Showing papers by "Harry J. Holzer published in 2003"

Employment Barriers Facing Ex-Offenders

Abstract: The Reentry Roundtable entitled, The Employment Dimensions of Prisoner Reentry: Understanding the Nexus between Prisoner Reentry and Work, was held on May 19-20, 2003 in New York City. The Roundtable focused on several aspects of the employment-reentry link, including the employment profile of the prison population; the work experience in prison; applicable lessons from welfare to work; the employment barriers ex-offenders face; and the potential linkages between correctional systems, intervention programs, and private employers. The meeting aimed to identify policy and research opportunities geared to improving the employment prospects, and thereby the chances of successful reintegration, for hundred of thousands of people leaving prison each year. This paper discusses the barrier offenders face when returning to the work force, examining both the characteristics and attitudes of ex-offenders and employers.

Public Transit and the Spatial Distribution of Minority Employment: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Abstract: A recent expansion of the San Francisco Bay Area heavy rail system represents an exogenous change in the accessibility of inner-city minority communities to a cone centrated suburban employment center. We evaluate this natural experiment by conducting a two-wave longitudinal survey of firms, with the first wave of interviews conducted immediately before the opening of service, and the second wave approximately a year later. Within-firm changes in the propensity to hire minority workers for firms near the station were compared with those located farther away. Also estimated was the effect of employer distance to the new stations on changes in propensity to hire minorities. Results indicate a sizable increase in the hiring of Latinos near the new stations, but little evidence of an effect on black hiring rates. (C) 2003 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.

Employer Demand for Welfare Recipients by Race

Abstract: This article examines employer demand for welfare recipients using new employer survey data. The results suggest that demand is high but sensitive to business cycle conditions. Factors including skill needs and industry affect prospective employer demand for recipients, while other characteristics that affect their relative supply to employers (e.g., establishment location) influence whether such demand is realized in actual hiring. The conditional demand for black and Hispanic welfare recipients lags behind their representation in the welfare population and seems affected by employers’ location and indicators of preferences. Thus, many demand‐side factors limit the employment options of welfare recipients, especially minorities.

Worker Advancement in the Low-Wage Labor Market: The Importance of Good Jobs

Abstract: This document reports the results of research and analysis undertaken by the U.S. Census Bureau staff. It has undergone a Census Bureau review more limited in scope than that given to official Census Bureau publications. [This document is released to inform interested parties of ongoing research and to encourage discussion of work in progress.] This research is a part of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Program (LEHD), which is partially supported by the National Science Foundation Grant SES-9978093 to Cornell University (Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research), the National Institute on Aging Grant 5 R01 AG018854-02, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The views expressed herein are attributable only to the author(s) and do not represent the views of the U.S. Census Bureau, its program sponsors or data providers. Some or all of the data used in this paper are confidential data from the LEHD Program. The U.S. Census Bureau is preparing to support external researchers’ use of these data; please contact U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Program, Demographic Surveys Division, FOB 3, Room 2138, 4700 Silver Hill Rd., Suitland, MD 20233, USA.