Accessibility Analysis of the South Commuter Railway Project of the Philippines

This brief outlines findings on how the 54.6 km South Commuter Railway (SCR) to be built between Metro Manila and Laguna province in the Philippines is expected to improve access to jobs. A quantitative analysis estimates that residents of cities and municipalities with an SCR station will be able to reach an average of 300,000 extra jobs within a 1-hour commute—an increase of 15.3% in the south and 8.5% in Metro Manila. This could lead to better labor market matching, higher income for workers and more job opportunities for low-income households. The study contributes to efforts to quantify the wider economic benefits of infrastructure projects, especially efficient urban transport systems.

Self-employment as a stepping stone to better labor market matching: a comparison between immigrants and natives

The paper investigates the relation between overeducation and self-employment, in a comparative analysis between immigrants and natives. Using the EU Labour Force Survey for the year 2012 and controlling for a list of demographic characteristics and general characteristics of 30 destination countries, it finds that the likelihood of being overeducated decreases for self-employed immigrants, with inconclusive results for self-employed natives. The results shed light on the extent to which immigrants adjust to labor market imperfections and barriers to employment and might help explain the higher incidence of self-employment that immigrants exhibit, when compared to natives. This is the first study to systematically study the nexus between overeducation and self-employment in a comparative framework. Moreover, the paper tests the robustness of the results by employing two different measures of overeducation, contributing to the literature of the measurement of overeducation.

Mitigating Long-term Unemployment in Europe

While unemployment rates in Europe declined after the global financial crisis until 2018/19, the incidence of long-term unemployment, the share of people who have been unemployed for more than one year to the total unemployed, remained high. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic could aggravate the long-term unemployment. This paper explores factors associated with long-term unemployment in European countries, using panel of 25 European countries over the period 2000–18. We find that skill mismatches, labor market matching efficiency, and labor market policies are associated with the incidence of long-term unemployment. Among different types of active labor market policies, training and start-up incentives are found to be effective in reducing long-term unemployment.

Mitigating Long-term Unemployment in Europe

While unemployment rates in Europe declined after the global financial crisis until 2018/2019, the incidence of long-term unemployment, the share of people who have been unemployed for >1 year to the total unemployed, remained high. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic could aggravate the long-term unemployment. This paper explores the factors associated with long-term unemployment in European countries using a panel of 25 European countries over the period 2000–2018. We find that skill mismatches, labor market matching efficiency, and labor market policies are associated with the incidence of long-term unemployment. Among the different types of active labor market policies, training and startup incentives are found to be effective in reducing long-term unemployment.