Stanovnistvo

Work after retiring in Serbia from an anthropological perspective

Ljubica Milosavljevic — 2023-12-29

The task of the qualitative research done in work at one’s old age, i.e. the work activities performed by the so-called old-age pensioners in the Republic of Serbia, was to provide the key information about the structural preconditions for its performance, as well as about the respondents’ main motives to replace the presupposed inactive sphere with an active one. The given analysis was carried out through the prism of the process of the population ageing that is rated as crisis demographic movement lasting for a longer period of time based on the results obtained through the field research conducted in the period from 2020 to 2022 on the basis of a semi-structured interview made with 13 collocutors coming from four cities.
The following can be singled out as the most significant results of the research: first of all, the collocutors’ two dominant work strategies. The first implies the continuation of their earlier educational and professional specializations most often in the case of the better-educated respondents who retired from higher job positions. Contrary to that, the second requires a complete change in the activity within which they earn money; they are mainly the collocutors with a lower degree of education, who simultaneously also belong to the category of the younger old. The research study has confirmed that older participants on the labor market may also work in legal settings which are easier to monitor, and in the informal economic frameworks which are only possible to assess.
The silver entrepreneurship also appears to be a specific type of entrepreneurship. It is assessed as possessing a potential – which has also been confirmed by the results of the concrete research – but it must necessarily be also supported systemically with the aim of achieving a greater number of the benefits that, generally speaking, arise from work in older age, which on their part include: the improvement of the socioeconomic position, keeping one’s vigor, retaining and expanding social relationships, self-esteem, as well as the need to contribute to the welfare of (younger) household and/or family members. In this manner, some of the most important principles connected with the active ageing concept that, amongst other things, also advocates prolonged staying in the active sphere of work, which on its part needs to be perceived through the presence of the voluntariness of those performing it, whereas on the other hand any compelling of anyone to work should be resolved through adequate social protection measures, have been confirmed.
Not only are the obtained results indicative of the complexity of the topic and the significance of studying and bringing into connection the two phenomena: work and ageing that only seemingly exclude each other, but they may also serve as a source for future research studies that require an explicit interdisciplinary approach. As is shown, this is all the more so since the work performed by society’s elderly population does not only exert an influence on their everyday life, but it also has an influence on the lives of the members of their families and the society as a whole where they are becoming older and work.

Institutions and good governance as a factor of migration in Europe

Dejan Molnar — 2024-03-05

The research objective is to determine the relative importance of two groups of factors that influence the net migration rate: economic, such as the gross average monthly wages, and non-economic, which include the efficiency of institutional arrangements based primarily on corruption control and the rule of law indicators. According to the neoclassical theory of migration, economic factors have a dominant influence on the migration decision-making process. On the other hand, the institutional theory of migration advocates the position that institutional and managerial factors prevail over economic ones. The assumption on which the research is based is that migration is caused to a greater extent by the quality of institutions and good governance indicators, than by the opportunities to achieve a better material position represented by a higher average salary. On a sample of 48 European countries, for the period 1996 - 2021, it was investigated which group of factors dominantly determines the net migration rate. The sample of 48 countries is divided into two sub-samples so that one of them contains countries with a higher level of income and the strong anti-corruption and rule of law standards (28 European Union countries) and the remaining 20 non-European Union members with lower gross average monthly wages, weak institutions, as well as less favorable indicators of the rule of law and control of corruption. Using the techniques of econometric analysis of panel data, predictors of the net migration rate in European countries were identified. The analysis confirmed that the quality of the institutional framework is extremely important and that the rule of law and corruption control had a stronger impact on the net migration in European countries than the gross wages. This is supported by the evaluated parameters to the corresponding explanatory variables in the models. The research also confirmed that institutional factors had a stronger impact on the net migration rate in less developed European countries that are not members of the European Union than in the 28 European Union countries. Corruption is an important problem in many countries and citizens are very sensitive to this aspect of institutional quality. The findings of this research show that less developed European countries must pay special attention to building institutions, the rule of law and control of corruption if they want to stop negative trends in net migration, and that these factors prevail over the economic factors that were dominant in the 20th century.

Trends in the youth transitions to the labour market in Serbia

Jovana Zafirović — 2024-03-08

In recent decades, the transformation from industrial to post-industrial societies has inevitably influenced the patterns of transition for young individuals entering the labor market. These transition patterns reflect continuity and changes in the social division of labor, thus representing a crucial process in shaping the social stratification of modern societies. The focus of this study is the analysis of changes in the average age of entry into the labor market in Serbia from the second half of the twentieth century to the present. The aim is to shed light on three questions: 1) how the average age of entry into the workforce has changed during this period, 2) what differences in the transition patterns have been observed between men and women, and 3) what differences in transition patterns have been observed between urban and rural populations. The emphasis is on recognizing basic trends in the transition to the labor market for the cohorts born from 1930 to 1995.

Considering the rapid changes that Serbian society has undergone during this period, we will attempt to determine their impact on the basic patterns of integration into the labor market. Ideally, we would like to be able to map all the aspects of the professional transition of specific cohorts through the changing institutional structure. However, since this is not feasible, this paper specifically focuses on the following aspects of the transition process: (a) timing of events, i.e., the average age of entry into the labor market, and (b) variability in age, i.e., the level at which transitions occur at specific ages.

The analysis is based on the data from the European Social Survey in 2018, with its sample of 1265 respondents in Serbia. Survival analysis is applied to illustrate changes over time in the studied life event, along with Kaplan-Meier survival function estimates for comparisons across gender/locality. When considering the aspects of timing of events and variability in age, the results indicate a delay in professional transitions during the study period, but not necessarily their destandardization. Additionally, life trajectories of men and women had become increasingly similar by the collapse of socialism and the rise of social inequalities, when this trend was halted. On the other hand, transition patterns between individuals from rural and urban areas are becoming more similar. Taking into account the intense societal changes during the analyzed period, the transformations observed in professional transitions may be a consequence of these specific social changes.

The impact of migratory movements on the labour market in the countries of the Western Balkans

Ivan Nikolić — 2024-03-13

Migration is one of the most current topics in the world today. The most common causes include wars, or climate changes, while there are also migrations caused by economic reasons, and their goal is pursuit of better material existence, achieving a higher standard of living, better conditions of employment, education, and therefore better conditions of life. The subjects of this analysis are economic migration and contemporary migration trends, i.e. the immigration and emigration of foreigners to and from the countries of the Western Balkans (WB). Macroeconomic indicators point to the stabilization of labour markets in the second decade of the 21^st century, although economies have been stagnating. The question arises whether this is a consequence of a higher rate of economic growth or is it induced by depopulation and reduction of the working population? The aim of the paper is to point out the necessity of managing migration flows in these countries and the need to guide migrants in the labour market. The paper consists of two parts. The first part provides an overview of previous research on migration, the concept and types of migration. The second part of the paper consists of an empirical analysis of migration in the countries of the Western Balkans and Serbia and their impact on the labour market and economic development.

Informal care givers of elderly in Serbia – towards formalisation of the status?

Marta Sjeničić — 2024-03-25

Informal carer is any person who provides care – usually for no remuneration – to another person with chronic illness, disability or other long-lasting care. Informal carers are completely unrecognized in the legal system of RS. Consequently, there is no official data in Serbia on the number of informal carers. There are numerous aspects of informal care that are challenging. Their work-life balance is affected, which in turn may affect their ability to participate in the labour market and maintain social life. This may further lead to social exclusion and risk of poverty. Finally, health and well-being of informal carers may also be affected. COVID-19 crisis painfully revealed the fundamental flaws in the care system and weakness in lack of the regulated approach in providing informal care. It turned out that older persons were greatly dependant on informal carers, due to the COVID crisis and measures undertaken. By using limited available data on informal care in Serbia and looking into comparative examples on position of informal careers, the article seeks to offer proposals for the new model for improving the position of informal care givers in Serbia, when it comes to elderly population in the forefront. By reviewing the literature, one can come up with various recommendations for future interventions in the field of informal caregivers' work and long-term care, which is increasingly necessary with the aging of the population. The status of informal caregivers should be improved by their formal recognition in the care system for the elderly. When drafting the regulations, it is necessary to rely on the EU Directive on the balance between work and private life, with the aim of improving the balance between work and private life of informal caregivers and better access to the labour market. In addition to passing specific regulations in the field of elderly care and the position of informal caregivers, it is necessary to introduce their regular training. This way, caregivers would acquire adequate knowledge and support, in order to respond to the task of caring for the elderly, while preserving their own well-being. The position of informal caregivers would be significantly improved by the development of sustainable community services for elderly, as well as support services for the caregivers themselves. Furthermore, it is important to focus on informal caregivers who are most burdened, which, according to research, are women and caregivers of people with dementia.

Characteristics of the labor market in Croatia and contemporary external migration

Monika Komušanac — 2024-06-03

The paper analyzes the characteristics of the labor market in Croatia, the changes in the demographic potential of the working-age population, and the structural determinants of the labor system. The movement of the number of able-bodied, active and inactive population from 2013 until today, points to a trend of decreasing the able-bodied contingent, economic activity and unemployment of the population, and an increase in employment. The analysis showed that the structural problems on the labor market in Croatia are an insufficiency of educational staff, structural unemployment, youth unemployment, and the mismatch between the supply and demand of jobs. Such characteristics of the work system influenced the movement of the determinants of external migration in Croatia, especially after 2013. Simultaneously with the strengthening of emigration, the number of immigrated persons also increases, so that from 2013 to 2022, their number amounted to about 195 thousand of mostly foreign citizens. We can establish that we are talking about free economic migrations and an increased inflow of labor, mostly unskilled workers, which makes up for the lack of domicile workforce.
Structural-selective unemployment in Croatia can be analyzed on a general level according to age groups and according to education, and on a specific level, through indicators of the skills mismatch on the labor market. The total unemployment rate in Croatia has experienced a significant decline since 2013, and current unemployment is the lowest in the youngest working age, and the highest in the age over 40. Compared to 2013, the share of unemployed persons with primary and lower secondary education in Croatia is continuously decreasing, the share of unemployed persons with upper secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education levels is slightly falling (with frequent oscillations), while the share of unemployed persons with tertiary education is increasing. Problems on the labor market in Croatia have been noticeable after the global economic crisis of 2008 and its high unemployment, and in the last ten years also in the areas with a low level of economic activity of the population and a lack of domestic labor for the functionality of certain sectors of activity.
On the other hand, the structure of the emigrant contingent, in which the young and able-bodied population predominates, points to the outflow of labor force of medium and high qualification levels. The review of research on recent emigration confirms the complex conditionality of leaving Croatia, and among the main factors a group of economic ones arising from the macroeconomic situation and structural deficiencies in the labor market stands out. In addition to economic factors, other types of factors are strengthening, which is why the continuation of the emigration of the Croatian population and the immigration of the foreign population are likely to be expected. The isolated and presented indicators and trends point to the complexity of the relationship between economic and labor factors, contemporary migration patterns and demographic characteristics of the resident population, in accordance with previous theoretical and empirical knowledge.

Regulation of temporary agency work and the modern labor market: a case study of Slovenia

Katarina Krapež — 2024-06-03

Temporary Agency Work (TAW) is a unique employment model involving a three-way relationship between a posted worker, an employment agency, and a client organization, enabling clients to adjust their labour force in response to fluctuating demands, but also raising concerns about job precariousness. Achieving a balance between flexibility and employment and social security is crucial for integrating TAW effectively into the labour market.
TAW arrangements within the labour markets of the EU are confronted by specific contemporary dynamics, including fluctuations and seasonality of labour demands, labour scarcity in some professions and labour migration. Building on a case study of the TAW legislation development in Slovenia, this study aimed to elucidate the repercussions of these challenges on the regulatory landscape of TAW, potentially illuminating the prospective evolution of labour law standards throughout the EU.
Despite the inherent limitations of case studies, the findings suggest that a detailed legal framework providing strong rights for posted workers and controlled flexibility for clients can be operational in addressing particular labour market challenges. TAW has the potential for further growth, particularly in supporting groups with limited labour market access and in filling professional gaps, by facilitating the integration of foreign workers.

Is there communication? Access to information by persons with disabilities in Serbia

Dejan Masliković — 2024-06-03

Persons with disabilities often face barriers that hinder their ability to access information effectively. This study presents results of a survey which was conducted in the second half of 2022, on the topic of the accessibility of information for persons with disabilities in Serbia, as well as their means of communication. A convenience sample of 111 individuals with physical and/or sensory disabilities, with basic digital literacy, aged 18 to 59, was surveyed through the mediation of associations of persons with disabilities. The findings reveal the usage patterns, preferences, and challenges faced by individuals with disabilities in accessing information. It has been found that the internet (99.10%), social networks (91.89%), and specialized platforms (79.28%) are prominent sources of information. Although specialized applications for communication and telephone communication are widely used, personal contact communication (96.40% very often or often) is still the prevalent method of communication. Public institutions and state authorities are perceived as inadequately adapted to the needs of individuals with disabilities. The findings underscore the need for continued efforts to improve accessibility infrastructure and implement inclusive design principles to bridge the information gap for individuals with disabilities in Serbia.

Acknowledgement

2024-06-03

No.

Integrating advanced technologies for enhanced demographic research and urban planning

Ivan Potić — 2024-06-03