Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Progressive Policy, Howard J. Sherman

HOWARD J SHERMAN

The Employment Problem In Korea, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

What Korea has is not an "unemployment problem" but rather an "employment problem." The employment problem includes continued high unemployment, but it goes well beyond it, also encompassing falling labor earnings, rising poverty and inequality, disproportionate impacts on disadvantaged groups, informalisation of employment, increased job insecurity, and consequent social strains. This paper documents Korea's employment problem, characterizes the problem as deficient aggregate demand rather than frictional or structural unemployment, examines in some detail three of the most important elements of the social safety net (the Employment Insurance System, the Livelihood Protection Program, and public works), and considers four major ways …

The Impact Of The 1990'S Economic Boom On Less Educated Workers In Rural America, Elizabeth E. Davis, Stacie Bosley

Stacie Bosley

This study uses National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) data to investigate whether the effect of local labor market conditions on the earnings of workers differs by gender, education level, or metropolitan/nonmetropolitan location. The results suggest that local economic conditions in the late 1990s did have a positive effect overall on wages for men with no more than a high school degree and for women regardless of education. Further, there is evidence of a difference between metro and nonmetro labor markets, suggesting that the 1990s boom helped urban less-educated workers but not those in rural areas. The metro-nonmetro difference is …

Women, The Recession, And The Impending Economic Recovery, Jennifer W. Keil

Jennifer Keil

Would female investment bankers, mortgage lenders, and chief executive officers have taken the same risks given the same expected returns? Maybe not. The purpose of this article is to explore the impact of the U.S. recession on women and to help readers gain useful knowledge about women’s role in the economy.

Should Ui Eligibility Be Expanded To Low-Earning Workers? Evidence On Employment, Transfer Receipt, And Income From Administrative Data, Pauline Leung, Christopher J. O'Leary

Christopher J. O'Leary

Recent efforts to expand unemployment insurance (UI) eligibility are expected to increase low-earning workers’ access to UI. Although the expansion’s aim is to smooth the income and consumption of previously ineligible workers, it is possible that UI benefits simply displace other sources of income. Standard economic models predict that UI delays reemployment, thereby reducing wage income. Additionally, low-earning workers are often eligible for benefits from means-tested programs, which may decrease with UI benefits. In this paper, we estimate the impact of UI eligibility on employment, means-tested program participation, and income after job loss using a unique individual-level administrative data set …

Employment And Training Policy In The United States During The Economic Crisis, Christopher J. O'Leary, Randall W. Eberts

Christopher J. O'Leary

This paper examines labor market conditions and public employment policies in the United States during what some are calling the Great Recession. We document the dramatic labor market changes that rapidly unfolded when the rate of gross domestic product growth turned negative, from the end of 2007 through early 2009. The paper reviews the resulting stress on labor market support programs and the broad federal response. That response came through modifications to existing programs and the introduction of new mechanisms to help Americans cope with job loss and protracted unemployment. The particular focus is on federally supported public programs for …

Promoting Self Employment Among The Unemployed In Hungary And Poland, Christopher J. O'Leary

Christopher J. O'Leary

To evaluate the effectiveness of self-employment assistance to the unemployed in Hungary and Poland more than 5,500 follow-up interviews were conducted in early 1997 by employees of local labor offices with persons in self-employment participant and comparison group samples. Wide ranging differences were observed between the demographic composition of self-employment samples and the general population of unemployed. Program effects were therefore computed as net impact estimates controlling for systematic sample selection using observable characteristics including information on job search assistance from the employment service. While self-employment assistance yielded a favorable set of net impact estimates in both countries, there was …

Job Growth And The Quality Of Jobs In The U.S. Economy, Susan N. Houseman

Susan N. Houseman

During the 1980's employment grew rapidly in the United States, prompting many analysts to label the U.S. economy the great American job machine. But while aggregate employment increased rapidly during the 1980's, many did not benefit from the expansion. Among less educated prime-age males, unemployment rates rose and labor force participation rates declined sharply. Moreover, although job growth was high, many argued that the quality of American jobs as measured by wages, benefits, and job security deteriorated. The decline of jobs in the high-paying manufacturing sector and the growth of jobs in the low-paying services sector, the growth in part-time …

The Role Of Manufacturing In A Jobs Recovery, Susan Houseman

Susan N. Houseman

No abstract provided.

The U.S. Economic Crisis And A Revised New Jobs Tax Credit, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

An efficacious economic stimulus to help the U.S. economy recover from its current recession is the revival of the New Jobs Tax Credit. Unlike the original credit utilized by the federal government in 1977– 1978, the new version should be a refundable credit but at a lower current dollar value. My 2001 book, Jobs for the Poor: Can Labor Demand Policies Help? proposed a permanent version f the New Jobs Tax Credit that would be automatically triggered when the unemployment rate is high. My estimates, updated to 2008, suggest that such a revised credit might increase aggregate U.S. employment by …

A Proposal For Early Impact, Persistent, And Cost-Effective Job Creation Policies, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.

Group Wage Curves, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

Using panel data on U.S. MSAs, this paper estimates how a typical MSA's wages of different demographic groups, and prices, are affected by overall MSA unemployment, the distribution of unemployment among different groups, and national prices and wages. MSA unemployment has strong effects on MSA wages and prices, but the distribution of unemployment among different groups has weak effects on wages and prices. Using these estimates, simulations show that targeting high-unemployment groups for unemployment reductions will not reduce wage or price inflation pressures. The estimates also show that the effects of MSA unemployment on prices and disadvantaged groups' wages are …

Including Jobs In Benefit-Cost Analysis, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

Public policies may affect employment by directly creating jobs, facilitating job creation, or augmenting labor supply. In labor markets with high unemployment, such employment changes may have significant net efficiency benefits, which should be included in benefit-cost analyses.
The research literature offers diverse recommendations on measuring employment benefits. Many of the recommendations rely on arbitrary assumptions. The resulting employment benefit estimates vary widely.
This paper reviews this literature, and offers recommendations on how to better measure employment benefits using estimable parameters. Guidance is provided on measuring policy-induced labor demand, estimating the demand shock’s impact on labor market outcomes, and translating …

When Will Us Employment Recover From The Great Recession?, Randall W. Eberts

Randall W. Eberts

No abstract provided.

The Obama's Administration Likely Changes In U.S. Employment Policy, Randall W. Eberts

Randall W. Eberts

No abstract provided.

When Will The Labor Market Recover?, Randall W. Eberts

Randall W. Eberts

No abstract provided.

Responding To The Needs Of Workers During The Great Recession, Randall W. Eberts, Stephen A. Wandner

Randall W. Eberts

No abstract provided.

U.S. Training And Re-Training Programs In The Economic Crisis, Randall W. Eberts

Randall W. Eberts

No abstract provided.

U.S. Employment Outlook For 2013, Randall W. Eberts

Randall W. Eberts

No abstract provided.

Employment And Training Policy In The United States During The Economic Crisis, Christopher J. O'Leary, Randall W. Eberts

Randall W. Eberts

This paper examines labor market conditions and public employment policies in the United States during what some are calling the Great Recession. We document the dramatic labor market changes that rapidly unfolded when the rate of gross domestic product growth turned negative, from the end of 2007 through early 2009. The paper reviews the resulting stress on labor market support programs and the broad federal response. That response came through modifications to existing programs and the introduction of new mechanisms to help Americans cope with job loss and protracted unemployment. The particular focus is on federally supported public programs for …

An Analysis Of The Linkage Between Inflation Rate, Foreign Debt, Unemployment And Economic Growth In Sudan, Yagoub Elryah Dr.

Yagoub Elryah (PhD)

After secession of South Sudan, Sudan economy was decline due to losing of oil revenue. The government introduced the austerity measures and fault to recover the economy. The inflation was risen, the unemployment increased among Sudanese. The aim of this article was to analyze the relationship between inflation, unemployment, external debt and economic growth in Sudan. We considered Unit root technique (Augmented Dickey – Fuller Test) to find out long run equilibrium among using time series between 1980 and 2013. We show that all two public debts and unemployment have a direct and significant influence on economic growth. It was …

Immigration And African American Wages And Employment: Critically Appraising The Empirical Evidence, Patrick Leon Mason

Patrick L. Mason

This paper critically assesses the empirical evidence on the relationship between immigration and African American employment. Studies using various methodologies and data are reviewed: natural experiments, time series, and cross-sectional studies of local labor markets and intertemporal changes in the national labor market. We find that for African Americans as a whole, immigration may have little effect on mean wages and probability of employment. However, there is some evidence that immigration may have had an adverse impact on the labor market outcomes of African Americans belonging to low education-experience groups. However, even this modest conclusion must be qualified: the literature …

The Historically Low Summer And Year Round 2008 Teen Employment Rate : The Case For An Immediate National Public Policy Response To Create Jobs For The Nation’S Youth, Andrew Sum, Ishwar Khatiwada, Joseph Mclaughlin

Ishwar Khatiwada

No abstract provided.

The Historically Low Summer And Year Round 2008 Teen Employment Rate : The Case For An Immediate National Public Policy Response To Create Jobs For The Nation’S Youth, Andrew Sum, Ishwar Khatiwada, Joseph Mclaughlin

Andrew Sum

No abstract provided.

Labor Force Migration, Unemployment And Job Turnover, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] In this paper, we show how labor turnover considerations can be integrated into the human investment theory of migration and demonstrate that such a model provides a much better explanation for migration rates into major metropolitan areas than the conventionally-used unemployment rate. The method used here may be of interest as well to researchers working on other human investment problems that also have a multi-period dimension.

Dead-End Jobs And Youth Unemployment: Comment, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] Charles Brown has very ambitiously attempted to analyze whether the existence of "dead-end jobs" contributes to the youth unemployment problem. He assumes that the average rate of wage growth of individuals initially employed in an occupation and the proportion of these individuals who remain employed in the same industry for five years are both inversely related to the probability that individuals initially employed in the occupation find themselves in dead end-jobs. His basic methodological approach involves using data from the 1/100 sample of the 1970 Census of Population to calculate both of these variables for each three-digit occupation, merging …

Editor’S Introduction To The Review Symposium On The Book Myth And Measurement: The New Economics Of The Minimum Wage, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] Why has Myth and Measurement engendered so much controversy? In part, because it deals with the minimum wage. The minimum wage was the first piece of protective labor legislation adopted at the national level, and proposals to increase the minimum wage invariably lead to heated debate between labor and business interests. When a book co-authored by the then chief economist in the Clinton Labor Department purports to show that, contrary to received wisdom, minimum wage increases do not appear to have any diverse effects on employment, it is predictable that conservative critics will attack its findings.

Inflation And Unemployment: Is The Trade-Off Dead Or Alive In Pakistan?, Najid Ahmad, Kausar Yasmeen, Arsalan Ahmad

Najid Ahmad

The aim of this paper is to identify the relationship betweeninflation and unemployment in Pakistan perspective of Phillips curve. A time series data is used for the period of 1984- 2012. Inflation rate is taken as dependent variable while unemployment rate, exchange rate, trade (percentage of GDP) is taken as independent variables. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) is used after assuring the stationary of the variables with the help of Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) test. The paper has found significant results: there is an inverse relationship between inflation and unemployment rate in Pakistan. Concept of Phillips curve holdtrue in case of …

Unemployment And Endogenous Reallocation Over The Business Cycle, Ludo Visschers, Carlos Carrillo-Tudela

Ludo Visschers

We build an analytically and computationally tractable stochastic equilibrium model of unemployment in heterogeneous labor markets. Facing search frictions within markets and reallocation frictions between markets, workers endogenously separate from employment and endogenously reallocate between markets, in response to changing aggregate and local conditions. Empirically, using the 1986-2008 SIPP panels, we document the occupational mobility patterns of the unemployed, finding notably that occupational change of unemployed workers is procyclical. The heterogeneous-market model yields highly volatile countercyclical unemployment, and is simultaneously consistent with procyclical reallocation, countercyclical separations and a negatively-sloped Beveridge curve. Moreover, the model exhibits unemployment duration dependence, which (when …

Why Warn? The Impact Of Recent Plant-Closing And Layoff Prenotification Legislation In The United States, Ronald G. Ehrenberg, George H. Jakubson

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] WARN was passed only after a decade of strenuous debate. We can now look back and address a number of issues it raised. What benefits did its proponents think would arise from the notice legislation, and what costs did its opponents think there would be? What public policies toward advance notice do other nations have? Did displaced workers in the United States receive advance notice before the passage of WARN? What do we know empirically about the effects on workers and firms of the provision of advance notice? What has experience under WARN taught us? Finally, what research issues …