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Constraint and Opportunity: Identifying Voluntary Non-Employment

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  • Tania Burchardt
  • Julian Le Grand

Abstract

This paper assesses the extent to which the behaviour of an individual is the result of the constraints that he or she faces, or the result of his or her preferences. It concentrates on participation or non-participation in employment. Following a discussion of potential methodological difficulties, data from the British Household Panel Study are used to construct models of the probability of being in employment. Starting from the position that all non-employment is voluntary, possible constraints are introduced in layers corresponding to the degree to which they are regarded as beyond individual control. Since there may be unobserved constraints, the outcome is cross-checked by starting from the opposite position, namely that all non-employment is involuntary, then subtracting those for whom there is evidence of having chosen to be out of work. The results suggest that after taking into account as many constraints as possible, one-tenth of the non-employment is our sample is unambiguously voluntary, with a further one-tenth being indeterminate.

Suggested Citation

  • Tania Burchardt & Julian Le Grand, 2002. "Constraint and Opportunity: Identifying Voluntary Non-Employment," CASE Papers 055, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion, LSE.
    • Handle: RePEc:cep:sticas:055
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    File URL: https://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/case/cp/CASEpaper55.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    5. Germain, Antoine, 2023. "Basic income versus fairness: redistribution with inactive agents," LIDAM Discussion Papers CORE 2023022, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
    6. D'Agata, Antonio, 2009. "Measures of freedom," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 209-214, January.
    7. Richard Cookson, 2005. "QALYs and the capability approach," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 14(8), pages 817-829, August.
    8. Cagliesi, Maria & Hawkes, Denise & De Vita, Riccardo, 2012. "A multidimensional approach to worklessness: a matter of opportunities, social factors and individual’s idiosyncrasies," Greenwich Papers in Political Economy 7747, University of Greenwich, Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre.
    9. Masson, Torsten & Leßmann, Ortrud, 2012. "Nachhaltigkeitsindikatoren und Capabilities: Anknüpfungspunkte aus der deutschen Nachhaltigkeitsforschung," UFZ Discussion Papers 07/2012, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    10. Ortrud Lessmann & Jean-Michel Bonvin, 2011. "Job-satisfaction in the Broader Framework of the Capability Approach," management revue. Socio-economic Studies, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 22(1), pages 84-99.

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