Like other postmodern structures, post-industrial labour markets display more frequent and rapid changes and higher unpredictability. In these conditions, the world of work is less capable in providing individuals stable signals for the construction of their behaviours. This paper aims to examine both macro and micro factors that shape labour market participation and expectations related to employment outcomes. We explore statistical data from the World Values Survey Wave 7 collected from almost seventy thousands individuals around the world. Focusing on subjective (...) evaluations of expected employment outcomes, our results are relevant for better understanding labour market participation from a postmodern perspective. (shrink)

Education can be seen as an investment that brings higher incomes to individuals. People with higher levels of education collect important earnings premium in the labour market. On the other hand, the expansion of education is a major trend that characterizes evolution of societies, with important positive effects at the level of social and economic development. This paper aims to explore the influence of educational attainment on subjective incomes of individuals, while taking into account other relevant personal factors, as well (...) as the phenomenon of education expansion at national level. We build our analysis on data from the World Values Survey Wave 7 collected from individuals around the world in various national settings. Our results are useful for better understand the influences of increasing participation to education on the earnings structure at both individual and national levels. (shrink)