scholarly journals What Matters in a Job? A Multi-Level Study of Job Preference Orientations and the Intrinsic Quality of Work in 25 Societies

Societies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Michal Kozák
Keyword(s):  
Social Survey ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Power Resources ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Institutional Determinants ◽  
Job Preference ◽  
Intrinsic Quality ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Cross National

This paper examines cross-national differences in job preference orientations from the perspective of job quality. In particular, it investigates the extent to which preferences of workers in 25 developed societies are shaped by the intrinsic quality of jobs and its institutional determinants, as highlighted by varieties of capitalism (VoC) and power resources theory (PRT). The study uses multi-level models with country-specific random intercepts fitted to individual data from the International Social Survey Programme’s 2015 Work Orientations module, paired with institutional indicators from various sources. The results show that workers within countries tend to be oriented towards the same types of rewards that their jobs offer, with the intrinsic quality of work standing out as the most important factor of all. This logic extends to the cross-national variation in job preference orientations, which is strongly related to the average intrinsic quality of jobs in national labor markets and its institutional factors emphasized by PRT, rather than VoC.

scholarly journals How good are jobs in New Zealand?

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-67
Author(s):  
Majoreen Amankwah ◽  
Peter Boxall ◽  
Meng-Long Huo
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Job Quality ◽  
Physical Effort ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Advancement Opportunities ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Intrinsic Quality ◽  
International Social ◽  
Better Than

Based on an analysis of the New Zealand data in the Work Orientation module of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) across three rounds (1997, 2005 and 2015), this paper examines how workers in New Zealand perceive their job quality. These surveys imply that New Zealanders have relatively good jobs, as shown in healthy levels of job quality and job satisfaction. They rate highly the quality of their collegial relationships at work and typically perceive the intrinsic quality of their job as better than the extrinsic quality. A key issue in relation to the latter is that they generally do not rate their advancement opportunities as high. While men, full-timers and graduates have some advantages over women, part-timers and non-graduates in extrinsic job quality, the intrinsic quality of work is more evenly experienced. In terms of intrinsic issues, the rising level of stress from 2005 to 2015 poses a concern and there is no evidence that graduates enjoy any kind of premium in the intrinsic quality of work apart from a lower level of hard physical effort.  

scholarly journals Regional Variation in Inequality of Educational Opportunity across Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 237802312110198
Author(s):  
Bastian A. Betthäuser ◽  
Caspar Kaiser ◽  
Nhat An Trinh
Keyword(s):  
Regional Variation ◽  
Educational Opportunity ◽  
Large Body ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Inequality Of Educational Opportunity ◽  
Cross National

A large body of literature documents cross-national variation in the level of inequality of educational opportunity (IEO) among children from different social backgrounds. By contrast, relatively little attention has been given to the extent to which IEO varies within counties and across regions. On the basis of data from the European Social Survey, the authors map variation in IEO across regions in Europe and show that IEO varies substantially within counties. This visualization of the heterogeneity of IEO within European countries highlights the need for researchers and policy makers to extend the current focus on cross-national differences and to investigate and address IEO at the regional level. The visualization raises important questions with respect to the contours, causes, and consequences of cross-regional variation in IEO.

The impact of comparative state-directed development on working conditions and employee satisfaction

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 498-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H Westover
Keyword(s):  
Job Satisfaction ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Job Characteristics ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Development Framework ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Directed Development ◽  
The Impact

AbstractIn this research, I apply and extend Kohli's state-directed development framework to better understand country-level factors influencing cross-national differences in job characteristics and job satisfaction. Prior research has indicated that the nature of work has changed dramatically in recent years in response to economic shifts and an increasingly global economy. However, there is little agreement on whether the overall quality of work has improved or declined over that period and little is known about the overall comparative quality of work and job satisfaction across the global economy. In this study I use non-panel longitudinal data from the International Social Survey Program (survey questions on job characteristics and job quality) and various country-contextual variables. This article explores the impact of state-directed development on job satisfaction, first identifying and explaining the foundations of the statist literature, and then using various statistical methods to test for statistically significant impact and variation across countries.

Why Do Levels of Human Welfare Vary among Nations?

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 715-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Gough ◽  
Theo Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Welfare Economic ◽  
Need Satisfaction ◽  
Human Welfare ◽  
Political Independence ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Quality Of Life Index ◽  
Human Need ◽  
Per Capita ◽  
Cross National

This article investigates what factors explain the wide differences in human welfare among nations. Applying the theory of human need developed by Doyal and Gough, the authors construct a series of indicators of need satisfaction and use these to map contemporary national levels of welfare. They criticize past cross-national studies of welfare outcomes for using a single index of welfare, usually the Physical Quality of Life Index. A comprehensive model of national differences in need satisfaction is then developed. Seven theories are deployed and are tested against the evidence using path analysis, which permits different causal patterns to be simultaneously considered. The authors conclude that per capita incomes are only one of several factors explaining cross-national variations in need satisfaction: the degree of economic and political independence, the extent of democracy and human rights, the capacity and dispositions of the state, and relative gender equality all positively and independently affect a nation's level of welfare. Economic development alone cannot guarantee social development.

scholarly journals The Wealth Inequality of Nations

2021 ◽  
pp. 000312242110278
Author(s):  
Fabian T. Pfeffer ◽  
Nora Waitkus
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Financial Assets ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Institutional Determinants ◽  
Housing Equity ◽  
Real Assets ◽  
Cross National

Comparative research on income inequality has produced several frameworks to study the institutional determinants of income stratification. In contrast, no such framework and much less empirical evidence exist to explain cross-national differences in wealth inequality. This situation is particularly lamentable as cross-national patterns of inequality in wealth diverge sharply from those in income. We seek to pave the way for new explanations of cross-national differences in wealth inequality by tracing them to the influence of different wealth components. Drawing on the literatures on financialization and housing, we argue that housing equity should be the central building block of the comparative analysis of wealth inequality. Using harmonized data on 15 countries included in the Luxembourg Wealth Study (LWS), we demonstrate a lack of association between national levels of income and wealth inequality and concentration. Using decomposition approaches, we then estimate the degree to which national levels of wealth inequality and concentration relate to cross-national differences in wealth portfolios and the distribution of specific asset components. Considering the role of housing equity, financial assets, non-housing real assets, and non-housing debt, we show that cross-national variation in wealth inequality and concentration is centrally determined by the distribution of housing equity.

scholarly journals The Wealth Inequality of Nations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian T. Pfeffer ◽  
Nora Waitkus
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Financial Assets ◽  
Working Paper ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Institutional Determinants ◽  
Housing Equity ◽  
Real Assets ◽  
Cross National

Comparative research on income inequality has produced several coherent frameworks to study the institutional determinants of income stratification. In contrast, no such framework and much less empirical evidence exist to explain cross-national differences in wealth inequality. This situation is particularly lamentable as cross-national patterns of inequality in wealth diverge sharply from those in income. We seek to pave the way for new explanations of cross-national differences in wealth inequality by tracing them to the influence of different wealth components. Drawing on the literatures on financialization and housing, we argue that housing equity should be the central building block of the comparative analysis of wealth inequality.Using harmonized data on fifteen countries included in the Luxembourg Wealth Study (LWS), we first demonstrate a lack of association between national levels of income and wealth inequality and concentration. Using decomposition approaches, we then estimate the degree to which national levels of wealth inequality and concentration relate to cross-national differences in wealth portfolios and the distribution of specific asset components. Considering the role of housing equity, financial assets, non-housing real assets, and non-housing debt, we reveal that cross-national variation in wealth inequality and concentration is centrally determined by the distribution of housing equity. (Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality Working Paper)

scholarly journals Does Education Matter for the Relationship between Healthcare Use for Serious Health Problems and Well-being? A Study in 24 Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1136-1150
Author(s):  
Rania F. Valeeva
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Healthcare Use ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Multiple Regression Models ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Cross National

Previous research has shown that the well-being of people in Western societies varies consistently. To understand these differences, we focus on the relationship between healthcare use and well-being, since previous research has shown that poor health and lack of social support reduce well-being. Based on the findings of the previous research, we hypothesize that there is a positive relationship between healthcare use and well-being, and that the strength of this relationship increases with the years of schooling. We tested these hypotheses in 24 countries using data (N = 40,249) from the European Social Survey. The data were analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression models. Our results indicate cross-national differences in the relationship between healthcare use for serious health problems and well-being. Moreover, they suggest that the extent of education matters for this relationship, however its influence differs across countries. Further research is needed to explain these cross-national differences.

Attitudes toward Refugees in Contemporary Europe: A Longitudinal Perspective on Cross-National Differences

Social Forces ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian S Czymara
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
European Social Survey ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
National Differences ◽  
European Public ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Demographic Shifts ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Cross National

Abstract In 2015, the number of people seeking asylum in Europe skyrocketed. However, asylum applications were mainly concentrated in a few destination countries such as Germany, Austria, or Sweden. After the so-called EU-Turkey deal, asylum rates quickly dropped in subsequent years. I examine how these developments affected public opinion from both a static and a dynamic comparative perspective. The rapid and largely unpredicted rise in refugee numbers and their prominence in public debates make demographic changes potent drivers of out-group hostility. The analysis of data from over 50,000 individuals in 22 countries contained in the seventh and eighth waves of the European Social Survey shows that attitudes toward refugees do not simply follow trends in asylum applications. Significantly lowering refugee numbers, hence, did not counter anti-refugee sentiments in the European public. Based on intra-country variation over time, the model rather predicts an increase in negative attitudes during times of considerable demographic shifts. Deeper analyses reveal that this effect is stronger for conservative Europeans as well as for those who distrust EU-politics. Moreover, while a general willingness to help is associated with more openness toward refugees, actually experiencing foreigner inflow diminishes this link, suggesting limitations of humanitarian concerns. Results are stable across various modelling and sample choices and not driven by individual countries. In sum, these findings demonstrate the importance of temporal dynamics for the formation of attitudes toward refugees in contemporary Europe and point to potentially polarizing effects of immigration along ideological lines.

scholarly journals Quality of Work and Quality of Life of Service Sector Workers: Cross-national Variations in Eight European Countries

2011 ◽  
pp. 77-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Präg ◽  
Maria das Dores Guerreiro ◽  
Jouko Nätti ◽  
Michael Brookes ◽  
Laura den Dulk
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Quality Of Work ◽  
Cross National

scholarly journals Dissecting the Causal Chain from Quality of Government to Political Support

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom van der Meer
Keyword(s):  
Policy Implementation ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Causal Chain ◽  
Political Support ◽  
National Differences ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Government Perspective ◽  
Cross National

This chapter investigates to what extent cross-national differences in political support can be explained by the quality of government. The quality of government perspective implies that the executive ought to be bound by its own rules: impartiality and rule of law. The chapter formulates and tests hypotheses about the effects of governmental impartiality, rule of law, bureaucratic professionalism, and corruption on citizens’ political support using data from the ESS 2012. Of these indicators, it is the impartiality of policy implementation by the national bureaucracy that stands out as a consistently significant, robust, and strong predictor of political support.

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