Labour Market
How clicks on a job platform can reveal bias
Scientists at ETH Zurich have leveraged big data from recruitment platforms and machine learning to study hiring discrimination. They show that discrimination against immigrants depends, among other things, on the time of day; and that both men and women face discrimination. The study was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and has been published in the renowned scientific journal external page Nature.
More information on the study and the results can be found here.
Publications
Other Contributions
The Swiss labour market is doing fairly well
Employment is continuing to grow, while unemployment is rising slightly. KOF expects that the phase of declining real wages will come to an end this year.
Can STEM events attract more pupils to technical degree programmes?
A study by KOF at ETH Zurich shows that participation in STEM events increases the likelihood that pupils will later study such a subject. In particular, events at which a larger proportion of female experts present have a strong impact on the choice of subject. However, the positive effect of additional female speakers is not limited to schoolgirls. Pupils are also more likely to choose STEM subjects after attending events featuring a higher proportion of female experts.
Between market power and labour rights: the impact of the seasonal worker statute on immigrants’ wages
Switzerland’s seasonal worker statute, which was abolished in 2002, tied residence permits to employers. According to the monopsony theory, such regulation gives employers greater bargaining power in wage-setting and could depress wages. This article analyses this hypothesis and suggests that immigrants’ social and economic rights – strengthened by the free movement of people – may have helped to reduce wage differentials.
How can gender-specific differences in higher education be overcome?
Women are still under-represented in managerial positions in the academic sector. A programme for female professors in Germany aims to change this. An ongoing study involving KOF is investigating the success of this support programme.
The free movement of people has had no impact on the number of apprenticeships
Has the free movement of people had a negative impact on Swiss firms’ willingness to train apprentices? A new study shows that the number of apprenticeships did not fall during the first few years following the opening of the country’s border. However, the reasons why firms train apprentices has changed because it has become easier and cheaper for them to recruit suitable workers externally.