to the current migration records, using interregional analysis, this information allows making more informed decisions at the federal and regional levels to correct the negative situation that has developed in the regional labour markets even before the coronavirus pandemic had struck.

Labour market disadvantage or poor health upon arrival? An examination of the native–immigrant gap in early retirement on a disability pension

2021 ◽  
pp. 000169932110228
Author(s):  
Jeevitha Yogachandiran Qvist ◽  
Hans-Peter Y Qvist
Keyword(s):  
Labour Market ◽  
Disability Pension ◽  
Early Retirement ◽  
Register Data ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Poor Health ◽  
Health Differences ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Efficiency And Productivity ◽  
Advanced Capitalist

Non-Western immigrants in Scandinavia have a higher risk of early retirement on a disability pension than natives, but the reasons are unclear. One theory is that increased demands for standardization, efficiency and productivity in advanced capitalist labour markets, such as the Scandinavian market, cause expulsion of the weakest and least qualified individuals from the labour market, including a disproportionate share of non-Western immigrants. Another theory is that non-Western immigrants already have poorer health than natives upon arrival in Scandinavia. This article examines the extent to which the native–immigrant gap in early retirement on a disability pension is explained by non-Western immigrants’ disadvantaged position in the labour market when pre-existing health differences are controlled for. To this end, we draw on Danish register data, including all disability pensions granted in 2003–2012 to natives and non-Western immigrants who arrived in Denmark in 1998. Our results suggest that a minor proportion of the native–immigrant gap in disability pensions is explained by non-Western immigrants’ health upon arrival, whereas the vast majority of the gap is explained by non-Western immigrants’ disadvantaged position in the labour market.

Reputations, Relationships, and Contract Enforcement

2007 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 595-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Bentley MacLeod
Keyword(s):  
Contract Enforcement ◽  
Market Mechanisms ◽  
Efficient Level ◽  
Enforcement Mechanisms ◽  
Real Costs

When the quality of a good is at the discretion of the seller, how can buyers assure that the seller provides the mutually efficient level of quality? Contracts that provide a bonus to the seller if the quality is acceptable or impose a penalty on the seller if quality is unacceptable can, in theory, provide efficient incentives. But how are such contracts enforced? While the courts can be used, doing so involves high real costs. Informal enforcement, involving a loss of reputation and future access to the market for any party that defaults on a contract, may often be a better alternative. This paper explores the use of both formal and informal enforcement mechanisms, provides a rationale for a variety of observed market mechanisms, and then generates a number of testable hypotheses.

scholarly journals Why Is Growth in Developing Countries So Hard to Measure?

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-242
Author(s):  
Noam Angrist ◽  
Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg ◽  
Dean Jolliffe
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Informal Economy ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
National Accounts ◽  
Large Share ◽  
System Of National Accounts ◽  
Growth Measurement ◽  
Audit Data

Occasional widely publicized controversies have led to the perception that growth statistics from developing countries are not to be trusted. Based on the comparison of several data sources and analysis of novel IMF audit data, we find no support for the view that growth is on average measured less accurately or manipulated more in developing than in developed countries. While developing countries face many challenges in measuring growth, so do higher-income countries, especially those with complex and sometimes rapidly changing economic structures. However, we find consistently higher dispersion of growth estimates from developing countries, lending support to the view that classical measurement error is more problematic in poorer countries and that a few outliers may have had a disproportionate effect on (mis)measurement perceptions. We identify several measurement challenges that are specific to poorer countries, namely limited statistical capacity, the use of outdated data and methods, the large share of the agricultural sector, the informal economy, and limited price data. We show that growth measurement based on the System of National Accounts (SNA) can be improved if supplemented with information from other data sources (for example, satellite-based data on vegetation yields) that address some of the limitations of SNA.

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