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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Job Training That Gets Results: Ten Principles Of Effective Employment Programs, Michael Bernick Nov 2005

Job Training That Gets Results: Ten Principles Of Effective Employment Programs, Michael Bernick

Upjohn Press

Bernick shows the types of training programs that work and describes for whom they work. He identifies ways to improve performance among Workforce Investment Act (WIA) contractors while exploring the best uses for state discretionary WIA funds. He also describes what it takes to make an effective career ladder program, how postemployment welfare retention or skill advancement programs can succeed, and the type of training that workers with disabilities must go through to get and retain jobs.


The Incidence And Cost Of Job Loss In The Ukrainian Labor Market, Hartmut Lehmann, Norberto Pignatti, Jonathan Wadsworth Sep 2005

The Incidence And Cost Of Job Loss In The Ukrainian Labor Market, Hartmut Lehmann, Norberto Pignatti, Jonathan Wadsworth

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We examine the effects of economic transition on the pattern and costs of worker displacement in Ukraine, using the Ukrainian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (ULMS) for the years 1992 to 2002. Displacement rates in the Ukrainian labor market average between 3.4 and 4.8 percent of employment, roughly in line with levels typically observed in several Western economies, but considerably larger than in Russia. The characteristics of displaced workers are similar to those displaced in the West, in so far as displacement is concentrated on the less skilled. Around one third of displaced workers find re-employment immediately while the majority continues into …


Workplace Injuries And Diseases: Prevention And Compensation - Essays In Honor Of Terry Thomason, Karen Roberts Editor, John F. Burton Editor, Matthew M. Bodah Editor Aug 2005

Workplace Injuries And Diseases: Prevention And Compensation - Essays In Honor Of Terry Thomason, Karen Roberts Editor, John F. Burton Editor, Matthew M. Bodah Editor

Upjohn Press

This book presents a set of essays from a group of leading scholars that provides a detailed overview of what is known about the disability insurance system while highlighting areas of the system that beg for greater understanding.


Safety Practices, Firm Culture, And Workplace Injuries, Richard J. Butler, Yong-Seung Park Aug 2005

Safety Practices, Firm Culture, And Workplace Injuries, Richard J. Butler, Yong-Seung Park

Upjohn Press

The authors present analysis of the impact of various HRM practices on firms’ workers’ compensation costs; specifically, which practices lower firms’ workers’ compensation costs and whether the impact is the result of changes in technical efficiency or comes through induced changes in workers’ behavior.


Unemployment Compensation Throughout The World: A Comparative Analysis, Wayne Vroman, Vera Brusentsev Aug 2005

Unemployment Compensation Throughout The World: A Comparative Analysis, Wayne Vroman, Vera Brusentsev

Upjohn Press

The authors book that contains a contemporary perspective and review of UC programs in numerous countries throughout the world.


The Economics Of Sustainable Development, Sisay Asefa Editor Aug 2005

The Economics Of Sustainable Development, Sisay Asefa Editor

Upjohn Press

This title provides an economic perspective on critical issues that characterize the topic of sustainable development. In each case, the authors give hope that the challenges facing societies can be surmounted and millions can be lifted out of poverty by adopting policies that encourage the investment in human capital, democratic institutions, and improved market performance.


Welfare And Work: Experiences In Six Cities, Christopher T. King, Peter R. Mueser Aug 2005

Welfare And Work: Experiences In Six Cities, Christopher T. King, Peter R. Mueser

Upjohn Press

King and Mueser examine changes in welfare participation and labor market involvement of welfare recipients in six major cities during the 1990s. By focusing on these six cities (Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, and Kansas City) they are able to glean the extent to which differences in state and local policy, administrative directives, and local labor market conditions contribute to the trends in caseloads, employment, and well-being observed among former recipients.


Temporary Agency Employment As A Way Out Of Poverty?, David H. Autor, Susan N. Houseman Aug 2005

Temporary Agency Employment As A Way Out Of Poverty?, David H. Autor, Susan N. Houseman

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

The high incidence of temporary agency employment among participants in government employment programs has catalyzed debate about whether these jobs help the poor transition into stable employment and out of poverty. We provide direct evidence on this question through analysis of a Michigan welfare-to-work program in which program participants were randomly allocated across service providers ('contractors') with different job placement practices. We draw on a telephone survey of contractors and on administrative program data linked with wage records data on all participants entering the program over a three-and-a half-year period. Our survey evidence documents a consensus among contractors that temporary …


The Effect Of Minimum Wages On The Employment And Earnings Of South Africa's Domestic Service Workers, Tom Hertz Aug 2005

The Effect Of Minimum Wages On The Employment And Earnings Of South Africa's Domestic Service Workers, Tom Hertz

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Minimum wages have been in place for South Africa's one million domestic service workers since November of 2002. Using data from seven waves of the Labour Force Survey, this paper documents that the real wages, average monthly earnings, and total earnings of all employed domestic workers have risen since the regulations came into effect, while hours of work per week and employment have fallen. Each of these outcomes can be linked econometrically to the arrival of the minimum wage regulations. The overall estimated elasticities suggest that the regulations should have reduced poverty somewhat for domestic workers, although this last conclusion …


Evaluation Of The Air Force’S Determination Of The Military Value Of The W.K. Kellogg Air Guard Station And The Potential Cost Savings Generated By Its Closing, George A. Erickcek, Tom Edmonds Jul 2005

Evaluation Of The Air Force’S Determination Of The Military Value Of The W.K. Kellogg Air Guard Station And The Potential Cost Savings Generated By Its Closing, George A. Erickcek, Tom Edmonds

Reports

This is an evaluation of the methodology used by the Air Force in determining the military value of the W.K. Kellogg Air Guard Station and in estimating the potential costs savings generated by its proposed closing.


Refundable Tax Credits For Health Insurance, David W. Emmons, Eva Madly, Stephen A. Woodbury Jul 2005

Refundable Tax Credits For Health Insurance, David W. Emmons, Eva Madly, Stephen A. Woodbury

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.


Refundable Tax Credits For Health Insurance: The Sensitivity Of Simulated Impacts To Assumed Behavior, David W. Emmons, Eva Madly, Stephen A. Woodbury Jul 2005

Refundable Tax Credits For Health Insurance: The Sensitivity Of Simulated Impacts To Assumed Behavior, David W. Emmons, Eva Madly, Stephen A. Woodbury

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We replicate and extend a simulation model developed by Jonathan Gruber with the goals of illuminating Gruber's modeling of health insurance coverage under a tax credit and examining the sensitivity of the results to changes in the model's key parameters. The replications suggest that a refundable tax credit of $1,000 for a single individual or $2,000 for a family for private health insurance would reduce the number of uninsured individuals by between 17.5 and 28 percent and require new government expenditures of between $16.6 and $44 billion, of which about $7.4-$9.7 billion would be for coverage of previously uninsured individuals. …


Do Job Search Rules And Reemployment Services Reduce Insured Unemployment?, Christopher J. O'Leary, Stephen A. Wandner May 2005

Do Job Search Rules And Reemployment Services Reduce Insured Unemployment?, Christopher J. O'Leary, Stephen A. Wandner

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper summarizes state unemployment insurance job search policies based on a recent survey of states by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. It then reviews research results on the effects of reemployment services on durations of insured unemployment. The paper documents how state administrative practices have changed and questions whether these changes may have affected monitoring of claimant compliance with work search requirements. Since state policies on job search and service referral can affect insured durations of unemployment, these policies can also affect the measured total unemployment rate.


Welfare Reform, Saving, And Vehicle Ownership: Do Asset Limits And Vehicle Exemptions Matter?, James X. Sullivan May 2005

Welfare Reform, Saving, And Vehicle Ownership: Do Asset Limits And Vehicle Exemptions Matter?, James X. Sullivan

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper examines whether AFDC/TANF asset tests affect the asset holdings of low-educated single mothers, exploiting variation in asset limits and exemptions across states and over time. There are important reasons to examine vehicle assets in this context. For example, vehicles make up a very significant share of total wealth for poor families, and the variation in vehicle exemptions over time and across states far exceeds the variation in asset limits. Consistent with other recent research, I find little evidence that asset limits have an effect on the amount of liquid assets that single mothers hold. However, I find evidence …


Arts And Cultural Activities And The Michigan Economy, George A. Erickcek, Brad R. Watts Apr 2005

Arts And Cultural Activities And The Michigan Economy, George A. Erickcek, Brad R. Watts

Reports

No abstract provided.


Reconsidering Job Training And The Workforce Investment Act, Christopher J. O'Leary, Robert A. Straits, Stephen A. Wandner Apr 2005

Reconsidering Job Training And The Workforce Investment Act, Christopher J. O'Leary, Robert A. Straits, Stephen A. Wandner

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.


Does "Work First" Work? The Long-Term Consequences Of Temporary Agency And Direct-Hire Job Placements, David H. Autor, Susan N. Houseman Mar 2005

Does "Work First" Work? The Long-Term Consequences Of Temporary Agency And Direct-Hire Job Placements, David H. Autor, Susan N. Houseman

Reports

A principal objective of the welfare reform act of 1996 (PRWORA) was to encourage welfare recipients to obtain jobs rapidly, a strategy termed "Work First." Much analysis shows that Work First raises the incidence of direct-hire and—in a sizable minority of cases—temporary-help agency jobs among welfare clients. But the effect of these jobs on longer term labor market outcomes, such as labor force participation, earnings, and welfare recidivism, is unknown. Because welfare recipients who obtain jobs rapidly are positively selected from the pool of all Work First participants, a simple comparison of long-term outcomes among job takers and non-takers is …


Evaluating Job Training In Two Chinese Cities, Benu Bidani, Chor-Ching Goh, Niels-Hugo Blunch, Christopher J. O'Leary Mar 2005

Evaluating Job Training In Two Chinese Cities, Benu Bidani, Chor-Ching Goh, Niels-Hugo Blunch, Christopher J. O'Leary

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Recent years have seen a surge in the evidence on the impacts of active labor market programs for numerous countries. However, little evidence has been presented on the effectiveness of such programs in China. Recent economic reforms, associated massive lay-offs, and accompanying public retraining programs make China fertile ground for rigorous impact evaluations. This study evaluates retraining programs for laid-off workers in the cities of Shenyang and Wuhan using a comparison group design. To our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of its kind in China. The evidence suggests that retraining helped workers find jobs in Wuhan, but had little …


Do Government Sponsored Vocational Training Programs Help The Unemployed Find Jobs? Evidence From Russia, Anton Nivorozhkin, Eugenity Nivorozhkin Jan 2005

Do Government Sponsored Vocational Training Programs Help The Unemployed Find Jobs? Evidence From Russia, Anton Nivorozhkin, Eugenity Nivorozhkin

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

The study estimates the employment effect of vocational training programs for the unemployed in urban Russia. The results of propensity score matching indicate that training programs had a non-negative overall effect on the program participants relative to non-participants.


Single Mothers, Social Capital, And Work-Family Conflict, Teresa Ciabattari Jan 2005

Single Mothers, Social Capital, And Work-Family Conflict, Teresa Ciabattari

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

The purpose of this paper is to examine work-family conflict among low-income, unmarried mothers. I examine how social capital affects work-family conflict and how both social capital and work-family conflict affect employment. I analyze the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national sample of non-marital births collected in 1998-2000 and 1999-2002. Results show that social capital reduces unmarried mothers' reports of work-family conflict, especially for low-income women. In addition, mothers who report high levels of work-family conflict are less likely to be employed; this pattern holds for women who are not looking for work as well as those who …


Do Temporary Help Jobs Improve Labor Market Outcomes For Low-Skilled Workers? Evidence From Random Assignments, David H. Autor, Susan N. Houseman Jan 2005

Do Temporary Help Jobs Improve Labor Market Outcomes For Low-Skilled Workers? Evidence From Random Assignments, David H. Autor, Susan N. Houseman

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

A disproportionate share of low-skilled U.S. workers is employed by temporary help firms. These firms offer rapid entry into paid employment, but temporary help jobs are typically brief and it is unknown whether they foster longer-term employment. We draw upon an unusual, large-scale policy experiment in the state of Michigan to evaluate whether holding temporary help jobs facilitates labor market advancement for low-skilled workers. To identify these effects, we exploit the random assignment of welfare-to-work clients across numerous welfare service providers in a major metropolitan area. These providers feature substantially different placement rates at temporary help jobs but offer otherwise …


Asynchronous Risk: Unemployment, Equity Markets, And Retirement Savings, Jason S. Seligman, Jeffrey Brian Wenger Jan 2005

Asynchronous Risk: Unemployment, Equity Markets, And Retirement Savings, Jason S. Seligman, Jeffrey Brian Wenger

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

The link between unemployment and pension accumulations is conceptually straightforward; periods of unemployment lead to lower pension contributions, and thus to lower accumulations. However, impacts on accumulation may differ as a result of the timing and frequency of unemployment spells. We hypothesize that unemployment is more likely during periods in which the equities market experiences greater than average returns, largely due to a lead/lag structure of the stock and labor markets, respectively. This would imply that workers may systematically miss opportunities to purchase equities through DC plans when prices are relatively low. To test this hypothesis, we match historic stock …


Health, Wealth And Workforce Exit: Disability Insurance And Individual Accounts, Jason S. Seligman Jan 2005

Health, Wealth And Workforce Exit: Disability Insurance And Individual Accounts, Jason S. Seligman

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Current debate on the Social Security Administrations long-term finance of benefits includes proposals for independent private investment via individual accounts. The author first investigates what implications disability might have for equity savings account balances. In light of results, incentives to exit the workforce ahead of retirement age are considered when a defined benefit program for disability insurance continues to be available. Included simulation uses historic wage series, equity market performance, and current OASDI regulations for cohorts retiring over the period of 1929 - 2003.