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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Segmented Labour Markets In South Africa, Gary S. Fields Jul 2016

Segmented Labour Markets In South Africa, Gary S. Fields

Gary S Fields

[Excerpt] The textbook labour market model aggregates all workers, all employers and all sectors of the economy into a single labour market. In this single labour market, workers supply labour, employers demand labour and the rate of pay (termed wage for shorthand) is determined by the intersection of supply and demand. Segmented labour market analysis proceeds from a different starting point. Workers, employers and sectors are not aggregated together. Rather, two or more labour market segments are identified, the groupings reflecting fundamental differences in how labour supply, labour demand and wage-determination mechanisms operate in different segments. For example, in the …


Effects Of The Affordable Care Act On Part-Time Employment: Early Evidence, Marcus Dillender, Carolyn Heinrich, Susan Houseman (Corresponding Author) Jun 2016

Effects Of The Affordable Care Act On Part-Time Employment: Early Evidence, Marcus Dillender, Carolyn Heinrich, Susan Houseman (Corresponding Author)

Susan N. Houseman

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires employers with at least 50 full-time-equivalent employees to offer “affordable” health insurance to employees working 30 or more hours per week. If employers do not comply with the mandate, they may face substantial financial penalties. Employers can potentially circumvent the mandate by reducing weekly hours below the 30-hour threshold or by using other nonstandard employment arrangements (direct-hire temporaries, agency temporaries, small contractors, and independent contractors). We examine the effects of the ACA on short-hours, part-time employment. Using monthly CPS data, we estimate that the ACA resulted in an increase in low-hours, involuntary part-time employment …


Regional Labour Market Integration In England And Wales, 1850-1913, George R. Boyer, Timothy J. Hatton Dec 2015

Regional Labour Market Integration In England And Wales, 1850-1913, George R. Boyer, Timothy J. Hatton

George R. Boyer

[Excerpt] This chapter examines the integration of labour markets within the rural and urban sectors of England and Wales during the second half of the nineteenth century. Although there is a large literature on internal migration and emigration in Victorian Britain, historians typically have focused on the direction and causes of migration rather than on its consequences for the labour market. Broadly speaking, the literature has found that workers did indeed migrate towards better wage-earning opportunities, that most moves were short-distance moves, and that once certain patterns of migration were established they often persisted. The studies leave the strong impression, …


The Potential Effects Of Federal Health Insurance Reforms On Employment Arrangements And Compensation, Marcus Dillender, Carolyn Heinrich, Susan Houseman Mar 2015

The Potential Effects Of Federal Health Insurance Reforms On Employment Arrangements And Compensation, Marcus Dillender, Carolyn Heinrich, Susan Houseman

Susan N. Houseman

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) presents an opportunity to significantly improve compensation for American workers. A potential concern, though, is that employers will circumvent the employer mandate by increasing their use of workers in staffing arrangements that are not covered by the mandate: workers averaging less than 30 hours per week, working on a temporary basis, or working in organizations with fewer than 50 full-time employees. In this paper, we shed light on the likely effects that the ACA will have on employment arrangements. We first examine how part-time employment in Massachusetts changed after its health insurance reform, which is …


The Growth Of Nonstandard Employment In Japan And The United States: A Comparison Of Causes And Consequences, Susan Houseman, Machiko Osawa Feb 2015

The Growth Of Nonstandard Employment In Japan And The United States: A Comparison Of Causes And Consequences, Susan Houseman, Machiko Osawa

Susan N. Houseman

No abstract provided.


Earnings Inequality In Germany, Katharine G. Abraham, Susan N. Houseman Feb 2015

Earnings Inequality In Germany, Katharine G. Abraham, Susan N. Houseman

Susan N. Houseman

Recent studies have documented the growth of earnings inequality in the United States during the 1980s. In contrast to these studies' findings, our analysis of micro data for the former West Germany yields virtually no evidence of growth in earnings inequality over the same period. Between 1978 and 1988, a reduction in the dispersion of earnings among workers in the bottom half of the earnings distribution led to a narrowing of the overall dispersion of earnings in Germany. Earnings differentials across education and age groups remained roughly stable, and there was no general widening of earnings differentials within either education …


The Effects Of Employer Mandates, Susan Houseman Feb 2015

The Effects Of Employer Mandates, Susan Houseman

Susan N. Houseman

No abstract provided.


The Drive For Flexibility And The Growth Of "Flexible" Staffing Arrangements, Susan Houseman Feb 2015

The Drive For Flexibility And The Growth Of "Flexible" Staffing Arrangements, Susan Houseman

Susan N. Houseman

No abstract provided.


The Effects Of Metropolitan Job Growth On The Size Distribution Of Family Income, Timothy J. Bartik Jan 2015

The Effects Of Metropolitan Job Growth On The Size Distribution Of Family Income, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

This paper examines how a metropolitan area's job growth affects its income distribution. The research uses annual Current Population Survey data on the income distribution in different metropolitan areas from 1979 through 1988. Faster metropolitan job growth increases real family income in the lowest income quintile by a significantly greater percentage than for the average family. Metropolitan job growth also increases the value of property owned by upper income quintiles, but property value effects are not large enough to offset the progressive effects of growth on labor income. Simulations indicate that economic development programs to increase metropolitan job growth will …


Raise The Floor: Wages And Policies That Work For All Of Us By Holly Sklar, Laryssa Mykyta, And Susan Wefald, Timothy Bartik Jan 2015

Raise The Floor: Wages And Policies That Work For All Of Us By Holly Sklar, Laryssa Mykyta, And Susan Wefald, Timothy Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.


Group Wage Curves, Timothy J. Bartik Jan 2015

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 …


Will Welfare Reform Cause Displacement?, Timothy J. Bartik Jan 2015

Will Welfare Reform Cause Displacement?, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.


Identifying Persistent Regional Economic Distress Due To The Great Recession, Timothy Bartik Jan 2015

Identifying Persistent Regional Economic Distress Due To The Great Recession, Timothy Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

Upjohn Institute researchers will estimate the extent to which recessions have a persistent effect on per capita income in the most severely affected local areas. If persistent effects are identified, the project will explore which indicators will best identify the local areas that suffer from persistently lower per capita income. Prolonged local distress may rationalize federal policy to assist residents in the identified regions, either individually or regionally. Any such federal policy needs reliable indicators of which regions are most likely to suffer persistent economic distress. Empirical work will be done in two stages: 1) estimate the persistent effects on …


Good Jobs, Bad Jobs: The Long-Run Implications Of Employment At Different Wage Rates For The Disadvantaged, Timothy J. Bartik Jan 2015

Good Jobs, Bad Jobs: The Long-Run Implications Of Employment At Different Wage Rates For The Disadvantaged, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.


Edited Transcript Of Living Wage Conference Call, February 11, 2004, Timothy Bartik, David Neumark, Robert Pollin, David Reynolds, Aaron Yelowitz, Mark Brenner, Richard Sander, Richard Toikka Jan 2015

Edited Transcript Of Living Wage Conference Call, February 11, 2004, Timothy Bartik, David Neumark, Robert Pollin, David Reynolds, Aaron Yelowitz, Mark Brenner, Richard Sander, Richard Toikka

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.


Short-Term Employment Persistence For Welfare Recipients: The "Effects" Of Wages, Industry, Occupation And Firm Size, Timothy J. Bartik Jan 2015

Short-Term Employment Persistence For Welfare Recipients: The "Effects" Of Wages, Industry, Occupation And Firm Size, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

Using data from 13 years (1983-95) of the March Current Population Survey, this study examines how the types of jobs held by welfare mothers during the preceding year affects their employment and earnings at the time of the March interview. The estimates suggest that the wages of last year's job affect current employment and earnings, but the effects of wages are more modest than might be expected. The industry and occupation of last year's job make a great deal of difference, with industry being more important than occupation. The industries with the most positive effects on current employment are hospitals …


Displacement And Wage Effects Of Welfare Reform, Timothy Bartik Jan 2015

Displacement And Wage Effects Of Welfare Reform, Timothy Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.


Jobs For Welfare Recipients, Timothy J. Bartik Jan 2015

Jobs For Welfare Recipients, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.


Taking Preschool Education Seriously As An Economic Development Program: Effects On Jobs And Earnings Of State Residents Compared To Traditional Economic Development Programs, Timothy J. Bartik Jan 2015

Taking Preschool Education Seriously As An Economic Development Program: Effects On Jobs And Earnings Of State Residents Compared To Traditional Economic Development Programs, Timothy J. Bartik

Timothy J. Bartik

No abstract provided.


Instrumental Variable Estimates Of The Labor Market Spillover Effects Of Welfare Reform, Timothy J. Bartik Jan 2015

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

Timothy J. Bartik

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.


Family Wages: The Roles Of Wives And Mothers In U.S. Working-Class Survival Strategies, 1880-1930, Ileen Devault Jan 2015

Family Wages: The Roles Of Wives And Mothers In U.S. Working-Class Survival Strategies, 1880-1930, Ileen Devault

Ileen A DeVault

The common image of a female wage earner in the U.S. in the decades around the turn of the 20th century is that of a young, single woman: the daughter of her family. However, the wives and mothers of these families also made important economic contributions to their families' economies. This paper argues that we need to rethink our evaluation of the economic roles played by ever-married women in working-class families. Using a range of government reports as well as IPUMS, I document three ways in which working-class wives and mothers strove to bring cash into their family units: through …


Employment Relations And Wages: What Can We Learn From Subjective Assessments?, Marta Lachowska Jan 2015

Employment Relations And Wages: What Can We Learn From Subjective Assessments?, Marta Lachowska

Marta Lachowska

This paper studies the link between hourly wages and workers’ subjective assessments of how easy it would be to find another job as good as the present one, and how easy it would be for an employer to replace an employee. First, using high-quality data, I study the correlates of these two assessments. Second, I study whether respondents who report better outside opportunities and respondents who think they are difficult to replace receive higher wages. The results appear to be consistent with predictions of at least three theoretical frameworks: human capital theory, search theory, and a “locus of control” model.


The Employment And Earnings Impacts Of The Targeted Jobs Tax Credit, Kevin Hollenbeck, Richard J. Willke Jan 2015

The Employment And Earnings Impacts Of The Targeted Jobs Tax Credit, Kevin Hollenbeck, Richard J. Willke

Kevin Hollenbeck

The Targeted Jobs Tax Credit (TJTC) is intended to stimulate the employment of individuals who are members of certain groups of the labor force by providing a wage subsidy (in the form of a tax credit) to employers of recently-hired eligible workers. This intervention into the labor market has direct and indirect earnings and employment consequences for both eligible and ineligible individuals. The paper evaluates the impacts of TJTC by using a treatment and comparison group methodology. Corrections for nonrandom selection are undertaken. The primary sources of data are state quarterly wage record data from the Unemployment Insurance system and …


Employer Rents Received By Hiring Vocationally-Trained Or Experienced Workers, Kevin Hollenbeck Jan 2015

Employer Rents Received By Hiring Vocationally-Trained Or Experienced Workers, Kevin Hollenbeck

Kevin Hollenbeck

No abstract provided.


Estimating Wage-Fringe Trade-Offs: Some Data Problems, Robert Smith, Ronald G. Ehrenberg Aug 2012

Estimating Wage-Fringe Trade-Offs: Some Data Problems, Robert Smith, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] This paper represents an inquiry into some of the data related difficulties inherent in estimating wage-fringe trade-offs, and it explores the usefulness of a particular source of data in meeting these difficulties.


Workers’ Compensation, Wages, And The Risk Of Injury, Ronald G. Ehrenberg Aug 2012

Workers’ Compensation, Wages, And The Risk Of Injury, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] In many respects the structures of the workers' compensation and unemployment insurance systems are similar. Each is actually a system of individual state systems. Both are financed by a payroll tax that is imperfectly experience rated. Both provide insurance against an adverse consequence (work injury or unemployment) that leads to time away from work; the incidence and duration of these events are at least partially determined by both employer and employee behavior. Both systems provide, at least for temporary events, a structure of benefits that ties compensation to a worker's previous earnings. Because of these similarities, it is not …


The Demand For State And Local Government Employees, Ronald G. Ehrenberg Jul 2012

The Demand For State And Local Government Employees, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] The primary purpose of this paper is to present empirical estimates of the wage elasticities of demand for different categories of state and local government employees. The employment demand equations that are estimated are derived from a utility maximization model of state and local government behavior. After presenting this model in the first section, we next briefly discuss the data used in the study. The structural system of demand equations is then estimated using pooled time-series and cross-section information, with annual individual state data as the units of observation. A number of alternative estimation methods are used in the …


Absenteeism And The Overtime Decision, Ronald G. Ehrenberg Jul 2012

Absenteeism And The Overtime Decision, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] Upon reading the congressional hearing on the Overtime Pay Penalty Act of 1964, one cannot fail to be impressed by the emphasis that management places on absenteeism as a primary cause of overtime. The argument given is basically quite simple: Large firms, it is claimed, attempt to account for absenteeism by hiring standby workers; however because of the stochastic nature of the absentee rate, it is impossible for them to have replacements always available. Hence overtime must be worked by existing employees in order to meet production schedules. One concludes from this argument that the randomness of absenteeism is …


Retirement System Characteristics And Compensating Wage Differentials In The Public Sector, Ronald G. Ehrenberg Jul 2012

Retirement System Characteristics And Compensating Wage Differentials In The Public Sector, Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

This paper presents evidence that a trade-off exists between wages and certain characteristics of retirement systems in the public sector. Cross-section econometric estimates for uniformed municipal employees, based upon data from two national surveys of municipalities, suggest that, other things equal, an increase in the contribution made by uniformed employees to their retirement system leads to a compensating increase in their salaries, while retirement systems with more "generous" characteristics are associated to some extent with lower salaries. The estimates also indicate that the extent of retirement system underfunding is related to employers' and employees' perceptions of the probability that promised …


Unemployment Insurance, Duration Of Unemployment, And Subsequent Wage Gain, Ronald Ehrenberg, Ronald Oaxaca Jul 2012

Unemployment Insurance, Duration Of Unemployment, And Subsequent Wage Gain, Ronald Ehrenberg, Ronald Oaxaca

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] In order to evaluate what the "optimal" level of UI benefits is, one must therefore first estimate the magnitude of the relationships between UI benefits levels and unemployed workers' durations of unemployment and post-unemployment wages. There have been several previous studies of the impact of UI benefits on duration of spells of unemployment, however none have been completely satisfactory methodologically. To our knowledge, there have been no previous studies of the system's impact on subsequent wage rates. We attempt to fill these gaps, utilizing data from the National Longitudinal Survey (NLS) to estimate both relationships. The plan of our …