Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Publication
Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Labor Relations
[Review Of The Book Employment And Development: A New Review Of Evidence, By David Turnham], Gary S. Fields
[Review Of The Book Employment And Development: A New Review Of Evidence, By David Turnham], Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
[Excerpt] I first encountered David Turnham’s work after majoring in labor economics in undergraduate and graduate school and spending a year in Nairobi studying and modeling the labor market there. The atmosphere in Kenya was crackling with intellectual excitement: John Harris and Michael Todaro had just showed how the solution to urban unemployment might be rural development, George Johnson had demonstrated that earnings function analysis ‘worked’ despite doubts about the quality of developing country data and the applicability of developed country concepts, Dharam Ghai was developing the basic human needs approach to development, and Joe Stiglitz was formulating efficiency wage …
Lifetime Migration In Colombia: Tests Of The Expected Income Hypothesis, Gary S. Fields
Lifetime Migration In Colombia: Tests Of The Expected Income Hypothesis, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
[Excerpt] People migrate and areas gain or lose population for a variety of reasons: differences in potential earnings, in job availability, in schooling opportunities, in quality of life, proximity to friends and relatives, and so on. The economic model of migration holds that the central factor determining individual migration decisions is the perceived opportunity to attain higher economic status. Area populations are expected to change differentially according to the economic opportunities offered. In empirical research in developed countries, economic factors have been shown to underlie most migration decisions. In developing countries, where the economic situation of the populace is far …
Employment And Economic Growth In Costa Rica, Gary S. Fields
Employment And Economic Growth In Costa Rica, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
Costa Rica’s economic growth in the last 25 years has had favorable labor market and income distribution consequences. Overall, employment growth kept pace with labor force growth, the mix of jobs improved, real wages rose, and relative inequality and absolute poverty fell. But during the economic crisis of 1980-82, when real per capita income plummeted, labor market conditions deteriorated markedly: unemployment doubled, employment composition worsened, and real wages fell by 40%. Growth, labor market conditions, and income distribution have moved together.
Aid, Growth And Jobs, Gary S. Fields
Aid, Growth And Jobs, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
Various development objectives are worthy, but one objective merits special attention: reducing the scourge of absolute economic misery in the world. This study focuses on an important but relatively underemphasized approach to poverty reduction: helping the poor earn more in the labour market for the work they do, so that they can buy the goods and services they need to move up out of poverty. The core of the study is divided into three sections: defining the global poverty challenge and the world’s employment problem, presenting policy options for improving employment outcomes for the poor, and suggesting ways of choosing …
The Influence Of London On Labor Markets In Southern England, 1830-1914, George R. Boyer
The Influence Of London On Labor Markets In Southern England, 1830-1914, George R. Boyer
George R. Boyer
[Excerpt] Historians have long acknowledged that London, because of its enormous size and rapidly growing demand for labor, acted as a powerful magnet for migrants from throughout southern England. However, while there is a large literature documenting the flow of migrants to London, there have been surprisingly few attempts to determine the consequences of this migration for southern labor markets. This article attempts to redress the imbalance in the literature by examining the influence of London on agricultural labor markets during the nineteenth century. In particular, the article examines the effect of distance from London on wage rates in southern …
Migration And Labour Market Integration In Late Nineteenth-Century England And Wales, George R. Boyer
Migration And Labour Market Integration In Late Nineteenth-Century England And Wales, George R. Boyer
George R. Boyer
[Excerpt] There is a long and well established tradition of studies analysing the pattern and causes of internal migration and assessing the degree of labour market integration in late nineteenth-century Britain. Some studies document the flows of migrants from one area to another and describe migrant characteristics and the directions of the predominant streams of migration. Others analyse the determinants of gross or net migration flows at the region or county level. The questions implicit in these studies are: How mobile was the labour force? What were the major factors which determined individual decisions to migrate? How are these factors …
The Poor Law, Migration, And Economic Growth, George R. Boyer
The Poor Law, Migration, And Economic Growth, George R. Boyer
George R. Boyer
The loss to the English economy caused by decreased migration resulting from relief payments to agricultural laborers is estimated. I conclude that, at worst, the Poor Law had a small negative impact on national product. If poor relief and wages were substitutes, the Poor Law may have had a positive impact on capital formation and economic growth.
Unemployment And The Uk Labour Market Before, During And After The Golden Age, Timothy J. Hatton, George R. Boyer
Unemployment And The Uk Labour Market Before, During And After The Golden Age, Timothy J. Hatton, George R. Boyer
George R. Boyer
During the ‘golden age’ of the 1950s and 1960s unemployment in Britain averaged 2 per cent. This was far lower than ever before or since and a number of hypotheses have been put forward to account for this unique period in labour market history. But there has been little attempt to isolate precisely how the determinants of wage setting and unemployment differed before, during and after the golden age. We estimate a two-equation model over the whole period from 1872 to 1999 using a newly constructed set of long-run labour market data. We find that the structure of real wage …
Labour Migration In Southern And Eastern England, 1861-1901, George R. Boyer
Labour Migration In Southern And Eastern England, 1861-1901, George R. Boyer
George R. Boyer
This paper examines the determinants of migration from 19 southern counties to six major destinations in England and Wales from 1861-70 to 1891-1900. I find that, while the size of origin-destination wage gaps and the distance between origin and destination areas were important determinants of migration flows, as expected, migration was also strongly influenced by the number of previous migrants from an origin county living in a destination. The assistance provided by previous migrants to friends and relatives contemplating migration led to a perpetuation of earlier migration patterns, and helps to explain the continued dominance of London as a destination …
New Estimates Of British Unemployment, 1870-1913, George R. Boyer, Timothy J. Hatton
New Estimates Of British Unemployment, 1870-1913, George R. Boyer, Timothy J. Hatton
George R. Boyer
We present new estimates of the British industrial unemployment rate for 1870- 1913, which improve on the Board of Trade's prior estimates. We use similar sources, but our series includes additional industrial sectors, allows for short-time working, and aggregates the various sectors using appropriate labor-force weights from the census. The resulting index suggests a rate of industrial unemployment that was generally higher, but less volatile, than the board's index. We then adjust our series to an economywide basis, and construct a consistent time series of overall unemployment for 1870-1999.
Educational Progress And Economic Development, Gary S. Fields
Educational Progress And Economic Development, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
[Excerpt] Many development agencies seek to channel economic assistance to those less-developed countries (LDCs) and activities that will help the poor to achieve a better life (this phraseology is from the U.S. Foreign Assistance Act as amended in 1975). Education is an important indicator of countries' performance. This chapter examines the suitability of alternative education indicators as guides for planning and evaluating countries' progress and commitment toward increasing the participation of the poor in development.
Growth And Distribution In The Market Economies Of East Asia, Gary S. Fields
Growth And Distribution In The Market Economies Of East Asia, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
This is a review and comparison of seven books dealing with income distribution and economic development focusing on the countries of East Asia. The books reviewed are: Irma Adelman and Sherman Robinson, Income Distribution Policy in Developing Countries. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979. Edward K. Y. Chen, Hyper-Growth in Asian Economies: A Comparative Study of Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1979. John C. H. Fei, Gustav Ranis, and Shirley W. Y. Kuo, Growth with Equity: The Taiwan Case. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. Walter Galenson, ed., Economic Growth and Structural Change …
A Welfare Economic Analysis Of Labor Market Policies In The Harris-Todaro Model, Gary S. Fields
A Welfare Economic Analysis Of Labor Market Policies In The Harris-Todaro Model, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
This paper presents a welfare economic analysis of the benefits of various labor market policies in the Harris-Todaro labor market model. The policies considered are a policy of modern sector job creation, which I call modern sector enlargement (MSENL); a policy of rural development, which I call traditional sector enrichment (TSENR); and a policy of wage limitation in the urban economy, which I call modern sector wage restraint (MSWR). First, I analyze the inequality effects of these policies. I then perform two welfare economic analyses, the first based on summary measures of labor market conditions (total labor earnings, unemployment, inequality …
Dualism In The Labor Market: A Perspective On The Lewis Model After Half A Century, Gary S. Fields
Dualism In The Labor Market: A Perspective On The Lewis Model After Half A Century, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
This paper asks how the Lewis model might be viewed from the perspective of economic science half a century later. Many of the core propositions remain intact, some might be amplified, and a small number might be revised.