Assaad, R A (1991) Structured labor markets: The case of the construction sector in Egypt. PhD thesis, Cornell University, USA.
Abstract
The main argument in this dissertation is that informal institutions and social ties have as powerful an effect on structuring the labor market as legal and bureaucratic institutions. They determine who gets access to the more desirable occupations, who gets the high paying jobs, and who bears the burden of instability. I support this argument by analyzing the construction labor market in Egypt. Demand instability compels large construction firms to limit their employment to a small core of stable workers and resort to subcontracting for the bulk of their labor needs. The widespread use of subcontracting, coupled with the continued reliance on craft-based technology, places skilled construction craftsmen at the center of the production process. As subcontractors, they make use of their social networks and personal ties to ensure reliable access to a flexible work force. As master craftsmen, they draw on a long history of guild rules and values to limit entry into apprenticeships to those with the requisite family background and social ties. The labor market structure that emerges from this interplay of economic, technological, institutional, and historical factors is one that is subdivided along two principal dimensions: craft workers vs. common laborers and stable vs. unstable employment. Using data from a national survey of construction workers 1 designed expressly for this purpose, I formulate and estimate a model of occupational choice at entry. I use probit analysis to establish that a worker's regional background and his family connections at entry are significant determinants of the probability of becoming a craft worker, even after correcting for differences in potential earnings between workers. The distinction between stable and unstable employment is clear-cut between workers on legal employment contracts and casual workers. However, there are also significant differences in employment stability among casual workers. I analyze these differences by estimating parametric failure-time models for employment and unemployment durations. I find that the primary determinants of employment stability are the worker's skill ranking, the nature of his relationship with his employer, and demand conditions in the local labor market.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Egypt; construction firms; construction labor; employer; employment; estimating; failure; market; markets; occupational choice; occupations; probability; production process; subcontracting; unemployment |
| Index terms: | stability, labour market, duration, dissertation, occupational choice, becoming, employment, determinant, craft worker, construction firm, social ties, history, dimension, social network, construction labour, subcontractor, unemployment, construction sector, construction worker, markets, estimate, national survey, Egypt, apprenticeship, subcontracting, occupation, production process, estimating |
| Subjects: | Geography, economics, philosophical process, project controls, professional education, architectural and construction history, management, risk assessment, psychology, economic analysis, practitioner, sociology, industry analysis, research dissemination and communication, research products and data, structural engineering, organization, financial and cost management, manufacturing engineering, health monitoring assessment and metrics |
| Topics: | Time Control, Cost Management, Education, Geographical Context, Business Strategy, Roles and Professions, Human Resources, Health and Safety, Research Practice, Supply Chain Management, Site Management, Risk Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here