scholarly journals Masking Real Unemployment: The Overall and Racial Impact of Survey Non-Response on Measured Labor Market Outcomes

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Yixia Cai ◽  
Dean Baker

A large and growing percentage of households are missed in the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS). For the survey as a whole, the rate of nonresponse is roughly 13 percent. This is higher for Blacks, with the share for young Black men being about 30 percent. The BLS’s current methodology effectively assumes that, with adjustment for various characteristics, people who are not included in a follow-up survey may not differ systematically from those who are included. The present paper, however, provides evidence that this may not be the case. With the rotation panel structure of the CPS data from 2003 to 2019, we investigate bias from nonresponse in CPS and its association with one’s prior labor market status, paying particular attention to how the relationship differs by race, ethnicity, and gender. Our analysis suggests that people are considerably more likely to be missing in a subsequent observation if they are unemployed or not in the labor force in the prior observation. We also estimate what the real labor market outcomes might have been when adjusting for nonresponse and undercoverage. Findings indicate that the current methodology may underestimate the national unemployment and labor force participation rates by about 0.7 and 1.2 percentage points, respectively. The gap between observed and adjusted unemployment rates tends to grow beginning in 2015. The unemployment rate is more understated for Blacks than for whites, particularly with a gap of about 3.3 percentage points for young Black men (age 16 to 34).

2018 ◽  
pp. 389-418
Author(s):  
Mehtap Akgüç ◽  
Miroslav Beblavý

This chapter analyzes the labor market integration of South–North and East–West migrants, together with intra-European and non-European Union migrants, vis-à-vis native peers in main European destinations. The analysis considers individual characteristics and labor market outcomes by migrant origins. Labor market outcomes are estimated, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics and for country-fixed and year effects. Using interaction effects, the chapter estimates whether the work-related outcomes of young migrants differ vis-à-vis native peers. The econometric analysis using pooled European Social Surveys (2002–2015) suggests that individual characteristics explain part of the migrant–native peer differences. Particularly, migrants from Eastern and Southern Europe exhibit important gaps vis-à-vis native peers regarding unemployment, contract type, and overqualification. Overall, migrant youth and women seem to be in vulnerable situations in destination labor markets. In addition to nondiscriminatory treatment, transparent competence screening and smooth skills transferability could alleviate such youth and gender vulnerabilities.


Author(s):  
Terra McKinnish

Marriage and labor market outcomes are deeply related, particularly for women. A large literature finds that the labor supply decisions of married women respond to their husbands’ employment status, wages, and job characteristics. There is also evidence that the effects of spouse characteristics on labor market outcomes operate not just through standard neoclassical cross-wage and income effects but also through household bargaining and gender norm effects, in which the relative incomes of husband and wife affect the distribution of marital surplus, marital satisfaction, and marital stability. Marriage market characteristics affect marital status and spouse characteristics, as well as the outside option, and therefore bargaining power, within marriage. Marriage market characteristics can therefore affect premarital investments, which ultimately affect labor market outcomes within marriage and also affect labor supply decisions within marriage conditional on these premarital investments.


2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 534-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piriya Pholphirul

Purpose Educational mismatches constitute negative impacts on labor markets in most countries, Thailand is no exception. The purpose of this paper is to quantify the degree of educational mismatch in Thailand and its impacts on labor market outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzes data obtained from Thailand’s Labor Force Survey to estimate the likelihood of horizontal and vertical mismatches and their impacts on labor market outcomes. Findings Estimation results reveal the existence of a high level of both vertical and horizontal mismatches in the labor market. The vertical mismatch tends to be most prevalent in the case of graduates with degrees in the social sciences, while the existence of the horizontal mismatch is mostly found in the case of graduates with backgrounds in the physical sciences. Samples with a degree in health science seem to be least impacted by both types of mismatch. Education-job mismatches, either vertical or horizontal mismatches, are found to cause negative impacts on workers’ employment. Findings indicate that workers who encountered either horizontal or vertical educational mismatches tended to have lower monthly incomes than did those without such mismatches. Vertical mismatches seemed to result in lower incomes than did the horizontal mismatches. Furthermore, both types of mismatch are found to not have any significant impact on workers’ employability. Research limitations/implications Nevertheless, due to different types of mismatches such as skill mismatch or personality mismatch, this paper only quantifies degree mismatch on the context of Thailand only. Nevertheless, different structure of labor market can show different findings. Practical implications Both horizontal mismatch and vertical mismatch can be mitigated with strong collaboration system between colleges/universities and employers. Therefore, the government should further promote better cooperation between universities and the private sector (industry-university linkages) by encouraging more exchanges between high-level executives and students of the private sector and higher-education institutes. More opportunities for students to practice their skills in real workplace settings should be provided, and students should also be able to gain credits from participating in such training. In Thailand, at present there are only a few degree programs that require students to complete an internship. Social implications As for social policy recommendations, to reduce both horizontal and vertical mismatches in practices, it is essential that the education sector promote a life-long learning framework that allows workers whose jobs do not match their educational background (or with their educational attainment) to receive the training and develop the skills required by employers. Originality/value Comparing to other literature in these areas in which survey data from the authors are relied, this paper, however, uses the Thai Labor Force Survey, which is the national representative sample data set. The results found from this paper are therefore useful to be reliable on implying appropriated policy recommendations.


Author(s):  
Sally Wallace ◽  
Thomas Mroz ◽  
Alex Hathaway

The benefits of a college education are well documented. However, the majority of existing research focuses on students who matriculate soon after high school graduation. There is little empirical evidence illustrating whether a college degree is similarly beneficial to those already in the workforce, particularly individuals over 50. Nonetheless, the coming years will see the dramatic growth of older individuals, many of whom will continue to be active in the labor force, and policymakers would benefit from effective strategies to improve the labor market outcomes of older individuals. This research proposes to evaluate the labor market outcomes of individuals in Georgia who obtain a bachelor’s degree at age 50 or older by merging state-level individual level labor force (Dpt of Labor) with individual level educational data from the University System of Georgia (USG). Specifically, we explore whether these later-age degrees result in employment opportunities with higher wages and increased retention in the labor force beyond the traditional retirement age of 65 than those who do not attain a bachelor’s degree.  The results will provide policymakers across the United States with information to make informed decisions regarding higher education incentives and policies for older students.


2021 ◽  
pp. 019791832110088
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Kanas ◽  
Katrin Müller

This article contributes to previous research on immigrant integration by examining how religiosity and gender roles in European countries influence immigrant women’s labor market outcomes. Moreover, we extend theoretical work on the importance of the receiving country’s norms and values by hypothesizing and testing whether receiving countries’ influence varies with immigrant women’s religiosity and gender-role attitudes. Using the European Social Survey data and multilevel regression models, we find that religious immigrant women participate less in the labor market and work fewer hours than nonreligious immigrant women. Immigrant women’s traditional gender-role attitudes partly explain the negative relationship between individual religiosity and labor market outcomes. While the receiving country’s religiosity is negatively related to immigrant women’s labor market outcomes, this negative relationship is significantly weaker for religious and gender-traditional immigrant women than for nonreligious and gender-egalitarian women. These findings suggest that the economic benefits of residing in countries that support female employment are limited to immigrant women who are ready and positioned to embrace gender-egalitarian norms and values.


2008 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Warren Warren ◽  
Eric Grodsky ◽  
Jennifer C. Lee

Since the late 1970s, an increasing number of states have required students to pass statewide high school exit examinations (HSEEs) in order to graduate. States have usually adopted HSEEs in response to the perception that a substantial number of graduates lack skills that are required for success in the modern economy. What do these educational reforms mean for students' postsecondary economic and labor market prospects? The central hypothesis of the study presented here was that state HSEE policies have the effect of widening gaps in labor force status and earnings between young people who have high school diplomas and those who do not. To test this hypothesis, the authors modeled the association between state HSEE policies and these labor market outcomes using data from the 1980–2000 U.S. censuses and the 1984–2002 Outgoing Rotation Groups of the Current Population Survey. The results revealed no evidence that state HSEEs positively affect labor force status or earnings or that the connections between state HSEE policies and these outcomes vary by students' race/ethnicity or the level of difficulty of state HSEEs.


2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 96-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
David H Autor ◽  
Susan N Houseman

Temporary-help jobs offer rapid entry into paid employment, but they are typically brief and it is unknown whether they foster longer term employment. We utilize the unique structure of Detroit's welfare-to-work program to identify the effect of temporary-help jobs on labor market advancement. Exploiting the rotational assignment of welfare clients to numerous nonprofit contractors with differing job placement rates, we find that temporary-help job placements do not improve and may diminish subsequent earnings and employment outcomes among participants. In contrast, job placements with direct-hire employers substantially raise earnings and employment over a seven quarter follow-up period. (JEL J22, J23, J24, J31, J68)


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip N. Cohen

This dissertation investigates the relationship between relative Black population size and the structure of labor market inequality by race-ethnicity, gender and class. There are five principal new developments here. First, Black-White inequality for women -- as well as gender inequality -- is integrated into the research. Second, by examining three major labor market outcomes -- employment status, occupational attainment, and earnings -- the project offers a more systematic view of the relationships under study. This has important implications for better understanding possible causal mechanisms of racial-ethnic composition. Third, existing threat and crowding hypotheses are tested with new models using measures of residential and occupational segregation. Fourth, tests of class interactions are offered, casting new light on continuing debates about the relative costs and benefits of Black-White inequality across class and gender lines. Finally, estimation of contextual effects in all models is improved with hierarchical modeling techniques. Larger relative Black population size means more "race" in the local economy, and more "racial" inequality. This project asks the question: is more "race" good or bad for White and Black men and women at the individual level; whom does Black-White inequality help or hurt, and in what ways? I conclude that when the Black population is larger, Black-White inequality is more salient, and more important relative to class and gender inequality. A consistent set of models shows this pattern across labor market outcomes, and across gender and class groups -- as well as across variation in individual-level characteristics besides racial-ethnicity. Thus Black-White inequality again appears not only pervasive but also structural to the system of social stratification in the United States.


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