Labor Economics Commons^™

Groundings Volume Two, Issue One

Groundings

This is the full isee of Groundings Vol. 2, Iss. 1.

The Impact Of Affirmative Action On The Employment Of Minorities And Women Over Three Decades: 1973-2003, Fidan Ana Kurtulus

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

What role has affirmative action played in the growth of minority and female employment in U.S. firms? This paper analyzes this issue by comparing the employment of minorities and women at firms holding federal contracts and therefore mandated to implement affirmative action, and at noncontracting firms, over the course of three decades spanning 1973–2003. It constitutes the first study to comprehensively document the long-term impact of affirmative action in federal contracting on the U.S. employment landscape. The study uses a new panel data set of over 100,000 large private-sector firms across all industries and regions, obtained from the U.S. Equal …

Exploring Exit From The Vocational Rehabilitation System, Rebecca Goe, Catherine Ipsen, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

In the U.S. labor force, the unemployment rate is more than twice as high for people with disabilities (17.9%) than it is for people without disabilities (7.7%; U.S. Census Bureau, 2013). In actuality, this disparity is much higher because many people with disabilities have stopped actively seeking employment. Although unemployment rates are influenced by many intersecting factors, premature exit from Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services likely contributes to the stubbornly high unemployment rates for people with disabilities.

The Changing And Unchanged Nature Of Inequality And Seniority In Japan, Ken Yamada, Daiji Kawaguchi

Research Collection School Of Economics

Wage inequality declined in the 1990s, while it increased in the 2000s for full-time male workers in Japan. We find that a decreased return to firm-specific human capital, which has been neglected in previous empirical analyses of inequality, is a key factor preventing a rise in wage inequality during the prolonged period of economic stagnation, known as Japan’s lost decades. We also find that, while changes in returns to general and specific human capital contributed to narrowing wage inequality in the 1990s and widening wage inequality in the 2000s, a significant fraction of the increase in wage inequality in the …

The Role Of Sectoral Initiatives In Solving The Employment Problems Of Opportunity Youth, Kevin Hollenbeck

Upjohn Institute Policy Papers

An estimated 6.7 million individuals in the United States are between the ages of 16 and 24 and are not employed, not in school, and have not earned a postsecondary credential. This paper examines the extent to which sectoral initiatives, which operate on the demand side of the labor market, can play a role in facilitating pathways into productive careers for these individuals, who we refer to in the paper as opportunity youth (OY). It is mainly a review of the literature about the effectiveness of workforce development sectoral initiatives and other programs specifically focused on OY. It first reviews …

Income Smoothing Due To Unemployment Concerns, Jeffrey Ng, Tharindra Ranasinghe, Guifeng Shi, I-Hwa Yang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Economic theory predicts that top executives and lower-level employees have incentives to smooth income due to compensating wage differential costs and fear of job loss, respectively. Following Agrawal and Matsa (JFE, 2013) who rely on exogenous variations in unemployment insurance benefits to examine how unemployment concerns affect corporate leverage, we examine the link between such benefits and income smoothing. We find that when unemployment insurance benefits are higher and concerns about unemployment are hence lower, there is less income smoothing. This relation is stronger when employees face higher unemployment risk and weaker when the firms’ information and internal control environments …

Economic Interrelationships And Impacts Of The Aviation/Aerospace Industry In The State Of Florida Using Input-Output Analysis, Kelly A. Whealan-George

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The study provided a detailed description of the interrelatedness of the aviation and aerospace industry with principal industries in Florida and Volusia County (VC) using Input-Output (IO) analysis. Additionally, this research provided an economic impact analysis of the creation of a university research park in Daytona Beach (DB). The economic impact measures included not only direct economic output and industry employment descriptions but also described the multiplier effects in the form of indirect and induced impacts using data for 2012.

This research concluded the average labor income of the aviation and aerospace industry was higher than average labor income in …

Inference On Causal Effects In A Generalized Regression Kink Design, David Card, David S. Lee, Zhuan Pei, Andrea Weber

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We consider nonparametric identification and estimation in a nonseparable model where a continuous regressor of interest is a known, deterministic, but kinked function of an observed assignment variable. This design arises in many institutional settings where a policy variable (such as weekly unemployment benefits) is determined by an observed but potentially endogenous assignment variable (like previous earnings). We provide new results on identification and estimation for these settings, and apply our results to obtain estimates of the elasticity of joblessness with respect to UI benefit rates. We characterize a broad class of models in which a sharp “Regression Kink Design” …

Net Impact And Benefit-Cost Estimates Of The Workforce Development System In Washington State, Kevin Hollenbeck, Wei-Jang Huang

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

This study estimates the net impacts and private and social benefits and costs of 11 workforce development programs administered in Washington State. Six of the programs serve job-ready adults: Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title I-B Adult programs, WIA Title I-B Dislocated Worker programs, Community and Technical College Job Preparatory Training, Community and Technical College Worker Retraining, Private Career Schools, and Apprenticeships. Three of the programs serve adults with employment barriers: Community and Technical College Adult Basic Skills Education, IBEST, and Division of Vocational Rehabilitation programs. The other two programs serve youth: WIA Title I-B Youth programs and Secondary Career and …

Economic Development And Female Labor Force Participation In The Middle East And North Africa: A Test Of The U-Shape Hypothesis, Kelsey A. Chapman

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper investigates the relationship between economic development and female labor force participation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Using a panel data set of 20 countries in the region for the period of 1990-2012, I develop an econometric model that tests the U-shape hypothesis. This study builds upon previous literature examining the U-shape hypothesis in time series studies for developing countries, and cross-country studies. The results of this paper suggest that there is a U-shaped relationship between economic growth and female labor force participation rates. The MENA region’s low female labor force participation rates can be explained …

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 8, Spring 2015

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Husband’S Education On Wife’S Earnings: The Recent Evidence, Humenghe Zhao

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper aims to examine the relationship between husband’s education and his wife’s earnings. The study builds upon previous literature revolving around the relationship between a woman’s human capital and her husband’s earnings. Using pooled cross-sectional data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), I adjust the OLS wage model to estimate whether a man’s human capital has positive effects on his wife’s earnings. Two major hypotheses concerning the correlation between spousal education and earnings are cross-productivity effect between couples and assortative mating. Using the original regression model, I also estimate a sub-sample designed to restrict the effects of positive assortative …

Do Living Wages Alter The Effect Of The Minimum Wage On Income Inequality?, Benjamin S. Litwin

Gettysburg Economic Review

Anker (2006) proposed a new methodology for calculating the living wage in countries around the world. By looking at OECD nations between 2000-2010, we look to see if countries with a national minimum wage higher than this living wage value see a notable difference in the effect of the minimum wage on income inequality. Our results show that countries with the minimum wage higher than the living wage value do see lower inequality, although there is a key value of the minimum wage, at which countries start to see disemployment effects that increase inequality.

A Cross-Regional Comparison Of Fabricated Metals' Manufacturing Sector Resiliency, Linda Ann Holt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fabricated metals' manufacturing sector employment in the United States declined following the onset of the 2008 recession. Premium compensation and benefits afforded to employees within the manufacturing sector amplified the negative effects of recessionary job losses. Using the regional macroeconomic complex adaptive systems (CAS) framework, the purpose of this study was to examine the geographic distribution of job losses, recovery rates, and adaptive behavior after the recession for the fabricated metals manufacturing sector by measuring and comparing effects in 50 East North Central division MSAs and 50 South Atlantic division MSAs in the United States. Independent sample t tests compared …

Succession Planning In A Global Electronics Company, Andrew Cook

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders of U.S. companies are unprepared to address a shortage of qualified leaders caused by changing workforce demographics. Despite organizational leaders realizing the importance of talent management to company strategy, there still exists a gap in knowledge regarding its application in practice. The purpose of this case study was to explore what succession planning organizational leaders use to adequately replace departing leaders with qualified new leaders. The findings demonstrated support for Shields' practical ideal type conceptual framework adapted to succession planning, which holds that succession planning requires various elements working together to achieve succession goals. Data were obtained through semistructured …

Converging Divergences In Formal And Informal Work: Longitudinal Evidence From Mexico, Diana Denham, Chris Tilly

University Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

Analyses of neoliberal labor market restructuring debate whether neoliberalism is homogenizing jobs or polarizing them. Analyses of informal employment debate whether such employment is inferior, and if so, if it is typically a transition or a trap. This paper speaks to both debates, using a three time-point (2006, 2007, 2008) longitudinal survey of retail workers in the state of Tlaxcala, Mexico, to contrast workers’ experiences across the spectrum of formal and informal work. Using the longitudinal data, the paper compares workers’ trajectories, exploring how they make choices and navigate transitions between more formal and more informal work. A qualitative portion …

The Quest For Work And Family Balance Using Flexible Work Arrangements, Sandra Ellen Forris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Employees experience challenges managing home and work. The increase of women in the workforce, single-parents, childcare, elder care responsibilities, and men in nontraditional roles warrant changes in traditional working hours and flexibility in work schedules. Through the theoretical frameworks of work-family conflict, spillover, border, and boundary theories, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how flexible work arrangements (FWAs) assisted employees in meeting work and family obligations. Minimal research is available in the defense industry and the use of FWAs. A nonprobability, convenience sample was used to explore how management and nonmanagement participants from a Midwest defense …

Guild-Ridden Labor Markets: The Curious Case Of Occupational Licensing, Morris M. Kleiner

Upjohn Press

In his third Upjohn Press book on occupational licensing, Morris M. Kleiner examines why the institution of occupational licensing has had such a curious evolution and influence in the United States, the European Union, and China. He also discusses the many similarities it has to guilds.

Three Essays On Higher Education, Fang Song

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In the first chapter, I analyze the growth patterns of postsecondary education costs in re-cent years. It shows the trends of college revenue, expenditure and other financial items using data drawn from the Delta Data Project between 1987 and 2010. Connections be-tween various categories of revenue / spending and state-level macroeconomic indicators were analyzed using GLS models. College tuition had been growing rapidly over time, whereas total revenues and expenditures did not grow so much. The differences in the responses of public sector and private sector institutions to changes in state-level factors stem from differences in their main sources of …

Three Essays On Scientists, Engineers, And Industrial R & D, Sifan Zhou

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The first chapter studies the effects of noncompetition agreements (NCA) on the mobility and compensation of doctoral degree recipients by analyzing the variation in the enforceability of these contracts across states and over time in the United States. I find that, for doctoral degree recipients who work in industry, stricter NCA enforcement decreases within-state job mobility, increases cross-state job mobility, and flattens salary growth. Freshly minted PhDs who work in states with tougher NCA enforcement earn lower starting salaries.

Industry Career Guide: Banking And Finance, Tereso S. Tullao Jr, Roberto Raymundo

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The banking and finance sector performs a critical function in the Philippine economy as it is primarily responsible for the mobilization of domestic savings and the conversion of these funds into directly productive investments. Financing the needs of firms which desire to raise productive capacity by purchasing additional capital equipment, acquiring or leasing idle property, building and expanding factories, and increasing inventory are responsible for sustaining economic growth in the long term, alongside the creation of new jobs. It is very important for the banking and finance sector to continue finding ways to encourage households to save their unspent income …

Industry Career Guide Ownership Dwellings And Real Estate, Ma. Concepcion G. Latoja, Denise Serrano

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

This industry career guide on Ownership Dwelling and Real Estate (ODRE) aims to inform readers of the range of career options that are open to those who want to work in the industry. By presenting an array of occupations typically found in this field, the reader is informed of the basic requirements to land a specific job in this industry, the associated job environment and possibilities for job movement either in terms of promotion and/or moving laterally from one type of job to another within the industry. In the context of discussing job prospects, it lays out the issues surrounding …

Industry Career Guide: Transportation And Logistics, Gina Ledda, Rhory Fernandez

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

The transportation and logistics industries involve the physical movement of persons and goods. Logistics specifically refers to the transport of the goods, materials, or products, which includes the management of freight, storage, packaging, and inventory. Transport and logistics encompass a wide range of activities and play a vital role in the growth of other sectors of the Philippine economy. Extreme competition and growing international trade highlighted the role of the Service Sector where Transportation, Communication and Storage (TCS) is a component. In 2010, the Service Sector accounted for P3.2B (55%) of the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) where TCS contributed …

Industry Career Guide: It-Bpo, Tereso S. Tullao Jr, Christopher James R. Cabuay, Rhory Fernandez, Denise Serrano

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Off-shoring describes the relocation by a company of its business processes like manufacturing, operations, and support processes to other countries, particularly in global production networks. Outsourcing involves the contracting of a third party to perform the necessary processes within the company. The recent development of the ability of companies to outsource suppliers outside the nation gave rise to the concept of off-shoring which not only implies foreign inputs to work domestically, but involves cross-country collaborations as well. The Off-shoring and Outsourcing (O&O) Industry is known widely as the IT-BPO (Information Technology – Business Process Outsourcing) industry. The industry is relatively …

Firm Characteristics And Organizational Change: The Effects Of Electronic Commerce In The United States Manufacturing Industry, Candice Y. Wallace

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

This dissertation seeks to provide insight to how e-commerce adoption and utilization change the condition of U.S. Manufacturing establishments, by answering two interrelated questions: (1) What are the characteristics of manufacturing establishments that were early adopters of e-commerce activities?; (2) Once e-commerce is adopted, how has adoption affected employment within manufacturing establishments? The U.S. manufacturing industry was selected for analysis as manufacturing has been and continues to be an important sector for employment and the overall U.S. economy and has been the primary sector responsible for the majority of Business-to-Business e-commerce activity.

Using two econometric models, seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) …

Essays On Job-Related Risks And Worker Sorting, Teguh Yudo Wicaksono

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation examines heterogeneity in the value of a statistical life (henceforth VSL) stemming from employer-provided health insurance (henceforth EHI) and worker sorting. The dissertation consists of three essays.

In the first essay (Chapter 2), I investigate the effect of health-driven productivity on the wage compensation for mortality risk, and how EHI influences VSL using the US labor market data. In this chapter I build a framework showing that the level of job risks influences the incentive of employers to provide EHI. The basic notion of the framework is that health insurance is an investment in health and health is …

Competition’S Effect On Teacher Pay And Teacher Characteristics, Casey S. Brasher

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation adds to the literature that examines the effect of competition and school choice reform in elementary and secondary education. Specifically, we explore how three major forms of competition in U.S. schooling markets in Tiebout competition, charter competition, and private school competition affect the teaching profession by estimating a teacher wage equation and series of teacher characteristic equations. Since it has been well-established that all 3 forms of competition are likely endogenous, we present 2SLS estimates of competition’s effect in addition to simple OLS estimates. Our findings confirm the importance of studies controlling for endogeneity concerns, particularly in regards …

Three Essays On The Economic Impact Of Immigration, James Sharpe

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

With the significant rise in immigration to the U.S. over the last few decades, fully understanding the economic impact of immigration is paramount for policy makers. As such, this dissertation consists of three empirical essays contributing to the literature on the impact of immigration. In my first essay, I re-examine the impact of immigration on housing rents and completely controlling for endogenous location choices of immigrants. I model rents as a function of both contemporaneous and initial economic and housing market conditions. I show that existing estimates of the impact of immigration on rents are biased and the source of …

The Effects Of Eliminating The Work Search Requirement On Job Match Quality And Other Long-Term Employment Outcomes, Marta Lachowska, Merve Meral, Stephen A. Woodbury

External Papers and Reports

No abstract provided.

A Comparison Study Of Gender Role Differences Between Funeral Professionals And Nurses, David Rocco Penepent

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women comprise over 57% of all U.S. mortuary school students, yet less than 20% of all funeral directors employed in this country are women. As such, women are underrepresented as funeral directors in the funeral industry. Research to date has not established clear differences between perceived gender roles and occupations in the funeral service industry. The research questions examined the perceived differences of gender role characteristics of masculine, feminine, and androgyny between the occupations of funeral service providers and nursing. Bem's gender role theory was the theoretical framework of this study. The research compared the mean scores of male and …