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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Black Youth Nonemployment: Duration And Job Search: Comment, Ronald Ehrenberg
Black Youth Nonemployment: Duration And Job Search: Comment, Ronald Ehrenberg
Ronald G. Ehrenberg
[Excerpt] Holzer's paper has a number of attributes that I find very appealing. It focuses on an important topic and uses two different data bases to test the robustness of its findings. It uses alternative specifications of the variable of interest (reservation wages), examines the sensitivity of the results to alternative sets of control variables, uses a variety of statistical methods to confront a number of statistical issues, and honestly reports cases in which any of the above leads to differences in results. Finally, the paper does not claim more than the evidence warrants—a feature not present in enough academic …
Academic Labor Supply, Ronald G. Ehrenberg
Academic Labor Supply, Ronald G. Ehrenberg
Ronald G. Ehrenberg
[Excerpt] The plan of this study is as follows. In the remainder of this chapter, some background data are presented on the academic labor market and new Ph.D. production in the United States. Chapter 7 describes a schematic model of academic labor supply and indicates the underlying trends since 1970 in a number of variables that contribute to projections of shortages of faculty. In Chapter 8, a general model of occupational choice and the decision to undertake and complete graduate study is sketched. This framework, available data, and the prior academic literature are then used to address students' choice of …
Policy Decisions And Research In Economics And Industrial Relations: An Exchange Of Views: Comment, Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Daniel S. Hamermesh, George E. Johnson
Policy Decisions And Research In Economics And Industrial Relations: An Exchange Of Views: Comment, Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Daniel S. Hamermesh, George E. Johnson
Ronald G. Ehrenberg
[Excerpt] John Dunlop has presented what are certainly some of the most provocative remarks to appear in a scholarly journal in the labor field in many years. We find much to agree with in his remarks; however, we also find many areas where we feel he condemns research because of his overly optimistic expectations about its ability to contribute to the policy process, and other areas where he appears to be unaware that research in labor economics has already contributed fairly directly to policy decisions.
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 …
Why Are Returns To Education Higher For Women Than For Men In Urban China?, Emily C. Hannum, Zhang Yuping, Wang Meiyan
Why Are Returns To Education Higher For Women Than For Men In Urban China?, Emily C. Hannum, Zhang Yuping, Wang Meiyan
Emily C. Hannum
It is well established that women’s returns to education are higher than men’s in urban China. We argue that this finding, while accurate, is misleading due to its individualist perspective. The incomes to which most working-age women and men have access include not only own income, but spouse income. Further, decisions about participation and investment in the labor force, both consequential for income trajectories, are likely made with partner income and potential income in mind. To our knowledge, no research in China has explored the returns to education enjoyed via spouse income, or the implications of pooling couple income, for …
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.
Assessing Progress Toward Greater Equality Of Income Distribution, Gary S. Fields
Assessing Progress Toward Greater Equality Of Income Distribution, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
[Excerpt] Income distribution is only one indicator of economic well-being useful in gauging improvements in the economic position of the poor; change in income distribution, appropriately conceived and measured, is as good a criterion as any for assessing progress toward the alleviation of poverty. Income is intimately bound up with a family's command over economic resources. Rising modern-sector employment or reduced infant mortality might be suggestive of improvements in the economic position of the poor; gains in real income among low-income groups provide direct evidence that poverty is being alleviated. This chapter answers the following questions: What are the strengths …
Place-To-Place Migration In Colombia, Gary S. Fields
Place-To-Place Migration In Colombia, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
[Excerpt] This paper builds upon earlier work of mine which explored the determinants of population migration in Colombia. As before, the basic proposition is that areas' economic opportunities play a central role in determining the spatial allocation of the population. My earlier paper used published data from the 1973 Colombian Census of Population to establish that the rates of net lifetime migration into Colombia's 23 provinces (or, as they are known in Colombia, "departments") are associated with those areas' labor market conditions. The present paper uses unpublished data for 12 zones (six regions, rural and urban segments of each) to …
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 …
Industrialization And Employment In Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, And Taiwan, Gary S. Fields
Industrialization And Employment In Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, And Taiwan, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
[Excerpt] What are the links between macroeconomic growth and microeconomic development objectives? The initial view held by many economists, especially Latin America specialists, was that the goals of growth, employment, and income distribution are mutually incompatible and that the pursuit of all these objectives at once is bound to be futile. But in the last few years, studies of the economies of the Asian Newly Industrializing Countries (NICs), Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan—the so-called "Group of Four"—have emerged, and they point to very rapid aggregate growth and marked improvements in labor market conditions and in income distribution. This chapter …
Living Standards, Labor Markets And Human Resources In Taiwan, Gary S. Fields
Living Standards, Labor Markets And Human Resources In Taiwan, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
[Excerpt] This paper has three general aims: to demonstrate that standards of living have continued to improve during Taiwan's recent economic growth, to analyze the causes of improvements in the 1980s and before, and to discuss some specific issues which are likely to arise and which will need to be resolved in the years ahead.
Taiwan’S Private Sector Labour Market Prior To 1996, Gary S. Fields
Taiwan’S Private Sector Labour Market Prior To 1996, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
[Excerpt] Analysis of the inter-industry earnings differentials revealed that these differentials were quite small by international standards, and indeed, that earnings were rising at roughly the same rate in every sector of the labour market in Taiwan. Wage differentials in Taiwan's private sector are generally in line with the economy as a whole; quite small by international standards, with real wages rising at very similar rates throughout all of the major private sector industries, whilst also demonstrating similar growth and decline patterns. For example, the agricultural sector in Taiwan is a declining sector of the economy, relative to non-agriculture, whilst …
The Migration Transition In Asia, Gary S. Fields
The Migration Transition In Asia, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
[Excerpt] This theoretical discussion of the migration transition is Asia develops a framework to understand the turning point from labor exporter to labor importer experienced by the Asian NIEs (Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Taiwan). The author concludes that the NIEs' demand for labor curve shifted rapidly, primarily due to export-led growth of a labor-intensive character. Because these economies are well integrated, improvements in labor market conditions in individual sectors are transmitted to all workers, discouraging emigration. Despite industry's efforts to mitigate wage increases through labor import, new technology or relocation overseas, the rapidly improving domestic earnings opportunities induced the …
Education And Taiwan’S Changing Employment And Earnings Structure, Gary S. Fields, Amanda Newton Kraus
Education And Taiwan’S Changing Employment And Earnings Structure, Gary S. Fields, Amanda Newton Kraus
Gary S Fields
[Excerpt] Between 1980 and 1992, the enormous changes in economic development in Taiwan had significant impacts on the island's labour market. Examples of these changes include the island's almost legendary and meteoric economic growth, the maintenance of essentially full employment, an increase of around 116 per cent in real labour earnings, considerable upgrading of the educational qualifications of the labour force as a whole, a sustained and systematic shift in the composition of the labour force from agriculture into manufacturing and services and occupational upgrading (defined as the expansion of the share of the labour force in the better occupations, …
Labour Market Modelling And The Urban Informal Sector: Theory And Evidence, Gary S. Fields
Labour Market Modelling And The Urban Informal Sector: Theory And Evidence, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
[Excerpt] The purpose of this paper is to assess the compatibility between theoretical models of the urban informal sector (UIS) and empirical evidence on the workings of that sector in the context of developing countries' labour markets. My major point is that although the UIS is an excellent idea which has served us well in the 1970s and 1980s, we have need in the next round of research to refine our terminology and our models in light of empirical findings which have come to the fore in the interim. I would contend that what empirical researchers label "the informal sector" …
Income Mobility, Gary S. Fields
Income Mobility, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
Income mobility means different things to different people. This article explains the six different mobility concepts used in the literature, reviews the various indices used in the mobility literature to measure these concepts, summarizes the difference the use of different mobility concepts and measures makes in practice, presents the axiomatic approach to income mobility, and discusses a number of other issues that arise in the mobility literature.
The Employment Problem In South Africa, Gary S. Fields
The Employment Problem In South Africa, Gary S. Fields
Gary S Fields
South Africa is experiencing a major employment problem that includes not only unemployment, but also low labour market earnings. In this article, Gary Fields discusses what can be done to alleviate South Africa's employment problem.
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 …
What Happened To The Middle Class In The New Market Economies? The Case Of Croatia And Poland, Joanna Tyrowicz, Iva Tomić
What Happened To The Middle Class In The New Market Economies? The Case Of Croatia And Poland, Joanna Tyrowicz, Iva Tomić
Joanna Tyrowicz
Transition countries are believed to have undergone signifi cant social and economic structural changes. Indeed, the early transition resulted in the modifi cation of ownership structure and recognized processes of labor reallocation as well as in rapid educational booms in many Central and Eastern European countries. In this paper we shed some light on the changes regarding the size and composition of the middle class in two transition countries, Croatia and Poland, in the period 1995-2008. In general, the size of the middle class – as defi ned by individuals with wages around the median – decreased in Poland roughly …
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.
Job Growth And The Quality Of Jobs In The U.S. Economy, Susan Houseman
Job Growth And The Quality Of Jobs In The U.S. Economy, Susan Houseman
Susan N. Houseman
No abstract provided.