Employment And Earning Of Disadvantaged Young Men In A Labor Shortage Economy

This study contrasts the economic position of youths across local labor markets that differ in their rates of unemployment using the annual merged files of the Current Population Survey and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The paper finds: (1) Local labor market shortages raise the employment-population rate arid reduce the unemployment rate of disadvantaged youths by substantial amounts. (2) Shortages also raise the hourly earnings of disadvantaged youths. In the 19805 the earnings gains for youths in tight labor markets offset the deterioration in the real and relative earnings of the less skilled that marked this decade. (3) Youths in labor shortage areas had greeter increases in earnings as they aged than youths in other areas, implying that improved labor market conditions raise the longitudinal earnings profiles as well as the starting prospects of youths. These findings show that despite the social pathologies that plague disadvantaged youths, particularly less educated black youths, arid the 1980s twist in the American labor market against the less skilled, tight labor markets still operated to substantially improve their economic position.

An in-depth view of the world of low-wage women workers, this expert presentation by authors actively involved in the field provides a realistic picture of the women and the issues as well as suggested strategies and innovations. The book covers a wide range of topics, including getting and keeping a job, struggling to balance the demands of work and family, health care, child care, and unemployment. It is set in the context of both welfare reform and the low-wage labor market and incorporates both self-employment and micro-business enterprise.

In the past four decades, profound changes in the U.S. economy--including falling wages, widening inequality, and the polarization of jobs at the top and bottom of the education and wage distributions--have had dramatic implications for the labor-market fortunes of young adults. Only about half of young people ages 16 to 24 held jobs in 2014, and about one in five people in this age range were neither working nor in school. The problem is most severe for disadvantaged groups, including less educated, low-income, and minority young people, especially young men of color. Most efforts to improve employment outcomes for young people have focused on supply-side strategies such as education, training, work experience, or developmental activities. MDRC recently conducted an extensive review of literature on labor-market trends and employment-related programs for young people, and identified some common features of successful supply-side programs. Yet hiring practices have continued to evolve since much of the research covered in the review was done, and new approaches may be necessary to address those changes. Stakeholders interested in improving the employment outlook of young people on a large scale are increasingly interested in demand-side approaches--that is, engaging employers to take action on this issue. New research is needed into what types of demand-side interventions can be successful. Given the magnitude of the unemployment problem facing young adults, potential solutions need to be adopted on a greater scale than the programs in the literature review generally contemplated. With all these issues in mind, on June 4, 2014, MDRC and The Rockefeller Foundation convened a group of academics and experts to discuss potential demand-side approaches to youth employment. The wide-ranging conversation reflected the diverse backgrounds of the attendees, who contributed insights from the worlds of education, economics, business, and social policy. This report discusses the following themes that emerged from the conversation: (1) Employers are a heterogeneous group with diverse needs, goals, and preferences; (2) Employers may respond to financial incentives, but incentives are not likely to be the only force motivating their decisions, and wage subsidies have actually been shown to stigmatize groups of workers; (3) Employers are more likely to engage in youth employment efforts if it is easy for them to do so, and if they believe it is a positive opportunity for their businesses; (4) Employers' growing use of third parties to recruit and screen new employees has significant implications for efforts to increase the hiring of disadvantaged young adults; (5) Widespread adoption of computerized applicant tracking systems has also changed the way employers interact with job seekers; (6) In the face of these changing practices, disadvantaged young workers need assistance communicating their skills and experience. Credentialing mechanisms could help; (7) Simple forms of support in entry-level jobs can put young adults on the path to success; and (8) To address the issue of youth unemployment at a transformative scale, demand-driven approaches can take on whole geographic areas or whole industries. The conversation and MDRC's review of research evidence both underscore the need for more definitive evidence to determine what works in helping disadvantaged young adults improve their labor-market outcomes.

Beck's book redefines a flashpoint issue for America's future and for the 1996 elections, showing how current high immigration--far beyond traditional levels--benefits mainly the rich, and why immigration rates must be drastically lowered to ensure that America remains a society of opportunity for all its citizens, including recent immigrants.

Volume I of a two-volume set offering research and analysis from experts in the fields of child development, social psychology, sociology, and economics. Reports on national and city-based empirical evidence concerning the relationship between children and community, looking at how neighborhood poverty's effects vary with race, gender, and age, with parenting techniques and a family's degree of community involvement also serving as mitigating factors. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

For courses in Economics of Poverty and Discrimination, Welfare Politics and Policy, Social Problems, and Sociology of Poverty, in the departments of Economics, Sociology, Urban Studies, Education and Social Work. As the leading college text in the field for over twenty years, this book has been distinguished by its relevant coverage, tight organization, multidisciplinary perspective, and timeliness. The ninth edition preserves these qualities while incorporating new reference material.