Labor Economics Commons^™

1st Annual Walter Rodney Speakers Series (2013)

Groundings

We take a look at the semester-long project to bring together intellectuals from all backgrounds and education. Included: A brief synopsis of the Series and a photo narrative.

10th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium Wrap Up

Groundings

We take a look at the monumental occasion that was the 10th Annual Walter Rodney Symposium, held on March 22nd and 23rd, 2013. Included: A brief synopsis of events and a photo narrative of the Symposium

Introduction

Groundings

This is the Introduction for Groundings Vol. 1, Iss. 1.

Cover And Table Of Contents

Groundings

This is the Cover and Table of Contents for Groundings Vol. 1, Iss. 1.

The Shortage Of Skilled Workers: Quality Jobs For A Trained Workforce, Jonathan Rothwell

Brookings Scholar Lecture Series

The Great Recession of 2008 temporarily solved employer workforce needs by lowering demand and increasing the number of unemployed skilled workers. After a few years of modest but sustained economic growth, the labor market for skilled workers has once again tightened and positions are going unfilled. This research helps national and regional leaders understand which skills are in short supply and offers policy advice on how to redress the imbalance between supply and demand. In addition to offering a national perspective on this topic, the lecture will examine the situation in Nevada.

Husbands’ Job Loss And Wives’ Labor Force Participation During Economic Downturns: Are All Recessions The Same?, Kristin Smith, Marybeth J. Mattingly

Sociology

Earlier research showed an added-worker effect for wives when their husbands stopped working during the Great Recession (December 2007–June 2009) but not when husbands stopped working in recent years of prosperity (2004–2005). By including one recession per decade for the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, this article builds upon that research by using Current Population Survey data to compare wives’ labor force responses to their husbands stopping work across three recessions to determine whether wives’ employment responses during the Great Recession differed from those during earlier recessions. Additionally, we hypothesize motivations for wives entering the labor force and consider the occupations …

A Rapid Review Of Self-Employment Literature: Implications For The Vocational Rehabilitation Program, Nancy Arnold, Catherine Ipsen, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

Business ownership is an important employment option for people with disabilities, particularly those living in rural areas with few employment opportunities (Arnold, Ravesloot, & Seekins, 1995; Arnold & Seekins, 1994). Researchers at RTC:Rural began conducting research on the use of self-employment by VR agencies in 1990. Since then RTC:Rural researchers have: developed model self-employment policies and procedures for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies (Arnold & Ipsen, 2005); developed self-employment training for VR counselors in both in-person and web-based formats (Arnold, Seekins, et. al., 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004); and explored cross-agency collaborations to support self-employment ventures (Ipsen, Arnold & Colling, 2003, 2005). …

Rapid Literature Review Of Self-Employment Research, Nancy Arnold, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

Business ownership is an important employment option for people with disabilities, particularly for those who live in rural areas of the U.S. with fewer employment opportunities (Arnold, Ravesloot, & Seekins, 1995; Arnold & Seekins, 1994). Researchers at RTC:Rural began conducting research on the use of self-employment by VR agencies in 1990. Since then RTC:Rural researchers developed model self-employment policies and procedures for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies, which several state agencies have adopted in whole or in part (Arnold & Ipsen, 2005); developed self-employment training for VR counselors (Arnold, Seekins, et. al., 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004) in both in-person and web-based …

The Job Search Intensity Supply Curve: How Labor Market Conditions Affect Job Search Effort, Jeremy Schwartz

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

During the Great Recession of 2007, unemployment reached nearly 10 percent and the ratio of unemployment to open positions (as measured by the Help Wanted OnLine Index) more than tripled. The weak labor market prompted an unprecedented extension in the length of time in which a claimant can collect unemployment insurance (UI) to 99 weeks, at an expense to date of $226.4 billion. While many claim that extending UI during a recession will reduce search intensity, the effect of weak labor market conditions on search remains a mystery. As a result, policymakers are in the dark as to whether UI …

The Spatial Polish Wage Curve With Gender Effects: Evidence From The Polish Labor Survey, Badi H. Baltagi, Bartlomiej Rokicki

Center for Policy Research

This paper reconsiders the Polish wage curve using individual data from the Polish Labor Force Survey (LFS) at the 16 NUTS2 level allowing for spatial spillovers between regions. In addition it estimates the total and gender-specific regional unemployment rate elasticities on individual wages. The paper finds significant spatial unemployment spillovers across Polish regions. In addition, it finds that the results for the Polish wage curve are sensitive to gender-specific regional unemployment rates. This is especially true for women.

Cash On The Table? A Behavioral Analysis Of Refund Claimants And Annuitants In The Illinois Teachers' Retirement System, Martin F. Lueken

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation documents pension benefit choices made by public school teachers enrolled in the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System (TRS), where they choose between taking a lump-sum withdrawal of their refundable contributions and deferring a pension benefit. The analysis explores the extent to which vested teachers enrolled in TRS separate from service with positive pension wealth, estimates how much money is "left on the table" at a conventional discount rate, and investigates what types of teachers display higher or lower discount rates as indicated by cashout patterns. To control for the relative attractiveness between choices, the analysis relies on three central …

Qualitative And Quantitative Analysis Of Wage Differentials Using Nonparametric Methods, Eric Makela

All Dissertations

The vast empirical literature on wage differentials reflects extreme interest in the subject from economists, social scientists, and policymakers alike. A review of the literature reveals two noticeable shortcomings. First, nearly all past studies have assumed a linear relationship between earnings and worker characteristics without consideration as to the potential specification error this imposes on their estimates. Second, researchers have generally focused on simple mean effects rather than estimating the effects of characteristics and wage rates on earnings distributions as a whole. Using data from the American Community Survey, this Dissertation addresses both issues with a simple nonparametric approach, and …

Recession And Recovery: Jobs In Nebraska: 2008 To 2012, Randolph L. Cantrell

Cornhusker Economics

A commonly used resource for tracking changes in jobs and income at the county level is the Regional Economic Information System (REIS) data base produced annually by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). REIS data are derived from tax filings by employers, employees and the self-employed. The data base has been relatively unchanged (except for a reorganization of industry codes) since 1969. Reporting is always for the tax year two-years previous to the release date, so the data are more about historical than current conditions. However, REIS is generally seen as reliable and does provide a trend line that now …

Aggregate Demand, Idle Time, And Unemployment, Pascal Michaillat, Emmanuel Saez

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

This paper develops a model of unemployment fluctuations. The model keeps the architecture of the Barro and Grossman (1971) general disequilibrium model but replaces the disequilibrium framework on the labor and product markets by a matching framework. On the product and labor markets, both price and tightness adjust to equalize supply and demand. There is one more variable than equilibrium condition on each market, so we consider various price mechanisms to close the model, from completely flexible to completely rigid. With some price rigidity, aggregate demand influences unemployment through a simple mechanism: higher aggregate demand raises the probability that firms …

Job Creation Tax Credits: Still Worth Consideration?, Robert S. Chirinko, Daniel J. Wilson

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Public Workforce Programs During The Great Recession, Stephen A. Wandner, Randall W. Eberts

Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Economic Development Recommendations That Focus On The "Working Poor": Lessons From Waco, George Erickcek, Don Edgerly, Brian Pittelko, Claudette Robey, Bridget Timmeney, Jim Robey

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

From Antipolitics To Post-Neoliberalism: A Conversation With James Ferguson, Nils Gilman, Miriam Ticktin, James Ferguson

Publications and Research

Humanity co-editors Nils Gilman and Miriam Ticktin spoke with James Ferguson on May 31, 2013, at Stanford University.

The Economic Causes And Consequences Of Overweight And Obesity In The United States, David Alan Lempert

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Obesity is a serious public health issue, associated with increased risks of premature death, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, breathing problems, arthritis, reproductive complications, and other diseases. There are economic causes and consequences of overweight and obesity. Researchers have recently suggested that the inability of Body Mass Index to appropriately distinguish between body fat and non-body fat components may lead to inaccurate results when analyzing the economics of obesity. I use Percentage Body Fat, defined as Body Fat divided by the sum of Fat-Free Mass and Body Fat, as the primary measure of body composition.

A growing body of literature explores …

Economic Impact Of Legalizing Retail Alcohol Sales In Craighead, Faulkner, And Saline Counties, Katherine A. Deck, Mervin Jebaraj

Publications and Presentations

Converting from dry county to wet county status would have a number of tangible and intangible economic benefits for Craighead, Faulkner, and Saline counties. Legal retail alcohol sales are a signal of a contemporary economic development environment. Quantifying the value of that perception is quite difficult, but it is entirely possible to estimate sales effects, tax collections, and other economic impacts of becoming a wet county. This study was conducted by the Center for Business and Economic Research to assess the magnitude of those economic effects.