This paper examines how elite transnational policy and research organizations are framing emergent technologies as a hypermodern risk. It outlines how innovations in artificial intelligence and machine learning are feeding into global policy imaginaries and responses oriented to education and skills as adaption and minimization of potential…

Despite still widespread unemployment in Europe, there is a growing shortage of labour, due to the ageing of the population and discrimination against old people both in and out of employment. Following the long history of human rights legislation, such discrimination is now outlawed but many third-agers have become discouraged or do not know how…

Lower socioeconomic strata in Russia have their origins in both the former Soviet lower strata and economic decline of the 1990s. Part of the reason for their persistence is the geographic mismatch between jobs and the labor supply, in addition to lack of education, skills, and social support. The situation cannot be solved by just providing…

The labor force is the number of people aged 16 or older who are either working or looking for work. It does not include active-duty military personnel or institutionalized people, such as prison inmates. Quantifying this total supply of labor is a way of determining how big the economy can get. Labor force participation rates vary significantly…

The Great Recession left a crater in the labor market that has been devastating for unemployed Americans of all ages. After more than two years of unemployment at well over 8%, there is a hole of more than 11 million jobs, with average spells of unemployment lasting nearly nine months. The weak labor market has been particularly tough on young…

Social scientists have increasingly come to recognize the informal economy as a prominent and permanent structural feature of modern society. Rural sociologists have made a considerable contribution to this literature, demonstrating informal work to factor prominently in the livelihood strategies of rural Americans. Despite this scholarly…

Background: Massive retirements, increased expectations, and mounting political pressures have resulted in a diminished talent pool for school superintendents. For school boards of the 124 school districts on Long Island, New York, the selection of a superintendent has been further complicated by sky-rocketing taxes and scandals leading to an…

In this White Paper, the Business Roundtable recommends access to AMERICA 21, a 21st-century approach to lifelong learning for workers, as well as assistance for job dislocation. AMERICA 21 would channel funding from the myriad of existing initiatives into a modernized, streamlined system that leverages and builds on today's best private and…

The purpose of this study was to determine through the estimation of reduced-form equations whether there is a direct causal connection between the impending short supply of labor and the incentive for businesses to increase their capital investments, with a consequent increase in productivity. (Editor)

Aspects of Mexico's economic and technological structures are examined, features of the modernization process are dealt with, an analysis is made of one component of the Mexican migratory flow into the United States, and migratory flow, seen in the context of the system of "peripheral" and "central" economics, is discussed. (Author/EB)

The Alaskan oil pipeline is the lure currently attracting Americans toAlaska; actually, job prospects are bleak--most jobs will be filled by permanent residents of Alaska, where the unemployment rate is very high. Jobs which cannot be filled by Alaskans will be filled from labor union sources. (AJ)

Examines recent trends and cyclical changes in the number of discouraged workers and other persons outside the labor force who report wanting regular jobs. Both the incidence of discouragement and its sensitivity to labor market conditions vary widely across demographic groups. (Author/CT)

Examines trends identified in the American School Food Service Association's research-based "1998-2000 Strategic Plan." Forecasters are projecting that student enrollments will rise over the next five years, labor shortages will continue, competition from fast-food providers is increasing, food-service providers' roles are expanding, and…

In an overview of the main factors that have contributed to the currently high rates of unemployment in OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, the author examines in particular labor supply; structural and technological change; the functioning of the labor market; and macroeconomic policies. (Author/CT)

This paper studies the assignment of heterogeneous workers to heterogeneous jobs. Owing to the anonymity of a large labor market, workers use mixed strategies when applying for jobs. This randomness generates coordination frictions. Two workers may apply for a particular job, whereas an identical job gets no applications. The model generates…