Socio-economic characteristics as determinants in the job market: The case of Piedmont in Italy (1867–2005)

Calabrese, Matteo and Van Leeuwen, Bas (2023): Socio-economic characteristics as determinants in the job market: The case of Piedmont in Italy (1867–2005).

Abstract

In Modernization Theory, it is argued that both the socio-economic background and education level of labourers affect the job market. In this article, we analyse the effects of both factors on the job market of Piedmont, a region in the north-west of Italy, using a new dataset of job-offer advertisements (job ads) from the newspaper La Stampa between 1867 and 2005. In line with Modernization Theory, we find that the number of job ads mentioning job-unrelated factors (e.g. ‘family background’) as a requirement for hiring, declined over the years. Yet, when present in the text of the job ads, job-unrelated characteristics increased the probability of ending up in jobs with a lower occupational status. However, contrary to job-unrelated factors, the frequency of mentions of socio-attitudinal characteristics (e.g. the ‘ability to deal with the public’) increased over time in the job ads while contributing to the probability of ending in jobs with higher occupational status.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Italy, Piedmont, job ads, newspaper, La Stampa, job characteristics
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J24 - Human Capital ; Skills ; Occupational Choice ; Labor Productivity; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J28 - Safety ; Job Satisfaction ; Related Public Policy; N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy > N33 - Europe: Pre-1913; N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy > N34 - Europe: 1913-; N - Economic History > N8 - Micro-Business History > N83 - Europe: Pre-1913; N - Economic History > N8 - Micro-Business History > N84 - Europe: 1913-

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