Active political engagement, political patronage and local labour markets – The example of Shkoder

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to contribute to the understanding of the effects of active political engagement in port-of-entry jobs and employment pathways for graduate students in a post-communist context which is characterized by clientelism. The data are derived from a structured survey of a small local labour market where political clientelism is pronounced due to the strong network ties. Controlling for both demand and supply factors, the authors identify a profile for those who are more prone to engage politically in exchange for public sector jobs, which are in turn vulnerable to regime changes.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use data from a sample of 191 students that records month-to-month employment states for three consecutive years (2012–2014). The method attempts to replicate an experimental design with repeated measures before and after the June 2013 government elections. The data is analysed using sequence analysis with optimal matching and difference-in-difference methods.FindingsThe analysis provides evidence of links between political engagement and selection onto different employment pathways under conditions of political clientelism. The pathways themselves are also shown to be differentially impacted by the 2013 election (positively or negatively). Together, these results are supportive of claims that jobs in Albania, particularly those in the public sector, are linked to the short-term presence of vote-buying. This is shown to be the case even for this sample of educated members of the labour force (i.e. university graduates). The analysis also finds evidence of accumulative disadvantages over time, in relation to subjective perceptions of life satisfaction, migration intentions, employability and success in life, as a result of active political engagement.Originality/valueThe study uses a unique data set and a novel methodological approach, sequence analysis. Occupational history calendars were used to capture quantitative information recording detailed work histories. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this innovative method has not been used before to measure the temporal effects of political engagement on employment pathways.

Inequality of opportunities and beliefs about economic outcomes in the Western Balkans

“…Then this is in live with previous evidence that people in the WB6 invest more in social capital connections than hard work (Efendic and Ledeneva, 2020). Similarly, this fosters political clientelism and corruption during the political business cycle where electoral campaigns and rewarding of the 'militant politicization' promotes the use of public sector jobs as means to buy votes and political power (Drishti et al, 2022;Imami et al, 2017). In order to achieve the social objective of a just/fair society, new economic reforms should aim not only at high GDP growth but also at eradicating corruption and cronyism, strengthening the rule of law, and strengthening social mobility (Douarin and Mickiewicz, 2022).…”

“…Post-communist contexts typically re ect perceptions of unfair inequality and favourable non-competitive segments of workers in the labour market and are characterized by a general lack of distributive justice (Checchi et al, 2016;Drishti et al, 2022;Efendic and Ledeneva, 2020;Guriev and Zhuravskaya, 2009). In these economies, IOp, along with corruption, has been identi ed as a key driver of societal support for future reformation (Douarin and Mickiewicz, 2022) therefore IOp plays also an instrumental role in terms of support for redistributive policies.…”

External Circumstances and University-to-Work Transitions: A Comparative Analysis across Western Balkan Countries

“…Evidence of such signi cance would indicate the presence of imperfectly competitive labour markets in which personal circumstances and social endowments, i.e. family connections, social networks, and personal ties make a difference in time to obtaining rst jobs (Drishti et al, 2022;Efendic & Ledeneva, 2020). In other words, this would validate the fact that 'in-labour market inequality of opportunities' are at play.…”

“…This transition is in uenced by various factors including socio-economic status (SES), access to networks, and the quality of educational institutions. One signi cant nding is that social networks play a critical role in facilitating the transition from higher education to employment, particularly in the case of the WB6 (Drishti et al, 2022;Efendic & Ledeneva, 2020). Research indicates that graduates who have strong professional networks and social capital are more likely to secure employment quickly and in elds relevant to their studies.…”