Competition, Race, and the Measurement of Female Labor Activity

Not all groups compete equally in the labor market. Here, we focus on women's competition with men for jobs. This competition assumes that women's employment is affected by men's, and vice versa. We use two statistics—female labor force participation and share—to uncover this competition. 1990 U.S. census data on 281 metropolitan statistical areas were analyzed using weighted least squares regression. Supply-side explanations of female labor activity (education, children, household headship, and government assistance) receive more support than demand-side explanations (poverty, industrial mix, and region). Evidence of competition along gender and race lines is found. Men's employment is buttressed in metropolitan areas by higher wages, less poverty, and more women with children. Welfare benefits (AFDC) and deindustrialization lower black women's employment, while only white women benefit from advanced education and a "feminized" occupational structure. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.     

Education,Work and Parenthood: Comparing the Experience of Young Men and Women in Sweden

This article analyzes the determinants of young men and women’s entry into parenthood, applying hazard regressions to a combination of longitudinal micro-data from the 1992/1993 Swedish Family Survey and aggregate time-series data. We study the impact of education, labor market attachment and macro-economic change on becoming a parent for both men and women in Sweden since the mid-1960s. Our results show clear gender differences both when it comes to individual characteristics and aggregate-level factors. Even though the effects sometimes differed according to gender, education and labor market attachment were key factors determining the transition to parenthood. Over time the pattern grew increasingly similar for men and women.     

Life Course Transitions and Housework: Marriage,Parenthood, and Time on Housework

We examine the effects of transitions in marital and parenthood status on 1,091 men’s and women’s housework hours using two waves of data from an Australian panel survey titled Negotiating the Life Course. We examine transitions between cohabitation and marriage, and from cohabitation or marriage to separation, as well as transitions to first and higher‐order births. We find extraordinary stability in men’s housework time across most transitions but considerable change for women in relation to transitions in parenthood. Our results suggest that the transition to parenthood is a critical moment in the development of an unequal gap in time spent on routine household labor.     

The Effects of Metropolitan Residence on the Off-Farm Earnings of Farm Families in the United States1

Abstract Previous research on the effects of urbanization on farming and farm families has focused on the consequences of urban expansion on farming practice rather than on the well-being of farm families. Proximity to urban areas has been found to alter the way farm families utilize the nonfarm labor market. In this study, the off-farm earnings of husbands and wives in farm families are compared across metropolitan (metro) and nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas using data from the March supplement to the 1989 Current Population Survey. Censored regression models (tobit) and decomposition are used to demonstrate the effects of nonfarm labor market differences on off-farm labor force participation and earnings. The analysis reveals that farm family members, as expected, have significantly higher rates of participation and earnings in metropolitan areas. But this analysis also reveals that increases in off-farm participation are likely to have a larger effect on total off-farm earnings in nonmetropolitan areas than returns to those already working off-farm. The potential for increases in off-farm earnings will be underestimated in nonmetro areas when changes in participation in the off-farm labor market are not taken into account.     

HOW DOES GLOBALIZATION AFFECT THE IMPLICIT TAX RATES ON LABOR INCOME,CAPITAL INCOME,AND CONSUMPTION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION?

This article analyzes the effects of globalization on implicit tax rates (ITRs) on labor income, capital income, and consumption in the EU15 and Central and Eastern European New Member States (CEE NMS). We find supportive evidence for an increase in the ITR on labor income in the EU15, but no effect on the ITR on capital income. There is evidence of convergence in terms of the ITR on consumption, as countries with higher than average ITR on consumption respond to globalization by decreasing their tax rates. There are important differences among the welfare regimes within the EU15. Social‐democratic countries have decreased the tax burden on capital, but increased that on labor due to globalization. Globalization exerts a pressure to increase taxes on labor income in the conservative and liberal regimes as well. Taxes on consumption decrease in response to globalization in the conservative and social‐democratic regimes. In the CEE NMS, there is no effect of globalization on the ITR on labor and capital income, but we find a negative impact on the ITR on consumption in the CEE NMS with higher than average ITR on consumption. (JEL H23, H24, H25, F19, F21)     

Cross‐national variations in the division of household labor

Using data from the International Social Justice Project, we describe the division of household labor in married couple households using a sample of 13 nations (N= 10,153). We find significant differences in the division of household labor based upon respondents’ nations of residence. We find support for the time availability approach; households where the wife is employed outside the home for pay are more likely to respond that husbands perform at least half of the household labor. We also find support for the relative resources approach; in households where wives’ education equals or exceeds that of their husbands, husbands are more likely to perform half of the household labor. We find little support for the economic dependence approach. We suggest that future cross‐national research should place individuals in context to determine why there are nation differences in the reported division of household labor.     

Gender,Productivity, and the Marital Wage Premium

Explanations for married men’s wage premium often emphasize greater market productivity due to a gendered division of household labor, though this “specialization thesis” has been insufficiently interrogated. Using data from Wave 2 of the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 972), this paper examines the relationship between wages and time spent in paid labor and housework for married women and men with high levels of labor force attachment and their spouses. Scrutiny of couples’ time use finds strong evidence for the gendered division of labor, but little support for the anticipated wage effects of the specialization thesis itself. Less strict sample restrictions point to the need for continued research directed at couples’ joint employment and household labor decisions.     

WELFARE IMPACT OF A BAN ON CHILD LABOR

This article presents a new rationale for imposing restrictions on child labor. In a standard overlapping generation model where parental altruism results in transfers that children allocate to consumption and education, the Nash‐Cournot equilibrium results in suboptimal levels of parental transfers and does not maximize the average level of utility of currently living agents. A ban on child labor decreases children's income and generates an increase in parental transfers bringing their levels closer to the optimum, raising children's welfare as well as average welfare in the short run and in the long run. Moreover, the inability to work allows children to allocate more time to education, and it leads to an increase in human capital. Besides, to increase transfers, parents decrease savings and hence physical capital accumulation. When prices are flexible, these effects diminish the positive welfare impact of the ban on child labor. (JEL D91, E21)     

De facto immigration enforcement,ICE raid awareness,and worker engagement

We explore whether fear of apprehension affects immigrants' labor market engagement by examining how Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removals due to immigration violations and increased awareness of immigration raids impact their labor market outcomes. We find that ICE deportations are associated with reductions in the labor force participation and employment of likely undocumented immigrants when compared to similarly skilled foreign-born US citizens. Effects are particularly strong among women, especially those with children, as well as in industries likely targeted by ICE raids. Controlling for perceived threats and de jure immigration policies has little impact on these results.     

Education for the love of the world: Hannah Arendt’s philosophy of education and communication studies

Amidst a challenging moment of transition in American higher education, this article uses Arendt’s examination of American educational institutions and her reflections on the human condition to develop a philosophy of education that speaks to communication studies. Sharply critical of the unreflective emphasis on newness and normalization that she saw in American schools, Arendt suggests an alternative philosophy of education grounded simultaneously in the contemplation of tradition and the pursuit of natality through the active life of labor, work, and action. Together, tradition and natality open a new approach to communication education in the liberal arts tradition that challenges educators and students alike not only to understand the world around them but also to take responsibility for its renewal.     

North Central Sociological Association Presidential Address. Renewing Sociology: Integral Science,Solidarity, and Loving Kindness

Abstract

We contribute to the debate about the effects of immigration in the United States by analyzing the impact of recent (1980-2000) immigration on the economic outcomes of African Americans. We use Census 2000 data for a sample of 150 U.S. metropolitan areas to examine these outcomes. Our findings indicate that after controlling for a variety of theoretically relevant control variables, increases in recent immigration decrease labor force non-participation and poverty, and increase median earnings, among blacks. We argue that recent immigration expands blacks' job opportunities in or near the middle of the occupational hierarchy (e.g., protective services; office and administrative support). However, we also find a non-linear effect of immigration on black median earnings which indicates an immigrant population threshold where black earnings begin to decline. Thus, both sides of this debate may be correct: middle-class blacks benefit from increased immigration, but the gains of the black middle class do not always offset the fact that poor and lower-skilled blacks are losing out because of increased competition with immigrants.     

LABOR MARKET OPENNESS,H‐1B VISA POLICY,AND THE SCALE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ENROLLMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

International students have long comprised an important part of U.S. higher education. However, little is known regarding the factors that encourage students from across the world to enroll in U.S. colleges and universities each year. This paper examines the relationship between international enrollment and the openness of the United States' skilled labor market, currently regulated by the H‐1B program. Gravity regressions reveal that H‐1B visa issuances to a country are positively and significantly related to the number of international students from that country. Causal estimates of the impact of labor market openness are achieved by exploiting a dramatic fall in the H‐1B visa cap in October 2003. Triple difference estimates show that the fall in the cap lowered foreign enrollment by 10%. (JEL F22, I21, J11)     

IMPORTED CAPITAL INPUT,ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY,AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: EVIDENCE FROM FIRM‐LEVEL DATA

Importing capital inputs has been recognized as a critical channel for technology transfer across countries. We examine whether and to what extent the productive impact of imported capital varies with firms' abilities to absorb new technologies using ordinary least squares, instrumental variable, and threshold regression estimators. We find that firms with higher absorptive capacity gain significantly more from importing foreign capital. Our results also suggest a threshold for such benefits. Furthermore, the productive contribution of skilled labor is significantly higher in firms that import foreign capital. Developing policies to augment absorptive capacity will help firms in developing countries to realize benefits associated with imported capital. (JEL F14, D24, L24, O33)     

CHILD LABOR AND SCHOOLING RESPONSES TO ACCESS TO MICROCREDIT IN RURAL BANGLADESH

Microcredit has been shown to be effective in reducing poverty in many developing countries. However, less is known about its effect on human capital formation. In this article, we examine the impact of access to microcredit on children's education and child labor using a new and large data set from rural Bangladesh. The results show that household participation in a microcredit program may increase child labor and reduce school enrollment. The adverse effects are more pronounced for girls than boys. Younger children are more adversely affected than their older siblings and the children of poorer and less educated households are affected most adversely. Our findings remain robust to different specifications and methods, and when corrected for various sources of selection bias. (JEL H43, I21, J13, J24, L30, O12)     

IQ IN THE PRODUCTION FUNCTION: EVIDENCE FROM IMMIGRANT EARNINGS

We show that a country’s average IQ score is a useful predictor of the wages that immigrants from that country earn in the United States, whether or not one adjusts for immigrant education. Just as in numerous microeconomic studies, 1 IQ point predicts 1% higher wages, suggesting that IQ tests capture an important difference in cross‐country worker productivity. In a cross‐country development accounting exercise, about one‐sixth of the global inequality in log income can be explained by the effect of large, persistent differences in national average IQ on the private marginal product of labor. This suggests that cognitive skills matter more for groups than for individuals. (JEL J24, J61, O47)     

THE HETEROGENEITY OF IMMIGRANTS,HOST COUNTRIES' INCOME AND PRODUCTIVITY: A CHANNEL ACCOUNTING APPROACH

This article exploits changes in the distribution of immigrants across 20 Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development countries from 1960 to 2005 in order to assess their contribution to income of destination countries. The non‐random sorting of immigrants across countries is addressed by using an instrumental variable strategy. The instrument is built by estimating a bilateral migration model incorporating exogenous origin country determinants of migration. Aggregate results reveal that immigrants have a positive effect on income that works primarily through total factor productivity (TFP). We further construct a novel dataset from censuses and labor force surveys to explore the information on the age of immigrants. Contrasting income effects are found across age groups: a higher share of immigrants among the youth has a negative impact on aggregate income, while a higher share of immigrants among prime‐aged workers has a positive effect. We interpret this disparity as short‐term versus medium‐term effects. Adjustments over time involve changes in TFP but also in the human capital of the native‐born. (JEL F22, J24, J31, O31)     

The Division of Household Labor in Germany and Israel

We compare the patterns of household division of labor in Germany and Israel—two countries that share key elements of the corporatist welfare regime but differ in their gender regimes—and evaluate several hypotheses using data from the 2002 International Social Survey Program. Although time constraints and relative resources affect the division of household labor and women’s housework in both societies, we find that in Germany the gender order of household labor is more rigid, whereas in Israel the spouses’ linked labor market status exerts distinctive effects. We also find significant relationships between gender ideology and the division of household labor. We discuss the theoretical advantages of approaching the comparative study of gender inequality from the vantage point of family and gender regimes.     

WOMEN PREFER LARGER GOVERNMENTS: GROWTH,STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION,AND GOVERNMENT SIZE

The increase in income per capita is accompanied, in virtually all countries, by two changes in economic structure: the increase in the share of government spending in gross domestic product (GDP), and the increase in female labor force participation. We argue that these two changes are causally related. We develop a growth model based on Galor and Weil (1996) where female participation in market activities, fertility, and government size, in addition to consumption and saving, is endogenously determined. Rising incomes lead to a rise in female labor force participation as the opportunity cost of staying at home and caring for the children increases. In our model, higher government spending decreases the cost of performing household chores, including, but not limited to, child rearing and child care, as in Rosen (1996) . We also use a wide cross‐section of data for developed and developing countries and show that higher market participation by women is positively and robustly associated with government size. We then investigate the causal link between participation and government size using a novel unique data set that allows the use of the relative price of productive home appliances as an instrumental variable. We find strong evidence of a causal link between female market participation and government size. This effect is robust to the country sample, time period, and a set of controls in the spirit of Rodrik (1998) . (JEL O4, E62, H11)     

Household consumption: Influences of aspiration level, social comparison, and money management

The present research posits and tests a model of household consumption of less necessary or luxury goods and services. It is hypothesized that a household's economic situation has a direct effect on this consumption as well as indirect effects mediated by aspiration level, social comparison and money management. Structural equation modeling of questionnaire data from a sample of households in a metropolitan area of Sweden (n=411) was used to test the model. The results reveal that as expected the household's economic situation has a significant direct effect on consumption and indirect effects through aspiration level and social comparison. The results also show that satisfaction with consumption increases with increased consumption and decreases with higher aspiration levels.     

Union wages, rents, and skills in health care labor markets

We examine the effect of unions on the earnings of health care workers, with emphasis on the measurement and sources of union wage premiums. Using data constructed from the 1973 though 1994 Current Population Surveys, standard union premium estimates are found to be substantially lower among workers in health care than in other sectors of the economy, and to be smaller among higher skill than among lower skill occupational groups. Longitudinal analysis of workers switching union status, which controls for worker-specific skills, indicates a small impact of unions on earnings within both high and low skilled health care occupations. Evidence is found for small, but significant, union threat effects in health care labor markets. It has been argued that recent legal changes in bargaining unit determination should enhance union organizing and bargaining power. Although we cannot rule this out, such effects are not readily apparent in our data. The authors appreciate the assistance of David Macpherson, who helped develop the CPS data files used in the paper.