Amparo Nagore.

Amparo Nagore has received the recognition of outstanding PhD award for her work “Essays on Employment and Unemployment Transitions”, directed by Arthur Van Soest, professor at the University of Tilburg, and supervised by María Rochina Barrachina, Professor of Economic Structure of the University of Valencia. This study analyses the changes in the Spanish labour market as a result of the economic recession and how these influence the achievement of the Europe 2020 objectives in terms of unemployment, poverty and social equity

Amparo Nagore graduated in Business Administration and Management at the University of Valencia, where she also studied the Master’s Degree in Actuarial and Financial Sciences. Between 2001 and 2003, he had a Postgraduate Scholarship from the Ministry of Science and Technology to study the Master’s Degree in Interuniversity Research in Quantitative Finance, taught by the University of Valencia, the Complutense University of Madrid and the University of the Basque Country.

Between 2003 and 2010, she was awarded a research grant from the Valencian Institute of Economic Research (IVIE) and worked in several companies in the financial sector as a financial analyst (Econocom SA, Barcelona), in the control of structured financial instruments (Intermoney Titulización SA, Madrid) and in bank risk and solvency management (Banco de Valencia SA).

Since 2008, she is a professor at the University of Valencia in the Department of Applied Economics. In 2012, she started the joint doctoral program of the University of Valencia and the University of Tilburg, where she made four research stays until she defended her work in Tilburg in 2015. She immediately joined the Luxembourg Institute of Socioeconomic Research (LISER) as a researcher. Finally, in September 2018, she obtained a position as Assistant Professor of the University of Valencia in the Department of Financial and Actuarial Economics.

What difficulties have you encountered while undertaking the thesis?

From my point of view, a thesis is like a marathon: it is not always easy and you find some obstacles in the way. It is a slow learning process, both personally and professionally, but it also provides great satisfaction.

As examples of difficulties, I could mention the period in which I was struggling with the convergence of econometric models. In addition, my level of English was a difficulty, since at the beginning it was not very high and it was a challenge to do my thesis at the University of Valencia together with the University of Tilburg. Another obstacle was that when I had already decided the line of my research, I found that another study had done the same, with the same data, so I had no choice but to look for another idea.

What roads does your thesis leave open for future work?

Based on the thesis chapters and taking into account that other countries have similar problems, it is possible to extend the research questions to other European countries. Thus, the problem of unemployment, labour rotation and the impact of the past recession for other countries and in a transversal dimension can be analysed. It would also be interesting to study the gender divergence in several indicators of the labour market during the last decade in different European countries. The transversal dimension allows us to explore what part of the gender gap can be explained by labour market institutions. This is in line with the Europe 2020 principle: mutually reinforce the strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and the strategy for equality between women and men.

What do you think your research contributes to the scientific community as a whole and to society?

This thesis deals with relevant issues regarding the Spanish labour market, such as the impact of the recent recession on unemployment, labour transitions and gender differences. The results are informative on the usefulness of possible policy measures aimed at reducing the incidence of unemployment and improving job stability, particularly for the most vulnerable groups of workers.

he Spanish labour market is characterised by high job rotation (in particular, towards other jobs in expansion periods and towards unemployment in the recession ones); occupational gender segregation and the different returns to gender characteristics. During the current crisis, both the duration of unemployment and its new income have increased while wages have decreased, especially for men, young and old workers, immigrants and those with a low level of qualification. The high level of qualification, found in larger companies and the high-tech sector, is associated with lower unemployment and better quality work. As a consequence, the Spanish labour market requires major reforms to achieve the Europe 2020 objectives.

Does getting a Doctorate facilitate employability?

In my field, that of the academic labour market of universities and research centres, the doctorate is a basic but not sufficient condition. For the non-academic labour market, in Spain, in general (with the exception of the Bank of Spain, services studies of the main banks), the doctorate does not increase the probability of finding a job. Nor are the salaries of doctors higher. As far as I know, it is the opposite in other countries, such as the Netherlands or the United Kingdom.

Would you recommend starting doctoral studies? What advice would you give to a person who wants to get a PhD?

Once you decide to get a PhD, I think it is very important to choose a good supervisor who has the knowledge, motivation and attitude to guide the student in this learning process. It is also important to choose a topic the candidate is passionate about since this will be his/her occupation, at least during the next three years.

Based on my experience, I would suggest doing a joint PhD program with another prestigious university, preferably in another country, or at least visiting another university for research stays. This experience helps to open the mind, increases the options of learning to do things in different ways and from different approaches, and helps to increase the network of relationships.

Finally, it is important to find the balance between personal and work life during the doctoral process, play sports and have the support of family and friends.

Have you actively participated in outreach activities and scientific communication? How important do you think these activities are?

I have participated in many conferences presenting my work and I have been invited to give seminars in other universities and research centres. I believe that sharing research, making and receiving comments from other colleagues, strengthening collaborations with other professionals... is very important for the progress of science and individual motivation to continue working.

Also, when I was working at LISER, I presented a report on the evaluation of the policies of a specific youth employment program at the Luxembourg Ministry of Labour. This transfer of knowledge had a direct implication on political measures and society.