Showing papers in "Journal of Human Resources in 1983"
TL;DR: The authors found that the impact of schooling on earnings is greater for females than for males, despite the fact that females tend to earn less than males, both absolutely and controlling for personal characteristics.
Abstract: Many studies have found that the impact of schooling on earnings is greater for females than for males, despite the fact that females tend to earn less, both absolutely and controlling for personal characteristics. This study investigates possible ...
366Â citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore how changes in the minimum wage affect various occupational wages and find that other wages increase for two reasons: firms try to mitigate the deterioration in a worker's relative wage which would cause him to reduce his work effort, and there is an increase in the demand for non-minimum wage workers.
Abstract: In this paper I explore how changes in the minimum wage affect various occupational wages. I postulate that other wages increase for two reasons: first, firms try to mitigate the deterioration in a worker's relative wage which would cause him to reduce his work effort, and second, there is an increase in the demand for nonminimum wage workers. Wage adjustment patterns are examined to ascertain whether wage comparisons play a role in the adjustment process. The empirical work shows a short-run wage compression among white-collar occupations which is consistent with the wage comparison model. However, large standard errors make inferences weak.
190Â citations
TL;DR: The authors analyzed the earnings and returns from human capital investments of second-generation American Jews and found that American Jews are more productive in creating and using human capital, and that this has encouraged greater investments in human capital.
Abstract: This paper analyzes the earnings and returns from human capital investments of second-generation American Jews. Compared with non-Jews, Jewish men have 16 percent higher earnings (other things the same), a 20 percent higher rate of return from schooling, and a steeper experience-earnings profile. These patterns persist even after controlling for occupation, self-employment status, and geographic concentration in the New York area. There are no systematic differences among Jews by parents' country of birth. The findings suggest that American Jews are more productive in creating and using human capital, and that this has encouraged greater investments in human capital.
189Â citations
TL;DR: The authors examined the civilian earnings experience of Vietnam-era veterans and non-veterans between 1968 and 1977 and found that only small overall differences between the earnings of the two groups were observed.
Abstract: In this paper we examine the civilian earnings experience of Vietnam-era veterans and nonveterans between 1968 and 1977. Contrary to the results of other studies indicating sizable premiums for veterans of earlier wars but significant penalties for Vietnam veterans, we find only small overall differences between the earnings of Vietnam-era veterans and similar nonveterans. However, the absorption of veterans into the civilian labor market was slow, particularly during the early seventies. More detailed analysis shows that Vietnam-era veterans exhibited longitudinal earnings profiles which were initially lower but steeper than those of nonveterans, that veterans' relative earnings improved toward the end of this period, and that younger birth cohorts may have fared more poorly than older cohorts. Only those with less than a high school education consistently realized veteran premiums. We find no evidence that military service has benefited recent cohorts of nonwhite veterans.
125Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, individual personalities and tastes were incorporated into male and female earnings equations and their effects on discrimination were analyzed and found that the omission of tastes and personalities from previous studies may have led to an overestimation of the extent of discrimination against women without college schooling, and that the problem of discrimination appears to be substantially less for women with college degrees than for those who stopped their education after high school.
Abstract: Individual personalities and tastes are incorporated into male and female earnings equations and their effects on discrimination are analyzed Results indicate that the omission of tastes and personalities from previous studies may have led to an overestimation of the extent of discrimination against women without college schooling In addition, the problem of discrimination appears to be substantially less for women with college degrees than for those who stopped their education after high school Ultimately, however, there remain large components of the differential in earnings between men and women that have not been explained And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old even unto sixty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary And if it be female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels
119Â citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors test human capital predictions about how labor force withdrawals, both past and prospective, part-time work experience, and working in "male" rather than in "female" jobs affect wages and wage growth for white women.
Abstract: According to human capital theory, women's work participation decisions will strongly affect their wages and wage growth. We test human capital predictions about how labor force withdrawals, both past and prospective, part-time work experience, and working in "male" rather than in "female" jobs affect wages and wage growth for white women. We do this by estimating a wage change model for the years 1967-1979 for a national sample of white women. We find that wages drop immediately following withdrawals, but that this is followed by a rapid wage growth so that the net loss in wages from dropping out of the labor force is small. We further find that wage growth is not significantly lower in "female" than in "male" jobs, but that part-time work experience does not lead to significant wage growth, in either "male" or "female" jobs.
107Â citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used event history techniques, a methodology more appropriate for exploring welfare dynamics rather than the logit approach of earlier work, to explore welfare dynamics in families with female heads.
Abstract: The control group of families with female heads, from the Denver Income Maintenance Experiment, is utilized in this analysis of AFDC turnover. This study uses event history techniques, a methodology that is more appropriate for exploring welfare dynamics than the logit approach of earlier work. Increases in age and the wage have significant, negative effects on the rate of entering AFDC. A higher guarantee raises this rate significantly. Age and the guarantee have significant effects, with opposite signs, on the exit rate. Other variables are not systematically related to turnover. The estimates are applied to projected changes in lengths of time spent on and off AFDC and in AFDC caseloads due to changes in the explanatory variables.
103Â citations
TL;DR: Results show that provider choice is based primarily on economic factors and that an expected high time price discourages women from choosing a public provider and from seeking gynecological, maternal-health, or family-planning services during the year, yet does not influence the number of visits made once care is used.
Abstract: This paper analyzes the effect of time price on medical-care demand and describes use of a reservation-wage question from a household survey to develop a measure of time price for obtaining medical care. A comprehensive three-equation model of the demand for female medical-care services examines choice of provider, entry demand, and the demand for physician visits. Results show that provider choice is based primarily on economic factors and that an expected high time price discourages women from choosing a public provider and from seeking gynecological, maternal-health, or family-planning services during the year, yet does not influence the number of visits made once care is used. The estimated model shows that medical-care demand equations should control for the type of provider chosen and the opportunity cost of time for alternative activities when testing for a negative time price effect of obtaining medical care.
88Â citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that mandatory retirement is only one aspect of a much broader system that influences an individual's retirement decision, and they find that the impact of a mandatory retirement rule on work is considerably smaller than a simple comparison of those with and without mandatory retirement would imply.
Abstract: In this paper we argue that mandatory retirement is only one aspect of a much broader system that influences an individual's retirement decision. We look at responses over time to variations in mandatory retirement rules faced by a sample of private-sector workers aged 62-64 in 1973. This is done within a model that specifically includes the economic incentives present in Social Security and pension systems. We find that the impact of a mandatory retirement rule on work is considerably smaller than a simple comparison of those with and without mandatory retirement would imply.
88Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a study of efforts to use the Continuous Longitudinal Manpower Survey to estimate the effect that CETA has had on the post-training earnings of participants is presented.
Abstract: This paper is a report of a study of efforts to use the Continuous Longitudinal Manpower Survey to estimate the effect that CETA has had on the posttraining earnings of participants. Particular attention is given to developing estimates that are free of selection bias-whether it results from nonrandom self-selection or selection by program administrators. The results indicate that CETA has had a positive and often significant effect on the earnings of participants, and that women benefit more from participation than do men. Among the various program activities that have been available under CETA, no one program is clearly more beneficial than the others.
88Â citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present evidence on the output loss resulting from absenteeism and show that the effect of absenteeism on output is quite small: a 10 percentage point increase in the absence rate is associated with at most a 2.1 percent decrease in the wage.
Abstract: This paper presents evidence on the output loss resulting from absenteeism. Hedonic wage equations are estimated over two different data sets-the 1972-1973 Quality of Employment Survey and the pooled May 1973-1975 Current Population Survey-to calculate the cost in terms of reduced output and increased labor costs per payroll hour. Also, a manufacturing production function is estimated to directly compute the productivity loss. The results indicate that the effect of absenteeism on output is quite small: a 10 percentage point increase in the absence rate is associated with at most a 2.1 percent decrease in the wage.
TL;DR: This article used models of aggregate production to investigate the effects of changes in labor force composition on the recently observed decline in the earnings of college graduates relative to other workers and on the fall in younger workers relative to older workers, finding that the most important compositional change appears to have been the rapid increase in the number of young male college graduates.
Abstract: Models of aggregate production are estimated and used to investigate the effects of changes in labor force composition on the recently observed decline in the earnings of college graduates relative to other workers and on the fall in the earnings of younger workers relative to older workers. Changes in labor force composition explain substantial proportions of these observed earnings changes. The most important compositional change appears to have been the rapid increase in the number of young male college graduates. Projections outside the sample are consistent with depressed earnings throughout the lifetimes of the large baby-boom cohorts, especially among college graduates, but do not suggest that depressed college graduate earnings are a permanent phenomenon for all birth cohorts.
TL;DR: The authors found that a 10 percent increase in the federal minimum wage (or the coverage rate) would reduce teenage employment by about 1 percent, which is at the lower end of the range of estimates from previous studies.
Abstract: Our updated estimates indicate that a 10 percent increase in the federal minimum wage (or the coverage rate) would reduce teenage (16-19) employment by about 1 percent, which is at the lower end of the range of estimates from previous studies. Because of substantial labor force withdrawal, the unemployment effects are practically zero. These minimum wage effects differ very little by sex, and there is no strong evidence that the effects vary by race. The study also finds a significant-albeit small-unemployment impact for young adults (20-24) and examines the consequences of numerous alternative statistical and mathematical specifications of the estimating model.
TL;DR: The determinants of OSHA performance can be examined by breaking the regulatory process into three elements relating to enforcement, compliance behavior, and the adequacy of standards in addressing safety outcomes.
Abstract: The determinants of OSHA performance can be examined by breaking the regulatory process into three elements relating to enforcement, compliance behavior, and the adequacy of standards in addressing safety outcomes. This paper develops and applies this ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors developed the implications of the property rights theory of the firm for wage determination and test the model using data from the U.S. nursing home industry.
Abstract: In this paper we develop the implications of the property rights theory of the firm for wage determination and test the model using data from the U.S. nursing home industry. The main theoretical prediction is that any attenuation of property rights will lead to higher wage rates for the firm's employees. The empirical evidence indicates that, indeed, profit-maximizing nursing homes do pay the lowest wage rates (for given quality labor), and that the stronger the cost-minimizing incentives provided by Medicaid reimbursement programs, the lower the wage rate paid by these nursing homes.
TL;DR: In this paper, the demand for postsecondary education is tested for two age cohorts, recent high school graduates and older adults, using one data set-the Department of Education's Survey on Adult Education.
Abstract: Most studies of the demand for postsecondary education focus on college enrollment decisions of recent high school graduates. This study expands the typical analysis in two ways. First, the demand for postsecondary education is tested for two age cohorts, recent high school graduates and older adults, using one data set-the Department of Education's Survey on Adult Education. Second, two postsecondary school alternatives-college or occupational school-are considered. Results from a polytomous logit model indicate that older adults are responsive to many of the same economic variables that affect schooling decisions of recent high school graduates. Also, there is evidence that colleges and postsecondary occupational schools are closer substitutes than had previously been realized.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the effect of automation on the occupational demand for labor using modern econometric demand theory in a large Canadian telecommunications firm for the period 1952-1972 when detailed data on four occupational groups, capital, materials, output, and the extent of automation are available.
Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of automation on the occupational demand for labor using modern econometric demand theory. We are able to estimate labor demand functions derived from a production process characterized by variable elasticities of substitution, nonhomothetic output expansion effects, and nonneutral technical change. The model is applied to a large Canadian telecommunications firm, Bell Canada, for the period 1952-1972 when detailed data on four occupational groups, capital, materials, output, and the extent of automation are available. Our empirical results demonstrate the strong effects of innovative activity in this industry. Technical change was capital-using and labor-saving, with the labor-saving impact being felt most severely by the least skilled occupations.
TL;DR: The authors showed that government quit rates are lower than private-sector quit rates, although much of the difference can be accounted for by the large size of the government and pointed out that comparability-of either pay or total compensation-is not an efficient principle.
Abstract: Many people feel that, despite the government's stated objective of pay comparability, government workers are paid more than their private-sector counterparts The quit rate as a comparability measure is the subject of this paper Since quit rates are a function of pay levels, comparable quit rates-adjusted for nonpay determinants-should mean comparable pay The evidence presented here indicates that government quit rates are lower than private-sector quit rates although much of the difference can be accounted for by the large size of the government It is also pointed out that comparability-of either pay or total compensation-is not an efficient principle
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the impact that receipt of unemployment benefit has on job search effort, using data drawn from the 1984 Labour Force Survey, reduced-form search effort equations are estimated conditional on the decision to seek work.
Abstract: In this paper the impact that receipt of unemployment benefit has on job search effort is investigated. Utilizing data drawn from the 1984 Labour Force Survey, reduced-form search effort equations are estimated conditional on the decision to seek work. ...
TL;DR: It is concluded that neither employers nor a large segment of the nursing profession would benefit from recent proposals to require that all nurses obtain the baccalaureate degree.
Abstract: The evidence on nurses' wage rates is examined to determine whether higher credentials command a premium in the marketplace. Also examined are private rates of return to determine if higher nursing education is a worthwhile investment for individuals. Our findings are that, after taking into account experience and job requirements, employers pay only a modest premium for enhanced educational credentials leading to licensure for basic nursing practice. A more substantial premium is paid to a small segment of the nursing profession which holds the master's degree. These findings confirm other studies that show only subtle differences among associate, diploma, and baccalaureate nurses. We conclude that neither employers nor a large segment of the nursing profession would benefit from recent proposals to require that all nurses obtain the baccalaureate degree.
TL;DR: The authors used a unique new data set that combines data on individual workers and their employers to estimate marginal productivity differentials among different types of workers and then compared these to estimated relative wages.
Abstract: We use a unique new data set that combines data on individual workers and their employers to estimate marginal productivity differentials among different types of workers. We then compare these to estimated relative wages, leading to new evidence on ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the during-program employment and school enrollment effects of the Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects (YIEPP) are reported, where the program offered a minimum wage job part-time during the school year and full time during the summer to 16-19 year olds from low income households.
Abstract: The during-program employment and school enrollment effects of the Youth Incentive Entitlement Pilot Projects (YIEPP) are reported. This program offered a minimum wage job part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer to 16-19 year olds from low income households. The effect of YIEPP is to provide a horizontal demand curve at the minimum wage permitting all target population youths who wish to work at this wage to do so. 4 study sites (Denver Cincinnati Baltimore and 8 rural counties in southern Mississippi) and 4 comparison sites (Phoenix Louisville Cleveland and a group of counties in western and eastern Mississippi) were studied through household interviews. Some results are: 1) YIEPP increase the site-wide average share of days spent both enrolled in school and employed form 9.4% of a youths time without the program to 28% with it 2) time spent in school and not employed decreased by 16.8% and 3) YIEPP decreased the share of days spent neither enrolled in school nor employed by 5.3%. The ratio of employment sector effects to YIEPP employment rates is 74.2% for the public 52.9% for private and 68.4% for total employment. Unique features of this program are its entitlement nature with sufficient funds available to provide jobs to all eligibles who applied and the fact that school enrollment is required for participation. Subsidized employment increased total employment for the target population but this occurred with a displacement rate of 31.6%; these estimates must be input into future benefit/cost calculations of program efficacy.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) using a basic neoclassical demand model, which incorporates nutrient consumption from non-lunch sources to control explicitly for tastes.
Abstract: In this paper we analyze participation in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) using a basic neoclassical demand model. This statistical analysis incorporates nutrient consumption from nonlunch sources to control explicitly for tastes. Because the dependent variable takes only four values, the ordered probit estimation technique is used. The insights gained concerning the effects of tastes, the size of the Food Stamp program bonus, and the price of the school lunch, among others, should prove useful in designing future NSLP policies.
TL;DR: This paper examined the long-run effects of teenage labor market experience on subsequent adult wages and concluded that the net effect of job-switching during the teen years is a positive one for both blacks and whites.
Abstract: Drawing on the Young Men's Cohort of the National Longitudinal Surveys, we examine the long-run effects of teenage labor market experience on subsequent adult wages Our study expands on earlier work by considering the effects of both unemployment and job mobility during the period of transition from school to work We conclude that the net effect of job-switching during the teen years is a positive one for both blacks and whites Furthermore, we find that the "scarring" effects of teen unemployment are overstated and that short periods of unemployment are associated with higher average wages some 8-10 years later Finally, the net effect of teenage labor market experience on subsequent wages is positive for both races, though more so for blacks The black teen labor market experience actually serves to narrow the subsequent black/white wage differential
TL;DR: This paper used institutionally based data to estimate how universities would respond to increased federal support for graduate students and showed that doctorate-producing universities do respond to changes in the number of full-time science and engineering students.
Abstract: This paper uses institutionally based data to estimate how universities would respond to increased federal support for graduate students. It demonstrates that doctorate-producing universities do respond to changes in the number of full-time science and ...
TL;DR: The wage differential between black and white men fell from 40 percent in 1960 to 25 percent in 1980, and it has been argued that this convergence reflects improvements in the relative quality of black schools as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The wage differential between black and white men fell from 40 percent in 1960 to 25 percent in 1980. It has been argued that this convergence reflects improvements in the relative quality of black schools. To test this hypothesis, we assembled data on ...
TL;DR: This article developed a theoretical model of occupational choice which was then tailored to fit the market for economists over time, and revealed whether economists' own occupational decisions are consistent with this world of rational, calculating agents.
Abstract: In the study reported here, we develop a theoretical model of occupational choice which is then specifically tailored to fit the market for economists over time. Economists typically assume that the world is relatively free of informational barriers and that agents carefully process vast amounts of information in making decisions. This study reveals whether economists' own occupational decisions are consistent with this world of rational, calculating agents. Results suggest that tests for the internal consistency of rational expectations and our model of occupational choice cannot be rejected, while the model provides a better explanation of the observed pattern of enrollments than does an alternative that assumes agents naively base decisions only on current wage conditions.
TL;DR: In this paper, a wealth-maximizing model of the demand for investment in human capital is applied to the investments made by resident physicians, which emphasizes the trade-off the hospital must make between providing additional patient care and employee training.
Abstract: A wealth-maximizing model of the demand for investment in human capital is applied to the investments made by resident physicians. Residents work long hours for relatively low salaries in order to gain exposure to learning opportunities that ultimately enhance future income. A model of hospital supply of investment opportunities is also developed which emphasizes the trade-off the hospital must make between providing additional patient care and employee training. In the past the inability to quantify on-the-job training investment has precluded direct empirical investigation of this decision. A unique data set allows the simultaneous examination of the demand for and supply of learning opportunities; the results generally confirm the theory.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the efficiency of demand-oriented and production-oriented housing programs and found that the former programs approach unrestricted cash payments in their transfer efficiency, while the latter are more efficient than the latter.
Abstract: Typical production-oriented housing programs offer potential recipients a highly limited set of previously unattainable commodity bundles. From the household's viewpoint, such programs have been highly inefficient. From society's viewpoint, such housing programs are generally horizontally inequitable and inefficient. Given that housing programs are not likely to be fully cashed out and incorporated into general income maintenance, could housing programs be restructured to increase their efficiency? This paper examines this question. Results indicate that demand-oriented housing programs are substantially more efficient than are production-oriented programs. In fact, in the aggregate, the former programs approach unrestricted cash payments in their transfer efficiency.