This paper presents an analysis of changes in occupational status and hourly earnings after workers experience a spell of nonemployment, during a period of stable but slow economic growth and a recessionary period. In addition, an effort is made to identify factors associated with changes in occupational status and hourly earnings, including a…

This brief provides a nuanced interpretation of how higher education has paid women in administrative positions from 2001-2016, as well as the number of women holding top leadership positions in colleges and universities nationwide. Findings in this brief include the following: (1) In 2001, women administrators in higher education earned…

The pay gap between minority men and White men has remained virtually unchanged since 1980, with Hispanic men currently earning 69 cents and Black men currently earning 73 cents on the dollar that White men earn. The pay gap is even greater for minority women. The College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) has…

The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the return to pre-immigration education for non-western immigrants, and explain why it is so low. Returns to one extra year of education is three times higher for ethnic Norwegians than for non-western immigrants. Using the method "Over-Required-Under" (ORU) education approach, we reveal that…

Differences in teacher quality are commonly cited as a key determinant of the huge international student performance gaps. However, convincing evidence on this relationship is still lacking, in part because it is unclear how to measure teacher quality consistently across countries. We use unique international assessment data to investigate the…

Using data from the Current Population Survey and the New Immigrant Survey, this paper examines the common perception that immigrants are concentrated in high-risk jobs for which they receive little wage compensation. Compared to native U.S. workers, non-Mexican immigrants are not at higher risk and have substantial values of statistical life.…

Several recent studies across the social sciences show that the spatial agglomeration of employment in a local labor market benefits both firms and workers in terms of better firm performance and higher wages. Drawing from the organizational ecology perspective, we argue that workers receive higher wages in large industrial clusters and urban…

Budget exercises are frequently used in introductory and social problems courses to facilitate student understanding of income inequality. But do these exercises actually lead to greater sociological understanding? To explore this issue, the authors studied undergraduate students enrolled in introductory sociology courses during the 2008-2009…

This working paper assesses the ease of immigrants' integration in OECD labour markets by estimating how an immigration background influences the probability of being active or employed and the expected hourly earnings, for given individual characteristics. Applying the same methodology to comparable data across twelve OECD countries, immigrants…

The Appalachian region is one of the most persistently poor areas of the United States. A focal explanation for the weak economic performance over the years is the fact that Appalachia has long lagged behind other regions in terms of the supply of skilled workers, particularly those with higher levels of education attainment, and this lack of…

Geographic cost differences present many complications when researchers attempt to make systematic comparisons of educational resources, and failure to address such differences can undermine the equity and adequacy goals of school finance formulas. Therefore, there is considerable interest in developing measures of the cost of education that can…

One of the most remarkable yet least remarked upon accomplishments in American public education in the twentieth century is the success of the school consolidation movement. Between 1930 and 1970, nine out of every ten school districts were eliminated through consolidation. Nearly two-thirds of schools that existed in 1930 were gone by 1970. These…

This paper examines reasons why personnel policy and wage setting differ between traditional public, private, and charter schools and the effects of these policies on academic measures of teacher quality. Survey and administrative data suggest that the regulatory freedom, small size of wage-setting units, and a competitive market environment make…