Panama has achieved socio-economic improvements in recent decades thanks to strong economic growth and consequent poverty reduction. Its growth model is characterised by a dual economy in which a small number of activities, including those related to the Canal and Special Economic Zones, have exhibited high productivity growth but limited job…

Gender inequalities persist in all areas of social and economic life and across countries. Young women in OECD countries generally obtain more years of schooling than young men, but women are less likely than men to engage in paid work. Gaps widen with age, as motherhood typically has marked negative effects on gender pay gaps and career…

The economic boom of the 1990s veiled a grim reality: in addition to the growing gap between rich and poor, the gap between good and bad quality jobs was also expanding. The postwar prosperity of the mid-twentieth century had enabled millions of American workers to join the middle class, but as author Arne L. Kalleberg shows, by the 1970s this…

This volume presents 6 papers by 22 labor economists who examine and address worker displacement in 10 industrialized countries (Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, United States). "Summary and Synthesis" (Peter J. Kuhn) discusses these four categories of lessons learned from panel…

The prospective place of the aging worker in the employment environment of the 21st century is examined. The following are among the specific topics discussed: (1) the real world of work and retirement; (2) the changing employment environment; (3) the restructuring of business in the United States; (4) globalization and the economy; (5) downsizing…

The impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) on working families was analyzed. The analysis established that the EITC is, on balance, a highly effective program that meets its primary objectives well. The following benefits of the EITC were identified: (1) it reduced the poverty rate in 1999 by an estimated 1.5 percentage points; (2) it is…

The rising wage inequality in U.S. urban labor markets during the 1980s was examined in a study of 20 metropolitan area labor markets. The study's perspective differs from the prevailing perspective on the problem in three ways: (1) it focuses on changes in the wage structure in a sample of local labor markets; (2) it examines changes in the…

Numerous sources of data about family incomes, taxes, wages, unemployment, wealth, and poverty were used to analyze the impact of the economy on living standards in the United States in 1994-1995. It was discovered that most individuals in the United States are worse off in the 1990s than they were at the end of the 1970s. Between 1979 and 1989,…

This book explains major trends in the U.S. labor market over the last quarter-century. Chapter 1 presents hypotheses regarding the changing labor market. Chapter 2 looks at cognitive skills and formal education as determinants of employment. Chapter 3 develops the argument that the downward occupational mobility arising from changes in the supply…

Data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau (the Current Population Survey and Survey of Income and Program Participation) and other federal agencies were used to examine trends in the ways different cohorts of women born between 1906 and 1975 have attempted to balance motherhood, marriage, and employment. The study focused on the following:…

A study examined the earnings losses suffered by a group of experienced workers who separated from their firms in the early and mid-1980s. The quarterly earnings histories of a large number of Pennsylvania workers covering the period 1974 through 1986 merged with employment information about their firms served as the data set. Workers' earnings…

This collection of papers looks at the employment status of the U.S. Hispanic population, a significant and growing segment of the nation's labor force. It analyzes characteristics of Latino workers, including educational attainment by Hispanic subgroups, work experience and skills, and computer literacy. The eight papers are: (1) "What…

Data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience were analyzed to determine the unemployment experiences of four groups of workers from the labor force during a recent decade. The subjects were men who at the end of the decade were 26-34 and 55-69 and women who were 26-34 and 40-54 years of age. Information on unemployment…

This book reports on the effects of economic restructuring on the livelihood of working families in a rural Vermont county. Specifically, a study investigated family strategies to ensure and enhance daily survival including gainful employment (informal and formal), moonlighting, self-provisioning efforts, and non-monetary exchanges with other…

This collection of papers focuses on urban inequalities in Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, and Los Angeles. There are 11 chapters in 3 parts. The book begins with an introduction, "Understanding Inequality in the Late Twentieth-Century Metropolis: New Perspectives on the Enduring Racial Divide" (Alice O'Connor) and chapter 1,…