Author Archives: Simonetta Longhi

Racial Wage Differentials in Developed Countries

In many developed countries, racial and ethnic minorities are paid, on average, less than the native white majority. While racial wage differentials are partly the result of immigration, they also persist for racial minorities of second and further generations. Eliminating racial wage differentials and promoting equal opportunities among citizens with different racial backgrounds is an important social policy goal since inequalities resulting from differences in opportunities lead to a waste of talent and of resources.

Since minority groups segregate in poorly paid occupations and lack career progression, we may have racial wage differentials even in the absence of direct wage discrimination.  Policy should be based on a better understanding of what characteristics and situations prevent racial minorities from moving into better jobs; discrimination and unconscious bias within and outside the workplace may be part of the reason.

Longhi S. (2020) Racial Wage Differentials in Developed Countries, IZA World of Labor, 2020: 365.v2

Here you can listen to the related IZA World of Labor Blog.  Racial wage differentials in developed countries: Simonetta Longhi in discussion with Dan Hamermesh.

Panel Data

Two encyclopedia entries on methods for panel data research.

Longhi S. (2017) Panel Research Methods, in The International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods, ed. by J. Matthes, Wiley.

Longhi S. (forthcoming) Panel Data Analysis, in The Sage Encyclopedia of Research Methods, ed. by P.A. Atkinson, R. Williams and A. Cernat, Sage.

The Ethnicity Pay Gap

Research Report for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC):

Longhi, S. and Brynin, M. (2017) The Ethnicity Pay Gap, Equality and Human Rights Commission, Research Report 108.

Here you can listen to a talk and a related podcast on The Ethnicity Pay Gap organised by the Social Market Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) within the Ask the Expert Series.  You can also read a short blog on the Ethnicity Pay Gap Reporting published on the ESRC website.

A Practical Guide to using Panel Data

A textbook for those who would like to do empirical analysis with cross-section or longitudinal data but don’t know where to start.

This book describes the different types of panel datasets commonly used for empirical analysis, and how to use them for cross section, panel, and event history analysis. The book then discusses the data management and estimation processes, including the interpretation of the results and the preparation of the final output tables.

The Online Appendix includes worked examples, including Stata do and log files.

Longhi S., Nandi A. (2015) A Practical Guide to using Panel Data, Sage, London.

The Effect of Occupation on Poverty among Minority Ethnic Groups

Research Report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF).

Brynin M., Longhi S. (2015) The Effect of Occupation on Poverty among Minority Ethnic Groups, Report for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

Cultural Diversity and Subjective Wellbeing

This paper analyses the impact that diversity has on life satisfaction of people living in England. In England, and in many other countries, local communities are becoming more diverse in terms of country of birth, ethnicity and religion of residents, with unclear consequences on the well-being of people living in these communities. The results suggest that white British people living in diverse areas have on average lower levels of life satisfaction than those living in areas where diversity is low, while there is no correlation on average between diversity and life satisfaction for non-white British people and foreign born.

Longhi S. (2014) Cultural Diversity and Subjective Wellbeing, IZA Journal of Migration, 2014, 3:13.

Employed and Unemployed Job Seekers and the Business Cycle

The job search literature suggests that on‐the‐job search reduces the probability of un employed people finding jobs. However, there is little evidence that employed and unemployed job seekers are similar or apply for the same jobs. We compare employed and unemployed job seekers in their individual characteristics, preferences over working hours, job‐search strategies and employment histories, and identify how differences vary over the business cycle. We find systematic differences which persist over the business cycle. Our results are consistent with a segmented labour market in which employed and unemployed job seekers are unlikely to directly compete with each other for jobs.

Longhi S., Taylor M. (2014) Employed and Unemployed Job Seekers and the Business Cycle, Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 76(4) 463-483.

Long version: ISER Working Paper 2013-02.

The Effects of Agglomeration on Wages: Micro-Level Evidence

This paper estimates individual wage equations to test two rival non‐nested theories of economic agglomeration, namely New Economic Geography (NEG), as represented by the NEG wage equation and urban economic (UE) theory, in which wages relate to employment density. In the U.K. context, we find that for male respondents, there is no significant evidence that wage levels are an outcome of the mechanisms suggested by NEG or UE theory, but this is not the case for female respondents. We speculate on the reasons for the gender difference.

Fingleton B., Longhi S. (2013) The Effects of Agglomeration on Wages: Micro-Level Evidence, Journal of Regional Science, 53(3) 443-463.

Impact of Cultural Diversity on Wages, Evidence from Panel Data

This paper combines individual data from the British Household Panel Survey and yearly population estimates for England to analyse the impact that cultural diversity has on individual wages. Do people living in more diverse areas earn higher wages after controlling for other observable and unobservable characteristics? The results show that cultural diversity is positively associated with wages, but only when cross-section data are used, while panel data estimations show no impact of diversity. Since natives with comparatively higher skills – and wages – tend to self-select into more diverse areas, cross-section analyses may produce upwardly biassed results.

Longhi S. (2013) Impact of Cultural Diversity on Wages, Evidence from Panel Data, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 43(5) 797-807.