Labor Economics Commons^™

The Labor Market Consequences Of Regulating Similar Occupations: The Licensing Of Occupational And Physical Therapists, Jing Cai, Morris M. Kleiner

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This study shows the influence of occupational licensing on two occupations that provide similar services: occupational therapists and physical therapists. Most of the tasks for these two occupations differ, but several jobs overlap, and individuals in both occupations could have legal jurisdiction over these tasks. We empirically examine how these two occupations interact with one another in the labor market on wage determination and employment. Unlike previous studies, our study examines two occupations that are female dominated both within the professions and among its leadership. Our results show that occupational licensing can raise the wages of members of both occupations, …

College Grads Earn Less If They Grew Up Poor, Timothy J. Bartik, Brad J. Hershbein

Reports

No abstract provided.

Domestic Outsourcing Reduces Wages And Contributes To Rising Inequality, Johannes Schmieder, Deborah Goldschmidt

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Mothers' Long-Term Employment Patterns, Alexandra Killewald, Xiaolin Zhuo

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Previous research on maternal employment has disproportionately focused on married, college-educated mothers and examined either current employment status or postpartum return to employment. Following the life course perspective, we instead conceptualize maternal careers as long-term life course patterns. Using data from the NLSY79 and optimal matching, we document four common employment patterns of American mothers over the first 18 years of maternity. About two-thirds follow steady patterns, either full-time employment (38 percent) or steady nonemployment (24 percent). The rest experience “mixed” patterns: long-term part-time employment (20 percent), or a multiyear period of nonemployment following maternity, then a return to employment …

Testing The Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek Theory With A Natural Experiment, Assaf Zimring

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper uses the historical episode of the near-elimination of commuting from the West Bank into Israel, which caused a large and rapid expansion of the local labor force in the West Bank, to test the predictions of the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek (HOV) mode of trade. I use variation between districts in the West Bank to test these predictions, and find strong support for them: Wage changes were not correlated with the size of the shock to the district labor force (Factor Price Insensitivity); Districts that received larger influx of returning commuters shifted production more towards labor intensive industries (Rybczynski effect); And …

The Promise Of Worker Training: New Insights Into The Effects Of Government Funded Training Programs, M. Jared Mcentaffer

College of Business: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Using data on worker training programs in South Dakota over the years 2002 – 11, this study estimates the employment and earnings effects of occupational skills training and on-the-job training. Average treatment effects for the first and third calendar quarters after training are reported by: gender, worker type, demographic group, region of residence, and time period of job loss.

Both occupational skills training and on-the-job training effectively increased the employment rates and incomes of participants. The effectiveness of occupational skills training tended to grow as time passed, but the effectiveness of on-the-job training tended to fade over time. Three calendar …

Military Retention Incentives: Evidence From The Air Force Selective Reenlistment Bonus, Justin Joffrion, Nathan Wozny

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

The limited lateral entry and rigid pay structure for U.S. military personnel present challenges in retaining skilled individuals who have attractive options in the civilian labor market. One tool the services use to address this challenge is the Selective Reenlistment Bonus (SRB), which offers eligible personnel with particular skills a substantial cash bonus upon reenlistment. However, the sequential nature of the bonus offer and reenlistment process limits the ability to adjust manpower quickly, raising interest in research that estimates the effect of the SRB on retention. While this literature has acknowledged challenges including potential endogeneity of bonus levels, attrition, and …

Trade Reform And Regional Dynamics: Evidence From 25 Years Of Brazilian Matched Employer-Employee Data, Rafael Dix-Carneiro, Brian K. Kovak

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We empirically study the dynamics of labor market adjustment following the Brazilian trade reform of the 1990s. We use variation in industry-specific tariff cuts interacted with initial regional industry mix to measure trade-induced local labor demand shocks, and then examine regional and individual labor market responses to those one-time shocks over two decades. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we do not find that the impact of local shocks is dissipated over time through wage-equalizing migration. Instead, we find steadily growing effects of local shocks on regional formal sector wages and employment for 20 years. This finding can be rationalized in a …

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 …

What Does The Minimum Wage Do?, Dale Belman, Paul J. Wolfson

Upjohn Press

This book attempts to make sense of the research on the minimum wage that began in the early 1990s. The authors look at who is affected by the minimum wage, both directly and indirectly; which observable, measurable variables (e.g., wages, employment, school enrollment) the minimum wage influences; how long it takes for the variables to respond to the minimum wage and the size and desirability of the effect; why the minimum wage has the results it does (and not others); and the workers most likely to be affected by changes to the minimum wage.

Licensing Occupations: How Time And Regulatory Attainment Matter, Morris M. Kleiner

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

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

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

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.

Stages Of Occupational Regulation: Analysis Of Case Studies, Morris M. Kleiner

Upjohn Press

Kleiner examines occupations that are at various stages of regulation to determine to what extent regulation has influenced the individuals in the occupations, consumers, and related occupational practitioners.

The Consequences Of Mental Illness On Labor Market Decisions, Vanessa Lanuza

CMC Senior Theses

The existing literature finds negative associations between mental illness and labor market outcomes. Using data from the 2007 to 2011 National Health Interview Survey, this study examines the consequences of emotional (depression, anxiety, or other emotional problems) and psychological (ADD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or other mental problems) problems on four aspects of labor market decisions: the probability of participating in the labor force, the likelihood of working full time, the average number of hours worked per week and annual earnings. In addition to analyzing the effects of either having or not having a mental illness, I also test if there …

What Works In Job Creation And Economic Development, Timothy J. Bartik

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Examining The Effect Of Psychological Traits On Earnings And The Gender Wage Gap Within A Young Sample Of U.S. Employees, Marika May

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the effect of psychological traits on earnings and furthermore whether it helps explain the gender wage gap. Public-use data collected from The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health is used to evaluate the impact on earnings on seven psychological factors: masculine traits, self esteem, analytical problem solving approach, willingness to work hard, impulsiveness, problem avoidance, and self-assessed intelligence. Findings show that gender differences in psychological traits are significant and returns to observable characteristics differ somewhat by gender as well. Among the young sample of U.S. employees evaluated in this study, I find that up to 21 percent …

Net Impact Evaluation Of Moving Men And Women To Economic Independence In Michigan, Within Reach Program: Year 1 And Year 2 Cohorts, Randall W. Eberts, Jason M. Preuss

Presentations

The authors completed a net impact evaluation of the “Within Reach” component of the Goodwill Industries of Greater Detroit program (Moving Men and Women to Economic Independence). This program provided employment-related support services to disadvantaged adults as coordinated by WorkFirst. The net impact evaluation estimated the contribution of the program to the employment outcomes of the participants. It constructed comparison groups of individuals who were similar to the program participants, but who did not participate in the program. The net impact analysis focused on three employment-related outcomes: finding a job, retaining a job (workforce attachment), and earnings.

Wages, Layoffs, And Privatization: Evidence From Ukraine, J. David Brown, John S. Earle, Volodymyr Vakhitov

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper estimates the effects of privatization on worker separations and wages using retrospective data from a national probability sample of Ukrainian households. Detailed worker characteristics are used to control for compositional differences and to assess types of observable "winners" and "losers" from privatization. Preprivatization worker-firm matches are used to control for unobservables in worker and firm selection. The results imply that privatization reduces wages by 5 percent and cuts the layoff probability in half. Outside investor ownership reduces separations but leaves wages unaffected. Winners from privatization tend to be higher-skilled employees of larger firms, but there is no discernible …

Employment And Wage Effects Of Privatization: Evidence From Transition Economies, John S. Earle

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

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 …

The Role Of Temporary Agency Employment In Tight Labor Markets, Susan N. Houseman, Arne L. Kalleberg, George A. Erickcek

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper examines the reasons why employers used and even increased their use of temporary help agencies during the tight labor markets of the 1990s. Based on case study evidence from the hospital and auto supply industries, we evaluate various hypotheses for this phenomenon. In high-skilled occupations, our results are consistent with the view that employers paid substantially more to agency help to avoid raising wages for their regular workers and to fill vacancies while they recruited workers for permanent positions. In low-skilled occupations, our evidence suggests that temporary help agencies facilitated the use of more "risky" workers by lowering …

Can Temporary Employment Scar Your Future Earnings? Wage Mobility By Type Of Work Contract In Spain, Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes, Ricardo Serrano-Padial

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

How New Is The "New Employment Contract"?: Evidence From North American Pay Practices, David I. Levine, Dale Belman, Gary Charness, Erica L. Groshen, K. C. O'Shaughnessy

Upjohn Press

This book explores this apparent change in the employment contract. Whereas earlier studies in this area focused on the rigidities in the quantity side of the employment relationship, e.g., changes in job tenure and rates of displacement, the authors focus on the price side of the contract - whether wage structures have become more flexible.

Risk Sharing Through Social Security Retirement Income Systems: A Comparison Of Canada And The United States, John A. Turner

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Pay At Risk: Compensation And Employment Risk In The United States And Canada, John A. Turner Editor

Upjohn Press

The contributors to this book investigate the compensation and employment risks for U.S. and Canadian workers. They examine both wage and nonwage aspects of compensation, and whether workers in the U.S. or Canada face more job-related risks. They also seek to identify trends in risk bearing and whether they differ by country.

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 …

Employee Benefits And Labor Markets In Canada And The United States, William T. Alpert Editor, Stephen A. Woodbury Editor

Upjohn Press

Alpert and Woodbury present a comprehensive set of explorations into the impacts that the provision of various types of employee benefits (or lack thereof) have on labor markets. And while there are, as the editors point out, substantial differences between the employee benefits systems of Canada and the U.S., these differences showcase the impacts of specific policies related to employee benefits on labor markets.

Will Welfare Reform Cause Displacement?, Timothy J. Bartik

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Economic Payoffs To Adult Education, Kevin Hollenbeck

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Participation In And The Choice Of Providers Of Adult Education Activities, Kevin Hollenbeck

Reports

No abstract provided.