Showing papers by "Harry J. Holzer published in 1996"

Spatial Factors and the Employment of Blacks at the Firm Level

Abstract: In this paper we use data from a new survey of over 3,000 employers in four major metropolitan areas to investigate the determinants of black employment and wages at the firm level. We focus specifically on two factors that are likely to influence the spatial distribution of black employment: the proximity of firms to the residential locations of various racial groups and to public transit. We also consider the effects on black employment of other factors, such as employers' skill needs and some likely determinants of their preferences across groups. Our main finding is that employers' proximity to black residences and to public transit increases the likelihood that they will hire black employees. This is true even when we include detailed controls for the skills needed by employers and also for the race of customers and of those responsible for hiring, which independently affect the levels of black employment at firms. Proximity to public transit and especially to black residences accounts for major portions of the higher black employment rates at central-city than suburban firms. The residential effects are relatively strong for employers who recruit through informal methods and weak for those who use newspapers, thus suggesting that information may play a role in the distance effects. We also find some evidence that employers' proximity to black residential populations results in lower wages for workers. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Demand Shifts, Population Adjustments, and Labor Market Outcomes During the 1980s

Abstract: In this paper we explore the effects of labor demand shifts and population adjustments across metropolitan areas on the employment and earnings of various demographic groups during the 1980s. Results show that, although earnings and employment deteriorated for less-education and black males in most areas in the 1980s, there was a good deal of geographic variation in the magnitudes of these changes. Shifts in labor demand across local areas contributed to this variation, and had greater relative impacts on the earnings and employment of these demographic groups. We also find that popu- lation shifts across areas, presumably due to migation, at least partially offset the effects of these demand shifts. But less-education workers showed substantially lower population adjustments in response to these demand shifts. These limited supply responses apparently contributed importantly to relatively greater deterioration of employment and earnings of these groups in declining areas during the 1980s.

Employer Hiring Decisions and Antidiscrimination Policy

Abstract: Have federal antidiscrimination policies been effective in improving employment outcomes for minorities and females? If so, why have the relative wages and employment of blacks deteriorated in recent years? What other factors on the demand side of the labor market have contributed to these developments, and what are the appropriate public policy responses? In this paper I address these issues. I begin by reviewing evidence in the literature on the recent employment problems of minorities and on hiring discrimination. I specifically consider the effectiveness of Equal Employment Opportunity laws and Affirmative Action programs in improving employment outcomes for minorities as well as females. I then provide new evidence from a recent survey of over 3000 employers on the determinants of hiring. I focus on employer skill needs and hiring procedures, as well as the racial mix of the firm’s applicants and customers, in determining employment outcomes for minorities and females. Employer use of Affirmative Action in recruiting and hiring is considered as well. Finally, I consider the implications of these findings for the usefulness of antidiscrimination policies and other approaches for improving employment outcomes for less-skilled minorities. Employer Hiring Decisions and Antidiscrimination Policy In the past few decades, the employment and earnings of young blacks have deteriorated significantly, especially among those less educated. This deterioration has occurred in spite of efforts to protect and enhance their employment status through a variety of governmental antidiscrimination efforts, such as federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws and Affirmative Action programs for government contractors. Furthermore, the employment and earnings of females have improved during the same period, and even less-educated females have made gains relative to less-educated males. A fairly large body of research suggests that various changes on the demand side of the labor market, such as growing skill needs of employers and their changing geographic locations, have heavily contributed to these developments. But little direct evidence has been available on these issues to date, since so little data have been available from the demand side of the labor market. In this paper I provide new evidence on employer skill needs, hiring behavior, and their effects on employment of minorities and women. I use data from a new survey of over 3000 employers in four large metropolitan areas that are described more fully below. I first review the literature on government antidiscrimination policies and on the recent deterioration in labor market outcomes for blacks, then present empirical evidence on employer hiring of minorities and women. I conclude with a discussion of implications for antidiscrimination policies and for government efforts more generally aimed at the demand side of the labor market for minorities and women.

Are Affirmative Action Hires Less Qualified? Evidence from Employer-Employee Data on New Hires

Abstract: In this paper we use micro-level data on employers and employees to investigate whether Affirmative Action procedures lead firms to hire minority or female employees who are less qualified than workers who might otherwise be hired. Our measures of qualifications include the educational attainment of the workers hired (both absolutely and relative to job requirements), skill requirements of the job into which they are hired, and a variety of outcome measures that are presumably related to worker performance on the job. The analysis is based on a representative sample of over 3,200 employers in four major metropolitan areas in the U.S. Our results show some evidence of lower educational qualifications among blacks and Hispanics hired under Affirmative Action, but not among white women. Further, our results show little evidence of substantially weaker job performance among most groups of minority and female Affirmative Action hires.

Demand Shifts, Population Adjustments, and Labor Market Outcomes during the 1980s

Abstract: In this paper we explore the effects of labor demand shifts and population adjustments across metropolitan areas on the employment and earnings of various demographic groups during the 1980s. Results show that, although earnings and employment deteriorated for less-education and black males in most areas in the 1980s, there was a good deal of geographic variation in the magnitudes of these changes. Shifts in labor demand across local areas contributed to this variation, and had greater relative impacts on the earnings and employment of these demographic groups. We also find that popu- lation shifts across areas, presumably due to migation, at least partially offset the effects of these demand shifts. But less-education workers showed substantially lower population adjustments in response to these demand shifts. These limited supply responses apparently contributed importantly to relatively greater deterioration of employment and earnings of these groups in declining areas during the 1980s.

Are Affirmative Action Hires Less Qualified? Evidence from Employer-Employee Data on New Hires

Abstract: In this paper we use micro-level data on employers and employees to investigate whether Affirmative Action procedures lead firms to hire minority or female employees who are less qualified than workers who might otherwise be hired. Our measures of qualifications include the educational attainment of the workers hired (both absolutely and relative to job requirements), skill requirements of the job into which they are hired, and a variety of outcome measures that are presumably related to worker performance on the job. The analysis is based on a representative sample of over 3,200 employers in four major metropolitan areas in the U.S. Our results show some evidence of lower educational qualifications among blacks and Hispanics hired under Affirmative Action, but not among white women. Further, our results show little evidence of substantially weaker job performance among most groups of minority and female Affirmative Action hires.