Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Effect Of Health Insurance On Young Adults' Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence From The Affordable Care Act's Dependent Coverage Expansion, Quazi Hassan

Theses and Dissertations

The Affordable Care Act’s dependent coverage mandate extended young adults’ parental coverage to age 26. I study the expansion’s impact on young adults’ labor market outcomes using a control function method. Following the expansion, I find dependent coverage lowered labor force participation, lowered incomes, and mixed evidence regarding labor supply.

Still Here: Life In A New York Garment Factory, Veronika Bondarenko

Capstones

After the majority of clothing production jobs left the US for Asia in the 1990s, a new market of smaller factories that employ mostly immigrant women in their forties and fifties to create high-end clothes with a “Made in the USA” label emerged. But as factories struggle to survive in New York, large numbers of workers still endure long hours, on-job injuries, and lack of overtime pay in the name of homegrown fashion — often with little oversight.

http://lifeinanewyorkgarmentfactory.info

An Empirical Study Of Earnings Of Immigrants And Native-Born Americans In The U.S. Labor Market Given Different Levels Of Educational Attainment, Yuli P. Gomez Bravo

Applied Economics Theses

This paper will compare the Lifetime wage earnings of immigrants and native-born citizens in the U.S. for the years 2000-2010 according to educational attainment using cross-sectional data. The data obtained through IPUMS-CPS Integrated Public Use of Microdata Series, University of Minnesota. The findings of investment in Human Capital of Mincer (1958), the Immigrants earnings distribution of Chiswick and Miller (2006), the Pareto’s law of income distribution, and the immigrants investment in human capital model by Duleep and Regets (1999) are the theoretical basis in which this study will be ruled. The empirical evidence suggests that immigrants who invest in education …

Essays On Applied Microeconomics, Jin Zhou

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

My dissertation aims to contribute the migration and education literatures, my thesis contains two main topics and three papers. In the first two papers, I study the job search process of rural migrants in urban labor markets when social networks present. Then, I analyse how social networks affect both migration decisions and individuals' labor market outcomes. In the last paper, I examine the determinants of an individual's college education decision, with particular attention to the uncertainty faced by individuals.

The first paper examines the job search process of rural migrants, who have the option of returning home. This paper focuses …

Essays On Human Capital Complementarities, Hiroaki Mori

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The thesis consists of three chapters that study the interplay between skills and health in shaping labour market outcomes. I focus on two distinct but related issues: i) the wage losses among older workers due to work-limiting health conditions, and ii) the long lasting effects of childhood health conditions on human capital formation. Chapter two studies how health conditions among older workers affect their wages depending on the characteristics of their occupations. The U.S. Social Security Act defines disability as the inability due to health conditions to perform physically or mentally demanding tasks. To examine the potentially task-specific nature of …

A Temporary Hometown: Gendered Labor And Social Citizenship In Bremerton, Washington, A Domestic Military Colony, Anna K. Fern

MAIS Projects and Theses

This mixed-methods study addresses social construction of home and belonging for residents of a vice labor and military veteran class in Bremerton, Washington, a US military manufacturing and base city. This thesis seeks to explain how some workers and residents in the city of Bremerton, Washington have been historically marginalized, even as their roles, framed as patriotic contributions, have been integral to the socioeconomic efforts and successes of the dominant militarized culture. I explore how study participants make meaning of their experiences – some in gendered and sexualized vice labor in service to military and federal personnel, and some who …

Essays In Labor And Development Economics, Stephen Daniel O'Connell

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is comprised of two chapters that investigate the long-term effects of a quota policy for women in local government in India.

In the first chapter, "Political Inclusion and Educational Investment," I investigate whether political empowerment can affect the human capital investment decisions of children. By using exogenous variation in the implementation of the policy, nationally-representative survey data allow me to estimate effects on educational enrollment in a geographic discontinuity design using adjacent areas on either side of a state border as counterfactuals receiving different levels of exposure to the quota policy.

In this paper, I find a sizable …

Better Work And Global Governance, Paul Alois

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is a case study of Better Work, a program run by the International Labor Organization and the International Finance Corporation. It aims to improve working conditions and productivity in the apparel industry. The purpose of this case study is to examine the role that international organizations can play in global governance. The research presented here comes from interviews, document analysis, and an examination of quantitative data on factories’ working conditions. In-person interviews were conducted in the United States, Switzerland, Vietnam, and Indonesia; many phone interviews took place with individuals in other countries. Both publicly available documents and internal …

Essays In Health Economics, Aigbokhai Unuigbe

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is motivated by changes in health and labor policies of the United States that have occurred over the last two decades. It examines how these policies as well as public programs affect behavior and outcomes. These programs and policies have the potential to impact behavior directly at the individual level and could also have indirect effects at the household level. In addition, the effects on healthcare use and health status are also examined. This dissertation consists of three chapters.

The first chapter looks at the effect of changes in Medicaid policy on legal immigrant parents in the United …

Essays On The Well-Being Of An Aging Population, Alice Zulkarnain

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three essays that examine health and labor issues among the middle aged and elderly.

Chapter 1. A Delayed Retirement Policy and Male Labor Supply: Evidence from the Entire Dutch Population

This chapter examines the labor supply effects of a national delayed retirement policy introduced in the Netherlands in 2009. The policy offers a reduction in taxes on labor income for each year after the age of 62 in which a person worked. I estimate the average effect of the policy on male labor supply as well as its responsiveness to the size of the incentive. Comparing …

The Effects Of Globalization On An Emerging Economy: The Case Of South Africa, Oluwasheyi S. Oladipo

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines how globalization influences selected aspects of an emerging economy, using South Africa as a case study. The dissertation consists of three chapters: two microeconomic studies and one macroeconomic paper on the effects of globalization on some of the factors affecting economic growth. One micro paper explores the impacts of openness on inequality (Chapter 1), another investigates the impacts of trade liberalization on manufacturing sector wages (Chapter 2), and the macro study, which is the final chapter, examines the effects of inflation targeting on exchange rate pass through to domestic prices (Chapter 3).

In 1994, apartheid ended in …

Evaluating Stolper-Samuelson: Trade Liberalization & Wage Inequality In India, Anthony M. Michael

Master's Theses

This paper tests the predictions of the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem in India after it underwent major trade reform in 1991. Using industry level tariff data, the paper empirically examines trade liberalization’s effect on the wages of high-skilled labor relative to low skilled labor within firms. The study finds empirical evidence to support growing wage differentials within firms, which contradict the predictions of the Stolper-Samuelson Theorem. Additionally, when controlling for firm size and the effects of the global financial crisis, these results remain robust. Finally, the paper explores training and welfare and R&D’s effect on the wage differentials within firms, finding a …

Effect Of Non-Monetary Incentives On Women's Competitive Inclination: Experimental Evidence From Ancona, Italy, Kalkidan Shebi

Master's Theses

This study investigates how monetary incentives versus non-monetary incentives affect women’s decision to enter a competitive environment. This study was conducted in Ancona Italy, in a controlled laboratory experiment with a total of 60 participants; of which 29 were male and 31 were female. Participants were given mathematical addition problems to solve under alternative incentives. How they received these incentives differed based on their preference to enter or withdraw from the competition. The study also included components that assessed risk preferences and willingness to pay for the non-monetary incentive in the experiment. Results show no significant difference in performance scores …

Evaluating The Causal Effect Of Insurance Access On Labor Market Outcomes Among Young Adults, Eden Volkov

Theses and Dissertations

The ACA youth coverage mandate took effect in 2010. Under this provision, individuals through age 26 can remain on their parent's health insurance plan. This provision increased insurance coverage. This has led to 22-29 year olds being more likely to be self-employed, to not work, and to work part time.

Bullying And Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence From The National Longitudinal Survey Of Youth, 1997, Jessica Lum

Theses and Dissertations

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1997 (NLSY97) is used to study the effect of bullying on human capital accumulation. Findings suggest that adolescent bullying has a significant and negative impact on the highest educational level attained, as well as income earned as an adult.

"How The Unemployment Rate In Spain Affects University Enrollment", Morgan A. Clarke

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis studies the subsequent labor market outcomes of college graduates during an economic recession in Spain over the years 2000-2012. I use data on undergraduate enrollment, unemployment, national income, and educational spend from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics, the CIA World Fact Book, Spain’s Ministry of Education, and World Bank to run regression analyses and the Granger Causality Test. I find that university enrollment and unemployment rate are positively correlated. Regression results show that for every one percent increase in unemployment, enrollment increases by approximately 7,429 students.

Income Inequality In American Professional Sports Leagues, Joshua S. Thurman

Economics Undergraduate Honors Theses

Sports leagues provide an interesting window to view issues that larger economies face that are much harder to measure due to their complexity. These leagues have many policy tools similar to those used in major world economies such as minimum wage, price ceilings, labor unions, and revenue sharing, although the impact of these policies are much easier to measure in the closed economy model of a sports league because the income and output of every player in a given year is known. In this paper, I measure the level and trend of income inequality in the NBA, NFL, and MLB, …

Remittances As Contributor To Risk Management And Poverty Reduction In Grenada, Dianne Jntl Rosemary Forte

Dissertations

A Small Island Development States (SIDS) viewpoint is underrepresented in the existing migration literature. That perspective is necessary because SIDS geography creates a unique set of social and economic circumstances that predisposes small states to high vulnerability to external shocks from environmental events and influences emigration decision making. Like other SIDS, Grenada is characterized by small land mass, small population, limited opportunities for productive labor, and limited resources to efficiently support all the requirements of modern institutions. This has resulted in high levels of emigration and a pattern of circularity as Grenadian households make rational decisions to manage risk and …

United In Diversity? The Political Implications Of Intra- Eu Migration, Isabel Monteleone

Senior Theses and Projects

Intra-EU migration is a phenomenon innate to the structure of the European Union. A politico-economic union of twenty-eight countries, the EU does what no other alliance of countries has endeavored before, serving as a unique product of globalization and integration, in every sense of the word. Bound almost entirely by a common currency, the European Union is established in the belief that economic cooperation in Europe can be achieved through the principle of free movement, despite each member states’ individual way of life, language, and political, religious, and cultural ideology.

Since intra-EU migration allows for the possibility of EU integration …

The Impact Of Cash Transfers On Labor Force Participation And Household Consumption: Evidence From Post-Apartheid South Africa, Steve M. M. Muchiri

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

The Old Age Pension (OAP) program for elderly South Africans puts a significant cash transfer in the hands of many poor households. This dissertation investigates its impact on labor force participation and consumption of selected household items. In the first half of the dissertation, we take advantage of a policy reform that lowered men's OAP eligibility age from 65 to 60 for men to match that of women for estimation identification. Using the General Household Survey data, we first demonstrate that both men and women respond to the eligibility age by dropping from labor force participation at the eligibility age, …

Three Essays On Unemployment Insurance In The 21St Century, Lewis H. Warren

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

My dissertation consists of three essays focusing on unemployment insurance (UI) and how it affects recipients. The first essay examines how UI generosity affects the search intensity of recipients through matching American Time Use Survey respondents to all of their observations in the Current Population Survey (CPS), the population from which they are drawn. Earnings from the CPS are then run through a benefit calculator that determines eligibility and benefit amounts which are used to determine how UI generosity affects search times. The second essay uses the Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine how lesser known policies affecting …

The Determinants And Trends In Public-Private Wage And Fringe Benefit Differential, Sun Ki Choi

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

The decline in private sector wages in the aftermath of the Great Recession reopened a longstanding debate about whether public sector employees make more than private sector employees. However, much of this debate has only focused on the difference in wages over the past few years. This paper uses the Current Population Survey from 1995-2013 to examine how the federal-private wage differential has evolved over time. Wage regressions are estimated by year for federal and private sector workers. I then use these estimates to calculate the federal-private wage differential. This is augmented with selectivity bias corrections for each year. Probit …

Reducing Employee Turnover In Retail Environments: An Analysis Of Servant Leadership Variables, Beatriz Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a competitive retail environment, retail store managers (RSMs) need to retain retail customer service employees (RCSE) to maximize sales and reduce employee turnover costs. Servant leadership (SL) is a preferred leadership style within customer service organizations; however, there is disagreement regarding the usefulness of SL in the retail industry. The theoretical framework for this correlational study is Greenleaf's SL theory. Seventy-four of 109 contacted human resources managers (HRMs) from a Fortune 500 United States retailer, with responsibility for evaluating leadership competencies of the RSMs they support, completed Liden's Servant Leadership Questionnaire. RCSE turnover rates were available from company records. …

Balancing Business Owners' Corporate Social Responsibility And Stakeholder Profitability, Andrew O. Arumemi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some business owners lack experience balancing corporate social responsibility (CSR) and shareholder profitability. Grounded in stakeholder theory, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore business owners' experiences regarding balancing corporate social responsibility of hiring ex-inmates and shareholder profitability. The target population included 20 business owners in Newark, New Jersey who integrated CSR as part of their firms' formal business plans, were committed to hiring ex-inmates, and feared the consequential loss of profit such engagement might incur. Data were collected using in-depth semistructured interviews and analyzed using the modified van Kaam method. Three prominent themes included social perceptions of …

The Impact Of State-Provided Paid Family Leave On Wages: Examining The Role Of Gender, Aimee Samantha Abrams Widdicombe

Scripps Senior Theses

The U.S. is the only OECD country that does not offer any form of federal paid parental leave. Only three states—California, New Jersey and Rhode Island—have state-provided paid leave policies; implemented in 2004, 2009 and 2014, respectively. Through descriptive statistics and difference-in-difference-in-difference regression analyses of the wages of women and men of childbearing age (19-45 years) in those three states, we assess whether the paid leave programs have effected wages, and whether these effects vary depending on gender. Our results show that wages of women of childbearing age saw negligible net effects post-policy in policy states, although statistically insignificant. On …

Economic Assimilation For Immigrants In Chile: An Employment Convergence Analysis, Emily C. Long

Scripps Senior Theses

Blending migration studies and labor economics, this thesis explores the economic implications of immigrant assimilation in Chile by using probit models to test for employment convergence and labor market convergence between immigrant groups and native Chileans. Using census data from 1992 and 2002, we find significant differences in the employment and labor force participation rates for these demographic groups, affected by the immigrants’ gender, decade of arrival, and country of origin. We see evidence of the nascent care industry in Chile, as well as the implications of the Chilean visa system and employment contracts. Additionally, we see employment probabilities fall …

Paying For Performance At The Plate: An Investigation Of Variable Pay Systems In Major League Baseball, Mitchell S. Bremermann

CMC Senior Theses

Previous empirical research on variable pay systems have suggested that possible gains can come from paying for performance, but highlight the difficulty firms face in measuring performance. Using contracts signed in Major League Baseball’s free agent market, I find that over the 2010-2014 period, teams utilized variable pay schemes with players that were more productive or signaled greater risk, either in their contract terms or via overspecialization. However, not all forms of risk signaling were correlated with greater use of performance incentives, including age and proxies for injury history. These findings have significant implications for labor practices more broadly, as …

A Microdata Analysis Of The Gender Pay Gap In South Korea: How Do Social Norms And Gender Role Attitudes Affect The Labor Force Participation Of Korean Women?, Yoonhee Park

Senior Projects Spring 2016

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College.

Social Justice And Worker Cooperatives, Gurveer Shaan Dhillon

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Social Justice (SJ) is an organizing principle of contemporary community psychology (CP); however, the concept and understanding of social justice in community psychology is undertheorized and narrow. Specifically, the concept of distributive justice, which has been a popular notion of social justice in community psychology discourse, does not translate well into transformative action. In order to address this issue, the research uses a qualitative approach to explore the understanding of social justice from the perspectives of worker-members of 5 worker cooperatives in Ontario, with the aim to contribute to an understanding of SJ that has transformative implications. A worker cooperative …