Shoshana Neuman - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Shoshana Neuman

Low employability among specific populations (e.g. religious/traditional women, the elderly, disa... more Low employability among specific populations (e.g. religious/traditional women, the elderly, disabled workers, and immigrants) has unfavourable consequences on the unemployed individual, society, and the state economy. The latter include poverty, a heavy toll on welfare budgets, diminished growth, and an increase in the ‘dependency ratio’. We suggest a rather novel policy (borrowed from the field of Vocational Psychology) that could lead to successful integration into the labour market of low-employability populations: The design of tailor-made training programmes that respond to work motives, coupled with a working environment that caters to special needs/restrictions, and complemented with counselling and monitoring. The suggested strategy is illustrated using a case study of Israeli ultra-Orthodox women, who exhibit lower employment rates than other Israeli women. The motives behind their occupational choices are explored based on data collected by a survey. Factor Analysis is em...

Low employability among specific populations (e.g., religious/traditional women, the elderly, dis... more Low employability among specific populations (e.g., religious/traditional women, the elderly, disabled workers, immigrants) has unfavorable consequences on the: unemployed individual, society, and the state economy. The latter include: poverty, a heavy toll on welfare budgets, diminished growth, and an increase in the "dependency ratio". We suggest a rather novel policy (borrowed from the field of Career Psychology) that could lead to successful integration into the labor market of low-employability populations: the design of tailor-made training programs that respond to work motives; coupled with a working environment that caters to special needs/ restrictions; and complemented with counseling and monitoring. The suggested strategy was illustrated and investigated using a case study of Israeli ultra-religious women, who exhibit lower employment rates than other Israeli women. The motives behind their occupational choices were explored based on data collected by a field ex...

Social Science Research Network, 2006

The paper examines intergenerational transmission of 'religious capital' from parents to their of... more The paper examines intergenerational transmission of 'religious capital' from parents to their offspring, within an economic framework of a production function of 'religiosity' where parental inputs serve as factors of production. The database used for the empirical analysis is based on a unique, rich, large-scale survey (2488 interviews) that has been conducted in 1998 in all 47 Spanish provinces. In addition to information on the religious affiliation of the respondent and his parents It has detailed data on two dimensions of the individual's religiosity: mass attendance (a public religious activity with utilitarian/social motives-has six alternative levels); and prayer (an intimate/private religious activity with pure religious motives-11 levels). It also includes information on the mother's and father's church attendance when the respondent was a child (nine levels) as well as the respondent's mass participation at the age of 12. Socioeconomic background data are also available. While most empirical studies are employing one dichotomous variable to measure religiosity (e.g. goes to church-yes/no; practicing Catholic-yes/no), our data base provides much more details on religious activities of respondents and their parents, thus facilitating a more sophisticated analysis with more robust conclusions. A theoretical framework is followed by stylized facts on the household composition (in terms of religious affiliation and level of religiosity of the mother and father). Then the effect of the parents' input on respondent's religiosity is examined-first using crosstabulation and then using Ordered Logit regression analysis that facilitates the estimation of the various net effects and their interactions. The inputs of the parents are proxied by the mother's and father's intensity of church attendance when the respondent was a child. The output (respondent's religiosity) is measured using detailed data on the two aspects of the individual's religiosity: mass attendance and prayer. Socioeconomic background variables, that might affect religiosity, are also considered. All in all we find that parental religious inputs significantly affect individuals' religiosity BUT the route of intergenerational transmission is from mother to daughter and from father to son. Women are not affected by paternal religiosity and men are unaffected by maternal religiosity. This also leads to the conclusion that there is no dependence (either substitution or complimentarity) between the impacts of inputs of the mother and the father. Current religiosity is also affected by own exposure to mass services during childhood-own experience has a more pronounced effect on the private/intimate activity of prayer than on the social/public activity of church attendance. Current mass participation is more affected by parental-than by own mass attendance during childhood. These findings reflect the different nature of the two religious activities-prayer habits are rooted in the early childhood own experience while mass attendance is an outcome of a socialization process whereby the individual is simulating his (same gender) parental role model. This study contributes to our understanding of religious behaviour in Spain and is responding to the growing interest in religiosity in the European Union, as expressed by the outlines of the seventh framework research agenda.

Journal of Political Economy, 1974

Studies of the returns to education have generally investigated the relationship between individu... more Studies of the returns to education have generally investigated the relationship between individuals' investments in formal education and on-the-job training and their labor-market productivity. It is well recognized, however, that other factors besides formal education and training contribute to a person's effective stock of human capital (and hence to productivity); these factors include early childhood environment, parents' behavior (see Dugan 1969), and associations with other individuals. There is general agreement, for example, that a child's development is affected by the ability and performance of peers in school. At a later stage, a significant part of an individual's college and graduate education appears to result from association with fellow students, the more able students contributing to the education of all. After formal schooling is completed, close associates are likely to continue to affect an individual's further educational development and to influence the rate of depreciation of the individual's stock of knowledge. One of the more persuasive explanations of the observed strong positive relationship between formal education and labor-market productivity is that, in addition to providing specific skills, formal education improves the individual's ability to acquire and assimilate information, to perceive and understand changing conditions, and to respond effectively.1 From I thank Alexandra Benham for comments and substantial assistance throughout this study; Gary Becker, Solomon Polachek, Robert Michael, and T. W. Schultz for helpful comments; and Elayne Howard for analyzing the data. The investigation was partly supported by I'HS grant HS0008O from the National Center for Health Services Research and Development. 'In his study of migration, Aba Schwartz (1968) found results consistent with the hypothesis that one effect of education is to reduce the cost of obtaining information. The responsiveness of individuals to lifetime.earnings differentials was found to increase monotonically with education. Finis Welch (1970) distinguishes between the worker effect and the allocative effect of education. He argues: "Much of the 'leverage' associated with added schooling is drawn from the dynamic implications of changing technology." That is, education enables an individual to adapt more rapidly to changing conditions.

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Aug 1, 2001

This Discussion Paper is issued within the framework of IZA's research area The Future of Work. A... more This Discussion Paper is issued within the framework of IZA's research area The Future of Work. Any opinions expressed here are those of the author(s) and not those of the institute. Research disseminated by IZA may include views on policy, but the institute itself takes no institutional policy positions. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent, nonprofit limited liability company (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) supported by the Deutsche Post AG. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its research networks, research support, and visitors and doctoral programs. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. The current research program deals with (1) mobility and flexibility of labor markets, (2) internationalization of labor markets and European integration, (3) the welfare state and labor markets, (4) labor markets in transition, (5) the future of work, (6) project evaluation and (7) general labor economics. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character.

Wage Mobility in Israel: The Effect of Sectoral Concentration Using a unique eight-year data set,... more Wage Mobility in Israel: The Effect of Sectoral Concentration Using a unique eight-year data set, merging population census and national insurance data, the paper examines and compares patterns of wage mobility in Israel. First, the public and the private sectors are compared. Second, within each of these sectors, a distinction is made between sub-sector groupings that exhibit a high level of concentration and those that are more diffuse and unregulated. Based on alternative measures of wage mobility, the central finding of the paper is that the extent of wage mobility in a given economic sector is negatively related to the degree of concentration in that sector.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019

Any opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research pu... more Any opinions expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and not those of IZA. Research published in this series may include views on policy, but IZA takes no institutional policy positions. The IZA research network is committed to the IZA Guiding Principles of Research Integrity. The IZA Institute of Labor Economics is an independent economic research institute that conducts research in labor economics and offers evidence-based policy advice on labor market issues. Supported by the Deutsche Post Foundation, IZA runs the world's largest network of economists, whose research aims to provide answers to the global labor market challenges of our time. Our key objective is to build bridges between academic research, policymakers and society. IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author.

Social Science Research Network, 2001

There is a considerable empirical literature which compares wage levels of workers who have studi... more There is a considerable empirical literature which compares wage levels of workers who have studied at secondary vocational schools with wages of workers who took academic schooling. In general, vocational education does not lead to higher wages. However, in some countries where labor markets are characterized by employment growth, skill shortages and a good match between vocational skills and available jobs, the record of vocational schooling has been more positive. Israel constitutes a case in point. However, little attention has been given to examining the success of vocational education in raising the wages of various subsections of the labor force, in particular of minorities and disadvantaged groups. In this paper, we examine the efficacy of vocational education in raising the wage levels of four such groups: recent immigrants, Jews of Eastern origin, Israeli Arabs and females. The results are mixed, differing from group to group, thus justifying our approach of examining the impact of vocational schooling on finer breakdowns of the population of secondary school completers.

Social Science Research Network, 2006

Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch ge... more Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your personal and scholarly purposes. You are not to copy documents for public or commercial purposes, to exhibit the documents publicly, to make them publicly available on the internet, or to distribute or otherwise use the documents in public. If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence.

Annals of economics and statistics, 2003

The purpose of this paper is to investigate wage structures of professional workers in the Israel... more The purpose of this paper is to investigate wage structures of professional workers in the Israeli labor market using data from the 1983 Israeli census and correcting for selectivity at the state of entrance into the occupation. The sample of professionals is decomposed into several subsamples: Jewish men and Jewish women; within the Jewish sample a distinction is made between Westerners and Easterners. The core of this study is the investigation of wage differentials between the various groups, taking into account differences in entrance probabilities. The standard OAXACA decomposition does not take into account different probabilities of entering the professional occupations (i.e., occupational segregation). In order to incorporate this type of segregation into the wage differential decompositions, two statistical methodologies are merged: the OAXACA methodology and the HECKMAN selectivity bias correction procedure. The decomposition procedure is then modified in order to take into account the contribution of segregation to the characteristics and the discrimination components. We propose four alternative decompositions of the selectivity corrected wage equations and present the results based on these decompositions. Différentiels de salaires de genre et ethnique parmi les professions libérales. Le cas d'Israël RÉSUMÉ.-Le but de ce papier est de s'intéresser aux structures de salaires des travailleurs professionnels sur le marché du travail israelien en utilisant les données du recensement de 1983 et en corrigeant pour le biais de selection à l'embauche. Utilisant la décomposition de OAXACA, nous trouvons que la discrimination joue un rôle plus important dans l'explication des différences de salaires entre hommes et femmes qu'entre groupes majoritaire et minoritaire.

WORLD SCIENTIFIC eBooks, May 1, 2023

Social Science Research Network, 2006

Explorations of the Effect of Experience on Preferences: Two Health-Care Case Studies The standar... more Explorations of the Effect of Experience on Preferences: Two Health-Care Case Studies The standard assumption in economic theory is that preferences are stable. In particular, they are not changed as a result of experience with the good/service/event. Behavioral scientists have challenged this assumption and claimed (providing evidence) that preferences are constantly changing when experience is accumulated. This paper tests the effect of experience on preferences for attributes of health-care events. We are using two very different samples and a methodology that facilitates the estimation of marginal utilities of various attributes of a composite non-traded health-care service. Discrete Choice Experimental design is employed for the analysis of samples of (1) women who gave birth, and (2) women who were diagnosed with breast cancer. For each group we had information on experience. In the case of women who gave birth, the sample was decomposed into 3 sub-samples: pregnant women with their first child (no experience); women after one delivery (single experience); and mothers after more than one delivery (multiple experience). Preferences of the 3 subgroups have then been compared. The breast cancer patients reported the number of chemotherapy/radiation treatments they have already received, thus enabling the construction of an experience variable and testing for the effect of experience on preferences. The basic finding is that preferences for health-care attributes are significantly changed as a result of experience with the health event. However, the amount of experience is irrelevant.

Revista Internacional De Sociologia, Jul 13, 2011

This paper examines intergenerational transmission of 'religious capital' from parents to their o... more This paper examines intergenerational transmission of 'religious capital' from parents to their offspring within an economic framework. The analytical tool is a 'production function of religiosity' where parental religious inputs serve as factors of production. The database used is based on a large-scale survey that was conducted in 1998 in Spain. In addition to information on the religious affiliation of the respondent and his parents, it has detailed data on two dimensions of the individual's religious performance: church attendance and prayer. it also includes information on the mother's and father's church attendance when the respondent was a child, as well as the respondent's participation in mass services at the age of 12. socioeconomic background data are also available. The core findings are: (i) parental religious inputs significantly affect individuals' religiosity; (ii) interestingly, the route of intergenerational transmission is from mother to daughter and from father to son; and (iii) current mass participation of respondents is more affected by parental-than by own childhood mass attendance.

Social Science Research Network, 2019

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, May 1, 2010

This study presents an evolutionary process of secularization that integrates a theoretical model... more This study presents an evolutionary process of secularization that integrates a theoretical model, simulations, and an empirical estimation that employs data from 32 countries (included in the International Social Survey Program: Religion II-ISSP, 1998). Following Bisin and Verdier (2000, 2001a), it is assumed that cultural/social norms are transmitted from one generation to the next one via two venues: (i) direct socialization-across generations, by parents; and (ii) oblique socialization-within generations, by the community and cultural environment. This paper focuses on the transmission of religious norms and in particular on the 'religious taste for children'. The theoretical framework describes the setting and the process leading to secularization of the population; the simulations give more insight into the process; and 'secularization regressions' estimate the effects of the various explanatory variables on secularization (that is measured by rare mass-attendance and by rare-prayer), lending support to corollaries derived from the theory and simulations. The main conclusions/findings are that (i) direct religious socialization efforts of one generation have a negative effect on secularization within the next generation; (ii) oblique socialization by the community has a parabolic effect on secularization; and (iii) the two types of socialization are complements in 'producing' religiosity of the next generation.

... He argues: "Much of the 'leverage' associated with added schooling is drawn fr... more ... He argues: "Much of the 'leverage' associated with added schooling is drawn from the dynamic implications of changing technology." That is, education enables an individual to adapt more rapidly to changing conditions. 375 Page 3. ... Page 4. I WOMEN'S EDUCATION BENEFITS ...

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Dec 1, 2007

The current study examines individuals who were raised in a certain religion and at some stage of... more The current study examines individuals who were raised in a certain religion and at some stage of their life left it. Currently, they define their religious affiliation as 'no religion'. A battery of explanatory variables (countryspecific ones, personal attributes and marriage variables) was employed to test for the determinants of this decision. It was found that the tendency of individuals to leave their religion is strongly correlated with the degree of strictness of their country and with their spouse's religious characteristics. Moreover, personal socio-demographic features seem to be less relevant.

Journal of Economics Management and Religion, Jul 1, 2020

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015

Micro and Macro Determinants of Health: Older Immigrants in Europe * We study the health determin... more Micro and Macro Determinants of Health: Older Immigrants in Europe * We study the health determinants of immigrant men and women over the age of fifty, in Europe, and compare them to natives. We utilize the unique Survey of Health Aging and Retirement (SHARE) and augmented it with macroeconomic information on the 22 home countries and 16 host countries. Using Multilevel Analysis we can best capture the within and between countries variation and produce reliable results. We find that during the first decade after arrival, immigrants report higher levels of subjective health compared to natives and to previous cohorts of immigrants. As time since migration passes by, reported subjective health decreases; immigrants' health becomes the same as that of comparable natives or it even decreases. The level of economic development of both the origin and the host country positively affect the individual's health, but the effect of the host country is much more pronounced. It appears that positive and negative deviations (of the host from the origin country) have different impacts on individual health: an increase in a positive deviation (the country of origin is more developed compared to the host country-a 'loss' for the immigrating individual) leads to a decrease in the immigrant's subjective health, while an increase in the absolute negative deviation (a 'gain' for the immigrating person) leads to an increase in the immigrant's subjective health. These differential effects can be explained as some variant of the Loss-Aversion Theory.

Social Science Research Network, 2006

Journal of Political Economy, 1974

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Aug 1, 2001

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019

Social Science Research Network, 2001

Social Science Research Network, 2006

Annals of economics and statistics, 2003

WORLD SCIENTIFIC eBooks, May 1, 2023

Social Science Research Network, 2006

Revista Internacional De Sociologia, Jul 13, 2011

Social Science Research Network, 2019

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, May 1, 2010

RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Dec 1, 2007

Journal of Economics Management and Religion, Jul 1, 2020

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2015