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Social Capital and the Labour Market

This section deals with the role of bridging social capital - i.e. social networks and, more in general, social ties - in the labour market's matching processes. Suggested readings mainly analyse the ability of social ties to influence labour force participation and job search processes. Particular consideration is given to problems related to the workers' mobility in terms of status and wage, and to migrants' integration in new labour markets.

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Essential Readings

• Cahuc, P., Fontaine, F. (2002), On the Efficiency of Job Search with Social Networks, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 3511.

• Fontaine, F. (2003), Do workers really benefit from their social networks?, Maison des Sciences Economiques, Université Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne, Cahiers de la MSE No v04085.

• Granovetter, M. (1973), The Strength Of Weak Ties, in American Journal of Sociology, 78, pp. 1360-80.

• Lin, N. (1999), Social Networks and Status Attainment, Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 25, 467-487.

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Further Readings

• Abell, P., Crouchley, R., Mills, C. (2004), An Exploration of Self-Employment in Great Britain: In Search of Social Capital, London School of Economics, mimeo.

• Amudeo-Dorantes, C., Mundra, K. (2004), Social Networks and Their Impact on the Employment and Earnings of Mexican Immigrants, San Diego State University, Department of Economics, mimeo.

• Anderberg, D., Andersson, F. (2002), Stratification, Social Networks in the Labour Market, and Intergenerational Mobility, Discussion Paper SP II 2003-20, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, 2003.

• Barbieri, P. (2003), Social Capital and Self-Employment. A Network Analysis Experiment and Several Considerations, International Sociology, Vol. 18, No. 4, 681-701 (2003).

• Bartus, T. (2001), Social Capital and Earnings Inequalities. The Role of Informal Job Search in Hungary, Groningen, Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory and Methodology.

• Basker, E. (2003), Education, Job Search and Migration, University of Missouri, mimeo.

• Battu, H., Seaman, P., Zenou, Y. (2004), Job Contact Networks and the Ethnic Minorities, University of Aberdeen, Department of Economics, mimeo.

• Bentolila, S., Michelacci, C., Suarez, J. (2003), Social Networks and Occupational Choice, London School of Economics, Centre for Economic Performance, mimeo.

• Bernabé Aguilera, M. (2002), The Impact of Social Capital on Labor Force Participation: Evidence from the 2000 Social Capital Benchmark Survey, Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 83, Issue 3, Page 853.

• Bernabé Aguilera, M. (2003), The Impact of the Worker: How Social Capital and Human Capital Influence the Job Tenure of Formerly Undocumented Mexican Immigrants, Sociological Inquiry, Vol. 73, Issue 1, February 2003.

• Borghans, L., Weel, B., Weinberg, B.A. (2005), People People: Social Capital and the Labor Market Outcomes of Underrepresented Groups, Ohio State University, Department of Economics, Unpublished Paper.

• Brekke, K.A., Nyborg, K. (2005), Moral hazard and moral motivation: Corporate social responsibility as labor market screening, Memorandum No. 25/2004, Department of Economics, University of Oslo.

• Brass, D.J., Labianca, G. (1999), Social Capital, The Social Ledger, and Social Resources Management, in Gabbay, S. and Leenders, R. (eds), Corporate Social Capital and Social Liabilities, Kluwer Academic Publishers.

• Brinton, M.C. (2000), Social capital in the Japanese youth labor market: Labor market policy, schools, and norms, Policy Sciences, 33 (3-4): 289-306, December 2000.

• Cabrales, A., Calvo-Armengol, A., Pavoni, N. (2005), Social Preferences, Skill Segregation, and Wage Dynamics, Departament d’Economia i Empresa, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, mimeo.

• Calvó-Armengol, A., Zenou, Y. (2003), Job Matching, Social Network and Word-of-Mouth Communication, IZA Discussion Paper, No. 711, Institute for the Study of Labour.

• Calvo-Armengol, A., Ioannides, Y.M. (2005), Social Networks in Labor Markets, Department of Economics Working Paper, Tufts University.

• Carpenter, J., Seki, E. (2005), Do Social Preferences Increase Productivity? Field Experimental Evidence from Fishermen in Toyama Bay, IZA Discussion Paper No. 1697, Institute for the Study of Labour.

• Carpenter, J., Seki, E. (2005), Competitive Work Environments and Social Preferences: Field Experimental Evidence from a Japanese Fishing Community, IZA Discussion Paper No. 1691, Institute for the Study of Labour.

• Chapple K. (2002), "I Name It and I Claim It--In the Name of Jesus, This Job Is Mine": Job Search, Networks, and Careers for Low-Income Women, Economic Development Quarterly, November 2002, vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 294-294(1).

• Chiswick, B.R. (2000), Are Immigrants Favorably Self-Selected? An Economic Analysis, IZA Discussion Paper No. 131, Institute for the Study of Labour.

• Clarck, S. (2000), The Closure of the Russian Labour Market, European Societies, Vol. 2, No. 4, 483-504.

• Conley, T.G., Topa, G. (2002), Socio-economic distance and spatial patterns in unemployment, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Vol. 17, Issue 4, 303-327.

• Côté, J.E. (2002), Role of Identity Capital in the Transition to Adulthood: The Individualization Thesis Examined, Journal of Youth Studies, Vol. 5, No. 2, 117-134.

• Delattre, E., Sabatier, M. (2003), Social Capital and Wages: An Econometric Evaluation of Social Networking's Effects, Paper presented at the XVIII AIEL Conference of Labour Economists, Modena 23-24 September 2004.

• De Paola, M., Scoppa, V. (2001), The Role of Family Ties in the Labour Market. An Interpretation Based on Efficiency Wage Theory, Labour, Vol. 15, Issue 4, Page 603.

• Dokko, G., Rosenkopf, L. (2001), Social Capital for Hire? Mobility of Technical Professionals and Firm Influence in Wireless Standards Committees,
University of Pennsylvania, Department of Management, mimeo.

• Dupuis, A., Inkson, K., McLaren, E. (2004), Pathways to Employment for Young New Zealenders: Effects of Social Capital, Labour Market Dynamics Research Group, Massey University, mimeo.

• Eby, L.T. (2001), The Boundaryless Career Experiences of Mobile Spouses in Dual-Earner Marriages, Group & Organization Management, September 2001, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 343-368(26).

• Elliot, J.R., Sims, R. (2003), Ghettos and Barrios: The Impact of Neighborhood Poverty and Race on Job Matching among Blacks and Latinos, Social Problems, August 2001, Vol. 48, No. 3, 341-361.

• Erikson, R., Jonsson, J.O. (1998), Social Origin as an Interest-bearing Asset: Family Background and Labour-market Rewards among Employees in Sweden, Acta Sociologica, Vol. 41, No. 1, 19-36.

• Falk, I. (2001), Sleight of Hand: Job myths, literacy and social capital, Discussion Paper D14/2001, University of Tasmania, Centre for Research and Learning in Regional Australia.

• Falk. I. (2001), The Future of ‘Work’ and the Work of the Future, Discussion Paper D5/2001, University of Tasmania, Centre for Research and Learning in Regional Australia.

• Flap, H., Völker, B. (2001), Goal specific social capital and job satisfaction
Effects of different types of networks on instrumental and social aspects of work, Social Networks 23 (2001) 297–320.

• Fontaine, F. (2004), Why are similar workers paid differently? The role of social networks, Université Paris I, Eurequa, CNRS, mimeo.

• Fontaine, F. (2005), A Job Search Model with Social Networks, Université Paris I, Eurequa, CNRS, mimeo.

• Friedman, R., Krackhardt, D. (1997), Social Capital and Career Mobility: A Structural Theory of Lower Returns to Education for Asian Employees, Journal of Applied Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 33, No. 3, 316-334.

• Fujimoto, K. (2004), Feminine Capital: The Forms of Capital in the Female Labor Market in Japan, The Sociological Quarterly, Winter 2004, Vol. 45, No. 1, 91-111.

• Garshick Kleit, R. (2002), Job Search Networks and Strategies in Scattered-site Public Housing, Housing Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1, January 1, 2002.

• Gerber, P.T., Mayorova, O. (2003), Getting Personal: The Use of Networks For Successful Job Searches in Russia, 1985-2001, Paper presented at the Semi-Annual Meeting of the Research Committee on Social Stratification of the International Sociological Association, Tokyo, March 1-3, 2003.

• Gray, A. (2003), Towards a Conceptual Framework for Studying Time and Social Capital, Families & Social Capital ESRC Research Group, London South Bank University.

• Grayson, P.J. (2004), Social dynamics, university experiences, and graduates' job outcomes, British Journal of Sociology of Education, Vol. 25, No. 5, 609-627.

• Green, A., Shuttleworth, I., Lavery, S. (2005), Young people, job search and local labour markets: The example of Belfast, Urban Studies, Vol. 42, No. 2, 301-324.

• Haunschild, A. (2003), Managing Employment Relationships in Flexible Labour Markets: The Case of German Repertory Theatres, Human Relations, Vol. 56, No. 8, 899-929 (2003).

• Higgins, M.C. (2001), Changing careers: the effects of social context, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 22, Issue 6, 595 - 618.

• Kalter, F., Kogan, I. (2002), Ethnic Inequalities at Labour Market Entry in Belgium and Spain, Working Paper No. 49/2002, Mannheimer Zentrum für Europäische Sozialforschung.

• Knight, J., Yueh, L. (2002), The Role of Social Capital in the Labour Market in China, Oxford University, Department of Economics Discussion Paper.

• Korpi, T. (2001), Good Friends in Bad Times? Social Networks and Job Search among the Unemployed in Sweden, Acta Sociologica, Vol. 44, No 2, June 1, 2001.

• Ma, Z. (2002), Social-capital mobilization and income returns to entrepreneurship: the case of return migration in rural China, Environment and Planning, Vol. 34, 1763-1784.

• Maman, D. (2001), The Organizational Connection: Social Capital and the
Career Expansion of Directors of Business Groups in Israel, Social Science Research 30, 578–605 (2001).

• Mouw, T. (2002), Social Capital and Job Search: Do Contacts Matter?, University of North Carolina, Department of Sociology, mimeo.

• Mouw, T. (2003), The Use of Social Networks among Hispanic Workers: An Indirect Test of the Effect of Social Capital, University of North Carolina, Department of Sociology, mimeo.

• Ooka, E., Wellmann, B. (2003), Does Social Capital Pay Off More Within or Between Ethnic Groups? Analyzing Job Searches in Five Toronto Ethnic Groups, in Fong, E. (eds), Inside the Mosaic, Toronto, University of Toronto Press.

• Pastor, J.C., Mayo, M. (2005), Networks And Effectiveness In Work Teams: The Impact Of Diversity, IE Working Paper WP05-10, Instituto de Impresa, Madrid.

• Portes, A. (1998), Social capital: its origins and applications in modern sociology, Annual Review of Sociology 24: 1-24.

• Raffo, C., Reeves, M. (2000), Youth Transitions and Social Exclusion: Developments in Social Capital Theory, Journal of Youth Studies, Vol. 2, No. 2, 147-166.

• Rainer, H., Siedler, T. (2005), O Brother, Where Art Thou? The Effects of Having a Sibling on Geographic Mobility and Labor Market Outcomes, IZA Discussion Paper No. 1842, Institute for the Study of Labor.

• Reingold, D.A. (1999), Social Networks and the Employment Problem of the Urban Poor, Urban Studies, Vol. 36, No. 11, 1907-1932.

• Reyes-ruiz , R. (2005), Creating latino communities in the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Vol. 31, No. 1, 151-169.

• Rob, R., Zemsky, P. (2000), Social Capital, Corporate Culture and Incentive Intensity, University of Pennsylvania and INSEAD, Unpublished Paper.

• Salaff. J.W., Greve, A. (2002), Can Chinese Woman's Social Capital Migrate?, University of Toronto, Department of Sociology, mimeo.

• Salaff, J.W., Greve, A., Xu Li Ping, L. (2002), Paths Into the Economy: Structural Barriers and the Job Hunt for Skilled PRC Migrants in Canada, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, special issue on Globalization and HRM in Asia Pacific, Vol. 13(3): 450-464, 2002.

• Sanders, J.M., Nee, V. (1996), Immigrant self–employment: The family as social capital and the value of human capital, American Sociological Review 61: 231–249.

• Santamaria-Garcia, J. (2002), Two-sided search in a heterogeneous labor market: the role of social contacts, European University Institute, mimeo.

• Seibert, S.E., Kraimer, M.L., Liden, R.C. (2001), A Social Capital Theory of Career Success, Academy of Management Journal.

• Smith, S.S. (2003), Exploring the efficacy of African-Americans' job referral networks: A study of the obligations of exchange around job information and influence, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Vol. 26, No. 6, 1029-1045.

• Spencer, D.A. (2002), Shirking the Issue? Efficiency wages, work discipline and full employment, Review of Political Economy, Vol. 14, No. 3, 313-327.

• Stone, W., Gray, M., Hughes, J. (2003), Social capital at work. How family, friends and civic ties relate to labour market outcomes, Research Paper No. 31, April 2003, Australian Institute of Family Studies.

• Stovell, K., Fountain, C. (2003), Hearing about a Job: A Model of Differential Information Flow and Job Matching, Working Paper no. 30. Center for Statistics and the Social Sciences, University of Washington.

• Tress, M. (1998), Welfare state type, labour markets and refugees: a comparison of Jews from the former Soviet Union in the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Vol. 21, No. 1, 116-137.

• Urwin, P., Sturgis, P., Di Pietro, G. (2002), ‘The Yuppies Networking’: Measuring the Employment Effects of Networking and the Accumulation of Social Capital Using the UK Time Use Survey, Westminsiter Business School, University of Westminster, mimeo.

• Von Siemes, F. (2005), Fairness, Adverse Selection, and Employment Contracts, Discussion paper 2005-14, Department of Economics, University of Munich.

• Wahba, J., Zenou, Y. (2003), Density, Social Networks and Job Search Methods: Theory and Application to Egypt, University of Southampton, Department of Economics, mimeo.

• Waldinger, R. (1997), Social Capital or Social Closure? Immigrant Networks in the Labor Market, Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies Working Paper Series, No. 26.

• Werum, R.E. (2000), “It’s Not What You Know But Whom You Know”: Adult Social Capital and Track Placement of Ethnic Groups in Germany, Paper presented at the August 2000 annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, Washington, DC.

• Wright Brown D., Konrad A. (2001), Job-seeking in a turbulent economy: Social networks and the importance of cross-industry ties to an industry change, Human Relations, August 2001, vol. 54, no. 8, pp. 1015-1044(30).

• Yueh, L.Y. (2001), An Investment Model of Social Capital with Empirical Application to Women’s Labour Market Outcomes in Urban China, University of Oxford, Department of Economics, Discussion Paper No. 83.

• Zang, X. (2003), Network Resources and Job Search in Urban China, Journal of Sociology, Vol. 39, No. 2, 115-129 (2003).

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