It is the thesis of this booklet, one of a series intended to apply economic principles to major social and political issues of the day, that minimum wage laws actually hurt those whom such laws are designed to help. From this point of departure, separate subsections examine economic implications of minimum wage laws, including discussion of what…

In this booklet, one of a series intended to apply economic principles to major social and political issues of the day, the position is taken that questions of fairness have little meaning when discussing economic issues like prices, wages, and profits. It is argued that one reason for the frequent use of terms like fair and fairness is ignorance…

This is a congressional hearing to examine S. 2687, the Youth Employment Opportunity Wage Act. (This bill would permit employers to pay youth a wage of 75 percent of the statutory minimum wage during the summer. The bill has a sunset provision.) Testimony includes statements from U.S. Senators and Representatives and from individuals representing…

Competing explanations for youth unemployment (demography, minimum wages, education and training, economic conditions) have profoundly different implications for policy. The history of youth unemployment in Australia and the United States is explored and the causes of the problem as well as some solutions are evaluated. (LC)

The shortage of qualified science and mathematics teachers is expected to increase. Among the remedies are incentive pay (despite unions' reactions against it), increasing funds for teacher training, and retraining and recertification programs that offer financial incentives. (MLF)

In this booklet, one of a series intended to apply economic principles to major social and political issues, an argument is presented against comparable pay for comparable worth policies for women. Separate subsections present opposing viewpoints on this controversial issue as well as an examination of whether legislation has been a…

Clerks, salespersons, plant and machine operators and laborers, and related workers, defined as operative workers, currently form more than half the work force. They share the following characteristics: comparatively low earnings, limited qualifications, often employed in industries subject to economic restructuring and sensitive to economic…

The increased demands that will be placed upon those in the work force of the year 2000 have been well covered in numerous studies. The need to help those students who will be entering the work force to acquire and maintain a competitive edge has been discussed repeatedly. A 1987 study comparing the earnings levels, unemployment rates, and…

Discusses educational equality and inequality from an economist's perspective. Considers human capital theory and interpretation of life cycles in learning and earning. Addresses schooling and experience components of changes in the inequality of earned incomes, educational expansion, and inequalities in schooling. Explores the roles of skill…

Observations of schools and the economies of various countries and regions (including the Eastern and Western Europe, Scandinavia, and the United States) suggest that the following generally accepted principles may be called hoaxes: (1) great numbers of new emerging jobs of the future will require much higher skill levels for workers; (2)…

Wage rates and earnings give misleading signals to public and private policymakers as to the benefits of certain kinds of education and training investments. These misleading signals result from the fact that (1) workers and employers prefer employment contracts that either do not recognize or only partially recognize differences in productivity…

The National Commission for Employment Policy has examined ways that the United States federal government could improve the economic situation of disadvantaged women. In particular, the Commission examined, during 1980, the role of education and employment and training programs in helping women to prepare for better paying occupations, and then…

The benefits of offering high school students career and technical education (CTE) in addition to training in basic academic skills and the cost-effectiveness of CTE were examined by reviewing available data on demand, supply, and results for CTE. The analysis confirmed that the market and demand for workers with only a high school education still…

This book contains 17 social policy essays on various topics related to labor and full employment policies in the United States. The following papers are included: "Introduction" (Stephen Mangum); "Secular Rabbi: The Life and Times of Sar A. Levitan" (Garth Mangum); "Young Workers, Young Families, and Child Poverty"…

The relationship between literacy, numeracy, and employability was examined by analyzing data on basic skills that were collected in two of Great Britain's birth cohort studies--the National Child Development Study and the 1970 British Cohort Study. The functional literacy and numeracy skills of samples of 10% of the participants in each study…