WHY ARE U.S. WOMEN DECREASING THEIR LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION IF THEIR WAGES ARE RISING?

Given the traditional interpretation of women's labor force participation rate (LFPR) trends as movements along a positively sloped labor supply curve, it is surprising that the recent downward trend in U.S. women's LFPR has occurred over a period when women's real wages were commonly believed to be rising. I find that almost two‐thirds of the decline since 2000 is attributable to aging of the adult female population. The remainder, due to declining labor force participation for women under 55, becomes less puzzling in light of my evidence that the wage/education locus faced by women actually may have worsened since 2000. (JEL J21, J31, J82)     

LABOR'S SHARE,THE FIRM'S MARKET POWER,AND TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY

We investigate the relationship between labor's share, firm's market power, and the elasticity of output with respect to labor input using an approach based on an unobserved components model. The approach yields time‐varying estimates of market power and the elasticity. Evidence on the market power of firms (which we find to be rising since 2000) gives a deeper understanding of movements in labor's share and the labor wedge. The generated values of the elasticity yield revised estimates of total factor productivity growth which is informative about the extent of the downward bias inherent in traditional estimates which use labor's share as a proxy for the elasticity. (JEL O47, C32, E25)     

TRANSITION OF INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE,TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING,AND MATHEMATICS STUDENTS TO THE U.S. LABOR MARKET: THE ROLE OF VISA POLICY

I analyze how visa policies affect international students' transition to the U.S. labor market. The Optional Practical Training (OPT) program permits international students to work via a student visa for a limited period after graduation before obtaining a work visa—an uncertain process due to the binding visa cap. I find that the extension in the length of OPT terms for students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) increases their likelihood of initially staying in the United States and using OPT. This result suggests that uncertainties about obtaining work visas hinder international STEM students' participation in the U.S. labor market. (JEL J61, K37, I23).     

Marx and the Method of Successive Approximations*

Karl Marx's sociology has been interpreted incorrectly as the consequence of the application of a “dialectical” method to social phenomenon. In this paper, I discuss his actual method of theory construction (a rather more complicated phenomenon than the simple reversal of the Hegelian dialectic), the Ricardian method of successive approximations. This method involves three steps or stages-observation, model formation, and model testing and revision. Marx's Capital is reviewed in the light of his use of this method.     

Marx,formal subsumption and the law

Recent work rethinking the place of the law in Marxian analysis of capitalist society provides us with a foundation for a renewed look at the labor process. Drawing on this literature, which emphasizes the materiality of institutions through which labor is exploited, and returning to Marx’s discussion of formal subsumption in Capital, I argue that the law was central for subordinating labor. I then present three case studies from industries in Victorian England to demonstrate the diverse ways in which law was implicated in formal subsumption. The case studies focus on the ways in which capitalists used master and servant law, the key law governing the workplace, to subordinate labor. I conclude by considering how these cases provoke us to consider the materiality of the law in labor relations more broadly, and such questions might be pursued in developing capitalist economies such as China.     

THE EFFECTS OF EDUCATION ON FERTILITY: EVIDENCE FROM TAIWAN

This study investigates the impact of women's education on fertility. For identification, we use the 1968 compulsory education law change in Taiwan, which generated a regression discontinuity design (RDD) setting. We use the whole population of women from the 1980 and 2010 Population Censuses. Results of our RDD estimation using the exact date of birth suggest that the law change was effective in boosting women's education, but it did not have any impact on fertility. This is in stark contrast to most previous studies using only the birth year as the running variable or using it to construct instruments, which find that women's education depresses fertility. This study demonstrates that using a discrete running variable in RDD may generate a false discontinuity for an otherwise continuous regression function. (JEL J13, C21, I2)     

‘THE RAIN IN SPAIN STAYS MAINLY IN THE PLAIN’

As is known, ‘the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain’ is a famous line from George Bernard Shaw's play, Pygmalion (1912), a witty and highly entertaining study of Victorian class distinctions and social conventions. Broadly speaking, my aim is to exploit the cultural credentials of both the work and its celebrated rhyme by using them as a rhetorical device from which to stake out the position of cultural studies within the Spanish university. The approach I will advance tries to take account of the principles listed by Cary Nelson in his cultural manifesto (1996, pp. 273–86), even though it derives more directly from the immediate conditions of higher education in Spain and specifically from my own experience as a university teacher. As I hope to demonstrate, several connections may be established between ‘the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain’ and the difficulties that arise in trying to speak/write about cultural studies. Likewise, the rhyme as well as certain details in the comedy's plot can serve as useful cultural analogies for some of the ‘meta-problems’ faced by cultural studies in the Spanish context. And more crucially, the famous line can be put to use in the classroom as a helpful, eye-opening exercise for future cultural agents or ‘producers’ (Striphas, 1998: 457). I shall therefore move from problems of discourse, to inherent power structures and finally unto the actual practice of cultural studies.     

Social Exchange Theory and the Division of Household Labor in Same-Sex Couples

Same-sex couples are often not seen as a family unit and are excluded from research, including family research on topics such as household division of labor. The author examined division of household labor, using social exchange theory, among 165 survey respondents in a same-sex relationship. Division of labor was measured by the percentage of tasks performed according to the respondent. Status differences between partners (e.g., higher, equal, lower) in terms of income, education, hours spent on paid labor outside the home, employment status, age, and race (here, only same or different races) were the independent variables. In general, as predicted by social exchange theory, partners with greater resources or power performed fewer household tasks. Satisfaction with division of labor and sense of being appreciated for one's contributions to household tasks were positively correlated with global relationship satisfaction. However, some inconsistencies indicate gaps in social exchange theory and that other factors may be important in understanding division of labor among same-sex couples.     

All that is solid melts into work: self‐work,the ‘learning ethic’ and the work ethic

In this paper I examine the intersections between a general commitment to education and learning and the moral and ethical dimensions of the work ethic under contemporary capitalism. Drawing on Kathi Weeks' (2011) recent exploration of the work ethic in The Problem with Work, I suggest there is a relationship between the form and function of the work ethic‐ and what I term the ‘learning ethic’. I suggest that commitment to a learning ethic, to the unreserved power of learning and education‐ may reiterate a moral commitment to the personal characteristics that define the work ethic under capitalism. As a consequence, consideration of the form and function of these moral character ideals in the continuation of unequal social relations across educational and workspaces, become obfuscated by a generalized celebration of learning, education and self‐work.     

Wives' Relative Wages,Husbands' Paid Work Hours,and Wives' Labor‐Force Exit

Economic theories predict that women are more likely to exit the labor force if their partners' earnings are higher and if their own wage rate is lower. In this article, I use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 2,254) and discrete‐time event‐history analysis to show that wives' relative wages are more predictive of their exit than are their own or their husbands' absolute wages. In addition, I show that women married to men who work more than 45 hours per week are more likely to exit the labor force than are wives whose husbands' work approximately 40 hours per week. My findings highlight the need to examine how women's partners affect women's labor‐force participation.     

Agile Materialisms: Antonio Gramsci,Stuart Hall,Racialization, and Modernity

This article investigates why Gramsci's theories and concepts have a discrete relevance to the study of race and ethnicity in contemporary contexts. Two theoretical points emerge from the investigation. First, through Gramsci's work, Hall's approach to the structural/cultural theory problem provides an important mediation for theoretical approaches to race. Hall is then able to demonstrate that the racialization of labor and the coercion of workers in colonial and neocolonial contexts, with regard to the “global south” was the rule and not the exception. Second, through an historical and discursive approach, I demonstrate how Gramsci's analysis of politics and political strategies took race into account. I contend that Gramsci's perspective on race facilitated Hall's ability to deploy Gramsci's theoretical framework and concepts.     

Women's employment patterns during early parenthood: A group‐based trajectory analysis

Research on women's employment and parenthood frequently focuses on the correlates and consequences of decisions at a particular time, such as a birth. This article applies a group‐based trajectory method to examine women's employment trajectories across the period of early parenthood using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (N= 2,093). We find that throughout early parenthood, women exhibit significant movement into and out of the labor force. Factors that typically predict women's employment status, such as age at first birth and education, are also good predictors of women's employment patterns. We discuss the implications of these findings for future research, particularly on the use of a static measure of women's or couples’ employment status.     

Ritualized ethnic identity: Asian Indian immigrants in the southern plains

In this article, we add to the literature on feeling over- or underworked (hour mismatch) by examining the influence of work and family relationships; social stratification (occupation, education, financial stability); household labor (hours of housework and childcare); and attitudes toward paid and unpaid labor. Our analysis of hour mismatches is informed by several theories, including Jacobs and Gerson's dual-earner couple hypothesis and notion of the polarization of the workforce and Hochschild's reversed worlds hypothesis. We use the 1994 Americans' Changing Lives data, splitting the sample by sex in our analysis. Our findings indicate that hours spent on childcare affect men's hour mismatches, while hours spent on housework affect women's. In addition, we find that attitudes toward housework and paid labor play an important role in tempering perceptions of hour mismatches. Our findings illustrate the way that gender structures perceptions of ideal work hours and the ability to achieve them.     

SIGNALING IN HIGHER EDUCATION: THE EFFECT OF ACCESS TO ELITE COLLEGES ON CHOICE OF MAJOR

I propose a model of postsecondary education in which major field of study can be used by individuals to signal productivity to employers. Under this signaling model, I show that geographic areas with high access to elite universities result in fewer science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors among lower ability students at nonelite colleges. This is distinct from the prediction of a full information model in which access to elite schools should only affect high ability individuals directly. Using data from the National Center for Education Statistics' Baccalaureate & Beyond survey, I find evidence that is consistent with the signaling model prediction, specifically a 2.3–3.7 percentage point or 16%–25% decrease in the probability of choosing a STEM major among lower ability students in areas with greater access to elite colleges. (JEL I21, J24)     

Jacob Lawrence's The Migration Series: Art as Narrative History

Because art is a reflection of cultural heritage, a natural affinity exists between art and social studies. In Jacob Lawrence's The Migration Series, art serves as narrative history, with visual images telling the story of the Great Migration, a movement of African American people from the South to the North around World War I. Social studies and the arts can be effectively integrated using principles of discipline-based arts education and comprehensive arts education. In this article, the author provides (1) background information on the historical period, artist, and art, (2) objectives, (3) sample guided discussion questions and extension activities, and (4) sample assessment ideas. He also outlines a complete sample lesson, synthesizing the principles and ideas into a meaningful whole in which social studies studies enhances teaching and learning in the arts and vice versa.     

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: THE EFFECTS OF PARTICIPATION ON ACHIEVEMENT AND TEACHERS' EVALUATIONS

ABSTRACT

I use data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to examine both the number and the types of extracurricular activities in which elementary school students participate and find significant differences in participation patterns by gender, race, and class. The number of activities in which students participate during kindergarten and first grade affects their gains in reading achievement test scores between first and third grade and third grade teachers' evaluations of mathematics skills, but does not affect gains in math achievement test scores or teachers' evaluations of language arts skills. Dance lessons, athletic activities, and art lessons, in particular, affect one or more of the dependent variables. With one exception, interactions of extracurricular activities with socioeconomic status show that less-privileged children benefit more from participation in activities than do more-privileged children, providing evidence against Bourdieu's theory of cultural capital and social reproduction.     

THE TIMING OF EXEMPTIONS FROM WELFARE WORK REQUIREMENTS AND ITS EFFECTS ON MOTHERS' WORK AND WELFARE RECEIPT AROUND CHILDBIRTH

I quantify the effects of welfare work exemptions on women's labor force participation and welfare receipt. This study, which also examines the age of youngest child (AYC) exemption, is the first to investigate the pregnancy exemption. Between‐state and within‐state variations in exemption length allow me to estimate the heterogeneous effects of each exemption by its timing and strictness. I find that the effects on labor force participation are driven by employment for the pregnancy exemption, inducing relatively stable welfare receipts. In contrast, the effects are driven by unemployment for the AYC exemption, which triggers more reliance on welfare after birth. (JEL I38)     

Ethnography as Precarious Work

Reflecting on a carnal ethnography of the fashion modeling market, I consider the analytic gains from observant participation and experimentation with the sociologist's body as a participant in a culture industry. The ambiguities and uncertainties of fashion modeling, as a highly competitive freelance labor form, parallel the risky position of insider ethnographer, in this case as a graduate student “studying up” among guarded cultural elites. These positions opened an analytic lens into sociological concepts of labor exploitation, value, and social hierarchy. However, in occupying an insider role within a stratified field, observant participants face risks in trying to move beyond their own experiences in order to interview informants. My changing position in the field, from subjugated worker to interviewer, highlights how power and inequality operate in the fashion world. First‐person narrative illuminates these analytic payoffs of insider ethnography.     

QUALITY OF AVAILABLE MATES,EDUCATION, AND HOUSEHOLD LABOR SUPPLY

We investigate the impact of sex ratios by education and metropolitan area on spouses’ bargaining power and labor supplies, to capture the local and qualitative nature of mate availability. Using Current Population Survey and Census data for 2000, 1990, and 1980, we estimate these effects in a collective household framework. We find that a higher relative shortage of comparably educated women in the couple’s metropolitan area reduces wives’ labor supply and increases their husbands’. The impact is stronger for couples in higher education groups but not significant for high school graduates. Results are similar across decades. No such effects are found for unmarried individuals. (JEL D1, J22)     

LIFE AFTER DEBT: POSTGRADUATION CONSEQUENCES OF FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS

We estimate the causal effect of student loans on postgraduation labor market outcomes exploiting a kink in the formula determining eligibility for need‐based student loans. Using a representative sample of students graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1993, we find that student debt has nonnegative effects on earnings. This result holds with differing levels of statistical significance across a battery of different empirical designs: (1) ordinary least squares, (2) partially linear, and (3) regression kink. We find similar results for the 2008 graduating cohort. (JEL I22, I26, J32, J33)