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…

Over the past few decades, the economic prospects for workers possessing relatively few skills have worsened as the demand for skills in the labor market has increased. Even in jobs that might be categorized as low-skilled, workers require a diverse set of skills to succeed. Many of these skills can only be obtained through schooling or job…

This report examines patterns of social mobility in Australia by comparing Maltese, Lebanese, and Vietnamese immigrants with an Australian-born control group. The data come from a 1988-89 national opinion survey conducted on behalf of the Australian Office of Multicultural Affairs. The survey over-sampled several overseas-born groups, with samples…

The Federal Government has sponsored job training for the unemployed and economically disadvantaged for more than three decades. The National Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) study is the first evaluation of a major ongoing national program that uses a random assignment experimental design in which only program experience divides participants…

A field study examined the Public Service Employment (PSE) Program's intergovernmental effects. Addressed during the study were such questions as whether the program creates jobs in local government, whether local governments give preference to disadvantaged persons, and what kinds of services are provided. To collect these data, a network of…

Based on new research exploring the training and employment of science and engineering PhDs in the United States, this book predicts that with constant future resources and with constant domestic employment outside academe, academic departments will produce an average 20% to 24% annual excess of new Ph.D.s over employment opportunities. The models…

This study describes New York City's population of 16-to-24-year-olds using data from the 1990 Census' Public Use Microdata Sample. Selected characteristics pertaining to the education and employment of these young adults are examined, and information is given about the school and work status of youth in the city according to various demographic…

For much of its history, America has been waging war against many of its poor people. Chapters 1 through 4 of this book discuss the labeling of the poor as morally inferior, which has increased in the last 15 years, blames them falsely for the ills of the American society and economy, reinforces their mistreatment, increases their misery, and…

This report profiles undergraduates enrolled in postsecondary education for the academic year 1992-93. It relies on data from the 1992-93 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, third in a series conducted by the Department of Education. The report begins with an essay that explores the extent to which undergraduates have outside…

Despite the overall economic gains in the 1990s, many young black men continue to have the poorest life chances of anyone in our society. Joblessness and low earnings among these less-educated young adults are contributing to reductions in marriage, increases in nonmarital childbearing, and a host of other social problems. In "Black Males…

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 book presents results of a major study of the policies and programs that affect whether people with disabilities take part in the Canadian labor force. It concludes that people with disabilities are excluded, not primarily because of their disability nor its severity, but rather because of barriers resulting from public policy and program…

In 1970 the City University of New York (CUNY) initiated an open admissions policy that aimed to create an unusually high level of educational opportunity, especially for low-income minority youth. Opponents asserted that this policy so degraded academic standards that CUNY's diplomas lost their value. Using a data set with extensive information…