Browsing by Author "Sehnbruch, Kirsten"
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Item A Multidimensional Approach to Measuring Quality of Employment (QoE) Deprivation in Six Central American Countries(2021) González, Pablo; Sehnbruch, Kirsten; Apablaza, Mauricio; Méndez Pineda, Rocío; Arriagada, VerónicaThis paper proposes a methodology for measuring Quality of Employment (QoE) deprivation from a multidimensional perspective in six Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) using a dataset specifcally designed to measure employment conditions. Building on previous work on multidimensional poverty and employment indicators, the paper uses the Alkire/Foster (AF) method to construct a synthetic indicator of the QoE at an individual level. It selects four dimensions that must be considered as essential to QoE deprivation: income, job stability, job security and employment conditions. These dimensions then subdivide into several indicators, a threshold for each indicator and dimension is established before defning an overall cut-of line that allows for the calculation of composite levels of deprivation. The results generated by this indicator show that Central American countries can be divided into three distinct and robust performance groups in terms of their QoE deprivation. Overall, approximately 60% of the deprivation levels are attributable to non-income variables, such as occupational status and job tenure. The methodology used can allow policymakers to identify and focus on the most vulnerable workers in a labour market and highlights the fact that having a formal written contract is no guarantee of good job quality, particularly in the case of womenItem Regional inequality in multidimensional quality of employment: insights from Chile, 1996–2017(2022) Apablaza, Mauricio; Sehnbruch, Kirsten; González, Pablo; Méndez, RocíoThis paper proposes a multidimensional synthetic index for measuring the quality of employment using the Alkire–Foster method. The results generated by this index highlight important differences between Chile’s regions, but also a process of convergence, which has been mostly driven by regulatory changes and public policy rather than economic growth. The paper shows how much a synthetic index can contribute to regional analysis and how it can inform policymakers by focusing attention on the most vulnerable workers in regional labour markets.Item The quality of employment (QOE) in nine Latin American countries: A multidimensional perspective.(2020) Apablaza, Mauricio; Sehnbruch, Kirsten; González, Pablo; Méndez, Rocío; Arriagada, VerónicaThis paper proposes a methodology for measuring the quality of employment from a multidimensional and public policy perspective in Latin American developing countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay) using household and labour force survey data from 2015. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the QoE can be measured using a multidimensional methodology that can inform policy makers about the state of their labour markets in a way that complements traditional variables such as participation or unemployment rates, which are not always good indicators of labour market performance in developing countries with large informal sectors. Building on the framework of the capability approach as well as on previous work on multidimensional poverty, we use the Alkire/Foster (AF) method to construct a synthetic indicator of the quality of employment (QoE) at an individual level. We select three dimensions that must be considered as both instrumentally and intrinsically important to workers and the functions and capabilities generated by their employment situation: income, job security and employment conditions. Job security is then divided into two sub-dimensions (occupational status and job tenure), as is employment conditions (social security affiliation and excessive working hours). A threshold is then established within each dimension and sub-dimension to determine whether a person is deprived or not within each dimension, before establishing an overall cut-off line and calculating composite levels of deprivation. The results generated by this indicator are, first, highly relevant to policy makers as they allow for the precise identification of groups of vulnerable workers as well as of dimensions and indicators, which contribute to deprivation in the labour market. Second, they extend the debate about employment in developing countries to variables not commonly considered by the literature as being critical to the well-being of workers and their dependents, such as occupational status and job tenure. Third, this paper highlights important difference between Latin American countries, both in terms of the overall QoE Index result as well as its component dimensions. While Chile presents the best results in the region, Paraguay presents the worst, followed by Mexico, Bolivia and Peru. However, Chile, Peru, Columbia and Brazil, for example, have the biggest problem with job rotation. Finally, the paper highlights that low rates of unemployment are not necessarily related to low rates of deprivation in terms of the QoE. In fact, in some countries analysed (e.g. Mexico) the opposite is true.