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Articles 301 - 330 of 370
Full-Text Articles in Economics
Thinking About Local Living Wage Requirements, Timothy J. Bartik
Thinking About Local Living Wage Requirements, Timothy J. Bartik
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
This paper reviews what we currently know about the benefits and costs of different varieties of a "living wage": a local government requirement, now adopted by over 50 local governments, for wages above the federal minimum imposed on employers with some financial link to the local government. The review includes economic theory, empirical research on local labor markets, and empirical research on the living wage. The paper concludes that moderate living wage requirements applied to the local government's own employees, and contractors' and grantees' employees who are funded by the local government, may do more good than harm. Excessive living …
How Late To Pay? Understanding Wage Arrears In Russia, John S. Earle, Klara Sabirianova Peter
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 …
The Role Of Partnerships In Economic Development And Labor Markets In The United States, Randall W. Eberts, George A. Erickcek
The Role Of Partnerships In Economic Development And Labor Markets In The United States, Randall W. Eberts, George A. Erickcek
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
This paper describes the role of local partnerships in the delivery of workforce and economic development services in the United States. Partnerships include both public and private organizations and increasingly depend upon local business people for leadership. With grassroots organizations traditionally taking the lead in addressing local issues and a long history of decentralized government, it is not surprising that a labyrinth of partnerships characterize the provision of public services. This paper grew out of a study tour that the Upjohn Institute conducted in conjunction with the Local Employment and Economic Development (LEED) Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation …
Nonstandard Work And Child Care Choices Of Married Mothers, Jean Kimmel, Lisa M. Powell
Nonstandard Work And Child Care Choices Of Married Mothers, Jean Kimmel, Lisa M. Powell
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
The focus of this paper is to examine the interplay between nonstandard employment and child care choice decisions of married mothers with young children. We draw on the 1992/93 Survey of Income and Program Participation to estimate two related econometric models of child care choice that include the choice among center, sitter, relative and parental care. First, controlling for the potential endogeneity of the nonstandard work decision, we find that being a nonstandard worker significantly reduces the likelihood of using formal modes of child care such as center and sitter care. In our second model, where we jointly estimate the …
The Returns To Education And Basic Skills Training For Individuals With Poor Health Or Disability, Kevin Hollenbeck, Jean Kimmel
The Returns To Education And Basic Skills Training For Individuals With Poor Health Or Disability, Kevin Hollenbeck, Jean Kimmel
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
This paper examines linkages between disability and health status and the returns to education and basic skills training. It bases analyses on two separate data sources: wave 3 from the 1993 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and the 1992 National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS). The data sets have been used to estimate standard wage equations with education and basic skills training among the independent variables. The NALS data set allows us to control for prose, quantitative, and document literacy. The wage equations rely on Heckit corrections for labor force participation, and we stratify by sex. …
The Benefits Implications Of Recent Trends In Flexible Staff Arrangements, Susan N. Houseman
The Benefits Implications Of Recent Trends In Flexible Staff Arrangements, Susan N. Houseman
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
Workers in flexible staffing arrangements - including temporary agency, direct-hire temporary, on-call, and contract workers - are much less likely than regular, direct-hire employees to be covered by laws mandating or regulating workplace benefits. Workers in such arrangements, in turn, are much less likely to receive pension, health insurance, and other benefits on the job. This paper documents these differences in coverage by benefits regulations and differences in benefits receipt. The paper also reviews evidence on the incentives employers have to use workers in these various flexible staffing arrangements. Although reducing benefits costs is not the only reason employers use …
Black-White Segregation, Discrimination, And Home Ownership, Kelly Derango
Black-White Segregation, Discrimination, And Home Ownership, Kelly Derango
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
The effect of discrimination on black-white racial segregation is studied using a confidential supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). Audit studies reveal that the rate of discrimination in rental housing is substantially higher than in owner-occupied housing. Thus, a variable indicating home ownership is used to proxy for the discrimination rate faced by blacks. The fixed-effects estimates of segregation imply that home ownership is associated with a decline in black-white segregation. This effect decreases slightly at higher income levels but increases substantially with the education of the head of household. Evidence is presented that the effect of …
The Effect Of Child Care Costs On The Labor Force Participation And Welfare Recipiency Of Single Mothers: Implications For Welfare Reform, Rachel Connelly, Jean Kimmel
The Effect Of Child Care Costs On The Labor Force Participation And Welfare Recipiency Of Single Mothers: Implications For Welfare Reform, Rachel Connelly, Jean Kimmel
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
This paper considers the effect of child care costs on two labor market outcomes for single mothers - whether to participate in the labor market and whether to receive welfare. Hourly child care expenditures are estimated for all women in the sample (using data drawn from the 1992 and 1993 panels of the SIPP), whether or not they are currently using nonmaternal child care. These expenditures are then included as an independent variable predicting the probability of welfare recipiency and the probability of labor force participation. Results show a substantial positive effect of child care costs on welfare recipiency, with …
Why Employers Use Flexible Staffing Arrangements: Evidence From An Establishment Survey, Susan N. Houseman
Why Employers Use Flexible Staffing Arrangements: Evidence From An Establishment Survey, Susan N. Houseman
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
This paper examines which employers use flexible staffing arrangements, why they use these arrangements, and their implications for workers and public policy, drawing on a nationally representative survey of private sector establishments. Use of flexible staffing arrangements-including temporary help agency, short-term, on-call, regular part-time, and contract workers-is widespread and two-thirds of employers believe this use will increase in the near future. Traditional reasons concerning the need to accommodate fluctuations in workload or absences in staff are the most commonly cited reasons for using all types of flexible staffing arrangements. Many employers also use agency temporaries and part-time workers to screen …
Solving The Many Problems With Inner City Jobs, Timothy J. Bartik
Solving The Many Problems With Inner City Jobs, Timothy J. Bartik
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
Inner-city business development is often proposed as a solution to inner-city poverty. However, research evidence suggests that creating new jobs in the inner city is unlikely by itself to significantly increase the employment or earnings of the inner city poor. Public subsidies for inner city business development may be justified by greater environmental, congestion, and fiscal benefits of inner city vs. suburban business location decisions. The research evidence suggests that some boost in inner city business development may be provided by a combination of economic development incentives with enhanced public services. A different set of policies must be used to …
Group Wage Curves, Timothy J. Bartik
Group Wage Curves, Timothy J. Bartik
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
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 …
The Role Of Public Policy In Skills Development Of Black Workers In The 21st Century, Timothy J. Bartik, Kevin Hollenbeck
The Role Of Public Policy In Skills Development Of Black Workers In The 21st Century, Timothy J. Bartik, Kevin Hollenbeck
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
This paper discusses the role of public policy in the skills development system of the U.S. It further examines the implications of that policy for the skill development and career progression of black workers. The paper describes the current "system" for skills development in the United States as a two- tiered system: The "first-chance" or conventional system allows individuals to proceed through an extensive public elementary, secondary, and postsecondary educational sector that is supplemented by private educational institutions and is followed by employer-provided job training and work experience. The "second-chance" system is designed for individuals who do not successfully traverse …
Marital Status And Full-Time/Part-Time Work Status In Child Care Choices, Rachel Connelly, Jean Kimmel
Marital Status And Full-Time/Part-Time Work Status In Child Care Choices, Rachel Connelly, Jean Kimmel
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
Using recent SIPP data, we estimate two econometric models to study the differences in the effect of child care costs on employment status and differences in the mode of child care used controlling for employment status. For both married and single women, full-time employment is more elastic with respect to changes in the price of child care than part-time employment and employment elasticities are larger for single than married mothers. In the model of child care modal choice, we find that an increased probability of full-time employment is associated with an increase in the use of center care and a …
Intergovernmental Relations In Employment Policy: The United States Experience, Christopher J. O'Leary, Robert A. Straits
Intergovernmental Relations In Employment Policy: The United States Experience, Christopher J. O'Leary, Robert A. Straits
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
Policies to regulate and support labor markets in the United States have mainly been an initiative of the federal government. Historically, states and localities were reluctant to act independently to build up worker rights and protections for fear of competitively disadvantaging resident industries with added costs. Federal constitutional authority to raise revenue and control commerce among the states governed development of labor market policy in the United States. Labor market support initiatives usually have been forged in difficult economic times with contributions and compromise from the full political spectrum. This paper examines the development of employment policy in the twentieth …
Unemployment Compensation And Older Workers, Christopher J. O'Leary, Stephen A. Wandner
Unemployment Compensation And Older Workers, Christopher J. O'Leary, Stephen A. Wandner
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
Unemployment compensation in the United States is provided through a federal-state system of unemployment insurance (UI). UI provides temporary partial wage replacement to active job seekers who are involuntarily out of work. For older workers, UI is an important source of income security and a potential influence on work incentives. For many, the transition from full-time work in a career job to retirement is voluntary and orderly. For others, job displacement greatly disrupts plans. The transition often involves many intermediate steps. The chain of transitions may include full- or part-time work on another job which most often is not in …
Alternative Measures Of State Ui Systems, Christopher J. O'Leary, Robert Tannenwald, Wei-Jang Huang, Pei Zhu
Alternative Measures Of State Ui Systems, Christopher J. O'Leary, Robert Tannenwald, Wei-Jang Huang, Pei Zhu
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
Comparisons among state unemployment insurance (UI) systems can be misleading. Frequently quoted indicators of benefit generosity, tax cost, and adherence to the experience-rating principle are influenced by the relative economic conditions of states. Such comparisons thereby obscure underlying structural differences in state UI systems. A business considering alternative states in which to locate a production facility should be cautious when interpreting UI information in an economic developer's marketing pitch. This paper offers alternative indicators based on how representative firms, with a well specified unemployment experience, would fare in different states. The authors use a micro-simulation approach to model the experiences …
A Note On Commutes And The Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis, Kelly Derango
A Note On Commutes And The Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis, Kelly Derango
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
A number of empirical studies have tested the spatial mismatch hypothesis by examining the commuting times of blacks and whites. This note points out that the link between spatial mismatch and commuting times may be weak when employment probabilities decline as the distance from job site to residence increases. A simple spatial model of urban employment is developed in which a fixed number of agents live in the central city. Two examples are presented in which increased spatial mismatch may either increase or decrease the average commuting time of central city minorities, depending on the rate at which employment probabilities …
Aggregate Effects In Local Labor Markets Of Supply And Demand Shocks, Timothy J. Bartik
Aggregate Effects In Local Labor Markets Of Supply And Demand Shocks, Timothy J. Bartik
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
Anti-poverty policy in the U.S. has emphasized labor supply policies, such as welfare reform or job training. Anti-poverty policy in the U.S. has not emphasized policies to increase labor demand for the poor, such as public employment or subsidizing private employers to hire the poor. What are the aggregate effects of such policies on wages and unemployment of different groups? This paper estimates and simulates a model with several types of labor, using data from the Current Population Survey on state labor markets. The simulations suggest that forcing more disadvantaged persons into the labor market can displace many other persons …
The Implications Of Flexible Staffing Arrangements For Job Stability, Susan N. Houseman, Anne E. Polivka
The Implications Of Flexible Staffing Arrangements For Job Stability, Susan N. Houseman, Anne E. Polivka
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
In this paper, we examine the job stability of workers in a wide range of flexible staffing arrangements: agency temporary, direct-hire temporary, on-call, contract company, independent contractor, and regular part-time work. We draw upon two data sources in our analysis. The first is a nationwide survey of employers on their use of flexible staffing arrangements conducted by the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. This survey provides evidence on why employers use various types of flexible staffing arrangements and the extent to which employers move workers in these positions into regular arrangements within their organization. The second data source is the …
Examining The Effect Of Industry Trends And Structure On Welfare Caseloads, Timothy J. Bartik, Randall W. Eberts
Examining The Effect Of Industry Trends And Structure On Welfare Caseloads, Timothy J. Bartik, Randall W. Eberts
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
Previous studies of the macro-economic determinants of welfare caseloads have had difficulty in explaining changes in welfare caseloads during the last decade or so using the simple macroeconomic measure of unemployment. Because welfare recipients will typically get entry-level jobs, employment variables that are closely related to job vacancies, such as employment growth, are also important in determining welfare caseloads, as we show empirically in this study. Recognizing that welfare recipients face more substantial barriers to employment than those who typically have more education and skills, we constructed several macro-economic variables that reflect the education requirements of industries and the predominance …
Promoting Self Employment Among The Unemployed In Hungary And Poland, Christopher J. O'Leary
Promoting Self Employment Among The Unemployed In Hungary And Poland, Christopher J. O'Leary
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
To evaluate the effectiveness of self-employment assistance to the unemployed in Hungary and Poland more than 5,500 follow-up interviews were conducted in early 1997 by employees of local labor offices with persons in self-employment participant and comparison group samples. Wide ranging differences were observed between the demographic composition of self-employment samples and the general population of unemployed. Program effects were therefore computed as net impact estimates controlling for systematic sample selection using observable characteristics including information on job search assistance from the employment service. While self-employment assistance yielded a favorable set of net impact estimates in both countries, there was …
The Labor Supply Effects Of Welfare Reform, Timothy J. Bartik
The Labor Supply Effects Of Welfare Reform, Timothy J. Bartik
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
Will welfare reform increase unemployment and reduce wages? The answer depends in part on how much welfare reform increases labor supply. This paper considers the labor supply effects of the welfare reforms that have occurred since 1993, when President Clinton entered office with a promise to "end welfare as we know it." The paper reviews previous estimates, and provides new estimates, of how many additional labor force participants have entered the labor force due to welfare reform. I estimate that welfare reform from 1993-96 increased the U.S. labor force by between 100,000 and 300,000 persons. Between 1996, when the major …
The Optimal Dole With Risk Aversion And Job Destruction, Carl Davidson, Stephen A. Woodbury
The Optimal Dole With Risk Aversion And Job Destruction, Carl Davidson, Stephen A. Woodbury
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
This paper extends earlier research on optimal unemployment insurance (UI) by developing an equilibrium search model that encompasses simultaneously several theoretical and institutional features that have been treated one-by-one (or not at all) in previous discussions of optimal UI. In particular, the model we develop allows us to determine the optimal potential duration of UI benefits as well as the optimal UI benefit amount; assumes (realistically) that not all workers are eligible for UI benefits; allows examination of various degrees of risk aversion by workers; models labor demand so that the job destruction effects of UI are taken into account; …
The Use Of Profiling To Target Services In State Welfare-To-Work Programs: An Example Of Process And Implementation, Randall W. Eberts
The Use Of Profiling To Target Services In State Welfare-To-Work Programs: An Example Of Process And Implementation, Randall W. Eberts
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
The purpose of this paper is to provide preliminary information about the design of a pilot project to test the efficacy of profiling and referring welfare-to-work participants. Welfare reform requires welfare recipients, with few exceptions, to participate in work activities and ultimately become economically self-sufficient. Welfare recipients possess a wide variation in job readiness skills, ranging from those who are ready and able to work to those who face significant barriers to employment. The challenge of the local administrator of welfare-to-work programs is to target services to those who need them the most. Yet, most programs provide the same services …
Preliminary Evidence On Impacts Of Active Labor Programs In Hungary And Poland, Christopher J. O'Leary
Preliminary Evidence On Impacts Of Active Labor Programs In Hungary And Poland, Christopher J. O'Leary
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
To ease the hardship associated with worker dislocation and to maintain social stability during the transition to markets, the governments of Hungary and Poland provide labor force members with unemployment compensation and a variety of active labor programs (ALPs). Follow-up surveys of participants in retraining, public works, wage subsidies, self-employment, and comparison groups were done in Hungary and Poland in early 1997. Preliminary analysis suggests positive net impacts for most ALPs and additive benefits from the use of the employment service in both countries. Strong evidence of nonrandom assignment to programs means that great care should be used in interpreting …
Short-Term Employment Persistence For Welfare Recipients: The "Effects" Of Wages, Industry, Occupation And Firm Size, Timothy J. Bartik
Short-Term Employment Persistence For Welfare Recipients: The "Effects" Of Wages, Industry, Occupation And Firm Size, Timothy J. Bartik
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
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 …
Unemployment Insurance Policy In New England: Background And Issues, Robert Tannenwald, Christopher J. O'Leary
Unemployment Insurance Policy In New England: Background And Issues, Robert Tannenwald, Christopher J. O'Leary
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
Most states have exhausted their unemployment insurance (UI) trust fund and borrowed from the federal government at least once during the past 35 years. Under such circumstances, states are required by law to raise UI taxes to replenish their trust funds and to pay off their debts to the federal government. Since higher UI taxes increase employer costs, replenishment forces states into a trade-off between economic competitiveness and trust fund adequacy. Competitive pressures have raised questions about prevailing standards of adequacy and the speed at which they should be attained. Consequently, several states are contemplating tax reductions despite low reserves. …
Employee Benefits And Tax Reform, Stephen A. Woodbury
Employee Benefits And Tax Reform, Stephen A. Woodbury
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
The current tax treatment of pensions and health insurance in the United States is a hybrid that lacks consistency under either an accrual income tax system or a consumption tax system. Under an accrual income tax, employer contributions to pension plans represent an addition to wealth that would be taxed at the time they are made. The interest earned on pension contributions also represents an addition to wealth that would be taxed annually. When a worker retires, all applicable taxes would already have been paid on the benefit, and the flow of retirement income received by the worker would not …
Unemployment Insurance And Unemployment: Implications Of The Reemployment Bonus Experiments, Carl Davidson, Stephen A. Woodbury
Unemployment Insurance And Unemployment: Implications Of The Reemployment Bonus Experiments, Carl Davidson, Stephen A. Woodbury
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
We translate the results of the three reemployment bonus experiments that were conducted during the 1980s into (a) impacts of a 10-percentage point increase in the Unemployment Insurance (UI) replacement rate on the expected duration of unemployment; and (b) impacts of adding 1 week to the potential duration of UI benefits on the expected duration of unemployment. Our approach is to use an equilibrium search and matching model, calibrated using data from the bonus experiments and secondary sources. The results suggest that a 10-percentage point increase in the UI replacement rate increases the expected duration of unemployment by .3 to …
Design Of The Worker Profiling And Reemployment Services System And Evaluation In Michigan, Randall W. Eberts, Christopher J. O'Leary
Design Of The Worker Profiling And Reemployment Services System And Evaluation In Michigan, Randall W. Eberts, Christopher J. O'Leary
Upjohn Institute Working Papers
The Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1993, Public Law 103-152, require each state employment security agency to implement a Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services (WPRS) system. WPRS systems are intended to identify unemployment insurance beneficiaries who are most likely to exhaust their regular benefits, and refer them quickly to reemployment services to speed the transition to new employment. This brief paper was prepared for a national colloquium on WPRS held June 11-14, 1996 in Atlanta. The paper summarizes work done by the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research for the State of Michigan to design and implement a UI profiling model, …