Research
The primary research areas of the Labour and Education section of SEO Economic Research are:
- Labour market dynamics
- Temporary employment
- Employment benefits, working conditions and labour productivity
- Labour migration and the labour market position of minorities
- The transition from education to the labour market
- Study and career choices
- The structure of higher education
- (Demand-driven) active labour market policies and training
- The relationship between labour and housing markets
- Tourism
Labour market dynamics
Every year, one out of seven people changes jobs. Vacancies arise, are filled and jobs are eliminated in a continuous flow. These labour market dynamics are a necessary condition for the efficient allocation of labour as a production factor. It also offer opportunities to unemployed people to find work and for employees to establish careers. On the other hand, the changing structure of the labour market is a cause for concern. The exit of the Baby Boom generation from the labour market leads to a declining potential labour force. At the same time, a division appears to arise within the labour market, where lower educated people have difficulties finding employment. It is therefore important to make the changing scope of labour demand (jobs and vacancies), labour supply (active working population) and unemployment comprehensible. Relevant questions involve identifying where shortages are likely to arise and how (active) labour market policies may anticipate on them. That also requires insight into future developments on the labour market (projections).
All of these aspects are reflected in for instance the Labour market monitors that we have produced for the labour market platforms of the Southern North-Holland and North-Holland North areas. Given the present labour market tensions, the studies by SEO on the consequences of population ageing for the labour market and the willingness of employees to work longer are also of considerable importance. The same holds for the SEO research on potential shortages of higher educated technical personnel in the Netherlands. The demand side of the labour market is subject to research by SEO as well. For example, we have investigated the characteristics that employers consider important in their search for employees. SEO Economic Research has also developed considerable experience in the analysis of specific labour markets for vocational groups and industries. Examples include the labour market for fiscalists, teachers, visual artists, the military and the commercial health care sector.
Temporary employment
Flexible employment, and particularly temporary employment, can be considered as an important lubricant for the labour market. For the annual Randstad Jobs Monitor, the Labour and Education section manages the International Database on Employment and Adaptable Labour (IDEAL). This database contains comparable labour market information for a large number of countries, focusing on flexible employment. In addition, it addresses such specific topics as the 'stepping-stone theory' (see also Discussion papers 30 and 38), the relationship between the business cycle and temporary employment and the effects of offshoring and international outsourcing.
Employment benefits, working conditions and labour productivity
In a labour market that becomes more and more tight, sectors increasingly compete with each other for workers. Employment benefits and working conditions therefore becoming increasingly important. Labour productivity puts an upper limit to the improvement of employment benefits and working conditions. At the same time, labour productivity is the key to increased production and prosperity.
During the last several years, the Labour and Education section has conducted wage comparisons for a number of different clients, comparing wages in various sectors after making appropriate corrections for differences among employees that can be explained by differences in personal and job characteristics. These comparisons have clarified the competitive positions of various sectors on the labour market. In addition to wages, working conditions are also important in such comparisons. Using information about labour satisfaction, SEO has calculated the wage value of the presence of these working conditions.
Labour migration and the labour market position of minorities
The phenomenon of labour migration has a very long history, which includes the forced migration of slaves from Africa and the voluntary migration of Europeans to the promised land of America. Labour migration currently carries a negative connotation, as it would be in conflict with our welfare state. Nonetheless, international migration is taking place within several segments of the labour market, offering a (temporary) solution to local shortages. Examples include the migration of higher educated German, Italian and French workers to R&D jobs and the migration of Polish plumbers and carpenters. At the same time, descendants of the Turkish and Moroccan labour immigrants of the 1970s face a difficult position on the labour market. Through its research, the Labour and Education section aims at providing insight into both aspects of labour migration.
The transition from education to the labour market
A common complaint among employers is that graduates often do not possess the specific qualifications that are needed for the jobs that are vacant. Such complaints often neglect the fact that students generally receive broad, general knowledge that qualifies them for a wide range of jobs. Firm-specific knowledge and skills can only be developed on the job. Moreover, it takes time to find an optimal match between jobs and employees, time during which employees are faced with suboptimal matches.
One of the areas of expertise within the Labour and Education section involves the description and explanation of matches between employees and jobs. Such studies are usually based on the analyses of job search durations. Applied to new graduates, this comes down to the analyses of the transition from education to labour. Each year, SEO Economic Research surveys, analyses and describes the labour market position of new graduates from higher education. This study is commissioned by Elsevier and includes topics like job finding probabilities, income, job security and the transition from education to work. For further information, see the section on Study & Work.
The structure of higher education
For more than ten years, SEO has been surveying students in higher education about such matters as their motivation and study progress. In the early years of the current Student Monitor, SEO collaborated with the SCO Kohnstamm Institute in the research projects Studying Further and Determinants of Higher Education. SEO has also been involved in conducting the Student Monitor itself for several years. Currently, SEO is conducting two separate research projects in which it monitors developments in higher education. One project studies the potentials for an Open System for Higher Education, in which new educational programmes are examined by following cohorts of students for several years. The other project concerns an extensive study of the Associate’s Degree pilot (a two-year program of higher vocational education). In addition, SEO occasionally conducts studies among students for specific educational institutions, including a survey of dropouts and students who switch between programmes, commissioned by the Haagse Hogeschool/TH Rijswijk.
(Demand-driven) active labour market policies including training
In the past years, SEO Economic Research has developed unique expertise with regard to the effectiveness and implementation of active labour market policies. By analysing flows between work, welfare and re-employment, by measuring the net effectiveness or added-value of actual job search assistance programmes, and by calculating the costs and benefits of active labour market policies, SEO Economic Research has made a valuable contribution to the discussion concerning the structure and organisation of the market for job search assistance programmes (see also the Care and Security section). Within this research area, the Labour and Education section focuses primarily on job search assistance measures that are driven by expected labour demand, as well as on the effectiveness of training.
The relationship between labour and housing markets
Domestic labour migration is important for regional labour markets to function optimally. A housing market that functions sub-optimally may hamper the functioning of the labour market. The relationship between labour and housing markets is therefore an important (regional) economic topic. Directly related to this topic is the existence and size of commuter flows. In a number of Labour Market Monitors for the Southern North-Holland and North-Holland North areas, we have estimated these commuter flows.
Tourism
How does tourism from abroad affect production and job opportunities in a local economy? In which sectors does this production appear and what type of labour demand does it create? Are planned-growth strategies realistic, taking potential supply-side restrictions and seasonal effects into account? Commissioned by the Department of Economic Affairs in collaboration with the Tourism Board of the Curacao island, SEO Economic Research has developed a model (known as Turistika©) for translating tourists expenditures into effects on employment and production within a number of sectors. It also identifies possible restrictions on the supply side of the economy, including the availability of qualified personnel, occupancy rates of hotels, restaurants and taxi services, and the capacity of the air transportation sector. The model is used to compare economic effects in various growth scenarios, in order to determine an optimal policy strategy. The Turistika© model is regularly updated and optimised using the most recent data. The model can also be used for similar small, clearly defined local economies.