Nonstandard Forms and Measures of Employment and Unemployment in Transition: A Comparative Study of Estonia, Romania, and Russia

J. David Brown (), John Earle (), Vladimir Gimpelson, Rostislav Kapeliushnikov (), Hartmut Lehmann (), Almos Telegdy (), Irina Vantu (), Ruxandra Visan () and Alexandru Voicu ()
Additional contact information
Rostislav Kapeliushnikov: CLMS, Higher School of Economics, Moscow
Hartmut Lehmann: University of Bologna, Heriot-Watt University, Labor Group EROC, Kiev School of Economics and IZA Bonn
Irina Vantu: CEU Labor Project
Ruxandra Visan: CEU Labor Project

No 1961, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Abstract: This paper looks behind the standard, publicly available employment and unemployment statistics that studies of transition economy labor markets have typically relied upon. We analyze microdata on detailed labor force survey responses in Russia, Romania, and Estonia to measure nonstandard, boundary forms and alternative definitions of labor force status. Our estimates show that measured employment and unemployment rates are quite sensitive to definition, particularly in the treatment of household production (subsistence agriculture), unpaid family helpers, and discouraged workers, while the categories of part-time work and other forms of marginal attachment are still relatively unimportant. We find that tweaking the official definitions in apparently minor ways can produce alternative employment rates that are sharply higher in Russia but much lower in Romania and slightly lower in Estonia, and alternative unemployment rates that are sharply higher in Romania and moderately higher in Estonia and Russia.

Keywords: alternative measures of unemployment and employment; transitional economies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C81 J21 J64 P23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-tra
Date: 2006-02
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Related works:
Working Paper: Nonstandard Forms and Measures of Employment and Unemployment in Transition: A Comparative Study of Estonia, Romania, and Russia (2006)
Working Paper: Nonstandard Forms and Measures of Employment and Unemployment in Transition: A Comparative Study of Estonia, Romania, and Russia (2006)
Journal Article: Nonstandard Forms and Measures of Employment and Unemployment in Transition: A Comparative Study of Estonia, Romania, and Russia (2006)
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