Financial literacy is ideally suited to be integrated into mathematics courses and taught in an interdisciplinary manner. Students learn best and are motivated when tackling real-world meaningful questions. This article shares how elementary mathematics was applied to better understand the debate about raising the minimum wage and the United…

Two articles are presented in this column. "Life in an Auto Factory: Simulating how Labor and Management Interact" by Eric B. Freedman describes a classroom simulation of management and labor relations in an auto factory. Classroom handouts are included. The next article, "Women of Action and County Names: Mary Musgrove County--Why…

Reports on a U.S. Department of Education study of the employment and salary status of 1989-90 bachelor's degree recipients. Finds that college graduates with humanities and history majors are not faring as well as their counterparts in other fields as they enter the labor force. Includes two figures and one table comparing humanities graduates…

The process and results of establishing collective bargaining for Rutgers University's (New Jersey) part-time faculty, largely women, are discussed. Negotiations for achievement of parity with full-time faculty through pro rata benefits and salaries, the most contested issue, are described briefly, focusing on administration resistance. (MSE)

Accompanied by several charts and tables, this study examines differential salary increments for veteran and novice teachers in 43 New York State school districts. Awarding larger percentage increments to experienced rather than to beginning employees is less common in comparable professions and may discourage new teaching recruits. Includes 17…

The applicability of the principle of comparable pay for comparable worth is discussed for college faculty jobs, not only for alleviation of sex discrimination but also for eliminating bias-related discrepancies between departments or specialties. (MSE)

Notes that the number of workers employed in the U.S. chemical industry rose again in 1988. Provides information for the years 1978-88 for the areas of industrial employment, scientist and engineer employment, corporation employment, wages, and industrial productivity. (MVL)

A historical overview of the doctrine of equal pay for comparable worth is provided, related cases and legislation involving nurses and nonnurses are analyzed, and the implications of comparable worth for the nursing profession are discussed. (MSE)

Argues that, although the high salaries of faculty "superstars" may disadvantage other faculty and staff, particularly in a period of downsizing, the more serious problem is the tradition of large discipline-based differences in faculty salaries which undermine the principles of merit-based compensation. Resentment of "superstar" salaries may have…

The Teachers Insurance and Annuities Association's (TIAA) College Retirement and Equity Fund is criticized for its low returns and its chief executive officer's recent salary raise. It is said to be in need of additional regulation and policyholder involvement. A TIAA vice president responds that the analysis given is inaccurate and misleading.…

It is argued that Australia's relatively uniform and consistent academic salary structure and personnel policies should be more flexible and competitive in order to alleviate current problems of academic labor market stagnation, uneven faculty distribution, and other results of financial stringency. (MSE)

Explores salary data organized by academic rank using a sample of 78 graduate departments. Finds significant differences among the highest, lowest, and average salaries of assistant, associate, and full professors in private and public universities, and between schools in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. Suggests a lag in supply may affect…

Provided is information on stipends from the last 3 surveys for 12 engineering disciplines. Notes that in 1987-88 the highest GTA and GRA stipends were awarded in the same field; materials science/metallurgical engineering. (MVL)

Suggests how the classic model of overlapping contracts can be incorporated into the contract wage model of aggregate supply. Illustrates dynamics of macroeconomic adjustment following a shock to aggregate demand. Concludes that overlapping contracts do not prolong the adjustment process; rather, the longest remaining contract determines the time…

A survey of 314 male and female faculty in criminology and sociology found that faculty women are more likely than men to leave academic positions, and women who interrupt careers commonly do so for a job-seeking spouse. Women experience significant losses in tenure and earnings as a result of career disruptions. (MSE)