Determinants of Unemployment Status. Indicating College Majors that Reduces the Unemployment Status in Lebanon
-
Izdehar HALABI Economic Department, Faculty of Business Administration Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon
-
Jana KOURANI Economic Department, Faculty of Business Administration Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon
Unemployment status is considered one of the divisive economic issues. This paper aims to examine the factors such as age, gender, geographical area, educational level, college major and work experience that affect unemployment status in Lebanon. As well as predicting college majors that reduce unemployment in Lebanon. Using the survey method to collect data.
This study found that individuals with higher educational levels and higher work experience are set to have higher chances to be employed. Another finding is that males have more opportunities to get hired. With respect to the geographical area, citizens that live in the capital Beirut, have more chances to enter the labor market. Individuals between the age of 24 and 37 have higher chances to get recruited. By studying the college majors, this study found that individuals that have business management, computer science, art, health, nursing, nutrition and psychology as a college major could guarantee a job opportunity more than individuals with other majors. The findings would help students in choosing a college major that helps them find a job opportunity after graduating.
Halabi, I., Kourani, J. 2022. Determinants of Unemployment Status. Indicating College Majors that Reduces the Unemployment Status in Lebanon. Journal of Applied Economic Sciences, Volume XVII, Spring, 1(75): 55-66. https://doi.org/10.57017/jaes.v17.1(75).06
[1] Abel, K., Heuvelman, H., Jörgensen, L., Magnusson, C., Wicks, S., Susser, E., Dalman, C. 2014. Severe bereavement stress during the prenatal and childhood periods and risk of psychosis in later life: population based cohort study. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f7679
[2] Akyurt, Y. A. (2020). Labor market and unemployment within the framework of economic theory: counterparts şn game theory (Yayımlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi). Maltepe University, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, İstanbul. https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12415/4709
[3] Al Khateeb, M. 2012. Choose the appropriate college students dilemma. Available at: http://www.alkhaleej.ae/ alkhaleej/page/7ab1df92-fb54-45df-8dd7-2d83ff7d47cc
[4] Albanesi, S and Sahin, A. 2013. The Gender Unemployment Gap: Trend and Cycle. Staff Reports No. 613. New York: Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
[5] Anselmann, V., Mulder, R. 2020. Transformational Leadership, Knowledge Sharing and Reflection, and Work Teams’ Performance: A Structural Equation Modelling Analysis. Journal of Nursing Management, 28(7). https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13118
[6] Applegate, J., Chiem, P., Sanders, C. 2014. Education and unemployment rates before and after the great recession. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/52868
[7] Archer, E., Chetty, Y. 2013. Graduate employability: Conceptualization and findings from the University of South Africa. Progressio, 35(1): 134-165. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/11981
[8] Baah-Boateng, W. 2015. Unemployment in Ghana: A cross sectional analysis from demand and supply perspectives. African Journal of Economic and Management Studies, 6(4): 402 – 415. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/AJEMS-11-2014-0089
[9] Bartolj, T. B. I. S., Polanec, S. 2012. College major choice and ability: Why is general ability not enough? Economics of Education Review, 31(6): 996-1016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.07.010
[10] Bayomi, A. 2011. Students in high schools have trouble choosing college majors. Available at: http://www.emaratalyoum.com/local-section/hotline/2011-11-18-1.438056
[11] Becker, G.S. 1964. Human capital: A theoretical and empirical analysis, with special reference to education. New York: National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/000271626536000153
[12] Beffy, M., Fougere, D., Maurel, A. 2012. Choosing the field of study in postsecondary education: Do expected earnings matter? The Review of Economics and Statistics, 94(1): 334-347. http://www.mitpressjournals.org/ doi/pdf/10.1162/REST_a_00212; https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00212
[13] Booth, A. L. and Leigh, A. 2010. Do employers discriminate by gender? A field experiment in female-dominated occupations’, Economics Letters, 107: 236–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2010.01.034
[14] Brincikova, Z., Darmo, L. 2015. He Impact of Economic Growth on Gender Specific Unemployment in the European Union. Scientific Annalsof the ‟Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi Economic Sciences, 62(3): 383-390. https://doi.org/10.1515/aicue-2015-0026
[15] Bruner, B. .2012. The role on one’s own higher education, Management Education, Rankings. UVA DARDEN. https://blogs.darden.virginia.edu/brunerblog/2012/10/the-role-on-onesown-higher-education/
[16] Brzinsky-Fay, C. 2017. The interplay of educational and labor market institutions and links to relative youth unemployment, Journal of European Social Policy, 27(4): 346-359. https://doi.org/10.1177/0958928717719198
[17] Cutler, D. M., Huang W., and Lleras-Muney, A. 2015. When does education matter? The protective effect of education for cohorts graduating in bad times. Social Science & Medicine, 127: 63-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.07.056
[18] Eriksson, S., Gottfries, N. 2005. Ranking of Job Applicants, on-the-Job Search, and Persistent Unemployment. Labor Economics, 12: 407-428. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927-5371(04)00006-5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2003.11.008
[19] Farber, H. S. 2004. Job loss in the United States, 1981 to 2001. Research in Labor Economics, 23: 69-117. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780804786430-003
[20] Freeman, J.A, Hirsch, B. 2008. College majors and the knowledge content of jobs. Economics of Education Review, 27(5): 517‐535. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272-7757(07)00119-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2007.07.004
[21] Gallagher, S., Sumner, R.C., Muldoon, O.T., Creaven, A.M., Hannigan, A. 2016. Unemployment is associated with lower cortisol awakening and blunted dehydroepiandrosterone responses. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 69: 41–49. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.03.011
[22] Gontkovicova, B., Mihalcova, B., and Pruzinsky, M. 2015. Youth Unemployment Current Trend in the Labour Market? Procedia Economics and Finance, 23: 1680-1685. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2212-5671(15)00554-7
[23] Haar, B. T. 2018. Discrimination of Young Workers: To be Justified or not to be Justified? International Labor Rights Case Law, 4: 230 – 234. https://doi.org/10.1163/24056901-00402016
[24] Harris, K., Krygsman, S., Waschenko, J. and Rudman, D.L. 2018. Ageism and the Older Worker, The Gerontologist, 58(2): e1- e14. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnw194
[25] Hwang, E. and Baek, S. 2008. A Comparative Research on the Results between Self-Reported Evaluation and Experts. Evaluation of Practical Teaching Competence in Secondary School. Journal of Education Evaluation, 21(2): 53-74. https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-5-56
[26] Jun, K. 2017. Factors affecting employment and unemployment for fresh graduates in China. Unemployment: Perspectives and Solutions, 53. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.69809
[27] Kamaruddin, S. N. A. A., Omar, K., Saputra, J., Shakur, E. S. A., Rahim, N. A. A. A., Razali, M. K. A. M. 2020. Determinants of female employees’ job performance in Malaysia. Management Science Letters, 11: 233-238. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2020.8.011
[28] Karanikolos, M., et al. 2013. Financial crisis, austerity, and health in Europe. Lancet, 381: 1323–1331. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(13)60102-6
[29] Kettunen, J., 1997. Education and unemployment duration. Econ. Educ. Rev. 16(2): 163–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7757(96)00057-X
[30] Klein, M. 2015. The increasing unemployment gap between the low and high educated in West Germany. Structural or cyclical crowding-out? Social Science Research, 50: 110–125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2014.11.010
[31] Kromydas, T. 2017. Rethinking higher education and its relationship with social inequalities: Past knowledge, present state and future potential, Palgrave Commun, Volume 3, No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-017-0001-8
[32] La Torre, G., Sestili, C., Mannocci, A., Sinopoli, A., De Paolis, M., De Francesco, S., Rapaccini, L., Barone, M., Iodice, V., Lojodice, B. et al. 2018. Association between Work Related Stress and Health Related Quality of Life: The Impact of Socio-Demographic Variables. A Cross Sectional Study in a Region of Central Italy. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 15, 159. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010159
[33] Lam, D., Leibbrandt, M. and Mlatsheni, C. 2008. Education and Youth unemployment in South Africa, A South African Labour and Development Research Unit, Working Paper Number 22, University of Cape Town.
[34] Lancee, B. 2019. Ethnic Discrimination in Hiring: Comparing Groups Across Contexts. Results from A Cross-National Field Experiment. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2019.1622744
[35] Le, A.T., Miller, P.W. 2000. Australia’s unemployment problem. Econ. Rec., 76(232): 74–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475%2D4932. 2000.tb00006.x
[36] Levels, M., van der Velden, R., and Di Stasio, V. 2014. From school to fitting work: How education-to-job matching of European school leavers is related to educational system characteristics. Acta Sociologica, 57(4): 341–361. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001699314552807
[37] Livanos, Çagri, Y., Nuñez, I. 2009. Gender employment discrimination: Greece and the United Kingdom, International Journal of Manpower, 30(8): 815 – 834. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437720911004443
[38] McKee-Ryan, F., Song, Z., Wanberg, C.R., Kinicki, A.J. 2005. Psychological and physical well-being during unemployment: A meta-analytic study. J. Appl. Psychol., 90: 53–76. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.90.1.53
[39] Meyer, N., Meyer, D.F. 2019. Examining the impact of entrepreneurial activity on employment and economic growth: The case of the Visegrád countries. Polish Journal of Management Studies, 20(1): 277–292. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17512/pjms.2019.20.1.25 . https://pjms.zim.pcz.pl/resources/html/article/details?id=196836
[40] Mincer, J. 1974. Schooling, experience, and earnings. NBER. Neyt, B., Omey, E., Verhaest, D., Baert, S. 2019. Does student work really affect educational outcomes? A review of the literature. Journal of Economic Surveys, 33(3): 896–921. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12301
[41] Mincer, J. 1958. Investment in human capital and personal income distribution. J. Polit. Econ., 66 (4): 281–302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/258055
[42] Montmarquette, C., Cannings, K., and Mahseredjian, S. 2002. How do young people choose college majors? Economics of Education Review, 21(6): 543-556. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ article/pii/S0272-7757(01)00054-1 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7757(01)00054-1
[43] Nauta, M.M. 2007. Assessing college students' satisfaction with their academic majors. Journal of Career Assessment, 15(4): 446–462. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072707305762
[44] Nickell, D., Kliestikova, J., Kovacova, M. 2019. The increasing casualization of the gig economy: Insecure forms of work, precarious employment relationships, and the algorithmic management of labor. Psychosociological Issues in Human Resource Management, 7(1): 60–65. https://doi.org/10.22381/PIHRM7120197
[45] Oswald-egg, M. and Renold, U. 2021. No experience, no employment: The effect of vocational education and training work experience on labor market outcomes after higher education, Vol. 80, 102650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2020.102065
[46] Oude Mulders, J. 2020. Employers’ age-related norms, stereotypes and ageist preferences in employment, International Journal of Manpower, 41(5): 523-534. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-10-2018-0358
[47] Prskawetz, A., Sanderson, W. C., Scherbov, S. 2018. Broadening demographic horizons: demographic studies beyond age and gender. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, 16: 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1553/populationyearbook2018s001 . https://www.jstor.org/stable/26670751
[48] Quintini, G., Martin, S. 2006. Starting well or losing their way? The position of youth in the labor market in OECD countries. OECD Social Employment and Migration Working Paper, Volume 39. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/351848125721
[49] Shimer, R. 2001. The impact of young workers on the aggregate labor market. Quarterly Journal of Economics 116(3): 969–1007. https://doi.org/10.1162/00335530152466287
[50] Raelin, J.A. 1997. A model of work-based learning. Organization Science, 8(6): 563–578. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.8.6.563
[51] Riach, P. and Rich, J. 2006. An Experimental Investigation of Sexual Discrimination in Hiring in the English Labor Market, BE Press Advances in Economic Analysis & Policy, 6(2): Article 1. https://doi.org/10.2202/1538-0637.1416
[52] Riddell, W. C., Song, X. 2011. The impact of education on unemployment incidence and re-deployment success: Evidence from the US labor market. IZA Discussion Paper, No. 5572. Retrieved from ftp.iza.org/dp5572.pdf. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.LABECO.2011.01.003
[53] Robst, J., VanGilder, J. 2016. Salary and job satisfaction among economics and business graduates: The effect of match between degree field and job. International Review of Economics Education, 21: 30-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iree.2015.11.001
[54] Rosen, S. 1972. Learning and experience in the labor market. The Journal of Human Resources, 7(3): 326–342. https://doi.org/10.2307/145087
[55] Simoes, C., Soares, A. 2010. Applying to higher education: Information sources and choice factors. Studies in Higher Education, 35(4): 371-389. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903096490
[56] Skans, O., Edin, P., Holmlund, B. 2009. Wage dispersion between and within plants: Sweden 1985-2000, in Ed. Edward P. Lazear and Kathryn L. Shaw: The Structure of Wages: An International Comparison, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp. 217-260. https://doi.org/10.3386/w13021
[57] Stuth, S., and Jahn, K. 2020. Young, successful, precarious? Precariousness at the entry stage of employment careers in Germany. Journal of Youth Studies, 23(6): 702 – 725. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2019.1636945
[58] Tåhlin, M., Westerman, J. 2020. Youth employment decline and the structural change of skill. European Societies, 22(1): 47 – 76. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2018.1552981
[59] Tomlinson, M. 2008. The degree is not enough’: students’ perceptions of the role of higher education credentials for graduate work and employability. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 29: 49-61. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425690701737457
[60] Wiswall, M., Zafar, B. 2011. Determinants of college major choice: Identification using an information Experiment. Staff Report, No. 500, Federal ReserveBank of New York, New York, NY. SSRN Electronic Journal 82(2). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1879989
[61] Wulandari, D., Utomo, S.H., Narmaditya, B.S., and Kamaludin, M. 2019. Nexus between Inflation and Unemployment: Evidence from Indonesia. Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 6(2): 269 - 275. https://doi.org/10.13106/jafeb.2019.vol6.no2.269
[62] Xiaoya, S.D., Tay, N.S.P. 2016. Some Challenges to Economic Growth and Stability in China. The Chinese Economy, 49(5): 301-306. https://doi.org/10.1080/10971475.2016.1193394
[63] Yamaguchi, S. 2010. The effect of match quality and specific experience on career decisions and wage growth. Labour Economics, 17(2): 407–423. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2009.07.002
[64] Yildiz, D., Temur, G.T., Beskese, A., Bozbura, F.T., and Kahraman, C. 2020. Evaluation of positive employee experience using hesitant fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, 38(1): 1043–1058. https://doi.org/10.3233/JIFS-179467
*** European Commission. 2014. Erasmus. Facts, Figures and Trends. The European Union Support for Student and Staff Exchanges and University Cooperation in 2012–2013. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Experiment (pp. 1-58): Federal Reserve Bank of New York