Labor Economics Commons^™

Developing Collaborative Relationships To Enhance Self-Employment Services For People With Disabilities, Nancy Arnold Ph.D., Catherine Ipsen M.A., University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

RTC: Rural researchers surveyed 571 U.S. Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) to learn about linkages between Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) and SBDCs that could enhance self-employment outcomes for people with disabilities. 346 of 527 deliverable surveys were returned for a 64% response rate. The resulting data show a positive relationship between the presence of informal and/or formal agreements and SBDCs’ experience providing self-employment services for people with disabilities. VR-SBDC coordination could expand the outcomes of both agencies, reduce fragmentation between agencies, and capitalize on the strengths of each program.

Struggling To Provide: A Portrait Of Alameda County Homecare Workers, Candace Howes, Howard Greenwich, Laura Reif, Lea Grundy

Economics Faculty Publications

Alameda County employs nearly 8,000 homecare workers to help disabled and elderly persons live independently. Over one-third of these workers and their families—about 2,800—earn incomes that are below the official Federal poverty threshold. Many more struggle to meet basic daily needs and have to make difficult choices between caring for themselves and caring for others. Struggling to Provide is based on a recent survey of homecare workers in Alameda County that illustrates the insecure conditions in which many homecare workers live.

The Nature And Nurture Of Economic Outcomes, Bruce Sacerdote

Dartmouth Scholarship

The relative importance of biology and envi- ronment is one of the oldest and most prominent areas of scientific inquiry and has been exam- ined by researchers as diverse as David Hume (1748), Charles Darwin (1859), and Sigmund Freud (1930). Social scientists are particularly interested in the degree to which family and neighborhood environmental factors influence a child’s educational attainment and earnings. The stakes in this debate are quite high and far-reaching. As Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray (1994) point out, the effectiveness of anti- poverty and pro-education policies is largely de- pendent on the degree to which environment matters. …

Economic Impact Of Pharmacia On Kalamazoo County In 2001, George A. Erickcek, Brad R. Watts

Reports

No abstract provided.

A Tale Of Two Decades: Changes In Work And Earnings In Massachusetts, 1979–1999, Randy Albelda, Marlene Kim

Economics Faculty Publication Series

Over the past twenty years, Massachusetts has replaced the mantle of old-style manufacturing with a robust “new economy.” Our economic vitality has never been better. But not all individuals benefited from the 1990s boom as they had from the one a decade earlier. Some of our residents are worse off than they were before.

A Comparison Of Equation-Based And Parity Pricing Of Stumpage Fees For British Columbia Timber Under Long-Term Tenures, Peter Cramton, Susan Athey, Allan Ingraham

Peter Cramton

US-Canada Softwood Lumber Trade Dispute, On behalf of British Columbia Ministry of Forests.

Can Temporary Employment Scar Your Future Earnings? Wage Mobility By Type Of Work Contract In Spain, Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes, Ricardo Serrano-Padial

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Instrumental Variable Estimates Of The Labor Market Spillover Effects Of Welfare Reform, Timothy J. Bartik

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

By increasing the labor supply of welfare recipients, welfare reform may reduce wages and increase unemployment among other less-educated groups. These "spillover effects" are difficult to estimate because welfare caseloads decrease in response to improvements in the economy, which leads caseload reductions to be associated with improvements in labor market outcomes. This paper corrects for the endogeneity of caseloads by using instruments that reflect policy. The estimates suggest that welfare reform has significant spillover effects: welfare reform reduces employment of male high school dropouts, and reduces wages of single mothers and male high school dropouts.

Testing For Anti-Competitive Bidding In Auction Markets, Peter Cramton, Susan Athey, Allan Ingraham

Peter Cramton

US-Canada Softwood Lumber Trade Dispute, On behalf of British Columbia Ministry of Forests.

Auction-Based Timber Pricing And Complementary Market Reforms In British Columbia, Peter Cramton, Susan Athey, Allan Ingraham

Peter Cramton

US-Canada Softwood Lumber Trade Dispute, On behalf of British Columbia Ministry of Forests.

How Late To Pay? Understanding Wage Arrears In Russia, John S. Earle, Klara Sabirianova Peter

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We organize an empirical analysis of Russian wage arrears around hypotheses concerning factors that create incentives for firms to pay late and for workers to tolerate late payment, both reinforced by a prevalent environment of overdue wages. Our analysis draws upon nationally representative household panel data matched with employer data to show substantial interfirm variation with the probability of arrears positively related to firm age, size, state ownership, and declining performance. Estimation of a constrained multinomial logit model also reveals intrafirm, variation related to job tenure and small shareholdings in the firm. Workers tend to have higher arrears in rural …

Has Training Helped Employ Xiagang In China? A Tale From Two Cities, Benu Bidani, Chor-Ching Goh, Christopher J. O'Leary

Reports

This study evaluates the effectiveness of training programs for workers retrenched from Chinese state-owned enterprises in the cities of Shenyang and Wuhan. A variety of impact estimators were applied, however ordinary least squares (OLS) controlling for observable characteristic s was robust. We find that training dampens reemployment prospects in Shenyang but improves them in Wuhan. Training impact estimates computed by propensity score and log odds ratio matching imposing various support condition rules, yielded estimates very similar to those from the OLS. The estimates suggest that participation in training reduces the probability of being employed one year after participation by about …

Declaration Of Peter Cramton, Peter Cramton

Peter Cramton

Comments in support of wireless number portability. For Leap Wireless.

Affidavit Of Peter Cramton, Peter Cramton

Peter Cramton

Comments on proposed changes to how the energy clearing price is calculated. For ISO New England.

Endogenous Growth And Equilibrium Unemployment In A North-South Model Of The World Economy, Hian Teck Hoon

Research Collection School Of Economics

A North-South model is developed which incorporates an endogenous rate of equilibrium unemployment in the North in the context of long-run growth. It is shown how increases in the size of public debt and unemployment compensation financed by payroll taxation, all measured relative to productivity, raise the Northern natural rate of unemployment and, consequently, reduce the global rate of long-run growth. The effect of the shocks is also to drive down the rate of employment expansion in the South. A set of the fundamental determinants of the world terms of trade is obtained, which includes policy parameters.

Trends In The Job Market For Librarians: 1985-2000, Kelly Blessinger

E-JASL 1999-2009 (Volumes 1-10)

This article discusses the major influence that the information age has had on librarianship. Computer-related technology has changed the way librarians do their jobs, their duties and has created a whole new realm of opportunities for librarians. Data from the Library Journal annual salary surveys and the ALA Placement Center are included in charts and figures to track job market trends from 1985-2000. Issues such as salary, job mobility and education are also discussed.

Thinking Outside The Box: The Challenge Of Maine's Regional Service Centers, Bureau Of Labor Education. University Of Maine

Bureau of Labor Education

The challenges facing regional service center communities in Maine need to be addressed by creative problem solving which goes beyond the simplistic and flawed assumptions of the "Closed Loop" model of service center revenue. Many existing strategies to increase municipal revenue through tax incentives and inappropriate economic development are often counterproductive to the long-term well-being of service center communities and their quality of life. The health of RSC's is critically important for the well-being of the state as a whole, and the taxpayers in these communities should not be expected to assume the entire financial burden of providing needed services …

Priming The Pump: Research As A Catalyst For Economic Growth, Jeffery T. Collins, Craig T. Schulman

Publications and Presentations

This analysis is designed to answer several important questions regarding the impact of research dollars invested in the state of Arkansas. We begin by discussing the state of the state in terms of income measures and measures of educational attainment levels. Throughout this analysis, the state of Arkansas is compared to the U.S., to a group of peer states , and, initially, to the state of Mississippi.

Next, we examine the linkage between income and education. We also examine higher education in the state in terms of spending, access and research dollars. From this general description we examine the present …

Tradeable Carbon Permit Auctions: How And Why To Auction Not Grandfather, Peter Cramton, Suzi Kerr

Peter Cramton

An auction of carbon permits is the best way to achieve carbon caps set by international negotiation to limit global climate change. To minimize administrative costs, permits would be required at the level of oil refineries, natural gas pipe lines, liquid sellers, and coal processing plants. To maximize liquidity in secondary markets, permits would be fully tradable and bankable. The government would conduct quarterly auctions. A standard ascending-clock auction in which price is gradually raised until there is no excess demand would provide reliable price discovery. An auction is preferred to grandfathering (giving polluters permits in proportion to past pollution), …

Spectrum Auctions, Peter Cramton

Peter Cramton

Auctions have emerged as the primary means of assigning spectrum licenses to companies wishing to provide wireless communication services. Since July 1994, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has conducted 33 spectrum auctions, assigning thousands of licenses to hundreds of firms. Countries throughout the world are conducting similar auctions. I review the current state of spectrum auctions. Both the design and performance of these auctions are addressed.

Franchises: An Option For Business Owners With Disabilities, Nancy Arnold Ph.D., University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

Franchises are quite popular and may be an option for business owners with disabilities. Mike Powers, author of How to Open a Franchise Business, says that about one-third of today’s franchises are owned or co-owned by women and about one-tenth are minority owned. Franchising offers a good opportunity for potential business owners with disabilities--especially with careful planning, investigation, and an adequate financial base.

Carve-Outs In Workers' Compensation: An Analysis Of The Experience In The California Construction Industry, David I. Levine, Frank Neuhauser, Richard Reuben, Jeffrey S. Petersen, Cristian Echeverria

Upjohn Press

Employers and unions in several states during the 1990s were allowed to "carve out" their own workers' compensation systems. These innovative reforms gave the parties the right to collectively bargain their own systems outside the statutory systems. In addition, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems were implemented in order speed the legal process and reduce litigation costs. This book offers an evaluation of the first few years' experience with these organizational reforms in California.

Imports, Exports, And Jobs: What Does Trade Mean For Employment And Job Loss?, Lori G. Kletzer

Upjohn Press

Kletzer adds to our understanding of the magnitude of the costs and benefits of free trade. She presents a focused examination of the relationship between changes in international trade, employment, and job displacement for a sample of U.S. manufacturing industries. The link between international trade and domestic jobs is also explored through studies of both net and gross employment job change.

Targeting Employment Services, Randall W. Eberts Editor, Christopher J. O'Leary Editor, Stephen A. Wandner Editor

Upjohn Press

This book offers a thorough overview of the U.S. experience with targeting reemployment services and self-employment assistance to UI beneficiaries most likely to exhaust benefits. The authors also suggest other programs that might benefit from targeting, examine Canadian efforts at targeting reemployment services, and consider prospects for a new Frontline Decision Support System for one-stop centers.

The Economics Of Work And Family, Jean Kimmel Editor, Emily P. Hoffman Editor

Upjohn Press

Using an economic perspective, the contributors confront work/family issues including child care (potentially the biggest obstacle to parents successfully integrating work and family priorities), how parents balance time between work and family obligations, links between women's childbearing and their economic outcomes, the success of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the relationship between family structure and labor market outcomes. They also argue for specific policies designed to alleviate the stresses related to these issues.

Learning And Earning In Vacationland: Promoting Education And Economic Opportunity In Maine, Anthony Carnevale, Donna M. Desrochers

Maine Policy Review

Technological innovation, globalization and other economic forces together shape the structure of jobs and the way we work. Such forces have gained momentum over the last 40 years with the advent of a new economy that is increasingly reliant on skilled workers with a postsecondary education. This trend is evident in all sectors of Maine’s economy. In this article, Carnevale and Desrochers show where the jobs are in Maine and how the education attainment of those who hold such jobs has changed over the last 40 years. They look at where jobs will be in the future and the skills …

Contracting With Limited Commitment: Evidence From Employment-Based Health Insurance Contracts, Keith J. Crocker, John R. Moran

Center for Policy Research

When an individual's health status is observable, but evolving over time, the key to maintaining a successful health insurance arrangement is to have the healthier members of the group cross-subsidize those who experience adverse health outcomes. We argue that impediments to worker mobility may serve to mitigate the attrition of healthy individuals from employer-sponsored insurance pools, thereby creating a de facto commitment mechanism that allows for more complete insurance of health risks than would be possible in the absence of such frictions. Using data on health insurance contracts obtained from the 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey, we find that the …

How New Is The "New Employment Contract"?: Evidence From North American Pay Practices, David I. Levine, Dale Belman, Gary Charness, Erica L. Groshen, K. C. O'Shaughnessy

Upjohn Press

This book explores this apparent change in the employment contract. Whereas earlier studies in this area focused on the rigidities in the quantity side of the employment relationship, e.g., changes in job tenure and rates of displacement, the authors focus on the price side of the contract - whether wage structures have become more flexible.

The Business Plan: A Road Map To Success, Nancy Arnold Ph.D., University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

The business plan is like a road map. The process of writing a business plan helps the business owner make good decisions and reach his or her goal or destination. The number one reason businesses fail is lack of planning! Instead of making mistakes on paper, business owners too often make them with real money and real customers. That is why many, but not all, business funding institutions and agencies require business plans and may be reluctant to fund business start-ups that cannot provide a well-developed plan.

State Enterprise Zone Programs: Have They Worked?, Alan H. Peters, Peter S. Fisher

Upjohn Press

Peters and Fisher evaluate 75 EZs located in 13 states to gain an understanding of the overall effectiveness of state enterprise zones. Faced with a paucity of data on EZs that could be used in standard economic analysis, the authors employ a hypothetical firm model in which they apply various EZ and non-EZ incentives to financial statements created for a set of "typical" firms. Observing the impacts of both types of incentives on firms' financial statements allow Peters and Fisher to predict the firms' resulting behavior. Between these findings and the data accumulated from actual EZs, they are able to …