Analysis of Factors Influencing the Employment of People with Disabilities in Latvia = Cilvēku ar invaliditāti nodarbinātību ietekmējošo faktoru analīze Latvijā

Abstract

Author of the Doctoral Thesis: Mg.hist., prof. MBA Zaiga Oborenko. Title of the Doctoral Thesis: “Analysis of Factors Influencing the Employment of People with Disabilities in Latvia”. Hypothesis: assessing the factors influencing the employment of people with disabilities allows effectively designing measures aimed at promoting the inclusion of this social group in the labour market of Latvia. The research aim of the doctoral thesis is to examine the main factors influencing the employment of people with disabilities and assess the possibilities of promoting the employment of this social group in Latvia. To achieve the aim, the following specific research tasks were set: 1. To examine the formation of disability awareness, to analyse the conceptual models of disability, to describe the concepts of inclusive innovation and the approach of employment factors of an individual with a disability. 2. To analyse national and international legal and policy documents on the legal protection of persons with disabilities and the promotion of their employment. 3. To assess the socio-economic and labour market factors affecting the employment of people with disabilities, assess the factors of disability management in a company and to calculate the lost GDP due to non-employment of people with disabilities. 4. To analyse the employment factors of people with disabilities in a regional city and a municipality in the contexts of the labour market and local government policies. 5. To develop and assess scenarios for the promotion of employment of people with disabilities in Latvia based on the study of factors influencing the employment. The research outline is structured in five chapters with subchapters. Chapter 1 gives insight into the historical formation of disability awareness and summarizes theoretical findings on conceptual models of disability, analyses the employment specifics of people with disabilities in different welfare regimes, outlines the approach to disability issues in the context of social innovation; and features out the model of factors that affect the employment of an individual with a disability. Chapter 2 analyses the international and national legal, strategic and political documents safeguarding and influencing the employment of people with disabilities. Chapter 3 assesses socio-economic factors that influence the employment of people with disabilities, analyses employment trends in Latvia, and examines and assess factors of disability management in company. According to a formula developed by the author, economic losses estimated due to non-employment of people with disabilities. Chapter 4 assesses the employment factors of people with disabilities in the Kuzreme regional city Ventspils and the Ventspils municipality in the context of the labour market and local government policies. In the fifth chapter, based on the researched employment factors, scenarios for promoting the employment of people with disabilities are developed and evaluated. At the end of the thesis, the key conclusions and the main results of the study are defined, the employment problems of people with disabilities affected by the factors are revealed and proposals for their solution are put forward. The doctoral thesis for acquiring a Doctoral degree in Economics and Business (Ph. D.) is written in 162 pages. The thesis contains 29 tables, 46 figures, 7 annexes, and 479 names list of bibliographic and information sources, 125 of which are in Latvian, 353 in English, and 1 in Russian.