Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Developing a Cross-National Comparative Framework for Studying Labour Market Segmentation: Measurement Equivalence with Latent Class Analysis

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This article proposes a novel measurement model of labour market segmentation in Europe for cross-national comparisons, tackling three drawbacks of current approaches: First, as segmentation is a multi-dimensional concept, it necessitates a complex measurement approach combining several indicators. Second, to date, we lack methodological evidence that earlier used measures are comparable across countries. Third, as any measure of social phenomena contains measurement error, segmentation research may be confounded by misclassification error. To overcome these drawbacks, we argue for modelling segmentation as a latent categorical concept by means of characteristics of the employment relationship. Our analysis shows that accounting for measurement non-equivalence in cross-national labour market segmentation research is crucial to arrive at reliable and unbiased comparative conclusions. The results demonstrate the importance of increased complexity in measuring labour market segmentation. Overall, this article serves as a methodological cross-national comparative framework for future quantitative analysis of labour market segmentation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. We use Goodman–Kruskal tau-b coefficients as R2 statistic (see Southwood 1974). It indicates how well an indicator is explained by the latent variable, which is similar to conventional interpretations of the variance explained in analysis of variance and to item communalities in factor analysis (Vermunt and Magidson 2005).

References

  • Bakk, Z., Tekle, F. B., & Vermunt, J. K. (2013). Estimating the association between latent class membership and external variables using bias-adjusted three-step approach. Sociological Methodology, 43(1), 272–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berzofsky, M., Biemer, P. P., & Kalsbeek, W. (2008). A brief history of classification error models. American Statistical Association, Joint Statistical Meetings, Denver, CO, August 3–7, 2008. Available at https://ww2.amstat.org/sections/srms/Proceedings/y2008/Files/302416.pdf.

  • Biegert, T. (2014). On the outside looking in? Transitions out of non-employment in the United Kingdom and Germany. Journal of European Social Policy, 24(1), 3–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biemer, P. (2004). Simple response variance: Then and now. Journal of Official Statistics, 20, 417–439.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biemer, P., & Wiesen, C. (2002). Latent class analysis of embedded repeated measurements: An application to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, 165(1), 97–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biemer, P. P. (2011). Latent class analysis of survey error. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Billiet, J. (2003). Cross-cultural equivalence with structural equation modeling. In J. A. Harkness, F. J. R. van de Vijver, & P. P. Mohler (Eds.), Cross-cultural survey methods (pp. 247–264). Hoboken, NY: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blossfeld, H.-P., Buchholz, S., Bukodi, E., & Kurz, K. (Eds.). (2008). Young workers, globalization and the labour market: Comparing early working life in eleven countries. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bolck, A., Croon, M., & Hagenaars, J. (2004). Estimating Latent structure models with categorical variables: One-step versus three-step estimators. Political Analysis, 12(1), 3–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bozdogan, H. (1987). Model selection and Akaike’s information criterion (AIC): The general theory and its analytical extensions. Psychometrika, 52, 345–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byrne, B. M., Shavelson, R. J., & Muthèn, B. (1989). Testing for the equivalence of factor covariance and mean structures: The issue of partial measurement invariance. Psychological Bulletin, 105, 456–466.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chung, H., & Mau, S. (2014). Subjective insecurity and the role of institutions. Journal of European Social Policy, 24(4), 303–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chung, H., & van Oorschot, W. (2011). Institutions versus market forces: Explaining the employment insecurity of European individuals during (the beginning of) the financial crisis. Journal of European Social Policy, 21(4), 287–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clasen, J., & Clegg, D. (2011). Regulating the risk of unemployment: National adaptations to post-industrial labour markets in Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Clogg, C. C., & Goodman, L. A. (1984). Latent structure analysis of a set of multidimensional contingency tables. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 79, 762–771.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clogg, C. C., & Goodman, L. A. (1985). Simultaneous latent structure analysis in several groups. In N. B. Tuma (Ed.), Sociological methodology (pp. 81–110). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Croon, M. (2002). Using predicted latent scores in general latent structure models. In G. A. Marcoulides & I. Moustaki (Eds.), Latent variable and latent structure models (pp. 195–223). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davidov, E., Meuleman, B., Cieciuch, J., Schmidt, P., & Billiet, J. (2014). Measurement equivalence in cross-national research. Annual Review of Sociology, 40, 55–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davidsson, J., & Naczyk, M. (2009). The ins and outs of dualisation: A literature review. REC-WP Working Paper No. 02/2009. Retrieved 15 August 2018, from https://ssrn.com/abstract=1489906.

  • Davoine, L., Erhel, C., & Guergoat-Larivière, M. (2008). A taxonomy of European Labour markets using quality indicators. Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, HAL. Retrieved 13 August 2018, from http://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/cesptp/halshs-00317280.html.

  • Doerflinger, N., Pulignano, V., & Lukac, M. (2017). Varieties of labour market insecurity: Social configurations of divides in Europe during the crisis. Annual Conference of the International Working Party on Labour Market Segmentation, 13–15 September 2017, Manchaster.

  • Doeringer, P. B., & Piore, M. J. (1971). Internal labor markets and manpower analysis. New York and London: M. E. Sharpe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drobnič, S., Beham, B., & Präg, P. (2010). Good job, good life? Working conditions and quality of life in Europe. Social Indicators Research, 99(2), 205–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eichhorst, W., & Marx, P. (Eds.). (2015). Non-standard employment in post-industrial labour markets: An occupational perspective. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eichhorst, W., Marx, P., & Wehner, C. (2016). Labor market reforms in Europe: Toward more flexicure labor markets? IZA Discussion Paper No. 9863. Institute for the Study of Labor, Bonn, Germany.

  • Eid, M., Langeheine, R., & Diener, E. (2003). Comparing typological structures across cultures by multigroup latent class analysis: A primer. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 34(2), 195–210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emmenegger, P., Häusermann, S., Palier, B., & Seeleib-Keiser, M. (Eds.). (2012). The age of dualization: The changing face of inequality in deindustrializing societies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esping-Andersen, G. (1990). The three worlds of welfare capitalism. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldthorpe, J. H. (1984). The end of convergence: Corporatist and dualist tendencies in modern western societies. In J. H. Goldthorpe (Ed.), Order and conflict in contemporary capitalism (pp. 315–344). Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, L. A. (1974). The analysis of systems of qualitative variables when some of the variables are unobservable. Part I: A modified latent structure approach. American Journal of Sociology, 79, 1179–1259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goodman, L. A. (2002). Estimating latent structure models with categorical variables: One-step versus three-step estimators. In J. A. Hagenaars & A. L. McCutcheon (Eds.), Applied latent class analysis (pp. 3–55). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Green, F. (2009). Subjective employment insecurity around the world. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 2(3), 343–363.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hagenaars, J. A., & McCutcheon, A. L. (Eds.). (2002). Applied latent class analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, P. A., & Soskice, D. (2001). Varieties of capitalism: The institutional foundations of comparative advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hassel, A. (2004). The governance of the employment–welfare relationship in Britain and Germany. In B. Ebbinghaus & P. Manow (Eds.), Comparing welfare capitalism: Social policy and political economy in Europe, Japan and the USA (pp. 146–168). London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Häusermann, S., & Schwander, H. (2012). Varieties of dualization? Labor market segmentation and insider-outsider divides across regimes. In P. Emmenegger, S. Häusermann, B. Palier, & M. Seeleib-Kaiser (Eds.), The age of dualization (pp. 27–51). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Huws, U. (2014). Labor in the global digital economy: The Cybertariat Comes of Age. New York: Monthly Review Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackman, S. (2008). Measurement. In J. M. Box-Steffensmeier, H. E. Brady, & D. Collier (Eds.), Oxford handbook of political methodology (pp. 119–151). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalleberg, A. (2003). Flexible firms and labor market segmentation: Effects of workplace restructuring on jobs and workers. Work & Occupations, 30(2), 154–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kankaraš, M., & Moors, G. (2009). Measurement equivalence in solidarity attitudes in Europe: Insights from a multiple-group latent-class factor approach. International Sociology, 24(4), 557–579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kankaraš, M., Moors, G., & Vermunt, J. (2010). Testing for measurement invariance with latent class analysis. In E. Davidov, P. Schmidt, & J. Billiet (Eds.), Cross-cultural analysis: Methods and applications (pp. 359–384). New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kreuter, F., Yan, T., & Tourangeau, R. (2008). Good item or bad—Can latent class analysis tell? The utility of latent class analysis for the evaluation of survey questions. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A, 171(3), 723–738.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuha, J., & Moustaki, I. (2015). Nonequivalence of measurement in latent variable modeling of multigroup data: A sensitivity analysis. Psychological Methods, 20(4), 523–536.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lautsch, B. A. (2016). Uncovering and explaining variance in the features and outcomes of contingent work. ILR Review, 56(1), 23–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lessler, J. T., & Kalsbeek, W. D. (1992). Nonsampling error in surveys. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Locke, R. M., & Thelen, K. (1995). Apples and oranges revisited: Contextualized comparisons and the study of comparative labor politics. Politics & Society, 23(3), 337–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCutcheon, A. L. (1987). Latent class analysis. London: Sage Publications.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • McCutcheon, A. L. (2002). Basic concepts and procedures in single- and multiple-group latent class analysis. In J. A. Hagenaars & A. L. McCutcheon (Eds.), Applied latent class analysis (pp. 3–55). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCutcheon, A. L., & Hagenaars, J. A. (1997). Simultaneous latent class models for comparative social research. In R. Langeheine & J. Rost (Eds.), Applications of latent trait and latent class models (pp. 266–277). New York: Waxman.

    Google Scholar 

  • McLachlan, G., & Peel, D. (2000). Finite mixture models. Hoboken, NY: Wiley.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Meuleman, B., & Billiet, J. (2012). Measuring Attitudes toward Immigration in Europe: The cross-cultural validity of the ESS immigration scales. Ask: Research and Methods, 21(1), 5–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, M., van de Bunt, G. G., & de Bruijn, J. (2006). Comparative research: Persistent problems and promising solutions. International Sociology, 21(5), 619–631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munoz-Bustillo, R., Fernández-Macías, E., Antón, J. I., & Esteve, F. (2009). Indicators of job quality in the European Union, European Parliament, Brussels. Retrieved 6 August 2018, from http://www.europarl.europa.eu/document/activities/cont/201107/20110718ATT24284/20110718ATT24284EN.pdf.

  • Nylund, K. L., Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2007). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling, 14(4), 535–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oberski, D., van Kollenburg, G., & Vermunt, J. (2013). A Monte Carlo evaluation of three methods to detect local dependence in binary data latent class models. Advances in Data Analysis and Classification, 7(3), 267–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palier, B., & Thelen, K. (2000). Institutionalizing dualism: Complementarities and change in France and Germany. Politics & Society, 38(1), 119–148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piore, M. (1975). Notes for a theory of labor market stratification. In M. Reich, D. Gordon, & R. Edwards (Eds.), Labor market segmentation (pp. 215–250). Lexington: D. C. Heath.

    Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team. (2014). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. Retrieved 29 September 2016, from http://www.R-project.org.

  • Rodgers, G. (1989). Precarious work in Western Europe: The state of the debate. In G. Rodgers, & J. Rodgers (Eds.), Precarious jobs in labour market regulation: The growth of atypical employment in Western Europe, International Labour Organization, International Institute for Labour Studies.

  • RStudio Team. (2015). RStudio: Integrated development for R. Boston, MA: RStudio, Inc. Retrieved 29 September 2016, from http://www.rstudio.com.

  • Schuman, H., & Presser, S. (1981). Questions & answers in attitude surveys. New York, NY: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sclove, L. (1987). Application of model-selection criteria to some problems in multivariate analysis. Psychometrika, 52, 333–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singh, J. (1995). Measurement issues in cross-national research. Journal of International Business Studies, 26(3), 597–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Southwood, K. E. (1974). Goodman and Kruskal’s Tau-b as Correlation Ratio: Some implications. Sociological Methods & Research, 3(1), 82–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steenkamp, J., & Baumgartner, H. (1998). Assessing measurement invariance in cross-national consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 25, 78–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tourangeau, R., Rips, L. J., & Rasinski, K. (2000). The psychology of survey response. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Van Aerden, K., Moors, G., Levecque, K., & Vanroelen, C. (2014). Measuring employment arrangements in the European labour force: A typological approach. Social Indicators Research, 116(3), 771–791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandenbrande, T., Vandekerckhove, S., Vendramin, P., Valenduc, G., Huys, R., Hansez, I., et al. (2012). Quality of work and employment in Belgium. Dublin: EUROFOUND.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vermunt, J. K. (2010). Latent class modeling with covariates: Two improved three-step approaches. Political Analysis, 18, 450–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vermunt, J., & Magidson, J. (2005). Latent GOLD 4.0 User’s Guide. Belmont, MA: Statistical Innovations Inc.

  • Vosko, L. F. (2006). Precarious employment: Understanding labour market insecurity in Canada. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weil, D. (2014). The fissured workplace. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wickham, H., & Francois, R. (2016). dplyr: A grammar of data manipulation. R package version 0.5.0. Retrieved 29 September 2016, from https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=dplyr.

  • Yoon, Y., & Chung, H. (2015). New forms of dualization? Labour market segmentation patterns in the UK from the late 90 s until the post-crisis in the late 2000s. Social Indicators Research, 128(2), 609–631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to the editor and the reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions. We also thank Jeroen Vermunt and Steven P. Vallas for their feedback during the initial phases of this research as well as the participants of the Industrial Relations in Europe Conference 2018 (10–12 September 2018 in Leuven, Belgium) for the stimulating discussion.

Funding

This research is part of the research project “How are social divides produced in contemporary labour markets?”, which is financed by the Federale Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO) with a project number G071716N and KU Leuven C1 Grant number C14/16/015.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Sociological Research, KU Leuven, Parkstraat 45, 3000, Leuven, Belgium

    Martin Lukac, Nadja Doerflinger & Valeria Pulignano

Authors
  1. Martin Lukac
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Nadja Doerflinger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Valeria Pulignano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Lukac.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lukac, M., Doerflinger, N. & Pulignano, V. Developing a Cross-National Comparative Framework for Studying Labour Market Segmentation: Measurement Equivalence with Latent Class Analysis. Soc Indic Res 145, 233–255 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-019-02101-3

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-019-02101-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation