workforce

Do School-to-Work Programs Help the "Forgotten Half"?

This paper tests whether school-to-work (STW) programs are particularly beneficial for those less likely to go to college in their absence——often termed the ““forgotten half”” in the STW literature. The empirical analysis is based on the NLSY97, which allows us to study six types of STW programs, including job shadowing, mentoring, coop, school enterprises, tech prep, and internships/apprenticeships.

Wage Fairness, Growth and the Utilization of R&D Workers

To analyze the low R&D utilization/low growth equilibria, the author sets up an endogenous growth model in which firms set fair wages and which allows for an analysis of changes in the utilization rate of R&D workers. Results indicate that the rise in under utilization and the fall in growth per human capital to be consistent with the increase in the demand for higher education.

Impact of Gender Segregation on Male-Female Wage Differentials: Evidence from Matched Employer-Employee Data for Spain

This paper presents new evidence on the role of gender segregation within industry, occupation, establishment, and occupation-establishment cells in explaining gender wage differentials of full-time salaried workers in Spain during 1995 and 2002. Using data from the Spanish Wage Structure Surveys, the authors find that the raw gender wage gap decreased from 0.26 to 0.22 over the course of seven years.

Rethinking the Gains from Immigration: Theory and Evidence from the U.S.

Recent influential empirical work has emphasized the negative impact immigrants have on the wages of US-born workers, arguing that immigration harms less educated American workers in particular and all US-born workers in general. The authors introduce such a production function, making the crucial assumption that US and foreign-born workers with similar education and experience levels may nevertheless be imperfectly substitutable, and allowing for endogenous capital accumulation.

Is Technological Change Really Skill Biased? Evidence from the Introduction of ICTs on the Textile Sector (1980-2000)

This paper investigates the effects of the introduction of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the skills of a workforce. Using micro-data collected from workers in the textile sector, the authors analyse whether the introduction of ICTs has modified workers’ tasks, so that higher skills and longer training periods than before are necessary.

Work & Play in Northeast PA 2005 Job Market Survey

According to the survey, 224 companies identified a total of 4,810 job vacancies within 18 months and 4,499 job vacancies which will be available in the next three years, for a total of 9,309 job vacancies from 2005 - 2008. Survey results were obtained by distributing a comprehensive job market survey to 1,015 employers throughout the seven counties of Northeast Pennsylvania.

Decent Work in America: The State-by-State Work Environment Index, 2005

The study rates working environments in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., in terms of average pay, employment opportunities, employee benefits, percentage of low-income workers, fair treatment between genders and ability for employees to unionize. A major finding of the study is a consistent correspondence between the quality of a states environment for workers and its economic health.

Climate for Business Development and Employment Growth in Puerto Rico

Employment rates in Puerto Rico range from 55 to 65 percent of U.S. rates during the past thirty years. This huge employment shortfall holds for men and women, cuts across all education groups, and is deeper for persons without a college degree. The shortfall is concentrated in the private sector, especially labor-intensive industries that rely heavily on less educated workers.