Péter Róbert

35890574500

Publications - 10

Individual and institutional influences on EU labour market returns to education: a comparison of the effect of the 2008 economic crisis on eight EU countries

Ellu Saar Margarita Kazjulja Péter Róbert

Publication Name: European Societies

Publication Date: 2020-03-14

Volume: 22

Issue: 2

Page Range: 157-187

Description:

This paper explores cross-national variations in the impact of education on labour market outcomes using the risk of unemployment and occupational status as the key dependent variables. The study applies a comparative perspective on eight EU countries (three from CEE), representing different relationships between the education system and the labour market with various degrees of inequality, welfare provisions and labour market flexibility. A temporal comparison investigates the influence of the 2008 economic crisis. The study employs data from the European Union Labour Force Survey 2007, 2009 and 2014. Binary and ordinary least squares regressions are the main analytical methods. Models are fitted to the pooled data and interactions are applied to elaborate on country and temporal variations. The analysis reveals the persistence of returns to school investments; the crisis exerts bigger risk and loss for the less educated. However, this impact is markedly shadowed by the institutional variation at the country level. High flexibility and low inequality could provide some defence, while corporatist features and employment protection decreased the crisis effects. Post-communist countries were hit harder but with a characteristic variance: Slovenia was less affected, Estonia recovered the crisis faster and Hungary was affected at most.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1080/14616696.2019.1636110

The role of demographic and socio-economic characteristics in affecting subjective well-being. The case of Hungary

Péter Róbert

Publication Name: Studies of Transition States and Societies

Publication Date: 2019-01-01

Volume: 11

Issue: 2

Page Range: 3-22

Description:

This paper investigates the influence of various demographic and social factors on the perception of well-being in Hungary. For the purpose of the analysis, various measures of subjective well-being have been developed as dependent variables using both narrower and broader sets of items, and a principal factor analysis was applied to construct normalised indices. Demographic predictors include gender, age, family composition, residence; sociological predictors contain education, labour market position, income and wealth as well as questions on health and religiosity. Hungary is an interesting case to study, given its well-known strong deficit in subjective wellbeing. The phenomenon is particularly motivating in light of the official propaganda from the governing political authorities on the country's economic and social progress. A low level of subjective well-being is confirmed again, partly in international comparisons, partly from the perspective of temporal change. Furthermore, a detailed analysis of the data reveals that Hungarians seem to be markedly divided into higher and lower assessments of well-being on the basis of age, residence and social status. Regression models prove that material conditions have the strongest impact on subjective well-being, even if controlled for education and labour market position. The results concerning subjective-wellbeing raise questions for public policy in Hungary.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: DOI not available

Mapping the post-communist class structure findings from a new multidimensional Hungarian class survey

Fruzsina Albert Péter Róbert Zoltán Kmetty Luca Kristóf Andrea Szabó Beáta Dávid

Publication Name: East European Politics and Societies

Publication Date: 2018-08-01

Volume: 32

Issue: 3

Page Range: 544-565

Description:

In this article, we define a schema for the class structure of Hungary, in which we consider a case for an Eastern-European capitalist system emerging from post-communist societies. Our schema is based on the findings of the Hungarian Class Survey, 2014. Using six measures of Bourdieusian economic, cultural, and social capital and applying the methodology of latent class analysis (LCA), we have constructed a model of eight LCA-based classes: upper class, cultural middle class, affluent middle class, young urban consumers, network-embedded rural workers, young drifters, middle-aged deprived, and the precariat. Hungarian society seems to be quite hierarchical but is also fragmented within the upper and lower strata. Status inconsistency in terms of possessing economic, cultural, and social capital is strongly present even for the middle classes. There is a clear divide in our class model between the upper four and the lower four classes, in terms of vertical and nonvertical aspects of social stratification. We also compare our new multidimensional class typology to the traditional occupation-based one and demonstrate its added value for class analysis in Hungary.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1177/0888325417739954

Inequality in educational returns in Hungary

Péter Róbert Tamás Keller

Publication Name: Education Occupation and Social Origin A Comparative Analysis of the Transmission of Socio Economic Inequalities

Publication Date: 2016-04-29

Volume: Unknown

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 49-64

Description:

No description provided

Open Access: Yes

DOI: DOI not available

Job mismatch in early career of graduates under post-communism

Péter Róbert

Publication Name: International Journal of Manpower

Publication Date: 2014-07-01

Volume: 35

Issue: 4

Page Range: 500-513

Description:

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate vertical and horizontal mismatch between education and current occupation for graduates in four post-communist societies: Hungary, Poland, Lithuania and Slovenia. In this way it contributes to the field by exploring how mechanisms, known from previous studies on western societies, affect job mismatch in emerging market economies. Design/methodology/approach – Two dependent variables are constructed: working in a nongraduate occupation as defined by the ISCO job title depicts vertical mismatch; assessment of the job from the perspective of the fields of study describes horizontal mismatch. Since the dependent variables are dichotomous ones, binary logistic regression models are fitted to the data predicting the incidence of mismatch. Explanatory variables cover mechanisms affecting job mismatch: variation by fields of studies, accumulated work experience during studies, labour market uncertainties during early career, trade off between job safety and job mismatch, persistence of “bad” labour market entry during early career, influence of parental background on school-to-work transition. Findings – The analysis reveals significant differences for study fields in association with occupational specificity of the disciplines. Only study-related work experience seems to be advantageous to find a matching job. Labour market uncertainties increase the probability of job mismatch. Job safety is more important than a matching job. Originality/value – Mismatch in first occupation has strong and long-lasting effect on the job match even five years after the graduation. The effect of parental background on job mismatch is curvilinear.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1108/IJM-05-2013-0113

The long and short of asking questions about income: A comparison using data from Hungary

Wim Jansen Péter Róbert Jos Dessens Willem Jan Verhoeven

Publication Name: Quality and Quantity

Publication Date: 2013-06-01

Volume: 47

Issue: 4

Page Range: 1957-1969

Description:

A lot of research on income mobility and income inequality is based on survey questions about income. Various question formats are being used. Researchers seem to assume that the actual format used delivers the best estimate of the "true" income. However, surprisingly little empirical support is available for this claim. We implemented an experimental design using the short and long versions of income questions in a Hungarian survey. Results show an overall positive difference between the long and short version. The differences are related to the income components (wages and salaries, transfers, and assets), and respondent characteristics, controlling for the effect of the order of the two versions of income questions. Based on the results, we provide some recommendations for implementing income questions in surveys. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1007/s11135-011-9636-5

Why are the participation rates in lifelong learning so low in Hungary?

Péter Róbert Saida Ayupova Szilvia Altorjai

Publication Name: Lifelong Learning in Europe National Patterns and Challenges

Publication Date: 2013-01-01

Volume: Unknown

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 280-303

Description:

No description provided

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.4337/9780857937360.00020

Learning and working: The impact of the 'double status position' on the labour market entry process of graduates in CEE countries

Ellu Saar Péter Róbert

Publication Name: European Sociological Review

Publication Date: 2012-12-01

Volume: 28

Issue: 6

Page Range: 742-754

Description:

The school to work transition in Central and Eastern Europe is a highlighted research topic because of the market transformation. The article investigates graduates from tertiary education from the perspective of their human capital investments, labelled as 'double status position' when students study and work at the same time and acquire work experience during their studies. The article distinguishes two forms of this activity: study-related and non-study-related work. Data used in the article come from recently available data sets, which surveyed respondents who had graduated from tertiary education five years prior to the projects. A broad range of Central and Eastern European countries are analysed in this study. The data contain retrospective information on studies, work activities undertaken while studying, as well as on parental education. Two research questions are studied in the article. First, the salience of the double status position is compared. Second, the influence of work activity during study on entry into the labour force is investigated using two dependent variables: the length of time graduates needed to find a job and the quality of the first job in terms of a good match between education and work. Multivariate regression models are applied to study the research questions. Results reveal that the occurrence of double status positions for graduates is in line with institutional transformation, and with the deregulation of the tertiary education system and the labour market. The impact of the acquired work experience also varies by country and depends on institutional and individual features. © 2012 The Author 2012.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: 10.1093/esr/jcr091

The sociodemographic obstacles to participating in lifelong learning across Europe

Péter Róbert

Publication Name: Lifelong Learning in Europe Equity and Efficiency in the Balance

Publication Date: 2012-01-01

Volume: Unknown

Issue: Unknown

Page Range: 87-102

Description:

No description provided

Open Access: Yes

DOI: DOI not available

Structural components of lifestyle and beyond: The case of Hungary

Péter Róbert Tamás Keller

Publication Name: Studies of Transition States and Societies

Publication Date: 2011-06-01

Volume: 3

Issue: 1

Page Range: 55-75

Description:

This paper deals with the question of when and how lifestyle and its components are important in social stratifi cation. There is considerable consensus among scholars about the structure of the society being a consequence of hierarchical dimensions like occupation, income, or wealth. Some thirty years ago, largely based on Bourdieu's "Distinction", a new paradigm emerged highlighting the lifestyle components and the value-oriented cultural and material consumption in stratifi cation. The idea refl ects the empirical fi nding that inequality between social classes has largely decreased, giving priority to horizontal lifestyle diff erentiation instead of vertical inequality dimensions. From a theoretical viewpoint, a challenge in the approach is fi nding out to what extent lifestyle typology is of a non-vertical character in reality. This social determination of lifestyle is investigated for Hungary when comparing an occupation-based typology with a consumption-based one. On the one hand, results reveal that the Effects of structural components on social status are stronger than those of lifestyle. On the other hand, lifestyle turns out to be less independent of social position and the top and bottom levels of the lifestyle typology are particularly predictable by structural measures.

Open Access: Yes

DOI: DOI not available