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Cyrus Samii, New York University
Thomas Zeitzoff, American University

Review paper for Social Issues and Policy Review

Betsy Levy Paluck, Princeton University
Robin Gomila, Princeton University

Digital work performed online by the crowd creates a new, globally dispersed and internet-based form of work. Despite the high social and economic relevance of crowdwork, little empirical evidence exists on its spread and functioning. From the perspective of the workers, the question arises, which factors make crowdwork attractive despite its inherent insecurity. From the perspective of the companies, controlling the quality of work and data security as well as exchange of experience and knowledge are difficult to organize.

Education and skill mismatch can be seen as major problems of modern labor markets. Both phenomena represent a discrepancy between workers’ education and job requirements. While educational mismatch, or qualification mismatch, refers to formal qualifications, skill mismatch concerns the actual skills possessed by the worker (and required by the workplace).

The importance of continuous training within employment careers grew strongly during the recent decades. Rapid technological change often renders initial education and training insufficient as careers progress. Therefore, many argue that “lifelong learning” should become the norm for workers. Yet, the benefits of training participation for workers are still partly unclear.

The aim of this project is to broaden the knowledge about the returns to further training. To achieve this, the analyses take into account the multifaceted nature of further training. This includes the following distinctions:

Labor income is the prime income source in most households in modern capitalist societies. Thus, large parts of the population rely on stable jobs to maintain their standard of living and employment interruptions such as job loss often lead to downward mobility. However, the effects of job loss and unemployment on a person’s standard of living are not determined by losses in labor income alone. Because of the risks entailed by job loss, all modern welfare states implemented some form of unemployment insurance. Furthermore, there are two other ways through which downward income mobility after job loss may be mitigated. First, rapid re-employment in a well-paid job may maintain economic well-being.

Theoretical background and objectives

In this project we examine the obstacles and opportunities immigrants may face when seeking naturalization with an empirical focus on German municipalities.

Naturalization can be a deeply personal moment for many migrants, fostering national identification and attachment. There is also evidence that naturalization improves integration outcomes in the political realm. Though non-citizens have access to many of the same rights as do citizens, citizenship continues to signify full membership in a political community. Yet, even though more and more immigrants in Europe are eligible for citizenship, they might not apply because the bureaucratic hurdles can appear daunting, and state authorities may seem inaccessible.

The Research Group examines the role of international law in a changing global order. Can we, under the current significantly changing conditions, still observe an increasing juridification of international relations based on a universal understanding of values, or are we, to the contrary, rather facing a tendency towards an informalization or a reformalization of international law, or even an erosion of international legal norms? Would it be appropriate to revisit classical elements of international law in order to react to structural changes, which may give rise to a more polycentric or non-polar world order? Or are we simply observing a slump in the development towards an international rule of law based on a universal understanding of values?