A Multidimensional Approach to Measuring Quality of Employment (QoE) Deprivation in Six Central American Countries

Abstract

This paper proposes a methodology for measuring Quality of Employment (QoE) deprivation from a multidimensional perspective in six Central American countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) using a dataset specifically designed to measure employment conditions. Building on previous work on multidimensional poverty and employment indicators, the paper uses the Alkire/Foster (AF) method to construct a synthetic indicator of the QoE at an individual level. It selects four dimensions that must be considered as essential to QoE deprivation: income, job stability, job security and employment conditions. These dimensions then subdivide into several indicators, a threshold for each indicator and dimension is established before defining an overall cut-off line that allows for the calculation of composite levels of deprivation. The results generated by this indicator show that Central American countries can be divided into three distinct and robust performance groups in terms of their QoE deprivation. Overall, approximately 60% of the deprivation levels are attributable to non-income variables, such as occupational status and job tenure. The methodology used can allow policymakers to identify and focus on the most vulnerable workers in a labour market and highlights the fact that having a formal written contract is no guarantee of good job quality, particularly in the case of women.

Medida de la precariedad laboral en Centroamérica: propiedades psicométricas en base a la II Encuesta Centroamericana de Condiciones de Trabajo y Salud

“…Tampoco se incluyeron ítems relacionados con la dimensión desempoderamiento, referida a la capacidad para negociar o tener alguna influencia sobre las condiciones del empleo. No obstante, las características de Centroamérica hacen que la dimensión de desempoderamiento no sea una medida sensible a la precariedad, ya que posiblemente existe poca o nula influencia previa de los trabajadores en sus condiciones de empleo (33) .…”

“…Los países de Centroamérica son países con ingresos o rentas bajas, con altos índices de desigualdad e informalidad, lo cual de por sí ya constituyen condiciones de precariedad (36) . Lo anterior puede complejizar la medición de precariedad laboral, ya que los trabajadores informales, de por sí vulnerables, pueden tener un umbral de percepción menor de su propia precariedad, lo que podría dificultar la identificación de la precariedad (33) . Por esta razón, es fundamental contar con una escala de precariedad laboral para Centroamérica, que revise en profundidad también el constructo de la precariedad laboral para Centroamérica, de manera que identifique los rasgos subyacentes de la misma, y se ajusten mejor a la realidad de estos países.…”

Multidimensional Deprivation from Labor Market Opportunities in Armenia: Evidence from 2018 and 2020

“…Quality of working life is a multidimensional and can capture the development of a labor market beyond the simple consideration of the quantity of jobs generated. Given the multifaceted aspect of the job quality, a multidimensional measure of quality of employment (QoE) is constructed for cross-country studies (Gonzalez et al 2021 ; Sehnbruch et al 2020 ) and for single countries (Huneeus et al 2015 ; Gómez-Salcedo et al 2017 ).…”

“…The multidimensional measure of the QoE is relatively new in the literature, and there are continuous efforts in identifying its necessary dimensions and minimum standards (Sehnbruch et al 2020 ). Recent studies exploring the multidimensional deprivation from labor market consider dimensions of income, employment stability, security and conditions (Gonzalez et al 2021 ; Sehnbruch et al 2020 ). Our paper therefore contributes to the existing knowledge by incorporating a set of job search related dimensions as well as employee level characteristics (such as education, occupation match) in the multidimensional measure of QoE.…”

“…In this context, the factors that we include in our analysis on job-separated individuals allow us to elaborate on occupational mobility, that is to say the job-to-joblessness transition of individuals separated from jobs. We built on the academic research that measures selected employment conditions that are conducive to QoE (Gonzalez et al 2021 ; Olsen and Kalleberg 2004 ; Sehnbruch et al 2020 ). In particular, we adjust the framework of Gonzalez et al ( 2021 ) and focus on deprivation factors of individuals separated from jobs.…”