Labour Market Risks

Borooah, Vani (2019): Labour Market Risks. Published in: Disparity and Discrimination in Labour Market Outcomes in India No. Palgrave Macmillan (July 2019)

Abstract

This chapter discusses labour market risk. Every time a job-seeker applies for a job he/she runs the risk of not getting it. However, these risks may not be uniformly distributed across job-seekers: some have a better chance of negotiating obstacles to employment; others have a higher chance of stumbling. The important question relates to the determinants of such risk. In particular, does this risk differ significantly between job-seekers from different groups: gender, religion, or caste? Chapter 2 uses a famous result in statistics, Bayes’ Theorem, to make explicit the concept of risk and to explain why, under this theorem, different groups might have different rates of success of securing employment. The theoretical results are buttressed by data from two rounds of the NSS of Employment: the 68th round (July 2011–June 2012) and the 55th round (July 1999–June 2000). These data are used, in subsequent sections, to quantify the concept of risk set out in the earlier part of the chapter.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Bayes Theorem, Risk, Job Application, Rejection
• Subjects: C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C1 - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General > C11 - Bayesian Analysis: General; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J7 - Labor Discrimination > J71 - Discrimination; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J7 - Labor Discrimination > J78 - Public Policy

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