This article examines the prevalence of household debt in middle and old age, in the context of r... more This article examines the prevalence of household debt in middle and old age, in the context of rising consumption, the weakening welfare safety net, and the 'democratization' of credit. We aim to address theoretical propositions concerning household correlates of mortgage and financial debt, as well as the relationship between the two types of debt. We utilize data gathered on populations, aged 50 years and older, in 15 countries that participated in the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) project. We find considerable levels of mortgage and financial debt in advanced stages of life, as well as significant differences within and between countries. Controlling for country variation as well as individual and household attributes, we find a positive relationship between the size of mortgage debt and financial debt across most countries. We test alternative explanations for this relationship and discuss the implications of our findings in the broader context of the risks faced by older cohorts in consumer societies with shrinking welfare expenditure.
... Thus, weighting the ethnic ratios of junior players by the percentage of positive aspirations... more ... Thus, weighting the ethnic ratios of junior players by the percentage of positive aspirations yields ... As noted above, the literature on inequality in the school system has shown a substantial ... Father'seducation (E) was classified in two categories, according to years of school-ing: 0 ...
This article examines the prevalence of household debt in middle and old age, in the context of r... more This article examines the prevalence of household debt in middle and old age, in the context of rising consumption, the weakening welfare safety net, and the 'democratization' of credit. We aim to address theoretical propositions concerning household correlates of mortgage and financial debt, as well as the relationship between the two types of debt. We utilize data gathered on populations, aged 50 years and older, in 15 countries that participated in the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) project. We find considerable levels of mortgage and financial debt in advanced stages of life, as well as significant differences within and between countries. Controlling for country variation as well as individual and household attributes, we find a positive relationship between the size of mortgage debt and financial debt across most countries. We test alternative explanations for this relationship and discuss the implications of our findings in the broader context of the risks faced by older cohorts in consumer societies with shrinking welfare expenditure.
... Thus, weighting the ethnic ratios of junior players by the percentage of positive aspirations... more ... Thus, weighting the ethnic ratios of junior players by the percentage of positive aspirations yields ... As noted above, the literature on inequality in the school system has shown a substantial ... Father'seducation (E) was classified in two categories, according to years of school-ing: 0 ...
The present paper examines modes of immigrants' labor market incorporation into Euro-pean societi... more The present paper examines modes of immigrants' labor market incorporation into Euro-pean societies with specific emphasis on the role played by immigrant status (i.e. first-generation immigrants, immigrant descendants and native born without migrant background), region of origin, and gender. The data were obtained from the European Union Labour Forces Survey 2008 Ad-Hoc Module for France, Belgium, UK and Sweden. In order to supplement the results from the country-specific analysis, we replicated the analysis using pooled data from the five rounds of the European Social Survey conducted between 2002 and 2010, for nine 'old immigration' Western European countries together. The analysis centered on two aspects of incorporation: labor force status and occupation. Multinominal, binary logistic as well as linear probability regression models were estimated. The findings suggest that in all countries non-European origin is associated with greater disadvantage in finding employment not only among first-generation immigrants, but also among sons and daughters of immigrants (i.e. second-generation). Moreover, the relative employment disadvantage among immigrant men of non-European origin is especially pronounced in the second-generation. The likelihood of attaining a high-status job is influenced mostly by immigrant status, regardless of region of origin and gender. The results of the study reveal that patterns of labor force incorporation vary considerably across origin groups and across generations. The patterns do not vary as much across countries, despite crosscountry differences in welfare state regimes, migration integration policy and composition of migration flows.
The present research examines earnings differentials between Filipino overseas global labor migra... more The present research examines earnings differentials between Filipino overseas global labor migrants and Filipinos employed in the domestic labor market (i.e. the Philippines) as well as income differentials between households of overseas workers and households without overseas workers. Data were obtained from the survey of households conducted during 1999–2000 in the four primary sending areas of overseas migrant workers. The data set for the present analysis consists of 4393 domestic workers and 1176 global migrant workers. The findings demonstrate that the average earnings of those employed in the Philippines is not only lower than the average earnings of Filipinos employed in the global market (regardless of region of destination) but their earnings distribution is also much more condensed than earnings distribution of Filipinos working in the global labor market. The multivariate analysis reveals that earnings returns in absolute terms (to education and occupations) are considerably higher among migrants employed in the global labor market than among those employed in the domestic labor market. By contrast, earnings returns in relative terms are lower for global labor migrants than for those employed in the domestic labor market (despite some variations across regions of destination). The results also suggest that earnings generated in the global labor market form a new source of economic inequality between households in the Philippines. Specifically, income of households with labor migrants tends to be considerably higher than that of households without labor migrants. The findings imply that global migration should be understood within the framework of ‘household theory of migration’.
Labor Migration has long been viewed as a strategy adopted by the household unit to allocate fami... more Labor Migration has long been viewed as a strategy adopted by the household unit to allocate family resources rationally to increase the flows of income and to raise family standard of living. The research reported here examines the extent to which remittances sent by Filipino overseas workers increase the income and standard of living of households in the Philippines. Data for the analysis were obtained from a representative sample of 2,388 households drawn in 1999–2000 from four major “labor sending” areas in the Philippines. The analysis compares households with and without overseas workers to estimate the contribution of remittances to household income and to household standard of living (measured once by an ‘objective’ indicator and once by a ‘subjective’ assessment). The data reveal that due to remittances the income of households with overseas labor migrants is considerably higher than the income of households without overseas workers. The data also reveal that remittances are used mostly for consumption purposes (e.g. purchase of food, clothing, education, and goods) and that most of the difference in standard of living (whether measured on the ‘objective’ or the ‘subjective’ scale) between households with and without overseas workers are attributed to remittances. The implications of labor migration and the policy that encourages and supports labor migration for the Filipino society are evaluated and discussed.
Employing data from the 2002 European Social Survey for 21 national representative samples, we pr... more Employing data from the 2002 European Social Survey for 21 national representative samples, we provide the first cross-national analysis of the relations between ethnic composition of neighborhood and perception of neighborhood safety in the European context. The data reveal considerable variation both across countries and across individuals in perceived safety. Bi-level regression analysis shows that perceived safety tends to be lower in countries characterized by a high imprisonment rate and among Europeans who are physically and socially vulnerable (e.g., among women and elderly people, and among populations of low income and low education). Net of individual-level and country-level attributes, the analysis shows that perceived safety is lowest in neighborhoods mostly populated by non-European ethnic minorities and highest in neighborhoods mostly populated by Europeans. The effect of ethnic composition of neighborhood on perceived safety holds even after controlling for previous personal exposure to crime and views toward minorities' impact on crime. We discuss the results in comparison to findings in the United States and in the light of theory in order to delineate the ways that views and perceptions about places are formed and shaped.
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Papers by Moshe Semyonov