Housework, market work, and “doing gender” when marital satisfaction declines

When faced with a decline in marital satisfaction, are wives constrained from increasing their labor market work time in part because they “do gender?” One of the predictions of the human capital accumulation hypothesis, which assumes no constraints, is that housewives with little work experience will respond to a decline in marital satisfaction by increasing labor market work time (only). In contrast, the gender display hypothesis predicts that, in settings where the evaluations of marriage and wives’ work performance are closely intertwined, a decline in marital satisfaction among this group of housewives will increase both labor market work and housework—and the increase in housework serves as a constraint on the increase in labor market work. To evaluate these contrasting hypotheses, we analyze a panel survey of women in contemporary Japan. Results from multinomial logit regression models are more consistent with the gender display hypothesis than the human capital accumulation hypothesis. Housewives with relatively little work experience are 11 times more likely to increase the time spent on both labor market work and housework when the satisfaction of their marriage declines than when it does not. No evidence is found that, when marital satisfaction declines, these housewives are statistically significantly more likely to increase labor market work only.     

Are motherhood penalties and fatherhood bonuses warranted? Comparing pro-work behaviors and conditions of mothers, fathers, and non-parents

Research has confirmed a motherhood penalty and fatherhood bonus at work. Employers, it appears, regard mothers and fathers differently from one another and differently from non-parents. We have yet to systematically explore whether mothers exhibit fewer pro-work behaviors than fathers and non-parents or whether fathers engage in more of them than mothers and non-parents. This article draws on nationally representative data from full-time employed adults to investigate mother, father, and non-parent differences in work effort, work intensity, job engagement, and four measures of work enhancement from home. Mothers and fathers are similar on five out of seven outcomes tapping pro-work dimensions. When they differ, mothers report greater job engagement and work intensity than fathers. Mothers are no different from non-parents on all outcomes. All findings hold net of individual, job, and family controls. I conclude that reducing workplace gender inequality will require organizational changes that pay explicit attention to workers’ care-giving responsibilities.     

Globalization, labor market transformation, and metropolitan earnings inequality

Numerous studies have noted the increasing levels of inequality in American society, but relatively few have linked this inequality to the dynamics of the global economy. In this study, we examine the impact of five measures of globalization (global capital, foreign direct investment, exports, foreign born non-citizens, and foreign born citizens) and six measures of labor market transformation (deindustrialization, corporate restructuring, bureaucratic burden, casualization, bad jobs, and multiple job holding) on metropolitan-level earnings inequality of full-time, full-year workers 16 years and older. Our study makes several major contributions to the literature. First, we update and extend the long line of studies on metropolitan earnings inequality. Second, we show that these various dimensions of globalization and labor market transformation exert independent and mainly polarizing effects on the earnings distributions of metropolitan areas, net of controls for labor market structure and sociodemographic variables. Third, we demonstrate the benefits of looking at the causes of inequality in the upper and lower tails of the earnings distribution. Finally, we develop a procedure to estimate counterfactual values of earnings inequality for all major metropolitan areas in the US in 2000. In the process, the paper provides a comprehensive accounting of the impact of globalization and labor market transformation on metropolitan earnings inequality.     

Wage change in the late career: A model for the outcomes of job sequences

This paper elaborates a model for the outcomes of job sequences and illustrates its utility by an empirical analysis of the determinants of wage change for men in their late careers. We argue that job sequences represent the basic components of careers and that a focus on these sequences is useful for explaining the determinants of socioeconomic inequality over the life cycle. Our model permits us to estimate the effects on wage change of a wide array of personal resources and measures of the opportunity structure. We further assess how these types of factors differentially affect wage change for various patterns of labor market behavior and for blacks vs whites. Our empirical analysis of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Middle-Aged Men suggests the importance of patterns of job sequences for wage change and for the explanation of racial differentials in career advancement.     

Labor market influences on Women's fertility decisions: Longitudinal evidence from Canada

While fertility theories suggest that insecure labor market experiences encourage women to postpone having children, few have examined whether job insecurity perceptions influence fertility in the North American context—an omission we address in the current study. Findings from event history analyses of a panel dataset of Canadian workers (Canadian Work, Stress and Health Study) reveal that perceived job insecurity is salient for women's first birth decisions but not subsequent births. Further subgroup analyses show that the association between perceived job insecurity and likelihood of a first birth is limited to college-educated women and those in low unemployment labor market regions. Among women with less than a college degree and those in high-unemployment regions, the likelihood of a first birth does not vary by respondents' perceptions of insecurity. Results suggest a more nuanced relationship between insecure work and women's childbearing decisions than predicted by traditional pro-cyclical accounts of the economy-fertility association.     

Industrial change, Hispanic immigration, and the internal migration of low-skilled native male workers in the United States, 1995-2000

Debates over immigration’s impact on less advantaged native workers often ignore industrial structure for creating segregated labor markets and demand for immigrant workers. We analyze population movements of less-educated foreign-born Hispanic, native-born Hispanic, White, and Black men between 1995 and 2000 using MIGPUMA-level 2000 PUMS data. We model in-migration, out-migration, and net migration for each group controlling for demographic composition, employment structure, change in employment structure, labor market indicators, and macro contextual measures. Results indicate positive significant relationships between migration patterns of all groups and support labor demand explanations of internal low-skilled migration emphasizing industrial change rather than labor competition.     

垄断劳动力市场、最低工资限制和不平等

关于劳动力垄断市场对于加总经济和社会福利水平的影响,现有主流经济学已经有了很规范的结论,即垄断肯定会造成产出水平和社会福利水平的损失。本论文主要分析劳动力市场的垄断对不平等的影响以及最低工资限制对不平等的作用。本论文的分析表明:首先,同完全竞争的劳动力市场相比,完全垄断市场肯定会加剧不平等;其次,即使在完全竞争劳动力市场下,最低工资限制对不平等的影响也是不一定的,它具体取决于均衡状态劳动需求弹性的大小;最后,在劳动力市场存在买方垄断的情况下,高于完全垄断市场工资水平的最低工资限制肯定会使得失业和不平等同时改善。     

Insecure times? Workers' perceived job and labor market security in 23 OECD countries

By examining the association between employees' perceptions of job security and central labor market policies and characteristics, this paper seeks to understand the mechanisms through which institutions generate confidence and positive expectations among individuals regarding their economic future. The analyses distinguish between different facets of perceived job security and different institutional mechanisms. My multilevel analyses of a data set that contains information on 12,431 individuals and 23 countries show that some labor market policies and characteristics are more likely than others to provide workers with subjective security. Unemployment assistance in particular is an effective means of reducing workers' worries about job loss. Dismissal protection, by contrast, only unleashes its psychologically protective effects under certain conditions. The paper's main conclusion is that the effectiveness of policies varies and that different types of labor market institutions serve as complements rather than as substitutes.     

The paradox of de-coupling: A study of flexible work program and workers’ productivity

Organizational de-coupling occurs when organizational adoption of programs is separated from ongoing activities. Neo-institutional theory asserts it is an effective coping strategy for modern organizations to deal with increasingly elaborated environments. In this paper, we investigate the consequences of organizational de-coupling from an inward-looking within organizational perspective. Specifically, we study how the de-coupling of flexible work program affects workers’ actualization of productivity. Our data analysis suggests that the organizational de-coupling, in which organizations only ceremonially adopt flexible work program without making it available to all workers, is detrimental to the actualization of productivity for workers who were bereft of the opportunity. In contrast, we find that the highest level of productivity actualization is associated with workers who enjoy a factual flexible work schedule which is nevertheless not formally adopted by the employer. The implications of the findings are discussed.     

Race,ageism and the slide from privileged occupations

The sociological literature on workplace inequality has been relatively clear regarding racial disparities and ongoing vulnerabilities to contemporary structural and employer biases. We still know little, however, about the consequences of age and ageism for minority workers and susceptibilities to downward mobility. Coupling insights regarding race with recent work on employment-based age discrimination, we interrogate in this article African Americans and Whites, aged 55 and older, and the extent to which they experience job loss across time. Our analyses, beyond controlling for key background attributes, distinguish and disaggregate patterns for higher and lower level status managers and professionals and for men and women. Results, derived from data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, reveal unique and significant inequalities. Relative to their White and gender specific counterparts, older African American men and women experience notably higher rates of downward mobility—downward mobility that is not explained by conventional explanations (i.e., human capital credentials, job/labor market characteristics, etc.). Such inequalities are especially pronounced among men and for those initially occupying higher status white-collar managerial and professional jobs compared to technical/skilled professional and blue-collar “first line” supervisors. We tie our results to contemporary concerns regarding ageism in the workplace as well as minority vulnerability. We also suggest an ageism-centered corrective to existing race and labor market scholarship.     

城镇就业机会:城乡、地域多重户籍属性的分隔

对劳动力的市场分割问题,以往的研究更多是着眼于城乡劳动力的收入差异.本研究将城镇劳动力分为本地非农、本地农业、外地非农、外地农业等4种户籍类型进行比较分析,着重研究4类劳动力的城镇就业机会差异.利用2007年广东城镇住户基本情况抽样调查数据,通过Multinomial Logit模型估计和Blinder-Oaxaca分解,研究不同户籍劳动力在城镇劳动力市场上的隔离程度,并分解出个人禀赋差异与制度差异所占的份额.     

The skill-divide in job quality: A cross-national analysis of 28 countries

This study focuses on the skill divide in job quality and the role of social institutions in structuring the relation of workers’ qualifications to the attributes of their jobs. Four measures of job quality are examined: job security, job achievement, job content and work schedule flexibility. The study is based on the 2005 ISSP module on work orientations and encompasses 28 countries. Obtained through multilevel modeling, the findings show that low-skilled workers are disadvantaged in all aspects of job quality. However, skill inequality in the quality of employment depends on countries’ characteristics, with declining inequality in countries at higher levels of technological development and to some extent also in times of technological growth. At times of high unemployment, skill disparities in job security widen while on other measures of job quality they decline. Under high market regulation, the low skilled enjoy better job security but on other measures, skill inequalities increase.     

劳动力市场分割、职业流动与城市劳动者经济地位获得的二元路径模式

使用2009年中国社会网络与职业经历调查广州、上海、厦门、济南和西安5城市数据,检验了改革以后影响中国城市劳动者职业流动模式以及经济地位获得的因素。研究结果表明,高学历劳动者与低学历劳动者群体处于两个分割的劳动力市场中,他们的经济地位获得路径完全不同。对于低学历劳动者,职业流动是提升他们收入水平的最重要因素,而人力资本因素(受教育年限和工作经验)对他们的收入没有影响。高学历劳动者的情况刚好相反,职业流动对收入获得没有任何作用,影响他们收入分层的最重要因素是人力资本。本研究揭示了转型期中国城市地区不同劳动力市场劳动者经济地位获得的二元路径模式。     

Complement or competition: Latino employment in a nontraditional settlement area

The migration of Latinos to nontraditional settlement areas in the United States is renewing interest in how an established low-skilled work force is affected by the inflow of a minority group whose members tend to have a weak basket of human capital. Some scholars focus on how the incoming group creates head-to-head competition with established workers. An alternative view posits that, depending on the context of the receiving labor market, incoming workers may primarily fill roles that complement preexisting labor market arrangements. I study these issues in the region of the country that has experienced the most pronounced in-migration of Latinos during the past few years. The findings indicate migrating Latinos tend to complement preexisting labor market conditions rather than spark job competition and undercut the earning power of non-Latinos.     

Patterns of labor mobility in a dual economy: The case of semiskilled and unskilled workers

The focus of recent stratification research demonstrates increasing recognition of the structured nature of social inequality. Among the forms these efforts have taken has been the development of a number of models drawing attention to the importance of various labor market decisions or cleavages. The crucial role which restricted labor mobility must play in maintaining these cleavages, while largely untested, has long been recognized. We argue that analysis of the patterns of job sequencing can be used to draw important inferences regarding the existence and character of labor market structures. From this premise, we use job transition data to test a number of propositions derived from dual economy theory, relating to the extent of intersectoral moves and the patterns of intersectoral and intrasectoral moves. Using log-linear methods, we find the hypothesized restricted evidence of intersectoral job shifts and also find patterns of intrasectoral moves indicative of the pervasiveness of rigidly structured internal labor markets in the core. While these results are consistent with a dualistic interpretation, they are equally as consistent with any model emphasizing the existence of strong intrafirm and intraindustry job structures.     

Diversity preferences among employees and ethnoracial workplace segregation

Ethno-racial workplace segregation increases already existing ethno-racial inequality. While previous research has identified discriminatory employers as drivers of workplace segregation, this study addresses the role of the employees. Sociological and social psychological theory suggest that people prefer to surround themselves with people who positively confirm their social identity or who contribute with higher group status. Through web-based surveys, we measure employee attitudes and preferences concerning ethno-racial workplace diversity, to what extent they differ by ethnicity/race, and if they contain intersectional patterns. Thereafter, we use simulation models to analyze the consequences for workplace segregation that these preferences would have, if realized.The main survey results showed that all ethno-racial groups favored their own in-group as colleagues, especially European Americans. As a secondary choice, the respondents preferred the out-group with the highest labor market status. Intersectional patterns were identified, as minority women were preferred as colleagues over minority men. Our simulation model, based on the results of two surveys on stated vs. indirectly revealed preferences, showed that employee preferences were at best not diverse enough to desegregate workplaces. When based on the most common preferences (i.e. excluding a few outliers), the simulations even suggested that these preferences can cause segregation. We relate these findings to Schelling's model of segregation.     

Field of study variation throughout the college pipeline and its effect on the earnings gap: Differences between ethnic and immigrant groups in Israel

This study demonstrates the analytical leverage gained from considering the entire college pipeline—including the application, admission and graduation stages—in examining the economic position of various groups upon labor market entry. The findings, based on data from three elite universities in Israel, reveal that the process that shapes economic inequality between different ethnic and immigrant groups is not necessarily cumulative. Field of study stratification does not expand systematically from stage to stage and the position of groups on the field of study hierarchy at each stage is not entirely explained by academic preparation. Differential selection and attrition processes, as well as ambition and aspirations, also shape the position of ethnic groups in the earnings hierarchy and generate a non-cumulative pattern. These findings suggest that a cross-sectional assessment of field of study inequality at the graduation stage can generate misleading conclusions about group-based economic inequality among workers with a bachelor’s degree.     

Declining inter-industry wage dispersion in the US

Industrial effects have long been significant factors in wage inequality. Previous research indicates that wage differentials across industries were increasing through the mid 1980s. Using more recent data, however, we find that the level of inter-industry wage dispersion declined by 36% from 1986 to 2002 despite the continued trend towards increasing inequality in the labor force. This decline in inter-industry wage dispersion is evident across gender and educational groups. Using multilevel growth curve models, our multivariate results indicate that the decline is only weakly related to industrial changes in education, occupation or even productivity despite the fact that the latter variable had been a critical factor in the prior period. Indicators of globalization and downsizing also do not appear to explain this decline. For the more recent period, the most important factors associated with the narrowing of inter-industry wage dispersion are reduced unionization rates and the higher proportion of casual workers. We interpret these results as suggesting that firms may now be less economically obliged to pass on a portion of their rents to broad groups of workers and may instead be engaged in more idiosyncratic processes of negotiation with individual workers based on micro-level sources of bargaining power.     

劳动力市场分割、培训机会获取与新生代农民工培训收益率差异

新生代农民工就业能力的高低关系到国家经济转型和产业结构升级,通过职业技能培训对提高其就业能力具有重要和深远意义。本文根据调查样本数据,建立Logistic和Stepwise回归模型,在劳动力市场分割视角下分析新生代农民工职业培训选择影响因素并对培训收益率进行研究,发现职业培训对低学历者存在"挤出效应",劳动力市场分割对农民工的培训机会和培训收益方面存在显著影响;与学校教育相比,职业技能培训对新生代农民工收入增长作用仍待进一步提高。据分析,政府必须统筹规划不同劳动力市场的职业技能培训资源,优化配置培训资源;同时,为提高职业培训的效率和效益,必须对免费培训选择性的"提档升级",努力规避培训对低学历的"挤出效应"。