Preference for Public Sector Jobs and Wait Unemployment: A Micro Data Analysis

This paper exploits responses on the stated preferences for public sector jobs among a sample of unemployed in Pakistan to inform on the existence of public sector job queues. The empirical approach allowed job preference to influence unemployment duration. The potential wage advantage an unemployed individual would enjoy in a public sector job was found to exert no independent influence on the stated preference indicating that fringe benefits and work conditions are perhaps more important considerations. The stated preference for a public sector job was found to be associated with higher uncompleted durations. The estimated effect suggests that, on average and controlling for education and other characteristics, those unemployed who stated a preference for public sector jobs had higher uncompleted durations of between four and six months. This finding was taken to confirm that there are long queues for public sector jobs in Pakistan.Wage Differentials, Wage Structure, Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

Eigenvalue bounds of mixed Steklov problems

We study bounds on the Riesz means of the mixed Steklov-Neumann and Steklov-Dirichlet eigenvalue problem on a bounded domain $\Omega$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$. The Steklov-Neumann eigenvalue problem is also called the sloshing problem. We obtain two-term asymptotically sharp lower bounds on the Riesz means of the sloshing problem and also provide an asymptotically sharp upper bound for the Riesz means of mixed Steklov-Dirichlet problem. The proof of our results for the sloshing problem uses the average variational principle and monotonicity of sloshing eigenvalues. In the case of Steklov-Dirichlet eigenvalue problem, the proof is based on a well-known bound on the Riesz means of the Dirichlet fractional Laplacian and an inequality between the Dirichlet and Navier fractional Laplacian. The two-term asymptotic results for the Riesz means of mixed Steklov eigenvalue problems are discussed in the appendix which in particular show the asymptotic sharpness of the bounds we obtain.Comment: An appendix by by F. Ferrulli and J. Lagac\'e is added; some changes in the introduction are mad

Wage Differentials, Rate of Return to Education, and Occupational Wage Share in the Labour Market of Pakistan

This paper examines the magnitude of public/private wage differentials in Pakistan using data drawn from the 2001-02 Labour Force Survey. Pakistan Labour Force Survey is a nationwide survey containing micro data from all over the country containing demographic and employment information. As in many other countries, public sector workers in Pakistan tend to have higher average pay and educational levels as compared to their private sector counterparts. First, this paper presents the inter-sectoral earning equations for the three main sectors of the economy, i.e., public, private, and state-owned enterprises. These results are further decomposed into treatment and endowment effect. To examine the role of human capital in wage gap, the rate of return to different levels of schooling is calculated. These rates of return to education may be important for policy formulation. The relative earning share is also worked out to look into the distribution of wages across the occupational categories. The earning equations are estimated with and without correction for selectivity, which is also the main objective of the study, i.e., to find out if any non-random selection is taking place within these three sectors of employment.Wage Differentials, Rate of Return to Education, Public Sector Labour Markets

Adaptive reuse of abandoned buildings for refugees: lessons from European context

The ongoing refugee crisis is described as the most important concern since the Second World War, which has caused a great displacement of people. Many of these immigrants have been departing towards Mediterranean countries, as first-line states, seeking for a chance to enter Europe. This situation has created a challenging condition for many refugee accepting cities as well as for the migrants to get integrated within the new society. This fact has had a great influence on the sustainability condition while the rapid and uncontrolled inflows can overwhelm the host countries' capacities to integrate new arrivals. In this regard, some European countries including Germany and Italy are coming about with strategies for accommodation and integration of these refugees in their countries. This paper aims to study and analyze two of the current case studies reflecting adaptive reuse strategies in European context for providing refugees' temporary housing facilities. In the context of this research, using the existing building stock introduced as the dominant strategy which can provide refugees with a proper shelter and also while providing the chance for their urban integration can contribute to revitalization of urban areas with the newcomers' participation. By analyzing the Berlin's largest refugee shelter inside Tempelhof Airport as the first case study, the major policies in Germany for providing refugee housing in national and local levels have been investigated. However, the second case study -Ex-Moi in Turin, is characteristically different from the case of Tempelhof airport of Berlin; since the refugees occupied the abandoned facility of the Olympic Village and settled down there. Regarding the fact that there is an urgent need for long-term policies and sustainable approaches to cope with the current refugee crisis, this research tries to shed a light on the path towards providing temporary housings by analyzing the challenges and opportunities of two different current case studies in Germany and Italy

Technical change in Developing Countries: A dynamic model of adoption, learning and industry evolution

This paper develops and analyses a dynamic model, which combines both the adoption and the industry evolution theories. We model the decision of adoption, learning entry and exit of firms. These decisions depend on the interaction of technology characteristics ((effectiveness, machinery and information costs…) and other economic indicators (firm’s size, technology capability, competition concentration, returns of scale,…). We use the model’s theoretical results to analyze simultaneously the effects on the structure and the average efficiency of the industry and to develop a framework for understanding the effect of competitive policy reform and public policy action necessary to enhance adoption and average productivity. The model we suggest also analyses effects on industry evolution and social welfare.Adoption, learning, efficiency, entry , exit, industrial dynamics, evolution, developing countries