Miguel Ángel Malo

• PhD Economics
• Professor (Associate) at University of Salamanca

This working paper presents a comparative analysis of the role played by occupational changes in recent wage inequality trends in six European countries between 2002 and 2018. Using the European Union Structure of Earnings Survey, the analysis shows two patterns in the share of wage inequality explained by between-occupation differentials: while th...

Background Discrimination against Roma individuals is a prevalent issue across Europe, presenting significant socio‐economic challenges. Spain, holding the highest concentration of Roma in Western Europe, serves as a focal point for investigating such disparities. Objectives This study aims to explore the wage gap between the Roma and non‐Roma pop...

In this article, we analyse loneliness trajectories for older people aged 50 or more in selected European countries by gender. We also focus on the relationship between disability and loneliness trajectories. We use three waves of the longitudinal SHARE database. Loneliness trajectories are non-linear, increasing with age for both genders, and have...

In this article, we develop a new explanation of the extremely low fertility rate in Spain (a total fertility rate below 1.3) in terms of the influence of the public budget on the postponement of family formation. We show that this postponement has dramatically decreased the ‘potential fertility’ of the Spanish population. We interpret the postpone...

This article presents an empirical analysis of the relationship between expected wealth transfers (inheritances and gifts) and consumption, explicitly considering the distribution of consumption and wealth. While there are many empirical analyses of unexpected wealth transfers, it is unusual to analyze consumption with respect to expected wealth tr...

This article presents a comparative analysis of multiple jobholding and non-standard employment among young people in EU-28 member states. This work contributes to the understanding of multiple jobholding among youth by connecting the empirical work to the issues of labour market flexibilisation in Europe. The database used is the European Union La...

We present a model of interlinked labour and marriage markets, both characterised by sequential search, where men are seen as breadwinners in the family. Two types of jobs exist – temporary and permanent. Men’s reservation strategy in their labour market search results in two reservation wages - one for each type of job. Women’s reservation strateg...

This article presents an updated review of the employment policy of sheltered employment for people with disabilities. We review the international literature, focusing on the European Union and especially on Spain, because of the great importance of sheltered employment centres in this country. Studies have increasingly questioned sheltered employm...

We present a meta-evaluation of the literature on the impacts of active labour market policies for unemployed people over 50, extracting 82 impacts for analysis. The meta-evaluation includes only impact evaluations that examine both a group of beneficiaries and a control group of comparable non-beneficiaries. On average, we find that active policie...

This article adds to the scant literature on the time persistence of being a young Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) by including four main novelties: we distinguish short- and long-term persistence; we use estimations before (2004–2007) and after the Great Recession (2013–2016); we analyse four Southern European countries that are re...

El empleo en España durante la pandemia de la COVID-19 miguel ángel malo* RESUMEN Ante el shock provocado por la pandemia, el recurso intensivo a expedientes de regulación temporal de empleo (ERTE) ha desviado el tradicional ajuste en términos de empleos hacia las suspensiones de empleo y las reducciones de jornada. Aunque este tipo de ajuste no es...

This article uses a new multidimensional indicator to measure precariousness among young workers across all EU-28 countries. This indicator measures both the incidence and intensity of precariousness. The analysis has involved five dimensions: wages, type of contract, type of working day, disempowerment, and job insecurity. Our database is the Euro...

Purpose The authors analyse how the receipt of a wealth transfer (inheritance or gift) affects labour force participation in 14 EU countries. They compare the effect of receiving an inheritance or a gift and investigate different behaviours at the gender level and educational level and for elderly individuals. Design/methodology/approach The autho...

This study analyses the effects of performance appraisal on the levels of job satisfaction reported by workers without and with disabilities (aged 16-64) by gender. Particularly, we are interested in investigating the impact of monetary rewards such as pay, bonuses, future raises and potential promotion on job satisfaction by disability status and...

En este trabajo se ofrece un breve panorama del empleo en las plataformas digitales de microtareas. Las principales cuestiones revisadas son: la lógica económica de estas plataformas; la cuantificación de este tipo de empleo; y el perfil de estos trabajadores y sus condiciones de trabajo. Se finaliza con una breve reflexión sobre los desafíos socia...

This article analyses whether automation and offshorability risks overlap with non-standard employment. The research uses data from Spain, as this is a country with one of the highest temporary employment rates across the world since the 1990s. In general, the analysis shows that automation risks affect slightly more to those with non-standard work...

En este artículo se analizan las posibilidades de compatibilización de las pensiones por disca-pacidad y el empleo en España. El trabajo parte de una revisión de la literatura académica, cen-trada en encontrar desincentivos para el trabajo en la cuantía de las pensiones. Sin embargo, los organismos internacionales destacan la necesidad de compatibi...

Proactive labour market policies consist of active labour market measures or other interventions that are implemented pre-emptively, with the aim of protecting people against a wide range of labour market problems and economic shocks. Proactive policies will be important in facing the challenges of the future of work. The discussion is based on a r...

The current work seeks to ascertain whether rulings on dismissal cases issued by incumbent judges in Spanish labour courts are influenced by whether they are acting alone in their own court or sharing duties with other judges such as replacement judges, support judges or incumbent judges from other courts. We consider that a court is treated when m...

This timely analysis examines the complex state of youth unemployment across Europe and offers cogent policy suggestions for addressing this longstanding societal problem. The findings reveal numerous national and regional factors affecting youth joblessness—not only market and economic challenges, but also deep sociocultural and political dynamics...

En este artículo se presenta una visión panorámica de la discriminación salarial de las personas con discapacidad. Se discute también la importancia de la definición de discapacidad para el análisis estadístico. La evidencia empírica muestra que la discriminación existe pero que la mayor parte de las diferencias salariales observadas se explican po...

This report consists of a comprehensive overview of labour market institutions in the small Pacific island countries in order to propose recommendations to improve the performance of their labour markets. We pay particular attention to three countries: Fiji, Palau and Papua New Guinea. We focus on the main pillars of labour market institutions, as...

Recent papers in the economic literature emphasise that the use of temporary contracts (TE) could have a detrimental effect on productivity. However, there are different reasons to believe that the impact of TE might not be homogeneous across sectors. In this article, we study the impact of TE on productivity growth and, in particular, we wonder if...

In this article, we estimate the total earnings losses of male workers with a partial disability, i.e., they are able to work at a different occupation after the disability's onset. We use a Spanish administrative dataset (Muestra Continua de Vidas Laborales) from a specific partial disability pension scheme (Incapacidad Permanente Total). Using pr...

El objetivo de este artículo es llevar a cabo una revisión de la literatura relacionada con el efecto de la edad relativa, con una mención especial al caso español. Se mostrarán los principales resultados y la evidencia empírica que muestra la relación entre la edad relativa y los logros educativos y laborales. La mayor parte de los estudios public...

Report prepared on behalf of the research department of the ILO in the framework of the project on labour market measures in the European Union along the Great Recession

In this article, we present information from a unique database of labour market reforms implemented in 111 developed and developing countries between 2008 and 2014. We show that the number of reforms implemented each year has gradually increased and that the majority of reforms were passed in advanced economies – with EU member states being particu...

En este artículo se analiza cómo han variado las características de los desempleados con la última crisis, destacando los aspectos que suponen nuevos desafíos para el sistema de protección por desempleo (tanto contributivo como asistencial). Se explican las aproximaciones existentes a la medición de la tasa de cobertura y se muestra que ninguna de...

In this article, we focus on the outcomes of the Spanish labour market from a comparative perspective respect to other countries of the European Union. A descriptive analysis presents the main consequences of the latest crisis. We use these elements to understand the two biggest problems of the Spanish labour market (the huge waves of employment an...

Using data from the European Community Household Panel for six European countries (Austria, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain) for the period 1995–2001, this article investigates how disability affects workers' absenteeism. The results show that workers with disabilities are absent more often than workers without disabilities. This finding...

Resumen A partir de datos del Panel de Hogares de la Unión Europea (PHOGUE) sobre Austria, España, Grecia, Irlanda, Italia y Portugal de 1995–2001 se examina la influencia de la discapacidad en el absentismo laboral utilizando tres variables: el estado de salud autoevaluado, el número de visitas al médico y el número de noches de ingreso en hospita...

Résumé Partant des données collectées dans six pays de l'Union européenne (Autriche, Espagne, Grèce, Irlande, Italie et Portugal) entre 1995 et 2001, les auteurs étudient l'infuence du handicap sur l'absentéisme des travailleurs. Ils observent que les travailleurs handicapés sont plus souvent absents que les travailleurs valides, constat établi apr...

We evaluate the impact of a mandatory quota of workers with disabilities using a sharp regression discontinuity design. We use data from a panel of Spanish firms where there is a mandatory quota of 2 per cent for firms with 50 or more workers. Non-parametric estimations show that strictly beyond the cut off of 50 workers there is an increase of 1.4...

Analizamos el efecto de una reforma del mercado laboral en el margen (un uso más sencillo de los contratos temporales iniciado en España en 1984) de generación en generación. Como este tipo de reformas atañe a los que se incorporan por primera vez al mercado laboral (o, en general, a los nuevos trabajadores), utilizamos un diseño de discontinuidad...

This Chapter shows how an approach that balances macroeconomic and employment goals, while at the same time taking social impacts into account, is necessary to achieve a sustainable and inclusive recovery. Moving towards such an approach requires attention to be paid to a number of policy areas, including macroeconomic, labour market and social pro...

Using a recent and rich Spanish data set on immigrants, we examine the impact of legal status on two measures of labor market performance: the likelihood of being employed and earnings. The Spanish case is of special interest given the rapid increase in immigration over the past 15 years and the large number of amnesties granted during the 1990s an...

Using a panel of large firms from Spain, we check the relative time persistence of different types of labour conflicts such as strikes, collective conflicts, lockouts and other conflicts with lost working hours but without the previous stated legal forms for labour conflicts. We present random-effects probit estimations comparing observations with...

In this article, we analyze the influence of being disabled on poverty dynamics. We present results adjusting the modified OECD equivalence scale by the number of adults with severe disabilities in the household and calculate poverty rates with this disability-adjusted scale. In addition we address the problem of incidental parameters in econometri...

The authors measure wage discrimination against disabled persons after controlling for unobserved disability-related productivity differences. Using data for 11 European countries from the European Community Household Panel (1995– 2001), they estimate wage equations for persons with disabilities hampering them in daily activities, for those not ham...

Résumé Les auteurs évaluent la discrimination salariale à l'encontre des personnes handicapées après avoir contrôlé les effets des écarts de productivité liés au handicap. Partant de données relatives à 11 pays européens, ils estiment les équations salariales des personnes suivantes: celles qui sont handicapées jusque dans leurs activités quotidien...

Resumen Los autores miden la discriminación salarial contra las personas discapacitadas tras controlar diferencias de productividad no observadas previamente relacionadas con la discapacidad. Con datos de once países europeos del Panel de Hogares de la Unión Europea (1995–2001), estiman ecuaciones de salarios para discapacitados con limitaciones en...

In this article, we estimate the determining factors of wage differences according to disability, focusing on wage differences of those workers with disabilities in Sheltered Employment Centres (SEC). We found that disabled workers in SEC earned 93% of that earned in ordinary companies, and 58% of this total wage difference was not related to diffe...

The chapter documents recent reforms in employment regulations, employment protection and collective bargaining and assesses the employment effects - both in terms of job quantity and quality - of these measures.

En este artículo, se analizan los determinantes del número de procesos de despido individual improcedente. Los análisis econométricos realizados usando dos paneles equilibrados de datos de 11 estados de Alemania del Oeste (1964-2006) y 17 comunidades autónomas de España (1987-2006) muestran que algunas características del mercado de trabajo tales c...

This paper examines the influence of working through temporary help agencies (THA) on individuals' employment opportunities for the Spanish labour market in the decade of the nineties. We analyze whether THA intermediation in the labour contract enhances workers' attachment to the labour market: in particular, we study whether having been enrolled...

En este artículo analizamos la compatibilización de las pensiones contributivas por incapacidad permanente con el trabajo remunerado. Mediante la Muestra Continua de Vidas Laborales se ha obtenido que un 9,9% de los trabajadores se encuentra en 2006 en esta situación, alcanzado un 15,6% en el caso de la incapacidad permanente total. El principal de...

En este artículo analizamos la compatibilización de las pensiones contributivas por incapacidad permanente con el trabajo remunerado. Mediante la Muestra Continua de Vidas Laborales se ha obtenido que un 9,9% de los trabajadores se encuentra en 2006 en esta situación, alcanzado un 15,6% en el caso de la incapacidad permanente total. El principal de...

En este artículo, se estudian los dos puntos clave de la reforma laboral de 2010: los despidos y la negociación colectiva. Los despidos se han visto afectados por una nueva redacción de la causa económica para despedir. La negociación colectiva ha incorporado un cambio que más que tener que ver con su regulación tiene relación con la posibilidad de...

Resumen: Gran parte de la literatura sobre pensiones concluye que el actual sistema español incentiva la salida temprana del mercado de trabajo, principalmente en el caso de trabajadores con una trayectoria laboral corta e incompleta; la existencia de pensiones mínimas hace que el cese de actividad sea más atractivo para estos individuos que el hec...

This paper examines the determinants of the choice of field of study by university students using data from the Canadian National Graduate Survey. The sample of 18,708 graduates holding a Bachelor degree is interesting in itself, knowing that these students completed their study and thus represent a pool of high-quality individuals. What impact do...

Using a Spanish panel of large establishments, we test the reliability of the exit-voice theory to understand absenteeism (making the distinction between voluntary and involuntary absences). In the Spanish institutional framework, union direct voice (as opposed to union representative voice) is proxied by the existence of a collective agreement at...

En este artículo analizamos la evolución reciente del empleo y del paro en España, como paso previo para discutir los efectos que cabe esperar de una eventual reforma del mercado de trabajo español. Se presta especial atención a la temporalidad, la comparación entre la contratación indefinida y temporal y la situación del despido y sus costes en Es...

Esta publicación recoge los trabajos de 19 expertos coordinados por José María Zufiaur que analizan los factores de desigualdad y discriminación en el mercado de trabajo en España. El estudio pretende abordar la cuestión de la igualdad en una doble vertiente: desde el lado del trabajo y desde el ángulo del empleo. Se trata de un análisis desde tres...

In this article, we analyze the determinants of individual absenteeism focusing on the strictness of employment protection and the generosity of sickness benefits. The data come from the European Survey on Working Conditions launched in 2000. Due to its coverage (the EU-14), the data enable us to identify the relative importance of the institutiona...

In this article we analyse how labour market imperfections affect training hours using a firms panel from Spain. In fact, we use the scope of collective bargaining as a proxy for the relative strength of organized labour because of the Spanish institutional framework. We find a clear and relevant positive effect of collective agreements at the firm...

This paper uses a natural experiment approach to identify the effects of an exogenouschange in future pension benefits on workers’ training participation. We use uniquematched survey and administrative data for male employees in the Dutch public sectorwho were born in 1949 or 1950. Only the latter were subject to a major pension reformthat diminish...

In this article, we analyse whether involuntary job separations produce long-term effects upon individuals' careers, and the magnitude of such effects. For this purpose, the impact of involuntary job separations on three measures of occupational prestige is examined, using the British Household Panel Survey. Involuntary job separations are found to...

This paper evaluates the impact of agency work on temporary workers’ posterior likelihood of being hired on a permanent basis. We use administrative data on two groups of temporary workers for whom we have complete work histories since they are first observed in 1998 until the year 2004. One group consists of workers employed through a temporary he...

Using data from the European Community Household Panel for Spain covering the period 1995-2001, this paper investigates the influence of disability on absenteeism reported by workers. Results show that workers with disabilities are absent more days than workers without disabilities. This finding holds even when individualÂ’s selfreported health, vi...

This paper analyzes whether having been enrolled by a Temporary Help Agency compared to being in a non-employment situation is related to enjoying a subse- quent job under a permanent contract. Micro-level data from the Spanish Social Security records are exploited through the use of Optimal Matching Analysis. The empirical analysis focuses on the...

Using Spanish establishment level data on temporary and permanent job and worker flows, we examine firms’ relative usage of fixed-term contracts in response to changes in their prior net employment expectations for the short-run and the long-run –viewed as proxies of how a wide variety of future shocks are ultimately perceived by establishments. Th...

In this paper, we analyse empirically how the legal framework affects the relationship between labour market conditions and dismissals. We use a pseudo-panel of Spanish data from 1987 to 2001. We find that Labour Law reforms have effects on the use of individual and collective dismissals although such effects are much lower than those related to th...

In this article, we explain that, in Spain, a relatively minor reform in unemployment benefits regulation has introduced a system to dismiss at will. Therefore, the fairness of the dismissal is not important in practice, although the whole legal system requiring a fair cause for dismissals remains. We present different empirical evidence supporting...

In this article, we analyze the empirical evidence related to the double discrimination of women with disabilities in Spain. Our database is the European Community Household Panel for the period 1995-2001. The wage equations show evidence supporting only some aspects of the double discrimination hypothesis. We find that there is not wage discrimina...

En este artículo se realiza una refl exión sobre cuáles deben ser las características que debería cumplir una defi nición de discapacidad útil para realizar análisis económicos, en especial aquellos que tratan de conocer la posición de las personas con discapacidad en el mercado de trabajo. Entre todas las posibles, se destacan dos como cruciales:...

En este artículo se realiza una reflexión sobre cuáles deben ser las características que debería cumplir una definición de discapacidad útil para realizar análisis económicos, en especial aquellos que tratan de conocer la posición de las personas con discapacidad en el mercado de trabajo. Entre todas las posibles, se destacan dos como cruciales: qu...

In this article, the author analyses whether in direct voting systems of workers’ representation the voting probability is affected by the contract type, using the Spanish union elections as a ‘natural’ experiment. Although temporary workers are formally covered by this electoral system, the author finds that it strongly discourages the participati...

This paper evaluates the impact of agency work on temporary workers' posterior likelihood of being hired on a permanent basis. We use administrative data on two groups of temporary workers for whom we have complete work histories since they are first observed in 1998 until the year 2004. One group consists of workers employed through a temporary he...

We evaluate the influence that employment promotion measures and labour market intermediation services addressed to disabled individuals have on the latter’s quality of the job match through the use of matching analysis techniques. Our focus is placed on two aspects of quality: the type of contract held (either permanent or temporary) and whether o...

As a consequence of the rapid growth of temporary agency employment in Germany, the debate on the remuneration of temporary agency workers has intensified recently. The study finds that the earnings gap of temporary help workers in Germany is indeed large and increased during the past decade. Decomposition reveals that the widening gap mainly is dr...

In this article, we evaluate the influence that employment promotion measures designed for disabled people have on the latter’s job matching quality through the use of matching analysis. We focus on two aspects of quality: the type of contract held (either permanent or temporary) and whether or not the individual is searching for another job. We fi...

En este artículo se analiza la calidad del emparejamiento con el puesto de las personas con discapacidad. No se encuentra evidencia de una mayor importancia de la sobre-educación en este grupo en comparación con el resto de la población. Sí se encuentra que las personas con discapacidad tienen una menor probabilidad de abandonar la sobre-educación...

RESUMEN En este artículo se realiza un análisis de la evolución institucional del despido en España. Se explica cómo determinados accidentes históricos que han generado dependencia del pasado dieron lugar a un sistema de despido libre costoso y los incentivos de empresas, trabajadores y gobiernos para sostener dicho sistema. Se analizan las inefici...

The main objective of this work is to analyse the effects of having a disability on the probability of being active in the Andalusian Community. Taken the data from the ¿Encuesta sobre Discapacidades, Deficiencias y Estado de Salud¿ of 1999, we estimate different specifications of a logit model of labour participation, which includes variables rela...

El principal objetivo de este trabajo es analizar los efectos de padecer una discapacidad sobre la probabilidad de ser activo en la comunidad andaluza. A partir de los microdatos de la ¿Encuesta sobre Discapacidades, Deficiencias y Estado de Salud¿ de 1999 se estiman diferentes especificaciones de un modelo logit de participación laboral donde se i...

Pigovian taxation of externalities has limited appeal if the tortfeaser has insufficient resources to pay the damage when it occurs. To defend Pigovian taxation in the presence of judgement-proof agents, its proponents point at the many institutions extending liability to third parties. Yet little is known about the validity of Pigou's analysis in...

In this article, we analyse whether family-related quits present long-term effects upon women’s careers, and the magnitude of such effects. For this purpose, the impact of family-related breaks in the first ten years of their labour careers on three measures of occupational prestige is examined, using the British Household Panel Survey. Women who a...

In this article, we analyze the job-matching quality of people with disabilities. We do not find evidence of a higher importance of over- education in this group in comparison to the rest of the population. The main results are the following: people with disabilities have a lower probability of being over-educated for 3 or more years, a higher prob...

There is growing interest in understanding firms’ temporary and permanent employment practices and how institutional changes shape them. Using data on Spanish establishments, we examine: (a) how employers adjust temporary and permanent job and worker flows to prior employment expectations, and (b) how the 1994 and 1997 labour reforms promoting perm...

In this article, we analyze the job-matching quality of people with disabilities. We do not find evidence of a higher importance of over-education in this group in comparison to the rest of the population. The main results are the following: people with disabilities have a lower probability of being over-educated for 3 or more years, a higher proba...

This paper deals with the existence of educational mismatch and its relationship with internal labour markets in Spain. The empirical work focuses on two related topics: the number of promotions and the subjective probability of being promoted are analysed in order to know whether the mismatch affects intrafirm mobility. A new development here is t...

The main objective of this research is the analysis of the mobility among employment statuses or labour market states along the life cycle, using the work-life history data from the British Household Panel Survey. I adopt an exploratory approach analysing employment statuses as a whole embedded in the life cycle of individuals. The analysis focuses...