Research Jonas Wood

Abstract

Since 2013, the "Socio-economic Monitoring" has analysed the situation of individuals with a migration background in the Belgian society in general, and in the labour market in particular. As of 2024, these analyses will be extended to multiple disadvantaged groups (e.g.,gender, age, and disability). These monitoring reports indicate several explanatory factors (e.g., field of study, family situation, etc.). What is missing, however, is a comprehensive quantitative multifactor analysis of those various factors - integrated into a model in the spirit of the traditional Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition - that limit the labour market participation of disadvantaged groups. Such an analysis should approximate differences in employment rates, the nature of work, and wages as closely as possible and identify the factors that contribute most strongly to these differences. The result will provide a better understanding of possible additional factors that either hinder or promote access to (sustainable and qualitative) employment. The aim of this study is therefore to develop a detailed quantitative analysis of the factors contributing to differences in labour market participation and wage levels among 18-64-year-olds based on i) origin, ii) gender, iii) age, iv) education level, and v) disability. Besides analyses for the most recent period, we will also examine whether significant changes have occurred in these differences over the past 10 years and assess the extent to which the changing gap over time can be explained by shifts in the composition of different groups. Consequently, four objectives are central for each of these five groups: Understanding differences in employment, (long-term) unemployment, inactivity, and the nature of employment (e.g., wage, job stability, type of employment, type of status). - Understanding differences in employment, (long-term) unemployment, inactivity, and the nature of employment (e.g., wage, job stability, type of employment, type of status). - Understanding the extent to which differences between groups have changed over the past 10 years. - Estimating the extent to which differences can be explained by a broad set of individual characteristics, household characteristics, and work-related characteristics. - Understanding the factors that have contributed to convergences/divergences in labour market outcomes over time.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Neels Karel
• Co-promoter: Maes Julie
• Co-promoter: Vujić Sunčica
• Co-promoter: Wood Jonas

Research team(s)

• Centre for Population, Family and Health

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Over the past decade, the majority of permanent immigrations to OECD countries comprised groups often categorized as "non-economic" migrants, such as humanitarian and family migrants. The integration of non-economic migrants into the host country labour markets poses a significant societal challenge, as acknowledged by international institutions and scholars. Consequently, substantial investments at regional, national, and EU levels have been channeled into both general and migrant-specific Active Labor Market Policies (ALMP). However, our understanding of processes of labor market integration remains limited due to a lack of more holistic life course studies in which different life domains (e.g. labour and family) are studied simultaneously, and the high data requirements necessary to complete such an endeavour. This SEP project aims to catalyze a methodological and theoretical shift by developing an interdisciplinary and holistic framework to examine ALMP uptake and subsequent labor market integration. This theoretical and methodological framework will be developed in the SEP project in order to prepare a new ERC grant proposal which will apply such a framework to non-economic migrants. Hence SEP will play a major role in terms of methodological and theoretical R&D work necessary for a resubmission of the ERC proposal covering seven European countries, and will also yield research results and deliverables regardless of the success of the future ERC grant outcomes. This SEP project will focus on the context of Flanders to study whether and how the uptake and effects of ALMP are mediated and moderated by other life domains, focusing on family dynamics, such as childbearing, partnering and informal care-giving. I combine the usage of cutting-edge Flemish linked register data, with complementary qualitative research methods. Drawing on life course principles, I aim to synthesize and test theories from Sociology and Economics to formulate the first Life Course Theory for the evaluation of ALMP.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Maeyer Sven
• Promoter: Meier Petra
• Fellow: Wood Jonas

Research team(s)

• Politics & Public Governance
• EduBROn

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Groups of so-called "non-economic" migrants (i.e. humanitarian and family migrants) represented the majority of permanent immigrations to OECD countries (55.3 percent) over the last ten years. In contrast to labour or educational migration which by nature are (in)directly connected to employment, noneconomic migrants' cumbersome labour market integration is widely considered a fundamental and urgent societal challenge. Consequently, considerable regional, national and EU-level investments are directed towards general and migrant-specific Active Labour Market Policies (ALMP). However, our understanding of how ALMP might facilitate migrants' labour force integration remains poor due to a lack of interdisciplinary approaches in which labour force integration is studied jointly with family dynamics and decision-making by other actors (i.e. household members and ALMP caseworkers). Methodologically, available literature calls for innovative Register data linkages spanning across different life domains as well as mixed methods research designs. Consequently, FWO-INT-LIFE is the first to study if ALMP interact with non-economic migrants' unfolding life courses in Flanders, and how these linkages are driven by decisionmaking by migrants, their household members, and ALMP caseworkers. Our findings for Flanders, Belgium are of interest to international policy-makers and scholars due to the relatively large investments in ALMP, yet also strong migrant-native gaps in employment rates.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Wood Jonas

Research team(s)

• Centre for Population, Family and Health

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The low participation of groups with a large distance to the labor market, women, and groups with a migration background in the labor market in and around the port of Antwerp is seen as a social problem. Consequently, this project employs quantitative and qualitative research methods to identify the latent labor supply of these groups (WP1), to identify barriers to labor force participation (WP2), to map the potential job offers for these groups (WP3) and and identify barriers to hiring for employers (WP4).

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Wood Jonas
• Co-promoter: Neels Karel

Research team(s)

• Centre for Population, Family and Health

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

In a context of accelerated population ageing and shrinking working age populations, the successful labour market integration of migrants is rapidly gaining importance in European societies. However, considerable gaps exist in many countries between the labour market outcomes of natives and both first and second generation migrants. Segmented assimilation theory suggests that different migrant groups assimilate into different segments of the labour market due to variation in individual factors, family dynamics, as well as contextual policy factors. Although the literature on migrants' labour market trajectories has focused on different stages of their life courses, a detailed understanding of how path-dependencies in migrants' labour market trajectories unfold over the life course in interaction with family and policy contexts is lacking. Building on recent methodological developments in life course analysis, this project develops a multistate life course perspective to examine how segmented labour market integration by migration background (i.e. origin and generation) materializes over the life course. In doing so, the project will reveal how differential initial labour market positions shape subsequent labour market trajectories, how such path-dependencies are linked to parallel family biographies (union formation, childbearing and gender dynamics in households), and how previous labour market trajectories affect the uptake and effects of active labour market policies.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Neels Karel
• Co-promoter: Wood Jonas

Research team(s)

• Centre for Population, Family and Health

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Low fertility levels in European countries since the 1970s have been a major force contributing to population ageing. Several individual-level and contextual factors have been proposed to explain changing patterns of fertility, with increasing education and labour force participation, variation in economic cycles and lack of supportive policies in many countries figuring prominently. With the increase of migration since the late 1990s, the potential impact of migrant populations on aggregate fertility trends has recently received increasing attention. While there has been no shortage of candidate causal factors, no integrated modelling framework has hitherto been developed to investigate the interplay between these factors and to assess the actual contribution of various factors to change in aggregate fertility trends. This project aims to improve our understanding of how educational careers and migration background shape fertility, and how these characteristics interact with each other, but also with varying economic and policy contexts. The project integrates models of entry into parenthood and subsequent family formation into a dynamic microsimulation framework that allows to assess the sensitivity of aggregate fertility trends to variation in economic and policy contexts, while acknowledging the constraining effect of population structures that have been shaped by past demographic trends.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Neels Karel
• Co-promoter: Wood Jonas

Research team(s)

• Centre for Population, Family and Health

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

To alleviate mismatch and labour shortages on the Flemish labour market, it is appropriate to gain insight into the labour potential amongst those who are not working, including the rising share of long-term jobseekers (LTJ). However, there is little research on LTJ in Flanders, making it unclear which levers can be used to remove barriers towards labour market entry for this group. Using a multi-actor mixed-methods approach, this project therefore aims to increase our understanding of i) variation in profiles within the target group LTJ, ii) the effectiveness of services and actions within Active Labour Market Programmes (ALMP) for this specific group, and iii) the effectiveness of actions by the Flemish Employment Office and further needs amongst employers. In work package 1, we make use of qualitative focus group interviews to gain insight into the attitudes towards labour force participation, employability, barriers and needs according to the profile of LTJ. The main shortcoming in existing literature on LTJ activation is the lack of impact evaluations for this specific target group. Consequently, work package 2 combines a Flanders-wide analysis of inflow into and effectiveness of services and actions at VDAB and partners, with a Mixed Methods experimental design in which we use Antwerp and Limburg as laboratory cases for an intervention study. In order to not only answer the question "do ALMP work?" but also to gain insight into why they are (in)effective in leading LTJ to employment, we will follow up a selection of individual cases through longitudinal qualitative research by conducting in-depth interviews with all stakeholders around a trajectory, i.e. with the jobseeker, employer and Employment Office caseworker. Work package 3 focuses on the demand side of the labour market (i.e. employers) and first of all includes an analysis of the effectiveness of actions and further needs among employers through a vignette study across Flanders. In the last work package of this project, we will synthesise the main findings of the previous work packages and organise a stakeholder workshop where the findings will be discussed and validated with the LTJ target group.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Wood Jonas
• Co-promoter: Neels Karel
• Co-promoter: Vujić Sunčica

Research team(s)

• Centre for Population, Family and Health

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Unprecedented increases in female employment and declining fertility levels have undoubtedly been the most important household transformations in post-war Europe. In response to these changes, European governments developed policies geared towards the reconciliation of (female) employment and family formation such as formal childcare and parental leave. Higher fertility and a relatively weak tension between work and family in countries like Belgium and Sweden suggest that these policies are effective. However, in the context of increasingly diverse European populations, particularly in forerunner countries, a new question has come to the fore: Do these policies 'work' for migrants' descendants? In the face of this new question, the COPE-project provides two major contributions. First, migrants' descendants' uptake and effects of work-family policies, depending on the design features of such policies in Belgium and Sweden are addressed using the richest register data available. Second, adopting a mixed methods research design for the Belgian case, the COPE-project benefits from the complementarity of quantitative and qualitative methods to study both differential patterns in uptake and effects by natives' origin, but also develop indepth understanding of how mechanisms of uptake and effects vary by origin. Our findings will be of utmost importance to policy-makers in the context of inclusive social policies, but also labour supply in the era of population ageing.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Neels Karel
• Fellow: Wood Jonas

Research team(s)

• Centre for Population, Family and Health

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

"Superdiversity" stands central in Flanders. This high degree of diversity implies that the number of people with a migration background is steadily increasing, but also increasingly heterogeneous. In order to be able to tailor policy to this superdiversity, it is essential to observe and analyse the position of groups with a migration background in different domains. To gain insight into domains that cannot be investigated on the basis of variables available in administrative databases, the Flemish Government launched the "Samenleven in Diversiteit" (SID) survey in 2017 (Stuyck et al., 2018). This survey focuses in particular on people with a Moroccan, Turkish, Polish, Romanian and Congolese background, groups that are typically underrepresented in other surveys. This research deals with diversity and integration as transversal concepts that relate to a wide range of themes and policy domains. In this follow-up study we focus on diversity and integration in individual behaviours, attitudes and experiences. We distinguish seven societal domains: (1) education and educational experiences of children, (2) labour market positions, (3) language skills and language use, (4) civic integration courses, (5) diversity and social contacts, (6) social participation and (7) attitudes towards diversity and the position of religion in society. We aim to address four broad research goals: 1. Operationalization of the concept migration background in the SID sample; 2. Documenting variation in the seven societal domains by migration background; 3. To study the extent to which variation in the seven societal domains by migration background can be explained by socio-demographic background characteristics, socio-economic characteristics or socio-cultural profiles; 4. To map the mutual dynamics between the societal domains, with special attention to spill-over effects for groups with a migrant background.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Wood Jonas
• Co-promoter: Neels Karel

Research team(s)

• Centre for Population, Family and Health

Project website

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Between 2015 and 2030 welfare states throughout Europe (including Belgium) will face the long-term implications of the babyboom and subsequent babybust in the latter part of the 20th century: the large cohorts of the 1950s and 1960s will gradually enter retirement, while the small cohorts born since the mid 1970s are not sufficiently large to offset the shrinking labour force. The 2001 report of the United Nations on replacement migration estimated that a significant increase of migration (compared to levels of the mid 1990s) would be required to maintain the size of the working age population in Europe. In contrast to expectations and despite wide scepticism regarding to the UN migration prospects, immigration has substantially increased throughout Europe since the early 2000s, exceeding the migration volumes of the 1950s and 1960s by a considerable margin. However, throughout Europe the employment levels of migrant populations are significantly lower than is the case among natives, fuelling scepticism in the public debate with respect to replacement migration. Although the overrepresentation of second and later generation migrants in unemployment has been documented repeatedly, as well as the overrepresentation of first generation migrants in social assistance, only a limited body of work has hitherto been able to access existing register data to address the uptake and impact of active labour market programmes (ALMP's) and (labour force) integration policies on labour market outcomes for first and second generation migrants. This project uses a novel data infrastructure that was developed in a preceding VIONA-project (Flemish Government) which aimed to link longitudinal register data from integration offices, employment offices and social security organisations in order to reconstruct and analyse labour market trajectories of both the resident population with a migration background (second and later generation migrants) and new migrants entering the country in the period 2005-2016 (first generation migrants), including asylum seekers. Given this highly innovative research infrastructure – in tandem with the fact that different migration profiles can be considered - this project will contribute to the scarce literature on the effectiveness of different integration and employment policies to labour market integration of individuals with a migration background, while additionally shedding light on the variation in the effectiveness of such policies for different migrant groups as the barriers that second and later generation migrants, first generation migrants (e.g. family formation and reunification) and asylum seekers face in entering the labour market are different. The project aims to continue the collaboration with the various regional stakeholders involved in the construction of the data-infrastructure and envisages the valorisation of the research findings in collaboration with local and regional actors in the field of labour market and integration policies.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Neels Karel
• Co-promoter: Wood Jonas
• Fellow: Kasztan Tair

Research team(s)

• Centre for Population, Family and Health

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The development of a professional career and formation of a family are two common life-goals. As a result, the recursive relation between paid work and family formation is a long-standing research topic in the social sciences, particularly in today's era of dual earner households and state-provided work-family policies. Available research has shown that work and family life have become more compatible as employment-effects on family formation are becoming more positive and the negative effect of parenthood on employment is weakening. The fact that in particular North-western European countries with extensive work-family policies exhibit these changes in the work-family nexus, suggests that these policies have played an important role. However, besides this general narrative of increasing combinability of work and family in countries like Belgium, available literature does not allow one to conclude on whether work-family combination has become easier for everyone in our society. This is noteworthy as differences between genders, educational groups, or migrant origins are likely to enhance our understanding of work-family behaviour in relation to public policy. Additionally, policy-makers cannot be satisfied with general trends in work-family behaviours and policy uptake as social inclusion stands central in the development of social policy. Literature reviews indicate that these gaps in our knowledge are often related to limited data availability. First, routinely used cross-sectional data do not allow to follow individuals over time and assess how employment affects family formation and vice versa. Second, a lack of couple data hampers the study of couple-decisions and gender dynamics in the organization of work and family. Third, surveys do not include information on the uptake of work-family policies, which is essential to the measurement of policy effects. Fourth, limited sample sizes have hampered the study of differential work-family behaviour by population subgroups such as educational of ethnic groups. Finally, although cross-national comparisons are potentially very informative on the impact of societal and institutional context, available comparisons remain very descriptive due to the aforementioned limitations. As a result of the limitations of available data sources in the study of work-family behaviour, this project aims to enhance our knowledge by developing a Socio-demographic panel based on data from the Crossroads Bank for Social Security and the National Register. This data source allows a (i) longitudinal (ii) couple-level assessment of (iii) uptake and effects of work-family policies (formal childcare, parental leave, service vouchers) (iv) for detailed population subgroups. In addition, (v) close cooperation with our partner institutes in other North-western European countries with access to detailed register data will allow to compare work-family dynamics between countries.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Wood Jonas

Research team(s)

• Centre for Population, Family and Health

Project type(s)

• Research Project