Labor Economics Commons^™

Reemployment Services And Eligibility Assessments (Resea) In Maryland: Process Analysis Report, Christopher J. O'Leary, Gabrielle Pepin, Ting Zhang, Conrad Helms

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Black Suburbanization: Causes And Consequences Of A Transformation Of American Cities, Alexander W. Bartik, Evan Mast

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Since 1970, the share of Black individuals living in suburbs of large cities has risen from 16 to 36 percent. This shift is as large as the post-World War II wave of the Great Migration. We first show that Black suburbanization has led to major changes in neighborhoods, accounting for a large share of recent increases in both the average Black individual’s neighborhood quality and within-Black income segregation. We then show that changes in relative suburban amenities and housing prices explain about 60 and 30 percent, respectively, of Black suburbanization, while regional reallocation, changing educational attainment, and gentrification play only …

Long-Term Effects Of In Utero Exposure To “The Year Without A Summer”, Hamid Noghanibehambari, Farzaneh Noghani, Nahid Tavassoli, Mostafa Toranji

Economic and Business Review

This paper uses the aftermath of the great Tambora eruption in 1815 as a natural experiment to explore the long-term effects of a nutritional shock during prenatal development. The volcanic explosion of Tambora formed substantial ash columns which hampered sunlight, cooled down the surface temperature, reduced the length of the growing season, and led to a severe harvest failure during summer and winter of 1816 in Europe and northeastern states of America. US decennial census 1850 provides evidence that cohorts in utero during the climate anomaly revealed lower literacy rates, lower labor force participation rates, a fewer number of own …

Place-Based Consequences Of Person-Based Transfers, Brad J. Hershbein

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Economic Costs And Benefits Of Tuition-Free College In Illinois, Timothy J. Bartik, Michelle Miller-Adams, Brian Pittelko, Bridget Timmeney

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Futurological Fodder: On Communicating The Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, And Employment, Michael E. Samers Dr

Geography Faculty Publications

This article examines the debate concerning the employment implications of the so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ (FIR) or the increasing presence of artificial intelligence and robotics in workplaces. I analyze three ‘genres’ associated with this debate (academic studies including neo-classical and heterodox/post-human approaches, the ‘gray literature’, and popular media) and I argue that together they represent ‘futurological fodder’ or discourses and knowledges that ‘perform’ the FIR and its purported consequences. I contend further that these genres involve a complex mix of ethics and politics, and I conclude with a reflection on the political implications of the FIR debate.

Labor Market Consequences Of Antitax Avoidance Policies, Katarzyna Bilicka

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

In this paper, I analyze the local labor market consequences of multinational firms reallocating employees across their affiliates in response to antitax avoidance policies. I leverage the introduction of a worldwide debt cap in 2010 in the United Kingdom as a quasi-natural experiment that limited one of the forms of profit shifting—debt shifting—for a group of multinational corporations (MNCs). Multinationals affected by the reform reallocated their employees from the United Kingdom to foreign locations. This affected London-based service sector firms the most. I show that this led to a reduction in the number of jobs available in regions exposed to …

Automation Workforce Productivity. How Illinois Manufacturers Are Adopting Advanced Technologies: An Insight Report On Automation, Workforce, And Productivity, Kathleen Bolter, Nicholas Martens, Kenneth Voytek, Jim Robey

Reports

No abstract provided.

When Labor Enforcement And Immigration Enforcement Collide: Deterring Worker Complaints Worsens Workplace Safety, Amanda M. Grittner, Matthew S. Johnson

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Regulatory agencies overseeing the labor market often rely on worker complaints to direct their enforcement. However, if workers face differential barriers to complain, this system could result in ineffective targeting and create disparities in working conditions. To investigate these implications, we examine how the onset of Secure Communities—a localized immigration enforcement program—affected occupational safety and health. Counties’ participation in Secure Communities substantially reduced complaints to government safety regulators, but increased injuries, at workplaces with Hispanic workers. We show that these effects are most consistent with employers reducing safety inputs in response to workers’ decreased willingness to complain.

The Impact Of The Pandemic On U.S. Labor Markets: Past, Present And Future Concerns, Michael Horrigan

Presentations

No abstract provided.

The Dynamics Of Referral Hiring And Racial Inequality: Evidence From Brazil, Conrad Miller, Ian Schmutte

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We study how referral hiring contributes to racial inequality in firm-level labor demand over the firm’s life cycle using data from Brazil. We consider a search model where referral networks are segregated, firms are more informed about the match quality of referred candidates, and some referrals are made by nonreferred employees. Consistent with the model, we find that firms are more likely to hire candidates and less likely to dismiss employees of the same race as the founder, but these differences diminish as firms’ cumulative hires increase. Referral hiring helps to explain racial differences in dismissals, seniority, and employer size.

Increasing Consumer Opportunities For Self-Employment In Vocational Rehabilitation, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

Self-employment is an important option for people with disabilities, especially for those living in rural communities where economic choice and opportunity may be more limited. Although people with disabilities are self-employed at higher rates than people without disabilities, few vocational rehabilitation (VR) consumers become self-employed partly due to lack of knowledge and barriers within VR systems. This research report explains some reasons for low rates of self-employment within the VR system, and presents the Vocational Rehabilitation Self-Employment Guide-an online resource providing guidance and tools to assist people with disabilities and VR counselors with the self-employment process. This guide was …

Skill Downgrading Among Refugees And Economic Immigrants In Germany: Evidence From The Syrian Refugee Crisis, Plamen Nikolov, Leila Salarpour, David Titus

Economics Faculty Scholarship

Upon arrival to a new country, many immigrants face job downgrading, a phenomenon describing workers being in jobs below the ones they have based on the skills they possess. Moreover, in the presence of downgrading immigrants receiving lower wage returns to the same skills compared to natives. The level of downgrading could depend on the immigrant type and numerous other factors. This study examines the determinants of skill downgrading among two types of immigrants – refugees and economic immigrants – in the German labor markets between 1984 and 2018. We find that refugees downgrade more than economic immigrants, and this …

Are Participants Good Evaluators?, Jeffrey A. Smith, Alexander Whalley, Nathaniel T. Wilcox

Upjohn Press

Managers of workforce training programs are often unable to afford costly, full-fledged experimental or nonexperimental evaluations to determine their programs’ impacts. Therefore, many rely on the survey responses of program participants to gauge program impacts.

Smith, Whalley, and Wilcox present the first attempt to assess such measures despite their already widespread use in program evaluations. They develop a multidisciplinary framework for addressing the issue and apply it to three case studies: the National Job Training Partnership Act Study, the U.S. National Supported Work Demonstration, and the Connecticut Jobs First Program.

Each of these studies were subjected to experimental evaluations that …

Ab 5 And Ab 2257 Impacts On Small California Public Agencies, Sarah Robustelli

Master's Projects

With the recent changes, government agencies are struggling to define worker status under the new laws (DeBlanc and Safarloo, 2020). The interest in eliminating independent contractors is tied to concerns about workers in the private sector, specifically the gig economy, being denied appropriate pay and benefits, yet even government agencies are affected by AB 5 changes (Andoyan, 2017, Bergman, 2020). Traditionally, small public agencies use contractors frequently for professional services, specialists, backfill positions, recreation, geographic information systems (GIS), and much more. This research analyzes the following question: What is the impact of Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) and Assembly Bill …

Alienation Of Labor Or Alienation Of Self: Perceptions Of Hospitality Labor And Economic Development In Morocco, Julian Madera

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This work explores the relationship between a nation’s economic shift to hospitality labor and a lower standard of living among the working class in said country. Specifically, the Moroccan economy’s gradual increased reliance on service labor, particularly within the tourism industry. Standard of living in this work will be centered around wellbeing understood through vocational fulfillment and perceptions of hospitality labor among service workers. In order to evaluate the standard of living among the working class, this work will utilize a comparative assessment of key interviews from three key sectors of the hospitality labor force: autonomist, alienated, and hospitality adjacent …

Place-Based Jobs Policies: We Need To Boost Employment Rates In Distressed Places, But: One Size Does Not Fit All, Timothy J. Bartik

Presentations

No abstract provided.

Covid-19 And Nevada Counties: Employment Data, May 2019 And May 2021, Joshua Padilla, Katie M. Gilbertson, William E. Brown Jr.

Economic Development & Workforce

This fact sheet displays county-level employment data and unemployment rates for 17 counties in Nevada, as reported by The Daily Yonder article “Rural Employment Grew in May, but Fewer People Are Seeking Jobs” in July 2021. Bill Bishop and Tim Marema compiled data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for each county in the United States for May 2019 and May 2021.

Rent Control In California: Policy Review, Brian J. Asquith, Shane M. Reed

Reports

The largest number of housing units subject to rent control can be found in California, but the policy environment is quite complex and is characterized by a series of interacting state and local laws. This complexity represents a significant barrier for researchers and policymakers seeking a clear and accurate picture of how rent control works in California, and how it incentivizes different behaviors among landlords and tenants alike. This technical report surveys rent control rules in California, with special attention paid to the recent statewide rent caps, historic developments, and the systems in Los Angeles and San Francisco. This report …

A Model Of Occupational Licensing And Statistical Discrimination, Peter Q. Blair, Bobby W. Chung

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We develop a model of statistical discrimination in occupational licensing. In the model, there is endogenous occupation selection and wage determination that depends on how costly it is to obtain the license and the productivity of the human capital that is bundled with the license. Under these assumptions, we find a unique equilibrium with sharp comparative statics for the licensing premiums. The key theoretical result in this paper is that the licensing premium is higher for workers who are members of demographic groups that face a higher cost of licensing. The intuition for this result is that the higher cost …