The International Working Party on Labour Market Segmentation is an annual international meeting of academics who specialise in the multiple aspects of labour market segmentation. It is coordinated by an International Steering Committee. Each year the conference papers are organised around a central axis proposed to the participants of the meeting as a guide for submitting abstracts. The theme of the 2018 annual meeting to be held in Trento is ‘Old and New Challenges in European Labour Markets’

In 2017, Europe finally regained a stable path towards recovery, with both GDP and employment growing in all European countries. Participation is now higher than before the economic crisis, and the unemployment rate has decreased, drawing closer to the pre-crisis rates. But there are various reasons to believe that conventional indicators underestimate slack in the labour market, and that they cannot capture the most problematic features of modern labour markets. The economic, technological and institutional changes recorded over the past decade in Europe, as well as in other developed countries, have structurally modified the functioning of the labour market, exacerbating old problems and generating new ones. These problems need to be tackled with sound theoretical and empirical analysis able to identify and promote effective policies.

The IWPLMS 2018 annual conference aims at promoting a constructive debate on these new challenges and their policy implications.

REGISTRATION AND FEES

Registration must be completed before August, 24th (Friday)


Fees
:

Regular: 160 euro

Early birds (before May 31st): 130 euro

PhD students: 100 euro

 

Social dinner: booking required. Cost: 50€.

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

VENUE: University of Trento, Department of Economics and Management - Palazzo Economia, via Inama, 5 - Trento.

Thursday 6th September

8.45 – 9.15
Registration of participants

9.15 – 9.30
Opening and Welcome

9.30 – 11.00
Keynote Talk: Maurizio Franzini (Professor of Economic Policy, University of Rome “La Sapienza”)

11.00 – 11.30
Coffee Break

11.30 – 13.00
Parallel Sessions [1] (three presentations each)

13.00 – 14.00
Lunch

14.00 – 16.00
Parallel Sessions [2] (four presentations each)

16.00 – 16.30
Coffee Break

16.30 – 18.00
Parallel Sessions [3] (three presentations each)

20.00
Social Dinner

Friday 7th September

9.30 – 11.00
Parallel Sessions [4] (three presentations each)

11.00 – 11.30
Coffee Break

11.30 – 13.00
Keynote Talk: Jacqueline O’Reilly (Professor of Comparative Human Resource Management, University of Sussex Business School)

13.00 – 14.00
Lunch

14.00 – 16.00
Parallel Sessions [5] (four presentations each)

16.00 – 16.30
Coffee break

16.30 – 17.30
General assembly and closing of the conference

 

Detailed programme (PDF | 255 KB )

CALL FOR PAPERS

In 2017, Europe finally regained a stable path towards recovery, with both GDP and employment growing in all European countries. Participation is now higher than before the economic crisis, and the unemployment rate has decreased, drawing closer to the pre-crisis rates. But there are various reasons to believe that conventional indicators underestimate slack in the labour market, and that they cannot capture the most problematic features of European labour markets. The economic and institutional changes recorded over the past decade have structurally modified the functioning of the labour market, exacerbating old problems and generating new ones. In particular, there has been an increased commodification of labour linked to the reduction of employment protection. At present, labour markets in Europe, as well as in other developed countries, face several problems that need to be tackled with sound theoretical and empirical analysis able to identify and promote effective policies.

Labour market segmentation. The pursuit of deregulation ‘at the margins’ has been regarded by international policy makers as responsible for intensifying labour market segmentation. Thus, to reduce segmentation, the recommended policy strategy is to reduce protection for regular workers. But the division of workers into ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’ is an oversimplification of labour market segmentation, focused on the opposing interests of these two groups. Moreover, labour market segmentation is not simply caused by employment regulation. The labour supply is highly stratified by factors such as social class, ethnic origin, and family background; access to education and networks; family responsibilities and gender roles, all of which affect the individual’s bargaining power and vulnerability. These factors interact with employers’ strategies, trade union power, labour market regulation and social norms, as well as with macroeconomic conditions.

  • What have been the effects of the growth of non-standard employment and the reduction of trade union influence on individual differences in labour market outcomes?
  • How and why could employment regulation play a positive role for both organisations and workers? How and why could it play a positive role at the macro- and microeconomic level?
  • Why and how can more inclusive labour markets be promoted?
  • What can we learn from country-specific solutions targeted on addressing the specific causes and outcomes of segmentation processes? What can we learn from non-European countries?

Inequality. The deepening of labour market segmentation during the crisis has contributed to rising inequalities. The rationing of high quality jobs and the consequent marginalization of some groups of workers (especially young people, women with small children, and migrants) results in an accumulation of disadvantages at both the individual and household levels. During the crisis, the family pooling of resources reduced the inequality in individuals’ labour income, although its effect weakened as the crisis progressed because of the increase in the number of households with no labour and/or with ‘marginalized’ workers.

  • How did the recession, labour market reforms and economic policies change old patterns of inequality?
  • How do disadvantages and difficulties in the labour market combine among households?
  • What are the short and long term consequences for individual economic well-being?
  • What is the role of labour market institutions and social policies?

Wage-poor recovery. Growth is finally taking hold across Europe and employment is expanding again. The only indicator that stubbornly refuses to follow suit is wage growth, and the European Commission has put forward the diagnosis of a “wage-poor recovery”.

  • What is holding wages back?
  • What is wrong with standard economic models?
  • To what extent is the weakening of wage-setting institutions (i.e. collective bargaining) responsible for the low wage dynamics?
  • Which policies?

In-work poverty. In-work poverty is a widespread problem in Europe, although it varies greatly across countries. The combination of employment growth and increasing in-work poverty suggests that having a job is no longer sufficient to ensure a decent standard of living. Indeed, the spread of precarious contracts, low-paid jobs and underemployment implies that the labour market has stopped being a stable source of prosperity for many people and their families. In this context, activation policies might simply shift poor jobless persons/households to poor working persons/households.

  • Is the composition of in-work poverty changing?
  • What is the relationship among wages, hours of work, type of contract and in-work poverty?
  • What is the role of household resources in mitigating the effects of low individual earnings?
  • What are the effects of different labour market institutions and policies?

The new “Great Transformation”. Technological changes resulting from new information technologies (the application of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things to production, automation and robotisation) are transforming the modes of production, the business structures, and the world of work. The boundaries between sectors are blurring, creating new forms of work, while destroying others. These transformations (e.g. the gig economy, the digital platform economy) have important implications for the quality of the new jobs, the organisation of work and its social regulation.

  • How can we best describe and analyse this new reality?
  • What can be done to empower workers (i.e. independent contractors) in the gig economy?
  • How the rules that ensure a certain degree of protection (working time, minimum wage, pension, sickness, accidents, etc.) must be rethought?
  • What can be done to contain the process of fragmentation of the labour market?

Public sector adjustments in Europe. Until the Great Recession, jobs in the public sector were considered typically more secure than those in the private sector (more vulnerable to market fluctuations), and with family-friendly work hours. All over Europe, the public sectors have been the main target of governments' consolidation policies: established collective bargaining procedures have been bypassed, while wages and jobs have been cut or frozen.

  • What types of reform have been implemented in the public sector across European countries?
  • What is the impact of these reforms on wages, and on job quantity and quality?
  • What are their effects on inequality and social cohesion (including gender inequality)?
  • What is the impact of these changes on the quality of public services (e.g. education and health) and social policies?

Labour market indicators. Conventional labour market indicators are less and less able to capture the problematic features of modern labour markets. The increasing variety of employment relationships, hours of work, working conditions and job changes call for new ideas to monitor and assess labour market performances, in terms of both quantity and quality.

  • Static vs. dynamic indicators
  • Individual vs. household indicators
  • Indicators of various dimensions of employment quality: employment stability and security, earnings adequacy and security, working time, etc.

We would like to invite colleagues to submit an abstract of their paper to one of the general themes listed above. Papers focussing on non-European countries are also welcome.

Submission of Abstracts and Papers
Please submit abstracts for a conference paper by Friday, April 13th – Submission to be made through: iwplms2018@unitn.it. Abstracts should not exceed 350 words.

The selected abstracts will be announced by the end of April.

Registration for the conference
Final papers should be submitted by June 20th by sending an email to iwplms2018@unitn.it

 

 

ACCOMODATION AND TRAVEL

HOTELS

The Conference will be held at Department of Economics and Management (Dipartimento di Economia e Management) of the University of Trento (Via Inama, 5 - 38122 Trento), located in the city center, close to the Cathedral (Piazza Duomo) and 10 minutes walk from the railway station.

ABOUT TRENTO

Trento is a beautiful city in the heart of the Dolomites, near Lake Garda. The center has a strong Renaissance character with many beautiful frescoed buildings, some built to accommodate delegates to the Council of Trent (1545-1563). The Trento surroundings offer beautiful naturalistic tracks in high mountains, with many lakes and ancient castles.

Worth a visit

  • Castello del Buonconsiglio: this castle is a "must see" attraction as it represents the main monument of the city.
  • Duomo: the Duomo of Trento, also known as Saint Vigilius Cathedral, is located in the main square of Trento.
  • MUSE - Science Museum: its task is to interpret nature, starting from the mountains, using the eyes, tools, and applications of scientific research, taking advantage of the challenges of the contemporary world, stimulating scientific curiosity and the pleasure of knowledge, giving value to science, innovation, and sustainability. 
  • Palazzo delle Albere: a representative villa, built in Renaissance style, now hosting a permanent modern art museum.
  • Museo diocesano tridentino: next to the Duomo, Palazzo Pretorio hosts a permanent exhibition.
  • Roman ruins: in Piazza Battisti you can access the ruins of ancient Trento built by the Romans. This is actually another city under Trento.

Close to Trento

Levico – Caldonazzo - Garda lakes. The lakes are perfect for both relaxing in the sun and for water sports. In particular, Lake Garda is the largest and most important lake in Italy, every year attracting thousands of tourists from all over the world, the surrounding towns and offering many attractions and events.

MART Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto - Over 12,000 paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures today constitute Mart’s rich holdings.

Castel Toblino - An impressive landscape: a medieval castle surrounded by a small lake among the mountains.

HOW TO GET TO TRENTO

By car or coach
You can reach Trento by the following roads: Strada Statale dell'Abetone e del Brennero; Autostrada del Brennero – A22 motorway; Strada della Valsugana for those coming from Venice; and Strada Statale 45 bis (Gardesana Occidentale) for those coming from Brescia.

By train
Two main lines reach Trento: the Brennero line (from Rome to Innsbruck) and the Valsugana line (from Venice to Trento).
Timetable details: Reiseauskunft; Trenitalia

By plane
The closest airports to Trento are the following:
Verona Catullo Airport – 90 km
Venezia Marco Polo – 125 km
Milan Orio al Serio Airport – 119 km
Milano Linate – 245 km
Milano Malpensa – 300km
Bolzano – 60 km
Various motorways allow quick and easy travel to the airports.

The airports of Venice Marco Polo and Milan Orio al Serio have bus connections with Trento.

Getting around

Trento has an efficient city bus service (orange buses) run by Trentino Trasporti SpA. Buses to nearby towns are run by the same company. If you visit the Trentino Trasporti office at the main railway station you can pick up a free timetable “Guida ai trasporti del Trentino”. Reserve a taxi by calling +39-0461-930002 or www.ttspa.it.

COMMITTEES

IWPLMS Steering Committee:

  • Jill Rubery (Alliance Manchester Business School)
  • Gerhard Bosch (University of Duisburg-Essen)
  • Iain Campbell (RMIT University)
  • Pilar Gonzales (University of Porto)
  • Albert Recio (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
  • Maria Karamessini (University of Panteion)
  • Pertti Koistinen (Tampere University)
  • Paola Villa (University of Trento)
  • Héloise Petit (University of Lille 1)
  • Christine Erhel (University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)
  • Samuel Rosenberg (Roosevelt University)
  • Dominic Anxo (Linnaeus University)

Local organising team:

The team organising this year’s IWPLMS conference includes the following colleagues from the University of Trento:

  • Paola Villa (Department of Economics and Management)
  • Alina Sandor (Department of Economics and Management)
  • Gabriella Berloffa (Department of Economics and Management; School of Social Sciences)
  • Paolo Barbieri (Department of Sociology and Social Research; School of Social Sciences)

Administrative support: Mara Tomasi (Communications Staff)

CONTACTS

For further information please send an email to the IWPLMS 2018 local committee: iwplms2018@unitn.it

 

 

 

Credits image: G.B. Unterveger, Album celebrativo dell’Istituto Bacologico del Consiglio provinciale d’agricoltura di Trento, 1894
(collezioni della Biblioteca comunale di Trento)