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2015/22: Determinants of doctorate holders’ job satisfaction. An analysis by employment sector and type of satisfaction in Spain

In this study we analyze the determinants of job satisfaction of doctorate holders in Spain. Specifically, we consider overall job satisfaction as well as basic and motivational satisfaction following Herzberg’s typology (based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). Using data from the Spanish Survey on Human Resources in Science and Technology of 2009, representative of the Spanish doctoral graduate population, we develop an analysis by gender and institutional sector (university and non-university) where employees are employed. We propose OLS regression to identify the determinants of basic and motivational satisfaction at job as well as an ordered logit model for overall job satisfaction. Results do not allow us to confirm Herzberg’s differentiation for the Spanish PhD holders, since factors related with basic motivation (such as salary or working conditions referred to ‘safety’) have a bearing on all types of job satisfaction (not only the basic one as expected). Likewise, results do not show significant differences by gender. However, it seems that these ‘basic’ needs are less important for the job satisfaction those PhD holders working at the University. Our results seem reasonable for a Southern European country where monetary conditions in labor relations are worse than in other developed countries.

2015/06: The use (and misuse) of Pisa in guiding policy reform: the case of Spain

In 2013 Spain introduced a series of educational reforms explicitly inspired by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 results. These reforms were mainly implemented in secondary education – based upon the assumption that this is where Spain’s educational problems lie. This paper questions this assumption by attempting to identify the point where Spanish children fall behind young people in other developed counties in terms of their reading skills. Specifically, by drawing data from multiple international assessments, we are able to explore how cross- national differences in reading skills change as children age. Consideration is given to both the average level of achievement and the evolution of educational inequalities. Our conclusion is that policymakers have focused their efforts on the wrong part of the education system; educational achievement is low in Spain (and educational inequalities large) long before children enter secondary school. This study therefore serves as a note of caution against simplistic interpretation of the PISA rankings; policymakers must take a more nuanced approach when enacting important educational reforms.

V Workshop on Economics of Education: Lifelong Learning Policies & Strategies

The formation of human capital, essential for economic growth, does not depend exclusively on the formal education system aimed at young people. Lifelong learning and, in particular, continuous training and training for the unemployed, is a factor that has been identified as crucial, for example in PIAAC (OECD), in defining the competences of the adult population. These competences generate, in turn, a wide range of monetary and non-monetary benefits for individuals and societies. In this context, the workshop aims at analysing a diversity of aspects related to lifelong learning, as its distribution, barriers to access, efficiency in production, funding and evaluation of its policies and programs.

Original research papers that cast some light on these issues, especially those from an economic perspective, will be brought together at the Workshop. Although the focus is set on empirical papers, theoretical studies are also welcome. The accepted papers (10) will be presented in plenary sessions that will complement the two keynote speakers’ presentations.

Info IEB Número 20, Diciembre 2014

A pesar de que nuestra sociedad no pueda considerarse, en su conjunto, una sociedad violenta y que, comparada con otros países, tiene unas tasas de criminalidad razonablemente moderadas, especialmente en cuanto a los crímenes con una componente más violenta como, por ejemplo, los homicidios no se deben infravalorar los costes que en general tiene asociados el crimen (ampliamente definido) en ningún momento.

2014/35 : Two-sample two-stage least squares (TSTSLS) estimates of earnings mobility: how consistent are they?

Academics and policymakers have shown great interest in cross-national comparisons of intergenerational earnings mobility. However, producing consistent and comparable estimates of earnings mobility is not a trivial task. In most countries researchers are unable to observe earnings information for two generations. They are thus forced to rely upon imputed data instead. This paper builds upon previous work by considering the consistency of the intergenerational correlation (ρ) as well as the elasticity (β), how this changes when using a range of different instrumental (imputer) variables, and highlighting an important but infrequently discussed measurement issue. Our key finding is that, while TSTSLS estimates of β and ρ are both likely to be inconsistent, the magnitude of this problem is much greater for the former than it is for the latter. We conclude by offering advice on estimating earnings mobility using this methodology.

2014/12 : Barriers to non-formal professional training in Spain in periods of economic growth and crisis. An analysis with special attention to the effect of the previous human capital of workers

We analyze the determining factors of access to non-formal professional training in Spain and their evolution in recent years. Specifically, a comparison is made between a moment during a period of economic growth (2007) and the current crisis period (2012). The data used is from the Economically Active Population Survey. The sample is divided according to gender and interaction variables are included to analyze the differential effects of human capital on the probability of receiving training in the two periods considered. The hypothesis is that there are significant barriers that make access to non-formal professional training difficult (we focus on previous human capital available) and that these barriers have not ceased to operate during the economic crisis.