Labor Economics Commons^™

Wage-Rate Subsidies For Dislocated Workers, Carl Davidson, Stephen A. Woodbury

Book Chapters

No abstract provided.

Using Performance Indicators To Improve The Effectiveness Of Welfare-To-Work Programs, Timothy J. Bartik

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper argues that it is feasible to develop good indicators of the performance of a particular welfare-to-work program, office, or contractor. Performance indicators can motivate local offices, contractors, and staff to be more effective in achieving the program's goals. Performance indicators can provide information on what program strategies lead to the greatest long-run success. To be most useful, performance indicators must be simple and timely and control for factors other than the program's effectiveness that influence whether welfare recipients "succeed."

Trade And Wages: Choosing Among Alternative Explanations, Jagdish N. Bhagwati

Faculty Scholarship

The decline in unskilled workers’ real wages during the 1980s in the United States and the increase in their unemployment in Europe (due to the comparative inflexibility of European labor markets vis-à-vis those in the United States) have prompted a search for possible explanations. This search has become more acute with the evidence that the adverse trend for the unskilled has not been mitigated during the 1990s to date.

A favored explanation, indeed the haunting fear, of the unions and of many policymakers is that international trade is a principal source of the pressures that translate into wage decline and/or …

Wage-Rate Subsidies For Dislocated Workers, Carl Davidson, Stephen A. Woodbury

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

An array of innovative policies has been suggested to address more effectively the needs of dislocated workers. In this paper, we model and simulate the impacts of a wage-rate subsidy (or salary supplement) program in which a dislocated worker who becomes reemployed would receive a payment equal to one-half the difference between the wage previously earned and the wage currently earned. The simulations are based on a search model that is institutionally rich and that provides estimates of the impacts of a wage subsidy by incorporating empirical results from the reemployment bonus experiments that were conducted in the mid- to …

A Review Of Retirement Income Policy Models, Kevin Hollenbeck

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Public policymakers and program administrators often face decisions that impact the retirement incomes of individuals. An important question that these decision-makers may wish to address concerns the distributional impacts of the programmatic changes under consideration. Who (what population groups) would gain income and how much? Who would be unaffected? Who would lose and by how much? The question that this paper investigates is the extent to which computer models and associated policy analysis capability are available to provide decision makers with this kind of information. Specifically, the paper reviews a class of models that may be designated as retirement income …

Who Moonlights And Why? Evidence From The Sipp, Jean Kimmel, Karen Smith Conway

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Multiple job-holding is a significant characteristic of the labor market, with approximately 6 percent of all employed males reporting a second job in 1993 (Mishel and Bernstein, 1995, p. 226). Moonlighting reflects growing financial stress arising from declining earnings, as well as an increased need for flexibility to combine work and family. Approximately 40 percent of moonlighters report taking the second job due to economic hardship. Additionally, moonlighting is a reflection of the worker's choice to pursue entrepreneurial activities while maintaining the financial stability offered by the primary job. To restate in economic terminology, moonlighting arises from at least two …

Towards A Viable Rural Financial Market In Nigeria., O. O. Akanji

Bullion

This paper analyse the weakness of existing rural financial markets, survey the existing formal and informal financial markets in rural areas, their financing mechanisms, strengths and weaknesses, and propose an agenda from a viable rural financial market in Nigeria. It is divided into four parts. Part 1 presents a critique of the operation of formal financial institutions in rural markets. Part 2 identifies the existing informal financial markets, noting their structure and financing mechanisms and the overall influence on the rural people. Part 3 analyses the challenges and prospects of rural financial markets, while Part 4 presents the conclusion and …

Subsidizing Increased Employment For The Urban Poor: What Labor Market Problems Might Justify It?, Timothy J. Bartik

Conference Papers

No abstract provided.

Comparative Efficiencies: National And Military Service, John Sondey

Economics Staff Paper Series (1969 - 2017)

The National Service Act of 1993 is viewed as a means of inculcating a sense of personal and social responsibility in young adults. The present emphasis on fiscal responsibility and budget reduction implies that any new expenditure program be funded by either: (a) reductions in present programs; or, (b) new taxes. As new taxes are regarded as "politically incorrect" by legislators seeking to extend their tenure, program cuts become mandatory. It is proposed that military downsizing is one means of funding national service; and that the tradeoff is suboptimal. Downsizing adversely affects minorities and the least skilled - who benefit …

The Influence Of International On Union Firm Hiring And Worker Union Choice, Dwight Adamson, Mark Partridge

Economics Staff Paper Series (1969 - 2017)

Union opposition to free trade policies suggests that international trade damages the union movement. Previous research has found little relationship between union wages and international trade. However, greater trade may hinder unions by reducing the likelihood that workers enter the union sector. A bivariate partial observability probit model is used to predict union choice with respect to risk aversion, union strategic behavior, and product market effects of trade. The model estimates the probability of workers entering the union sector queue and the probability of being hired from the union queue. The results suggest that trade has had some adverse effects …

Uncertainty Over The Quality Of Labor Inputs: A Nonmonopoly Theory Of Union Wages And Hours Worked, Dwight Adamson, Scott Fausti

Economics Staff Paper Series (1969 - 2017)

Traditional theoretical explanations of union wage effects rely on a monopoly theory of wage determination. Using union monopoly power to set wages implies that unions face a tradeoff between higher wages and lower union sector employment. Earle and Pencavel (1990) find a positive union effect (relative to the nonunion sector) on wages and hours of work. Their empirical result appears to be inconsistent with the theoretical implications of union monopoly power. If unions are able to force unionized firms off their labor demand curve to the point where both wages and hours worked increase, then in a competitive environment, nonunion …

Improving Education And Training For Economic Development, Joan Mcrae Stoia

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article explores the connections between workforce quality and economic prosperity, as well as the role of the Massachusetts education and training system, in developing and preserving that quality and supporting the state's key industries. It includes a review of the most recent employment trend and projection data available from the Massachusetts Department of Employment and Training, information about several business-based workplace education models, and a discussion of the specific education and training needs of workers across the age/skill continuum. For the purpose of this discussion, the education and training system are broadly defined to include existing public, private, and …

A Reemployment Incentives Experiment In Canada: Issues In Design, Administration And Evaluation, Christopher J. O'Leary

Reports

No abstract provided.

Urban Labor Markets, Randall W. Eberts

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Urban labor markets are characterized by the spatial proximity of households and businesses, which offers firms and workers advantages that lead to more efficient markets, enhanced productivity, and greater economic success. Nevertheless, the nation's city, while generating a large proportion of the nation's wealth, houses much of the nation's economic disadvantaged workers. This paper describes the current conditions of urban labor markets and outlines a national urban policy agenda that addresses these concerns by taking into account cities' spatial dimension. The paper argues that a national urban labor policy should emphasize the effects of physical and informational proximity on growth, …

Rural Wages And Returns To Education: Differences Between Whites, Blacks And American Indians, Jean Kimmel

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Workers in rural areas earn lower wages than nonrural workers and previous evidence has attributed these differences to lower returns to worker characteristics. This paper builds on that data by examining racial and gender differences within the broader group of rural workers. While there is extensive evidence on both the structure of wages and the source of racial wage differentials between Whites and Blacks, there is no such evidence for those in either group living in rural areas. Nor is there much evidence in this literature for American Indians. This paper's contribution to the literature is two-fold. First, it broadens …

An Anti-Poverty Proposal For Inner-City Residents Of Kalamazoo, Timothy J. Bartik, George A. Erickcek

Reports

No abstract provided.

Workplace Literacy Programs: Why The Mismatch Between Availability And Need?, Kevin Hollenbeck

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Job Security V. Labor Market Flexibility: Is There A Tradeoff?, Susan N. Houseman

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Labor Adjustment Under Different Institutional Structures: A Case Study Of Germany And The United States, Susan N. Houseman, Katharine G. Abraham

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Like most Western European countries, Germany stringently regulates dismissals and layoffs. Critics contend that this regulation raises the costs of employment adjustment and hence impedes employers' ability to respond to fluctuations in demand. Other German labor policies, however, most especially the availability of unemployment insurance benefits for those on short time, facilitate the adjustment of average hours per worker in lieu of layoffs. Building on earlier work, we compare the adjustment of employment, hours and inventories to demand shocks in the German and U.S. manufacturing sectors. We find that, in the short run, whereas U.S. employers rely principally on the …

Kalamazoo County Education For Employment Outcomes Taskforce Presents Workplace Know-How Skills For Kalamazoo And St. Joseph Counties, Kevin Hollenbeck

Reports

No abstract provided.

Identification Of Workplace Know-How Skills Expected By Employers In The Local Labor Market, Kevin Hollenbeck

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Enhanced Human Capital Stock And The Military Experience: A Modest Policy Proposal, John Sondey

Economics Staff Paper Series (1969 - 2017)

George Washington's sentiments on the obligations of citizens were clear. He regarded military service as the duty of every male citizen who enjoyed the privileges of democracy. He stressed that an army composed of citizen-soldiers was preferable, from a point of social cohesion and political stability, to one composed of professional soldiers - and cited the Swiss Army as the proper example (Graham, 1971). In spite of these perceived benefits, the United States has historically been of two minds with respect to providing for the national defense. That is, should the military be composed of professional soldiers, induced to enlist …

Report And Recommendations: Transmitted To The President And Congress, U.S. Advisory Council On Unemployment Compensation

External Papers and Reports

No abstract provided.

State Divestment, Reprivatization, And Peasants: Dialectical Transformations Within The Mexican Sugar Sector, Donna Chollett

Anthropology Publications

The last decade has seen a critical reassessment of the role of the state in economic development, accompanied by substantial economic restructuring of Third World economies. One of the most profound manifestations of this transformation is the process of privatization. The sale of Mexico's state-owned sugar mills to private capital marks a historical turning point for the sugar sector and provides an opportunity to analyze the impact of privatization on rural communities, as peasants adjust to the changing structure of production and renegotiate their relationship with the Mexican state and the reprivatized sugar mill. The research examines reprivatization through a …

Central Bank Of Nigeria Annual Report And Statement Of Accounts For The Year Ended 31st December 1994, Central Bank Of Nigeria

CBN Annual Report

In 1994, Nigeria faced economic challenges such as declining GDP growth, inflation, and a weakened external sector due to expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, political unrest, and labor issues. Despite this, the global economy saw stronger recovery in industrialized countries and developing regions like Asia and Latin America. The Nigerian economy struggled with slow growth, manufacturing decline, rising inflation, large budget deficit, and weakened external sector performance. Efforts to stabilize the exchange rate were hindered by differences between official and unofficial market rates. Internationally, there were improvements in the world economy with higher growth rates in developed and developing countries. …

More On Modes Of Production: A Synthesis Of Some Debates Contextualized For The Philippines, Kathleen Nadeau

Anthropology Faculty Publications

A look into modes of production is one of many possible entry points for the study of society and economy. It was not well developed by Marx who only alluded to it here and there in his works. He introduced the idea in Capital. (1977, Vols. 1, 1974 II, and III), A Contribution to a Critique of Political Economy (1970), and in Pre- Capitalist Economic Formations (1964). While one can read this concept in his other texts, for example in German Ideology (1970), it is from the previously mentioned ones that others, most notably Althusser and Balibar in their Reading …

Human Capital And Economic Development, Sisay Asefa Editor, Wei-Chiao Huang Editor

Upjohn Press

Six essays are presented that explore human capital and its relationship to issues such as demographics, population growth, families, workplace training and economic progress.

Male And Female Effort Levels: An Experimental Comparison, Joanne E. Guennewig

Masters Theses

This paper is an experimental economic study that serves two main functions. The first of these is to provide a replication of the findings of Schotter and Weigelt: that when an equal opportunity or affirmative action program is imposed, the effort levels of all employees tend to increase and not just the effort of the parties discriminated against. Secondly, this study looks into the differences between the effort levels shown by men and women in similar situations.

The hypothesis of this paper is that while the effort of all individuals is lowered in the presence of discrimination, the effort levels …

A System For Evaluating Employment Programs In Hungary, Christopher J. O'Leary

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Pooled Evidence From The Reemployment Bonus Experiments, Paul T. Decker, Christopher J. O'Leary

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Social experiments conducted in Pennsylvania and Washington tested the effect of offering Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants a cash bonus for rapid reemployment. This paper combines data from the two experiments and uses a consistent framework to evaluate the experiments and determine with greater certainty the extent to which a reemployment bonus can affect economic outcomes. Bonus offers in each of the experiments generated statistically significant but relatively modest reductions in UI receipt. Since the estimated impacts on UI receipt were modest, the reemployment bonuses did not generate the UI savings necessary to pay for administering and paying the bonuses. Hence, …