Labor Economics Commons^™

Futurological Fodder: On Communicating The Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, And Employment, Michael E. Samers Dr

Geography Faculty Publications

This article examines the debate concerning the employment implications of the so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (FIR) or the increasing presence of artificial intelligence and robotics in workplaces. I analyze three ‘genres’ associated with this debate (academic studies including neo-classical and heterodox/post-human approaches, the ‘gray literature’, and popular media) and I argue that together they represent ‘futurological fodder’ or discourses and knowledges that ‘perform’ the FIR and its purported consequences. I contend further that these genres involve a complex mix of ethics and politics, and I conclude with a reflection on the political implications of the FIR debate.

Alienation Of Labor Or Alienation Of Self: Perceptions Of Hospitality Labor And Economic Development In Morocco, Julian Madera

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This work explores the relationship between a nation’s economic shift to hospitality labor and a lower standard of living among the working class in said country. Specifically, the Moroccan economy’s gradual increased reliance on service labor, particularly within the tourism industry. Standard of living in this work will be centered around wellbeing understood through vocational fulfillment and perceptions of hospitality labor among service workers. In order to evaluate the standard of living among the working class, this work will utilize a comparative assessment of key interviews from three key sectors of the hospitality labor force: autonomist, alienated, and hospitality adjacent …

Covid-19: Creative Class Job Loss In The Mountain West, Katie M. Gilbertson, Kelliann Beavers, Peter Grema, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet summarizes Mountain West data on creative economy job losses in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, as reported in a recent Brookings report “Lost Art: Measuring COVID-19’s Devastating Impact on America’s Creative Economy.” Richard Florida and Michael Seman discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on job losses in “creative industries, which are comprised of firms and establishments that produce goods and services relating to music, film, design, advertising, fashion, art, and more.”

An Inferentially Robust Look At Two Competing Explanations For The Surge In Unauthorized Migration From Central America, Nick Santos

Dissertations

The last 8 years have seen a dramatic increase in the flow of Central American apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol. Explanations for this surge in apprehensions have been split between two leading hypotheses. Most academic scholars, immigrant advocates, progressive media outlets, and human rights organizations identify poverty and violence (the Poverty and Violence Hypothesis) in Central America as the primary triggers responsible. In contrast, while most government officials, conservative think tanks, and the agencies that work in the immigration and border enforcement realm admit poverty and violence may underlie some decisions to migrate, they instead blame lax U.S. immigration …

Battling Youth Unemployment In France: Can Macron Put Young People To Work?, Adriana C. Bolivar

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

High unemployment has been a persistent struggle for the French economy, especially over the last 30 years under presidents Mitterrand, Chirac, Sarkozy, Hollande, and now Macron. In recent years, this problem has particularly plagued young workers making them the “lost generation” of Europe. This paper studies the history of youth unemployment in France and assesses the impact of government policies and cultural norms on young workers. Additionally, it highlights the trade-off between workers’ rights and economic growth in an attempt to draw attention to the importance of culture and context in development.

The factors that have driven French structural youth …

Are Small Businesses The Framework For A Successful U.S. Economy?, Carson Clevenger

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis will investigate the impact of small businesses on the United States’ economy. I will be assessing several impact areas including gross domestic product, employment, and local economy contribution. This thesis will cover a study from the time periods of 1998-2014 of the gross domestic product and employment levels and will use numbers from the years of 2018- present for other impact areas. Furthermore, I will be analyzing certain sectors of the economy, comparing small businesses contribution to corporate contribution, in order to discuss if small businesses are necessary for our country’s successful economy.

Industrial Policy In Context: Comparative Experiences From Chile And Zambia, Frank Chansa, Ngao Mubanga, Dale Mudenda, Manenga Ndulo

Zambia Social Science Journal

This article tries to draw lessons from Chile for Zambia on innovative industrial policy and strategies that lead to industrial transformation and job creation. The creation of quality jobs for the increasingly skilled youth requires significant efforts. Industrial policy has been argued to have the potential to contribute to the creation of employment through support for new and old initiatives in the economy. In the case of Zambia, the economy has mainly been dominated by the mining sector, where the creation of jobs has been very small, whereas the comparator country Chile developed an institutional framework for industrial policy that …

Nebraska Recovers From The Pandemic Economy, Eric Thompson

Business in Nebraska

The Covid-19 Pandemic threw the U.S. economy into a severe and sharp recession during the first half of 2020. A combination of government “shutdown” restrictions and private actions led to a particularly severe decline in economic activity in late March and April. The lifting or reduction of government restrictions across the United States led to a fast recovery in subsequent months, especially as businesses and consumers learned to adapt to their new operating conditions. However, the rate of recovery has slowed recently as the spread of Covid-19 has accelerated and many businesses have curtailed travel, maintained “work from home” policies, …

Perspectivas Y Prácticas De La Economía Del Cuidado: Un Escenario De Discusión Para Trabajo Social, Karen Andrea Jiménez Rojas, Manuela Mustapha Bernal

Trabajo Social

Pensar en una investigación alrededor de las perspectivas y prácticas de la economía del cuidado, implicó evidenciar los desafíos frente al reconocimiento del trabajo de cuidados, la desigualdad que le subyace y su importancia para los gobiernos y las sociedades. Así que, con el ánimo de aportar a la discusión disciplinar para Trabajo Social y para la Línea de investigación e intervención Perspectivas, debates y prácticas del desarrollo, se indaga por las perspectivas y prácticas sobre economía del cuidado de profesionales que ubican su ejercicio alrededor de este campo y sus apuestas en la construcción de formas alternativas del/al desarrollo, …

Investing In Entrepreneurship: The Sustainable Solution To Tunisia’S Youth Unemployment Crisis?, Hussein Noureldin

All Reports

Since the Jasmine Revolution of 2011, Tunisia’s youth unemployment crisis has worsened. As of 2020, it has the tenth highest youth unemployment rate in the world at 36.5%. Experts have long identified this as the main challenge to overcoming Tunisia’s economic woes, and reform – from the education and vocational training systems on the supply-side to the job market on the demand-side – must follow the democratic gains achieved since 2011. The failed approach in reducing regional inequality under Ben Ali had an adverse effect, creating unemployment disparities between Tunisia’s affluent coastal cities and its poorer interior regions. As such, …

Bengal Rising: Why Bangladesh & Pakistan’S Growth Trajectories Are Diverging, Sartaj Javed

All Reports

50 years after Henry Kissinger derided the nascent state of Bangladesh as an economic basket case, the country has emerged as the newest claimant to the mantle of being an Asian tiger economy. Borne out of a genocidal civil war with Pakistan, Bangladesh’s rise and Pakistan’s decline over a tumultuous half-century period necessitates a review of foreign policy orthodoxy as South Asia’s populace starts to assert its economic and political might.

Penyerapan Tenaga Kerja Dan Pertumbuhan Ekonomi Menuju Era Bonus Demografi Di Sumatra Barat, Sri Maryati, Hefrizal Handra, Irwan Muslim

Jurnal Ekonomi dan Pembangunan Indonesia

Indonesia’s provincial population projection in 2010–2035 shows West Sumatra is one of the provinces that may not experience a demographic bonus or it could be delayed to the next period. This study aims to analyze the determinants of sectoral employment absorption and its effect on economic growth with a demometric approach. The result shows that the absorption of labor in West Sumatra is influenced by economic variables (Gross Regional Domestic Product) and demographic variables (Human Development Index). As a consequence, the productivity and the quality of human resources become important factors to achieve demographic bonus in West Sumatra.

Writing Tips For Economics Research Papers, Plamen Nikolov

Economics Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Producer Services: An Engine For High-Wage Job Growth, Spencer Cook, Eric Thompson

Business in Nebraska

Producer services providers are firms that sell services primarily to the business community rather than to individuals and households. Many producer services businesses are classified in the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Service (PSTS) industry. Accounting firms, consultants, and computer design services are prominent examples of PSTS businesses that are worth studying for three reasons:

1. SUPPORT OF OTHER INDUSTRIES: PSTS industries supply the broader business community, making them a critical segment of the economy.

2. RAPID HIGH WAGE JOB GROWTH: Many PSTS industries are rapidly growing and pay high wages. The producer services sector, in fact, is the principal source …

The United Kingdom's Corporate Bond Secondary Market Scheme (U.K. Gfc), Claire Simon

Journal of Financial Crises

In late 2008, at the height of the Global Financial Crisis, increased liquidity premia and risk aversion in the secondary market hindered companies’ ability to issue corporate bonds. In response, in January 2009, Her Majesty’s Treasury authorized the Bank of England to establish a facility to purchase commercial bonds through the Asset Purchase Facility. In March 2009, the Bank of England published details on the Corporate Bond Secondary Market Scheme, in conjunction with its quantitative easing program. Under the scheme, the Bank acted as a market maker of last resort in the secondary bond market, making regular purchases of a …

The Primary Dealer Credit Facility (Pdcf) (U.S. Gfc), Karen Yang

Journal of Financial Crises

On March 16, 2008, the Federal Reserve created the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, or PDCF, to provide overnight funding to primary dealers in the tri-party repurchase agreement (repo) market, where lenders had become increasingly risk averse. Loans were fully secured by (initially) investment-grade securities and offered at the primary credit rate by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The eligible collateral was significantly expanded in September 2008, after rumors of Lehman Brothers potentially filing for bankruptcy, to include all of the types of instruments that could be pledged at the two major tri-party repo clearing banks. The PDCF was …

Covid-19 Pandemic And Nepal: Issues And Perspectives, Basu Sharma, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Asta-Ja USA and Asta-Ja RDC published the book “Issues and Perspective on the Covid-19 and Nepal” in December 2020. Edited by Basu Sharma and Ambika P. Adhikari, the book contains 12 papers by 17 authors. The 173-page book is a part of Asta-Ja’s Occasional Paper Series and addresses some of the key impacts of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic in Nepal, and proposes some policy recommendations to mitigate those impacts. The book covers the areas of how agriculture, food production, employment, urban planning, economy, public health and research activities are impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. The authors review the pandemic’s impact …

A Language Barrier To Human Capital Development: The Case Of Guatemalan Students, Fidel Pérez Macal

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Not being proficient in a school’s predominant language of instruction can represent a language barrier for students’ human capital development. In Guatemala, 24 languages are spoken apart from Spanish, which is the language of instruction in the majority of schools, and about 40 percent of the total population has a non-Spanish language as a mother tongue. National standardized tests show that non-Spanish mother tongue (non-SMT) students are outperformed by SMT students in elementary and secondary schools.

My thesis analyzes whether non-SMT students face a language barrier and traces its source. Two main findings emerge. First, non-SMT students are not yet …

The Effects Of Eighth Years Of Compulsory Schooling Enforcement In Turkey, Muhammed Tumay

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of two chapters that cover Education, Labor and Health Economics.

Chapter 1. Impacts of Compulsory Schooling Reform on Higher Education and Intergenerational Educational Mobility: we estimate the effects of an exogenous increase in mandatory schooling (5 years to 8 years of schooling), as a result of a change in compulsory schooling law, on higher education, potential intergenerational educational mobility, and labor market outcomes among women in Turkey. Our empirical strategy addresses a well-known identification problem where women’s years of schooling are endogenous to individual characteristics. The Law took effect in 1997, whereby girls born before January …

The Past And The Present: Two Paradigms Of The Sino-African Investment, Emma Weirich

International Political Economy Theses

Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has obvious economic and political connections between the recipient and donor countries. Such investment can benefit both sides and carry certain costs to both, whether through global scrutiny or domestic struggles. This these seeks to add to the ongoing discussion of China's OFDI to Africa by comparing China's investment during its socialist period (1949-1976) and its post-socialist era (1977 – present). This comparison reveals that China's foreign policy has transitioned from a socialist paradigm to a capitalist one in the last seven decades, which brought significant changes in its OFDI policies and practice. In the …

The Nebraska Economy Responds To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Eric Thompson

Business in Nebraska

The Nebraska economy will contract in 2020 but the rate of decline will not be as rapid as nationwide. The economic structure of Nebraska is more focused on production and transportation than the national economy and less focused on hard-hit industries such as hospitality, entertainment, automobile parts and assembly, and oil production. Nebraska also may benefit from a higher quality workforce, which is better able to adapt to changing economic conditions.

Employment will drop by 2.4% in Nebraska in 2020, much less than the national rate of decline. Employment will rebound by 2.0% in 2021 and 1.4% in 2022. With …

Covid-19: Projected Job Loss In Mountain West States, Marie A. Falcone, Caitlin Saladino, William E. Brown

Economic Development & Workforce

This Fact Sheet highlights Mountain West data from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report titled, “States are projected to lose more jobs due to the coronavirus: 14 million jobs could be lost by summer.” The original data source provides figures on the estimated job loss from private sector employment in retail, leisure, and hospitality. This Fact Sheet examines the data for large metropolitan Mountain West states (including Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) with projected job loss in the coming months due to the coronavirus.

Does Trade Reduce Infant Mortality? Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa, Pallavi Panda

School of Business

Trade can affect the development process of a country via various direct and indirect mechanisms. Empirically, it is difficult to identify causal effects, as trade is likely to be endogenous to other socio-economic factors that also affect development. To overcome this problem, this study uses a trade policy experiment called the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which conferred many sub-Saharan African countries largely duty-free and quota-free access to US markets. Using retrospective birth histories from Demographic and Health Survey (DHS), I develop a large micro panel dataset that spans 30 sub-Saharan African countries and carry out a within-mother variation …

Do Public Program Benefits Crowd Out Private Transfers In Developing Countries? A Critical Review Of Recent Evidence, Plamen Nikolov, Matthew Bonci

Economics Faculty Scholarship

Precipitated by rapid globalization, rising inequality, population growth, and longevity gains, social protection programs have been on the rise in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the last three decades. However, the introduction of public benefits could displace informal mechanisms for risk-protection, which are especially prevalent in LMICs. If the displacement of private transfers is considerably large, the expansion of social protection programs could even lead to social welfare loss. In this paper, we critically survey the recent empirical literature on crowd-out effects in response to public policies, specifically in the context of LMICs. We review and synthesize patterns from …

Pension Fund, Financial Development And Output Growth In Nigeria, Iwegbu Onyebuchi

Bullion

This study examines the indirect effect of pension fund on economic growth in Nigeria through the financial system. Using Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) model, the study found out that pension fund contribution is effective in stimulating growth through investment in portfolios that yield short term returns; this implies that pension fund contribution cannot on its own without a credible financial system impact on economic growth. The policy implication of this study is for Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) to invest in portfolios with short-term returns; thus, a large chunk of funds invested in federal government securities should be unbundled to other …

Poverty And Labor Force Participation Across Metropolitan Philadelphia, Zachary J. Porreca

Undergraduate Economic Review

This study utilizes data drawn from municipalities across the Philadelphia metropolitan area to examine trends in poverty amongst communities.While some research has been done on urban and rural poverty, this paper seeks to fill the gap in literature regarding poverty across the subksnurban and metropolitan landscape. A multiple regression model is specified, so as to provide an in depth analysis of observed trends. The central hypothesis that a relationship exists between poverty and labor force participation is tested and affirmed. The implication of this finding, as well as auxiliary findings, are explored and expanded upon. Recommendations are made for more …

The Global Child: A Roadmap For Becoming Culturally Responsive Educators, Ana I. Berdecia Med, Caitlin Kosec Mpp, Kamili O. Leath Ms, The John S. Watson Institute For Public Policy For Thomas Edison State College

Center for the Positive Development of Urban Children

The program strategies and the assessment tools encourage early childhood teachers to adopt 26 strategies across three competency areas: 1) classroom design; 2) teachers’ rhythm and temperament; and 3) instructional strategies during the 10-month program year. Mentors are assigned to each teaching team and through supportive site visits and assessment visits help the teams change their thinking and practices to be more culturally and linguistically responsive.

"Made In Bangladesh", Joya Alia Syed

Senior Projects Spring 2020

The 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh was the worst industrial disaster in modern times and began a turning point for change in the garment sector. This paper will uncover human rights violations such as the exploitation of garment workers, verbal and physical abuse as well as the right for workers to collectively bargain. The paper will begin with a brief background of the Bangladeshi garment sector, then the pressure of the “Fast Fashion” demand for the industry and gender dimensions. It will conclude with remediation efforts from local and international levels from social movements, campaigns, and programs such …

Do Shifts In Labor Shares In Productivity Growth Affect Poverty And Inequality? A Comparative Study Of Sub-Saharan Africa And Asia, Precious W. Allor

Masters Theses

This paper examines whether productivity growth induced by intersectoral labor movement affects inequality and poverty. To address this question a nonparametric shift-share decomposition technique is employed to decompose productivity growth into the structural change component; the component of productivity growth that is induced by the intersectoral labor movement, and the technological change component; the component of productivity growth that is induced by capital or improvements in productive efficiency. The paper then examines the long-run impact of structural change-induced productivity growth on poverty and inequality for a sample of 28 countries, and with a focus on Sub-saharan Africa and Asia. The …

Consumers Support A Slowing Economy, Eric Thompson

Business in Nebraska

Nebraska will record moderate economic growth during the forecast period but will lag U.S. growth. Like the national economy, growth Nebraska’s goods producing sector will struggle. Farm incomes will be flat from 2020 to 2022 after improving this year. Manufacturing employment also is expected to drop. However, most other sectors will expand, including services, finance and construction. Projected growth rates for 2020 to 2022 are presented in Table 1.

Employment will grow by 0.6% to 0.8% per year, below the national rate. Non-farm income will grow between 3.7% and 3.8% each year. This growth readily exceeds inflation and population growth, …