Labor Economics Commons^™

Maternity Leave And Women’S Leadership In A Changing Work Environment: Global Evidence, Josefine Byström

CMC Senior Theses

Family leave policies play a central role in shaping women’s participation and advancement in the labor market. This study investigates whether the relationship between maternity leave duration and women’s labor outcomes has changed before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a cross-country panel spanning multiple years with fixed effects, this study examines two related outcomes: women’s labor force participation and representation in leadership. Prior to 2011, maternity leave duration displayed opposite non-linear patterns across these outcomes: an inverted U-shape for labor force participation, peaking at moderate leave lengths, and a U-shape for women’s leadership, which improved only at longer durations …

Does Immigration Enforcement Induce Legalization? Replicating And Extending The H-2b Evidence To Agricultural Guest Workers, Katherine E. Schwab

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines whether intensified interior immigration enforcement leads employers to increase demand for legal temporary foreign workers through the H-2 guest-worker programs. Using updated administrative data from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification, I first replicate the core findings of Amuedo-Dorantes, Arenas-Arroyo, and Schmidpeter (2021), who find that county-level enforcement significantly raises employer demand for H-2B non-agricultural workers, then apply the same empirical framework to H-2A, the agricultural equivalent.

My replication results are directionally consistent with the original study – the enforcement coefficient on H-2B demand is positive across specifications – though weaker in significance, reflecting routine vintage differences …

Beyond Bans: A Travel Distance-Based Approach To Estimating The Effects Of Dobbs V. Jackson Women’S Health Organization On Fertility And Labor Supply, Enya Kamadolli

CMC Senior Theses

The Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision had highly heterogeneous effects on abortion access across U.S. states, variation I exploit to identify causal effects on fertility and labor supply. Rather than a binary “total ban” indicator, I construct a continuous treatment measure based on changes in distance to the nearest legal abortion provider between 2021 and 2023, and apply a difference-in-differences design to state-level panel data. Effects are attenuated and imprecise in the South, consistent with diminishing marginal effects at large distances. In non-Southern states, I find that a 100 km increase in distance raises total births by about …

The Implications Of A Rise In The Minimum Wage: Evidence From Female Workers In Mexico, Isabella Cardenas Padilla

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the 2019 minimum wage reform in Mexico, evaluating its impact on female labor market outcomes, including labor force participation, formal employment, and informal employment. This reform introduced a new geographic minimum wage zone along municipalities bordering the United States, accompanied by fiscal incentives, creating a natural experiment for analysis. Using difference-in-differences regression specifications, the study finds that the minimum wage increase was associated with a rise in formal sector employment and a corresponding decline in informal employment among women with low educational attainment. This study finds a magnitude of 6 percentage points in each direction, an economically …

Determinants Of Remote Suitability Of Jobs And Residential Distance From The Workplace After The Covid-19 Pandemic, Abizer Mamnoon

CMC Senior Theses

Immediately before the COVID-19 pandemic, workers performed 14% of their paid hours from home, but this figure increased to 38% after the pandemic (Chen et al. 2023). This thesis contributes to our understanding of the determinants of remote work and the factors affecting how far an individual lives from the workplace in the post-pandemic period.

I use 1.95 million observations of worker-specific LinkedIn data from August 2023. I construct a measure of remote suitability using Dingel and Neiman’s (2020) method to assign each job title a remote suitability score based on the associated occupation. I use a Tobit regression to …

Skilled Immigrant Labor And Ai Innovation: A Longitudinal Panel Analysis Of H-1b Sponsorship Effects On Ai Patenting, Xinyue Zhang

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines how firm-level access to high-skilled immigrant labor, measured through H-1B visa petitions and approvals, affects innovation in artificial intelligence (AI). Using a panel dataset linking firm-year H-1B filings from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Employer Data Hub to AI patent records from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) between 2009 and 2019, the analysis estimates fixed effects regressions predicting AI patenting activity. The results show that H-1B approvals are positively and significantly associated with future AI patent counts, while petitions alone are not. Alternative specifications using inverse hyperbolic sine transformations and changes in …

Clutch Or Comfortable? How Franchise Tags Influence Qb Performance In The Nfl, Justin Edwards

CMC Senior Theses

Abstract

The National Football League (NFL) has a type of contract known as the Franchise Tag. The Franchise Tag is a one-year contractual extension often used when a player and a team cannot come to terms regarding the details of a contract extension. Usually, the player expects to be paid more than the organization can afford that year due to restrictions imposed by the salary cap. Because of this, Franchise-Tagged players tend to have a greater incentive to perform well in hopes of being signed into a long-term contract. My findings show that the incentive of future earnings and job …

Decoding Job Market Trends: Chatgpt’S Influence On Soft And Hard Skill Demands, Larkin Barnard-Bahn

Scripps Senior Theses

As the abilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) grow, automation anxiety (the fear of being replaced by technology) has plagued the workforce—especially after the launch of the advanced Generative AI tool ChatGPT. To avoid structural unemployment, workers may need to invest in developing skills not easily replaced by AI. Some scholars argue that AI is less able to replicate soft skills than hard skills, but the literature lacks studies that indicate a causal effect across industries and occupations. This paper investigates how the public release of ChatGPT has influenced the demand for soft skills relative to hard skills in the U.S. …

Effects Of The Homegrown Player Rule In The English Premier League: A Comprehensive Analysis Of Squad Composition, Market Values, And Wages, Jiho "Brian" Jun

Pitzer Senior Theses

This paper uses theoretical frameworks from economics and sports management to investigate the transformative effects of the Homegrown Player Rule on English Premier League squad dynamics, market valuations, and wage structures. The study examines the evolution of homegrown player distribution across clubs from the rule’s implementation in 2010 to the most recent season in 2023. My analysis of market values and wages finds no evidence that the rule leads to possible market value and wage rate disparities between homegrown and non-homegrown players. Subsequent research shows evidence of a decrease in the real wage rate of homegrown players over time, contrasting …

Improving American Men's Quality Of Life By Economically Empowering American Women, Margot Rosenblatt

Scripps Senior Theses

In this paper, I explore the relationship between women’s economic empowerment and men’s quality of life in the United States. I created an index of women’s economic empowerment based on county-level data on labor force participation rates, rates of pay, teen birth rates, and families in which a woman is the primary income earner. I then created an index of men’s quality of life based on financial, physical, and mental health indicators. Adjusting for income, dominant industry type, age, population density, race variables, and environmental factors, I found a statistically significant positive correlation between women’s economic empowerment and men’s quality …

How Do Pay Transparency Laws Impact The Gender Pay Gap In The United States?, Kendall Chapko

CMC Senior Theses

After much progress during the late 1900s, the gender pay gap has hardly closed in the last two decades. As policy makers look for new solutions, many governing bodies have turned to pay transparency laws, which make employee salaries transparent to employees. There have been several international studies on this topic, and almost all found that these laws are very effective in decreasing the pay gap. This research is extremely important, as it suggests that these policies push us further towards equality, and makes gender based discrimination less common in the workplace. In my study, I conduct a difference in …

Heterogeneity In The Covid-19 Pandemic’S Labor Market Effects, Carlos Montelongo

CMC Senior Theses

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, labor market outcomes in the United States drastically changed as the country entered its first recession since the Great Recession. The lives of millions of Americans became upended as economic shutdowns and lockdown orders spread across the United States. This paper attempts to quantify and examine the heterogeneity of employment trends before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic along the following four dimensions: race/ethnicity, gender, education, and age. By using cross-sectional data from the Current Population Survey, I gathered a representative sample of different demographic groups in the United States. My objective is …

Boom And Bust: Job Churn In The Technology Industry In The Covid-19 Pandemic Era, Aliza Mayer

Scripps Senior Theses

Layoffs in the technology sector since 2021 have dominated news cycles and raised concern amongst everyone, from investors to employees. However, there is limited literature regarding the reasoning behind these layoffs and whether they really are as concerning and dramatic as our modern-day news has expressed. In this paper, I examined the historical trends of employment and contributing factors and discerned that the current wave of layoffs has occurred for a few reasons. In the past, the technology sector has been very strategic with hiring and only does so when revenue permits. However, during the pandemic, the technology sector became …

An Investigation On Wage Penalties: The Effect Of Foreign-Born Status On Employee Wages, Salaries, And Incomes In The United States And Canada, Lucy C. Dustman

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper investigates whether there is a wage penalty that negatively affects foreign-born employees in the United States and Canada, addressing the following two questions: (1) Does being a foreign-born employee result in a wage penalty in the United States and Canada? And if so, (2) How does this penalty differ across the two countries over time? With data collected from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMs), four separate multiple linear regression models are estimated to compare the presence of wage penalties across various industries and occupations. These analyses cover the following comparisons: the United States in 1990 and …

Examining The Effectiveness Of Nba General Managers At Determining Value In The Nba Draft, And The Impact Of Drafting Team On Player Future Value, Benjamin S. Glass

CMC Senior Theses

This study examines the effectiveness of NBA general managers at accurately drafting in accordance with the future values of players. Using draft position as a metric representing perceived value at the time of the draft, and second contract size to represent value of a player at the time of free agency, I compare the effects of different draft positions on the expected size of a players second contract. By examining divergences in the expected negative linear trend, I can identify positions in the draft which are being over/undervalued. I additionally look at the effect of team on second contract size …

Impact Of Demand For H1b Visas In The Us On The Performance Of Listed Indian Firms, Jayaditya Shekhar Maliye

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between Indian firm performance and the demand for H1B visas in the US. To test this relationship, a fixed effects model has been used on a panel dataset of 104 Indian firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) over the period 2009 to 2021. The results show that an increase in H1B visa demand is negatively and significantly associated with Indian firm performance. These findings suggest that the US’s demand for high skilled labor overseas has consequences for firms in the home country.

Sexed Propensities And Gendered Penalties?: An Analysis Of The Economic Outcomes Of Transgender People, Jiwon Chung

CMC Senior Theses

Recent research has indicated the adverse economic outcomes of transgender people. The titular question of this paper refers to the effect on gendered economic outcomes that differences related to sex assigned at birth has for a sample of transgender individuals that is plausibly correlated with being at an early stage of their gender affirmation processes (e.g. social or medical transition). For this group of plausibly early-in-transition transgender individuals, I hypothesize and test a theory that draws the following account: assigned female at birth (AFAB) transgender individuals encounter significant economic penalties as a result of labour market decisions (i.e. industry sorting) …

How A Supply Chain Stumble Changes A Company’S Policies And Progress 20 Years Later: A Case Study Of Gap Inc., Alexandra Futterman

CMC Senior Theses

Gap Inc. is the third-largest American retailer. Founded in 1969, Gap Inc. holds four brands, Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Athleta. In the late 1990s and early 2000s Gap Inc. made headlines for child labor abuses along with many other large brands. After this negative attention, Gap Inc. began developing policies and practices to combat ethical supply chain issues. These policies included a Human Rights Policy, a Code of Vendor Conduct, working conditions standards, and even capacity building programs that boarded company reaches into communities they touch. In conjunction with the policies Gap Inc. has published several social responsibility …

Cross-Cultural Examination Of Vacation Policy On Employee Satisfaction And Happiness, Ketan D. Parekh

CMC Senior Theses

With the advent of technological advancement, entrepreneurship, and a higher emphasis on meritocracy, societies across the globe have experienced intense competition to outdo one another. This has pushed companies to place increased importance on worker productivity; large and small companies want to see their employees work harder, longer, and faster. With this increased demand for work, companies today are making sure they have suitable reward systems to ensure worker satisfaction and quality work production. However, what these reward systems look like and how they function contrast significantly across cultures, especially as it pertains to corporate leave policies. This thesis examines …

Impact Of School Closures On Female Labor Force Participation In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Shreya Shome

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the role of school closures in reducing the female labor force participation during the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States. While there is significant discussion on the decline of female labor force participation, this paper examines the role of school closures and lack of child care options in determining women’s decisions and ability to work. The data set includes the share school closures at each level of education, the number of schools and students in each school, the regulatory stringency indices, and the number of Covid-19 related deaths in each state on a monthly basis from January …

Economic Propaganda In The United States, Brooklyn Montgomery

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis aims to identify and analyze three different forms of economic propaganda: cultural, structural, and political. I first examine ‘Do What You Love’ culture and its impact on the labor force. Chapter Two explores the propagation of neoliberal economics as an objective study, and the final chapter analyzes the use of Black capitalism as a political mechanism to quell Black radical sentiment. In detailing these phenomenons, I investigate the implementation, normalization, and effects, as well as the material repercussions of these ideas and structures.

Disembedded Liberalism: The Global Pressure On Democracy, Hallie Spear

CMC Senior Theses

The international political order is at a crossroads with divergent paths. Liberal democracy is once again threatened on the international stage. What's more troubling is that the most stable and influential democracies, the United States, those in Europe and India, seem to be vulnerable to the autocratic wave sweeping through the world. This thesis completes a critical analysis to understand the root causes of the recent disruption to democracy the world has observed. Focusing on three established, diverse, and populous democracies, this thesis investigates the economic conditions at play that made each nation vulnerable to populism. Neoliberal economic policies implemented …

The Transforming Importance Of Social Skills In The Labor Market In The 2010s, Andrew Bradjan

CMC Senior Theses

The growing importance of social skills has led to an increase in returns to wages and employment for workers specializing in social skill-intensive occupations. Between 2012 and 2019, social skill-intensive occupations grew by 3 percentage points as a share of the U.S. labor force. Math-intensive occupations also grew by a similar amount during this time. To analyze these patterns, I utilize a model of team production where workers trade tasks to exploit their comparative advantage. Social skills reduce coordination costs between workers and allow them to specialize and cooperate with other workers more effectively by trading tasks. This model predicts …

The Motherhood Wage Penalty: New Evidence On Long-Run Effects And Group Heterogeneity, Vera Kratz

CMC Senior Theses

This paper seeks to establish the magnitude of the long-run motherhood wage penalty. Using data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I examine the difference between the real hourly wages of mothers and non-mothers in the long run. By comparing mothers to not-yet-mothers as well as never-mothers, I am able to better isolate the true wage penalty mothers face. My findings indicate that 21 to 25 years after the birth of their first child, mothers face a 31.75 percentage point wage penalty compared to non-mothers. In addition, I examine differences in the wage penalties of mothers by marital …

The Impact Of Daca On The Labor Force: An Analysis On Non-Native Wage Growth, Chantal Balta

Scripps Senior Theses

Considering the recent efforts of the Trump Administration to rescind the Deferred Act for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), I wanted to explore how this policy has impacted the American labor market since its inception in 2012. Specifically, this paper discusses the impact of DACA on non-native wage growth. By using data from the American Community Survey from the years 2000-2016, we will use a difference-in-difference model to see the impact of the policy on immigrants recorded in the dataset by using the native-born labor force as a control. Initial results indicate that there is no statistically significant impact on non-native wage …

The Weaponization Of Poverty: An Investigation Into United States Military Recruitment Practices In High Schools Of Low-Income Communities In The Inland Empire, Michael Springer-Gould

Pitzer Senior Theses

Military recruitment in the United States is a highly contentious subject that has yielded a multitude of prior research across a variety of academic concentrations. To further the conversation, I narrow my focus to Southern California’s Inland Empire (IE) to explore practices of military recruitment in high schools that serve students in low-income communities. I begin with a general overview of life and labor in the Inland Empire before moving into prior research on military recruitment. My empirical research consists of five in-depth interviews documenting the lived experiences of individuals hailing from and attending high school in low-income communities of …

The Timing Of Childbirth: Does The Age Of First-Time Mothers Affect The Parental Gender Earnings Gap?, Anna Graves

CMC Senior Theses

This paper assesses the impact the timing of first birth may have on the parental gender wage gap. Using data from the 2014 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), I use a pooled, cross-sectional sample of full-time parents in the United States labor force to examine the relationship between earnings and age at first birth for mothers and fathers and any relative difference that arises between the two. My findings indicate the presence of a parental gender wage gap, and that the timing of first birth can significantly impact parental wages. In addition, my results suggest that the timing …

An Empirical Analysis Of Company Culture: Using Glassdoor Data To Measure The Impact Of Culture And Employee Satisfaction On Performance, Linnea Uyeno

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the impact of culture and employee satisfaction on company performance; it considers which elements of culture are most important in specific industries: manufacturing, technology, and finance. Additionally, it explores whether these elements of productive cultures are also associated with employee satisfaction. It uses data from the MIT Sloan Management Review/Glassdoor Culture 500 database, which applied machine learning to analyze 1.2 million Glassdoor reviews. This data quantitatively measures nine dimensions of culture: agility, collaboration, customer focus, diversity, execution, innovation, integrity performance, and respect—assigning each company a score for every cultural dimension. Two depende­­­nt variables are used to measure …

Air Pollution’S Effect On The Labor Force At The State Level, Benjamin Culberson

CMC Senior Theses

The health effects of air pollution are well established, ranging from increased rates of cancer to cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, a growing body of literature shows that air pollution has a tangible, negative impact on the labor force. However, in their efforts to avoid the endogeneity of air pollution and labor production, the current literature focuses on specific industries at a local level. The objective of this thesis is to expand this research to a state level by using naturally occurring weather events called air stagnations as a proxy for air pollution. These air stagnations correlate with increased levels of air …

Moral Hazards And Negative Externalities Of Lifesaving Programs: How Naloxone Access Laws And Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Affect Hiv Transmission, Jeremy Horn

CMC Senior Theses

This paper looks at naloxone access laws and prescription drug monitering programs and see how these programs affect HIV transmission and drug overdose deaths. Using an OLS regression I find that NAL reduces HIV and increases overdose deaths. I also find reducing the number of drug prescriptions increase HIV and overdose deaths because users switch to intravenous methods.