This paper presents an analysis of changes in occupational status and hourly earnings after workers experience a spell of nonemployment, during a period of stable but slow economic growth and a recessionary period. In addition, an effort is made to identify factors associated with changes in occupational status and hourly earnings, including a…

The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the return to pre-immigration education for non-western immigrants, and explain why it is so low. Returns to one extra year of education is three times higher for ethnic Norwegians than for non-western immigrants. Using the method "Over-Required-Under" (ORU) education approach, we reveal that…

The Appalachian region is one of the most persistently poor areas of the United States. A focal explanation for the weak economic performance over the years is the fact that Appalachia has long lagged behind other regions in terms of the supply of skilled workers, particularly those with higher levels of education attainment, and this lack of…

Current Population Survey data indicate an overall decline in the rural-urban pay gap during the early 1990s (due to declining urban wages, not rising rural wages). In 1993, the earnings of 30 percent of rural full-time workers were below the poverty level. Compares low-income workers by gender, age group, education, and race/ethnicity. (LP)