The Social and Spatial Divisions of Precarious Labor
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THE SOCIAL AND SPATIAL DIVISIONS OF PRECARIOUS LABOR THE SOCIAL AND SPATIAL DIVISIONS OF PRECARIOUS LABOR By WAAD KHOGALI ALI, HBSC., MA.SC. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University ©Copyright by Waad Khogali Ali, May 2019 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (2019) McMaster University (Geography and Earth Sciences) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: The social and spatial divisions of precarious labor AUTHOR: Waad Khogali Ali Honours Bachelor of Science (University of Toronto) Master of Applied Science (Ryerson University) SUPERVISOR: Dr. K. Bruce Newbold & Dr. Suzanne E. Mills NUMBER OF PAGES: xvii, 280 ii ABSTRACT The dissertation is composed of four manuscripts, positioned within the field of economic geography. Manuscript one broadly examined how precarious forms of employment (PFEs) are spatially patterned within multiple scales and across a range of geographies. The results suggested that different PFEs exhibited distinct spatial patterns across space and scale. For example, temporary and involuntary part-time work was more prevalent in Atlantic Canada and became gradually less prevalent moving westward. In contrast, part- time employment and employment in multiple jobs were more common in western Canada than in central and Atlantic Canada. The results also confirmed that all PFEs (except for involuntary-part-time work) were more common in rural and small-town areas, and less common in large urban areas. Second, using logistic regression models, results showed that the prevalence of PFEs was reinforced by factors such as immigration status, gender, age, education, and income. These models further confirmed that spatial patterns of PFEs were robust in finer scales i.e. CMAs (census metropolitan areas) and urban/rural geographies even when controlling for socio-demographic and socio- economic effects. Manuscripts two and three builds on the findings in manuscript one by examining how PFEs are spatially patterned across social locations of gender and immigration status, respectively. Results showed that the east-west and urban-rural patterns observed in manuscript one were partially distorted when the analyses were disaggregated by gender and immigration status. The robustness of these spatial distortions was confirmed using iii logistic regression models. The fourth manuscript sought to understand the spatial characteristics influencing the spatial variations of temporary employment using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models. Key findings revealed that CMA/CAs (census metropolitan areas/census agglomerations) characterized by large shares of manufacturing, utility, and management occupations were significantly negatively associated with temporary employment. Conversely, CMA/CAs with high shares of sales and service occupations were positively associated with temporary employment. Generally, population characteristics (measured by metropolitan areas characterized by a high share of Asian immigrants, low-income earners, and employment insurance beneficiaries) contributed more to explaining positive temporary employment estimates than industry characteristics. iv RÉSUMÉ Cette dissertation comprend quatre articles portant sur la géographie économique. Le premier article examine succinctement comment les Formes Précaires d’Emploi (FPE) se composent spatialement à travers différentes échelles et une variété de géographies. Les résultats suggèrent que différentes FPE ont des compositions spatiales qui varient dans le temps et l’espace. Par exemple les emplois à temps partiel temporaires et involontaires sont prévalant dans les provinces de l’Atlantique et se réduisent graduellement vers l’Ouest. Inversement, les emplois à temps partiel et travailleurs avec plusieurs emplois sont plus fréquents à l’ouest du Canada. Les résultats confirment également que toutes les FPE (à l’exception des emplois involontaires à temps partiel) sont plus présentes dans les zones rurales et les petites villes et moins fréquentes dans les grandes aires urbaines. A l’aide de modèles de régression logistique, les résultats montrent également que la prévalence de FPE est renforcée par certains facteurs tels que le statu d’immigration, le genre, l’âge, le niveau d’éducation ainsi que le salaire. Ces modèles confirment que les caractéristiques spatiales des FPE sont robustes à échelle fine; e.g. RMR (Régions Métropolitaines de Recensement) et aires urbaines/rurales; même en prenant en compte les effets socio-démographiques et socio-économiques. Le deuxième et le troisième article sont basés sur les résultats du premier article en examinant comment les FPE se caractérisent spatialement en fonction du genre et du statu d’immigration. Les résultats montrent que la répartition Est-Ouest et Urbain-Rural observée dans le premier article est partiellement modifiée lorsque les analyses sont v désagrégées selon le genre et le statu d’immigration. La robustesse de ces distorsions spatiales est confirmée par les modèles de régression logistique. Le quatrième article porte sur les caractéristiques spatiales qui influencent les variations spatiales des emplois temporaires en utilisant la méthode de régression des moindres carrés ordinaires (MCO). Les résultats montrent que les RMR/AR (Régions Métropolitaines de Recensement/Agglomération de Recensement) qui sont caractérisées pour une large part de professions de fabrication, d’utilité publique et de gestion sont significativement corrélées avec l’emploi temporaire. Inversement, RMR/RA avec de larges parts de professions de vente et de service sont corrélées positivement avec l’emploi temporaire. Généralement les caractéristiques de population (mesurées dans les aires métropolitaines à forte proportion d’immigrants asiatiques, de travailleurs à bas salaire et de prestataires d’assurance-emploi) ont davantage contribué aux corrélations positives par rapport aux caractéristiques des industries. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to my supervisory committee: Dr. Bruce Newbold, Dr. Suzanne Mills, Dr. Stephanie Premji and Dr. Robert Wilton for their professionalism, patience, support, and guidance. Completion of this dissertation would not have been possible without them. Thanks, must be given to all the Statistics Canada analysts at the McMaster and Toronto RDCs who were instrumental in directing me to resources that were helpful in carrying out my research. I would also like to extend my profound appreciation to all the staff in the School of Geography and Earth Sciences for their assistance throughout my postgraduate studies. I thank the Canadian Research Data Centre Network (CRDCN) from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canadian Institute for Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI), and Statistics Canada. This research was supported by funds to CRDCN from SSHRC, CIHR, CFI and Statistics Canada. Although the research and analysis are based on data from Statistics Canada, the opinions expressed do not represent the views of Statistics Canada or the CRDCN. To all my friends, thank you for enriching my life with your thoughtful and kind ways. I look forward to enjoying our continued friendship. Finally, to my family, thank you for your continued support, care, and guidance. vii PREFACE This dissertation is a collection of four manuscripts that have been submitted or will be submitted for publication in peer-reviewed journals. Chapter two/ manuscript 1 was derived from the analysis carried out in chapter three/ manuscript 2 , therefore there exists a slight overlap between the contents in these two chapters. The substantive manuscripts included in the dissertation are as follows; Chapter 2: Ali, WK., Newbold, KB., and Mills, S. (2019). Spatial dimensions of precarious employment in Canada. Submitted to Canadian Journal of Regional Science Chapter 3: Ali, WK., and Newbold, KB. (2019a). Gender, precarious employment and space: Evidence from the Canadian Labor Force Survey. Chapter 4: Ali, WK., and Newbold, KB (2019b). Geographic variations in precarious employment outcomes between immigrant and Canadian-born populations. Chapter 5: Ali, WK., and Newbold, KB. (2019c). An analysis of spatial characteristics influencing the spatial patterns of temporary employment in Canada The various research activities including; the design, implementation, analysis and write up of all four manuscripts were carried out by the dissertation author. The author's viii supervisors Professor K. Bruce Newbold and Professor Suzanne E. Mills assisted with guidance in research ideas and editorial reviews for all four manuscripts. Members of the author's supervisory committee, Professor Robert Wilton and Professor Stephanie Premji provided feedback and guidance at all stages of the dissertation. While all four manuscripts are co-authored by the author's supervisors, the sole responsibility for the content of each manuscript rests with the dissertation author. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................... vii PREFACE .................................................................................................................. viii CHAPTER 1: Introduction ...........................................................................................1