Tatiana Blinova (p), Viktor Rusanovskiy , Vladimir Markov

The objective of this study is to assess the change in the interregional differences of the Russian labor market in terms of youth unemployment (2005-2016) with taking into account the economic crisis and economic growth. The paper presents the results of modeling the patterns of convergence of the youth unemployment rate in the labour market in Russia, including unconditional and conditional β-convergence, as well as σ-convergence. The statistical base of our study is the Rosstat data posted on the official website of the Federal State Statistics Service. The sample includes 77 regions of Russia. The results show that the interregional youth unemployment differences in Russia tend to decrease in crisis years and increase in periods of economic growth. The unconditional β-convergence of the regions of Russia exists in the period of crisis, but its models are insignificant in the post-crisis years. This means that the youth employment policies should be adapted for the regions of different types. The conditional σ-convergence exists in most clusters in 2008-2009 and 2012-2013 for the age group 15-19 years and in 2008-2009 for the age group 20-29 years. This signifies that the regions within the clusters converge, while the difference between the actual and the natural unemployment rates grows. Consequently, in the crisis years the clusters become relatively more homogenous, and at the same time, the actual rate of unemployment to a greater extent deviates from the natural unemployment rate. In general, the results of analyzing the sigma- and beta-convergence are harmonized. The dependence of the rates of unemployment on the baseline rates is the highest for the age group 15-19 years. And the speed of convergence is the highest in the period of pre-crisis growth. The results show that the number of regions inside the club converge decrease, while the difference between the actual rate of unemployment and the natural rate grows. In crisis years, the relative homogeneity of our clusters increases, and at the same time, unemployment distances from its natural rate.
Keywords: Regions, Labour market, Unemployment, Youth, Convergence, Russia

Carlos Azzoni (p), Edivaldo Constantino

We assess how career paths are influenced by the mobility of workers across firms, sectors and cities. We also assess the influence of moving out of the labor force. We follow a group of workers for 14 years and assess their wage history, as well as their mobility in terms of occupations, firms and cities. We estimate the wage premium for staying in the same job or changing jobs in the same city or in another city. We are able to determine the wage return of the different types of mobility both in the short (one year after) and in the long run (five years).

Wei Xiong (p)

International students are a special type of migrant, whose migration decision is not finalised. The length of time that they will spend in their destination country is also uncertain. In 2012, over 4.5 million international students studied abroad for their third-level education. The average annual growth rate from 2000 to 2012 was approximately 7%.
There were approximately 32,000 international students enrolled in Irish higher education institutions in 2012. International education contributes approximately €1 billion to the Irish economy. €700 million of this is attributable to students attending third-level institutions. In 2011/12, 70% of international students were registered in the university sector. A combination of push and pull factors influence where these students decide to study. Push factors refer to conditions in a student’s country of origin, while pull factors refer to conditions in the destination country and/or host institution.
This research examined the influence of push and pull factors on international students in an Irish university, University College Cork (UCC), to elucidate the principal factors that determined their final choice. Concurrent triangulation design was the overarching methodology used. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed at the same time and both had equal priority. 216 students were surveyed and 24 students were interviewed.
Lack of desired course/major was the most frequently discussed push factor in the interviews. Promotion of the diversity of education options available in Ireland to international students through knowledgeable staff at higher education fairs was favoured as students could access a personalised service to satisfy their queries. International students also preferred intensive programmes, which allowed for an internationally-recognised qualification with a reduced time and cost burden. Asian students prioritised the course availability in their decision-making process, while students from the Americas prioritised the destination country’s culture.
This was the first study to measure the range and relative importance of influencing factors for international students who chose to pursue third-level education in Ireland. It was also the first European study in the area to place no geographical restrictions on the students that could be surveyed. This allowed for a comparison of influences between world cultures.
This study provides strategies to improve the attractiveness of Irish universities in the international education market to increase international student numbers and the associated economic benefit.

Luis Diaz-serrano (p), William Nilsson

In this paper, we study the role of the industry structure to explain the dropout behavior in secondary compulsory and post-compulsory education in Spanish regions. Given the high level of heterogeneity in the dropout rate across Spanish regions, and that the Spanish education system is very decentralized at a regional level, we conduct our analysis using regional data. In order to eliminate the effect common trends that may generate spurious correlations between our outcome variable (dropouts) and the covariates, the estimation strategy is based in the use of a fixed effect model with individual (regional) specific slopes. We do find that increases in construction activity increases boys’ propensity to drop out of high-school, relative to women. On the contrary, an increase of the demand for low skill services, raises the school dropout among girls. According to this finding, policies promoting education should strengthen when in the presence of transitory shocks in the labor market that make dropping out more attractive.

Diana Gutiérrez Posada , Maria Plotnikova (p)

According to Eurostat data, in 2016 self-employment represented 14% of total employment in the European Union, a rate that has been fairly stable in the last 10 years. This figure, along with the high share of small and medium size companies (99%) and the potential source of employment that they represent (comprising two thirds of the total employment) underscore the importance of self-employment as a driver of economic growth. As stated in the European Employment Observatory Review (European Commission, 2010), the Euro 2020 Strategy sets out to foster entrepreneurship and self-employment under its inclusive growth objective.

Despite the robustness of the aggregated self-employment rate through time, differences arise when separated countries are considered, and further disparities emerge at the regional level. The work of Bosma and Schutjens (2011) shows significant and persistent variability in the different stages of the entrepreneurial process (nascent, new or stablished), and in the attitude towards entrepreneurship across the European regions.

In this paper, we attempt to provide additional evidence on the local profiles of self-employment focusing on the different effect that individual characteristics and demo-economic and geographical features of the location have on the probability of engaging in this kind of activities. The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (Bosma et al., 2009) and the Eurobarometer (Grilo and Thurik, 2006) explore the existing differences in these regards, showing a relatively high preference for self-employment in Southern Europe and the United Kingdom. Taking this into account, our aim is to compare the determinants of entrepreneurship between the UK and Spain, as both countries have similar figures regarding global self-employment numbers relatively to the EU but their response to the economic crisis was different. Using micro-census data for the year 2011 we explore which factors are important for entrepreneurship at the local level in these countries: the characteristics of the individual (age, sex and educational level, for example) or the locational factors (rural or urban character, distance to natural amenities or income/poverty levels, among others). Separate cases are made for self-employed with and without employees. The models are estimated using non-parametric methods.