This study examines the gender dimension of occupational exposure to contagious diseases spread by the respiratory or close-contact route. It shows that in Europe, women are more exposed to contagion, as they are more likely than men to work in occupations that require high levels of contact and physical proximity at work. Women are also less likely to be able to work remotely, which contributes to their increased exposure. The study finds that gender is a more important factor in workers’ exposure to contagion than their education or age. This gender difference in exposure can be largely attributed to patterns of sectoral segregation and to the segregation of women within sectors into occupations that require more interpersonal interactions. Finally, results reveal heterogenous cross-country patterns in gender gaps in exposure to contagion in the workplace, with Nordic, Continental, and Baltic countries showing relatively large gender gaps to the disadvantage of women.
We study how the de-routinisation of jobs affects workers at different ages in 12 European countries. The shift away from routine work and toward non-routine work occurred much faster among workers aged between 25 and 44 than among older workers. In the majority of countries, the ageing of the workforce occurred more quickly in occupations that were initially more routine-intensive, as the share of older workers in these occupations was rising and the share of young workers declining. The unemployment risk related to routine task intensity was increasing, especially among individuals between the ages of 15 and 34, and to a larger extent in countries with fast ICT capital growth and in countries not increasing their participation in global value chains.
We study the empirical relationship between job tasks and wages for a harmonised sample of 19 developed countries. We use worker-level PIAAC data to account for task heterogeneity within occupations. First, we compute abstract, routine and manual task measures that are found to be well-validated visa-vis previous research. Second, we estimate task prices, and find that a one-standard-deviation increase in abstract tasks is related to a 3.3-log-point wage premium, whereas there is a 2.6 to 2.9-log-point wage penalty for each standard deviation of routine (manual) tasks. Development factors and labour market institutions, particularly union coverage and strictness of employment protection legislation, seem to play a role in the differences in all three task prices.
Social contacts are a key transmission channel of infectious diseases spread by the respiratory or close-contact route, such as COVID-19. There is no evidence, however, on the question of whether the nature and the organisation of work affect the spread of COVID-19 in different countries. I have developed a methodology to measure country-specific levels of occupational exposure to contagion driven by social contacts. I combined six indicators based on Occupation Information Network (O*NET) and the European Working Condition Survey (EWCS) data.
Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 15:2,92-112
We create a multidimensional index that accounts for five dimensions of energy deprivation: two objective indicators of “low income, high costs,” and “high actual cost,” as well as three subjective indicators of “not warm enough home,” “housing faults,” and “bills difficulties.” We define households as poor if at least two deprivation forms exist. We apply our measure to Poland. In 2017, 10% of households in Poland suffered from multidimensional energy poverty. Households living in buildings built before 1946, households living in rural areas, and households dependent on retirement and disability pensions were at the highest risk of multidimensional energy poverty.
We study job retention rates – the shares of workers who continue to work in the same job over the next five years – in Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Retention rates among workers aged 55–59 are low and amount to about half of the retention rates among prime-aged workers. Only in Poland, the retention rates of older workers have increased for both men and women between 1998 and 2013. The individuals least likely to retain jobs after age 60 were women, those with lower education, working in industry, in medium or low-skilled occupations, and those living with a non-working partner.
