Regional mobility of economists

We find that nearly two- thirds of economists move to a different region of the U.S. or to a foreign country to accept their first job after receiving the Ph.D., that the South is the only net importer of economists among regions of the U.S., that the Midwest is the major net exporter, and that the proportion of graduates accepting foreign employment doubled during the 1980s. Gender and field of specialization do not affect mobility; however, doctorates from the top graduate schools and those accepting academic and government jobs are more likely to change regions than are graduates of lower ranked schools or those who are employed in the private sector.     

Regional Economic Performance and Net Migration Rates in Russia, 1993–20021

Soviet legacies and uneven economic distress make post‐Soviet Russia an especially interesting case in which to assess the effects of economic performance on regional net migration rates. Random effects models of net regional migration in 77 Russian regions from 1993 to 2002 indicate that mean wages and unemployment levels have substantial and predictable effects. These effects have several dynamic aspects: changes in mean wages (but not changes in unemployment) exert effects independently of wage and unemployment levels, the effect of unemployment decreases over time, and the effect of wage levels appears to increase. Overall, the results suggest a tendency toward regional equilibrium with respect to employment following the initial shock of Soviet collapse and market reforms, but continuing disequilibrium with respect to wages.     

Race and prevailing wage laws in the construction industry: Reply to Azari-Rad and Philips

In the Winter 1999 issue of the Journal of Labor Research (“Prevailing Wage Laws and Black Employment in the Construction Industry”), I reported a significant inverse relationship between the strength of states’ prevailing wage laws and the prospects for black employment in the construction industry. My conclusions are challenged by Azari-Rad and Philips in “ Race and Prevailing Wage Laws in the Construction Industry,” in this issue. This reply responds with new evidence reinforcing the previously asserted relationship: black employment ratios in construction are better in states that don’t have prevailing wage laws than in states that do, and they lessen as the strength of those laws increase. Furthermore, prevailing wage law repeal has apparently benefited black employment opportunities in the construction industries of the states where it has occurred.     

Union views of managerial prerogatives revisited: The prospects for labor-management cooperation

Using data from a survey of AFL-CIO affiliated unions, I compare union views of managerial prerogatives in 1997 with those reported in a 1968 study. Unions today desire more input into the firm's decision-making process than in 1968, particularly with regard to issues traditionally reserved to management. Given management's traditional resistance to “outside” interference, more cooperative relationships between unions and managment may be problematic. I thank Richard Hoppins and Edwin Sexton for research assistance.     

SOME FACTORS AFFECTING MOBILITY IN THE LABOR MARKET FOR ACADEMIC ECONOMISTS

This study examines the effects of publication, geographic preferences, and institutional preferences on the mobility of academic economists during the period 1955-69. Using a sample of 3813 economists who published at least one article during this period, the analysis indicates that publications do promote upward mobility but to a limited extent. The number of publications rather than their quality promotes mobility, but movement occurs primarily within well-defined geographic regions. The market for academic economists appears to be strongly segmented along geographic lines. Moves within geographic regions tend to be to departments of equal or lesser prestige than the department from which the individual has moved.     

Gender ideology, division of housework, and the geographic mobility of families

The paper studies the relevance of gender ideology for the geographic mobility of families using data from the German Socio-economic Panel. The analysis proceeds in two steps. First, it is shown that single men and women—who are in some sense “unconstrained” optimizers—reveal identical mobility patterns. There are no fundamental gender differences in the inter-regional mobility of German singles. Second, I focus on dual-earner households and split this group into “traditional” and “egalitarian” couples using information on their factual division of housework rather than their reported gender ideology. Separate migration analyses for both groups reveal important differences indicating the significance of gender ideology in families’ migration behavior: job-related characteristics of men statistically dominate those of women in traditional couples, whereas in egalitarian couples, male and female characteristics have the same effect on family migration behavior, i.e. there is no gender bias. Failure to account for the heterogeneity in gendered family roles across families thus misses an important explanatory factor in migration research.      

The returns to seniority in academic labor markets

Although earnings and seniority are believed positively related in most labor markets, the earnings of academics were thought to be an exception to this rule. Using the National Survey of Postsecondary Faculty, from 1993, we find that earnings and seniority are positively related once adequate controls for past labor market mobility are included among the regressors. In particular, we find that individuals who are currently tenured at their initial job have the steepest seniority profile of any group we examined. We also find a handsome premium paid to individuals who are hired-with-tenure. These results suggest a market characterized by competitive “raiding” of top faculty.     

Slipping Into and Out of Underemployment: Another Disadvantage for Nonmetropolitan Workers?1

Abstract Underemployment, which goes beyond unemployment to include the working poor, discouraged workers, and involuntary part-time workers, is a useful measure of employment hardship. We argue that underemployment should be included with other conventional indicators of the disadvantaged circumstances of nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) labor, in terms not only of prevalence, but also of the likelihood of transitions into and out of underemployment. We take advantage of the quasi-longitudinal nature of the U.S. Current Population Surveys to estimate models of year-to-year employment transitions for the quarter century 1968 to 1993. We find that (1) adequately employed nonmetro workers are more likely than their more urban counterparts to become underemployed; (2) the nonmetro underemployed are less likely to become adequately employed; (3) statistical controls only strengthen these nonmetro disadvantages; (4) the employment transitions of nonmetro workers are less affected by shifts in the direction of the national economy than are those of metro workers; and (5) nonmetro women are more disadvantaged than women residing elsewhere.     

Communication problems in the intensive care unit

Hospitalization in an intensive care unit is often physically uncomfortable and socially disorganizing. The ordinary forms of conversational participation that generate and sustain a sense of agency are breached when the patient cannot communicate in socially consensual “real time.” Using my own experience in an intensive care unit, I describe how delayed speech, through the use of an alphabet board, frequently leads to a host of interactional problems and mutual accusations about character. I attempt to show that the fabric of self and the perception of quality of care are achieved through “real time” communication. I also describe the differential communicative structure of those who will not and those who will use my alphabet board. Those using the board exhibit, through board employment and through the “local” topics discussed, a depth of common culture between them and me.     

Is there consensus among American labor economists? Survey results on forty propositions

I examine whether consensus exists among American labor economists on forty propositions by analyzing responses to a questionnaire mailed to 193 randomly selected labor economists who are members of the American Economic Association. The questions address many of the important debates in labor economics. The answers show consensus on a number of issues, including the belief that minimum wage laws decrease employment, and a rejection of comparable worth’s merits. However, there is substantial disagreement about the impact of unions, the amount of discrimination in the labor market, the trend of average real wages, and several other topics. For comments and advice I thank Charles Brown, Lee Craig, Price Fshback, Donald Frey, Robert Margo, Joshua Rosenbloom, and Andrew Yates. Special thanks go to those who generously gave their time to complete the questionnaire.     

Quantifying the Third Sector in Portugal: An Overview and Evolution from 1997 to 2007

This article presents a global overview of the third sector in Portugal drawing on data from a linked employer–employee database—“Quadros de Pessoal,” which is based on a compulsory annual inquiry to organizations, making it a better source of information than those based on sample surveys and estimates. This study advances on previous overviews by providing more updated numbers for organization size, age, gross revenue and employment levels, as well as their distribution across the ICNPO third sector activity classification. The evolution of these variables from the period 1997 to 2007 is also analyzed. The Portuguese third sector has been fast growing, with revenues amounting to 5.64% of Portugal’s GDP and employment representing 4% of the country’s employment in 2007. It is mainly composed of very small organizations, with diminutive revenues. Perhaps its most striking features are the uneven distribution of employment and revenue and the strong concentration on social services.     

Codetermination: Union style

Many European countries have instigated a form of “industrial democracy” by legislating codetermination schemes. However, codetermination may also be accomplished without legislation. We show that unionizing an industry’s labor supply will also achieve much the same results as mandatory codetermination as long as unions are exempt from antitrust legislation. The value of “union codetermination” will yield returns beyond what economists have previously predicted.     

The changing nature of work among the self-employed in the 1990s: Evidence from Britain

We use British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) data to examine the changing nature of work among the British self-employed in the 1990s. In the process we uncover several surprises and puzzles given the body of “received wisdom” about growing flexibility of work and employment patterns in that decade. Conventional wisdom implies three hypotheses: (1) growing female self-employment; (2) growing flexibility of employment involving more part-time work, temporary employment, and multiple job holding; and (3) a convergence in work hours between males and females. The principal surprises are that the data refute the first two hypotheses outright and provide only partial support for the third. An outstanding puzzle is why own-account, self-employed males work such long hours for wages that are generally lower than those of employees. At the same time, the self-employed are less satisfied with their work hours than employees are, despite being more satisfied on average with other characteristics of their jobs and with their lives in general. We estimate a panel data work hours equation by instrumental variables in an effort to resolve the puzzle and to shed light on self-employed labor supply behavior.     

Inequality of opportunity in Italy

In this paper we provide a methodology to measure opportunity inequality and to decompose overall income inequality in an “ethically offensive” and an “ethically acceptable” part. Moreover, we analyze inequality of opportunity in Italy. According to our results, inequality of opportunity accounts for about 20% of overall income inequality in Italy. Moreover, the regions in the South are characterized by a higher degree of opportunity inequality than the regions in the North, especially when considering population subgroups by gender.     

Can a minimum wage increase have an adverse impact on inequality? Evidence from two Latin American economies

This paper uses a semiparametric model to analyze the impact of an increase in the real minimum wage on inequality in Colombia between 1995 and 1999 and in Paraguay between 1993 and 2000–2001. Simulations suggest that if the employment effects of the minimum wage increase are ignored, the underlying policies would contribute to reduce earnings inequality in Colombia and would be inequality neutral in Paraguay. By considering the drop in wages of those who lost their jobs, simulations suggest that in both countries the policy in question would increase earnings inequality under some assumptions about the employment elasticity of the minimum wage and the new level of earnings unemployed workers rely upon. While these findings do not mean that minimum wage increases in LDCs (Less Developed Countries) necessarily have adverse distributional affects, they suggest that minimum wage policy should be implemented with care depending on how sensitive employment is to wage increases. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Did Henry Ford mean to pay efficiency wages?

In the past two decades economists have developed efficiency wage theories, which suggest a link between wage rates and worker productivity, while attempting to explain the existence of involuntary unemployment in equilibrium labor markets. Henry Ford's 1914 announcement of the five-dollar day, an overnight doubling of wage rates, is regularly used as the textbook application of efficiency wage theories put into practice. While previous research demonstrates that the effects of the five-dollar day were largely consistent with those predicted by efficiency wage theories, Ford's wage policy was principally motivated by the fallacious wage-aggregate demand link expressed by the so-called“high-wage doctrine”-a belief that many economists claim significantly contributed to the unemployment problem of the 1930s. In addition to exploring Ford's high-wage motives, I discuss the role Ford's wage statements and policies played in the acceptance and implementation of high-wage public policies during the Great Depression. I appreciate helpful comments from Ranjit Dighe, George Selgin, and participants at the Economic and Business Historical Society meetings.     

Combining the liberal and useful arts: Sociological skills in the global economy

The discipline of sociology remains vulnerable in an environment of economic uncertainty and global change. Constraints on higher education are likely to increase and recurrent pressures on traditional liberal arts programs will continue unabated. An older, more diverse, cost-conscious and career-minded student population will increasingly insist on clearer pathways to difficult and bewildering labor markets. But sociology’s weakness as a liberal art may be overcome by combining it with a more applied and practical orientation. The very forces that threaten the discipline’s institutional existence make it profoundly relevant and valuable in an age of social transformation. Based on a familiar Millsian conception of the sociological imagination, this article attempts to combine sociology’s liberal tradition with its role as a “useful art,” honed into the specific features of workplace change and the employment setting. It does so by suggesting five categories of emerging skills in the global economy and ways that sociology has a far reaching claim to their practice and development. The categories are: 1) the skills of knowledge workers; 2) skills in the learning organization; 3) skills in the technological context; 4) skills in the diverse and divided workplace; 5) change-making skills. The article concludes by urging those in the discipline to make sociology more of a useful art that has practical application in a changing world. An earlier version of this article was presented at the Sociological Practice Association 15th Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, June 11, 1993.     

Cost of living and labor force participation: Married women in urban labor markets

I present and test the hypothesis that the cost of living (COL) positively influences the labor force participation (LFP) of married women. Based on housing values and regional variables, I first predict COL for a sample of 150 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) using a smaller subsample for which geographically comparable family budget data are available for 1980. Results from estimating a logistic LFP model using census MSA data confirm my hypothesis and suggest that COL embodies locality-specific amenities rather than “pure” prices. Part of the research for this paper was conducted while the author was Visiting Associate Professor at the Department of Economics and the Frederick Douglass Institute, University of Rochester, New York, during 1992–1993. The author thanks Oded Izraeli and Kevin J. Murphy for their helpful comments on earlier drafts and gratefully acknowledges the grant support of the Oakland University Research Committee.     

Identifying X-Consumers Using Causal Recipes: “Whales” and “Jumbo Shrimps” Casino Gamblers

X-consumers are the extremely frequent (top 2–3%) users who typically consume 25% of a product category. This article shows how to use fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to provide “causal recipes” sufficient for profiling X-consumers accurately. The study extends Dik Twedt’s “heavy-half” product users for building theory and strategies to nurture or control X-behavior. The study here applies QCA to offer configurations that are sufficient in identifying “whales” and “jumbo shrimps” among X-casino gamblers. The findings support the principle that not all X-consumers are alike. The theory and method are applicable for identifying the degree of consistency and coverage of alternative X-consumers among users of all product-service category and brands.     

Construction doublebreasted operations and pre-hire agreements: Assessing the issues

Labor relations in the construction industry are conducted under a legal framework that is both different and more favorable to unions than is that in industry generally. Thus, construction employers are more subject to challenge than those in other industries if they operate both union and nonunion subsidiaries; construction unions, but not those in most other industries, may enter into agreements before anyone is hired (“pre-hire agreements”), require employees to join unions after ten days of employment instead of thirty, and require the contractor to notify them of job openings. Despite these advantages, construction unions represented only 22.2 percent of all construction workers in 1987, down from 40.1 percent in 1973, while nonunion, or “open shop,” construction accounted for more than 70 percent of the construction dollar volume as early as 1984. Attempting to overcome these trends, the construction unions have sponsored legislation in the current and last two congresses which would outlaw “doublebreasting,” i.e., one company owning both unionized and open shop subsidiaries, eliminate any restrictions on pre-hire agreements, and have the effect of forcing thousands of construction workers into unions regardless of their wishes. This article examines the reasons for the decline of construction unionism, analyzes the proposed legislation, discusses its probable impact, and concludes that it is lacking in justification for the common good.