After a long decline, the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) of older men in the United States leveled off in the 1980s, and began to increase in the late 1990s. We examine how changes in Social Security rules affected these trends. We attribute only a small portion of the decline from the 1960s-80s to the increasing generosity of Social…

The relationship between wage differentiation and long-term unemployment was examined in a study that considered data regarding long-term unemployment and minimum wages in the United States, Japan, and 10 member nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Data regarding wages and unemployment in the 11 countries were…

Deciding it necessary to review the earlier ruling of the Second Circuit court, on January 9, 2009 the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in the case "Ricci v. DeStefano." The case originates from New Haven, Connecticut where a group of firefighters argue that city officials violated their Title VII rights by dismissing the results of…

The primary objective of this paper is to describe a method of estimating female-male wage ratios. The estimating technique presented is two stage least squares (2SLS), in which equations are estimated for both men and women. After specifying and estimating the wage equations, the male-female wage differential is calculated that would remain if…

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…

We investigated whether the September 11, 2001 terrorists' attacks had any effect on employment, earnings, and residential mobility of first- and second-generation Arab and Muslim men in the United States. We find that September 11th did not significantly affect employment and hours of work of Arab and Muslim men, but was associated with a 9-11…

This paper demonstrates the extent to which married women's labor supply elasticities have changed over the past quarter century. Estimates from March Current Population Survey data suggest that these elasticities have decreased substantially, by 60 percent for the hours wage elasticity (from 0.36 to 0.14), 70 percent for the hours income…

The demand for child care in the United States continues to grow, but child care workers' wages remain minimal. Using examples within New Jersey, the author demonstrates how low wages impact child care quality and are directly related to the effects of the competitive marketplace. Various historical, regulatory, and cultural contexts also…

The secular increase over the past several decades in the number of families where both the husband and wife work in the paid labor force, coupled with the surge in labor force participation of single mothers in the 1990s, has heightened policy focus on child care options for working parents; federal and state governments are now major players…

Comparison of U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics and German Socioeconomic Panel data found similarities in correlation of earnings and working hours for fathers and sons. Correlation for daughters and mothers was stronger in the United States, where more women are in the labor force. Intergenerational correlations in educational attainment were…

There is widespread recognition within the academic community of the need to inform various constituencies of the economic value that colleges and universities convey to their host communities. This report examines data from the National Center for Education Statistics and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the short-term economic impact…

Until the 1960s, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were practically the only institutions of higher learning open to Blacks in the US. Using nationally representative data files from 1970s and 1990s college attendees, we find that in the 1970s HBCU matriculation was associated with higher wages and an increased probability of…

Many youth in the United States lack clear occupational aspirations. This uncertainty in achievement ambitions may benefit socio-economic attainment if it signifies "role exploration," characterized by career development, continued education and enduring partnerships. By contrast, uncertainty may diminish attainment if it instead leads…

Differences between the earnings of men and women suggest that women are being paid less for doing the same job. Factors that attribute to the wage differences are (1) women are concentrated in those occupations which are less skilled and in which wages are relatively low, (2) women working on full-time schedules tend to work less overtime than…

This study examines the year-to-year movement in the wage differential between skilled and unskilled workers, 1907-72, using union contract rates in the construction industry. The author examines a number of hypotheses that have been suggested as explanation for changes in the skill differential. (Editor/HD)