Internal labor markets, promotions, and worker skill: An indirect test of skill ILMs

The determinants of intrafirm mobility within the internal labor markets (ILMs) of one large, regional bank and one small town bank are examined. The literature on the banking industry suggests that internal labor markets exist there, and that job changes within these markets are based on the development of skill rather than on seniority. It is suggested that in skill ILMs, promotions will be a positive function of the employees' duration in the present job; while in a seniority-based ILM, promotions will be a positive function of tenure with the firm prior to the present job. These findings, for men but not women, support the hypothesis that skill rather than seniority-based ILMs are present in each bank. The findings for women suggest that they work in “firm” or secondary labor markets. While the two banks are similar in the way other factors determine mobility, differences are also found which may be explained by the size and sectoral location of each bank.     

Training in two-tier labor markets: The role of job match quality

This study examines training investments in two-tier labor markets, focusing on the role of job match quality. Temporary workers are in general more likely than permanent workers to leave their employer and therefore are less likely to receive employer-funded training. However, as firms prefer to continue productive job matches, we hypothesize that the negative effect of holding a temporary contract on the probability to be trained diminishes with the quality of the job match. Using a recent longitudinal survey from the Netherlands, we find that temporary workers indeed participate less frequently in firm-sponsored training. However, this effect is fully driven by mismatches: holding a temporary contract does not significantly decrease the probability to receive training for workers in good job matches. Depending on match quality, a temporary job can either be a stepping stone or a dead-end.     

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.     

Re-examining the relationship between Latino immigration and racial/ethnic violence

Whether immigration increases crime has long been a source of political debate and scholarly interest. Despite widespread public opinion to the contrary, the weight of evidence suggests the most recent wave of U.S. immigration has not increased crime, and may have actually helped reduce criminal violence. However, with recent shifts in immigrant settlement patterns away from traditional receiving destinations, a series of contemporary studies suggests a more complicated immigration-crime relationship, whereby Latino immigration is said to increase violence in newer immigrant destinations (but not in established destinations) and has varied effects for different racial/ethnic groups. With few exceptions, these more recent studies rely on cross-sectional analyses, thus limiting their ability to examine the longitudinal nexus between Latino immigration and violent crime. This study brings to bear the first longitudinal data set to test the relationship between immigration and racial/ethnic homicide in U.S. metropolitan areas between 1990 and 2010. Results from bivariate longitudinal associations and multivariate fixed effects models are contrary to recent findings – Latino immigration is generally associated with decreases in homicide victimization for whites, blacks, and Hispanics in both established and non-established immigrant destinations, though these associations are not significant in all cases.     

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.     

Compensating differentials, labor market segmentation, and wage inequality

Two literatures on work and the labor market draw attention to the importance of non-pecuniary job amenities. Social psychological perspectives on work suggest that workers have preferences for a range of job amenities (e.g. Halaby, 2003). The compensating differentials hypothesis predicts that workers navigate tradeoffs among different job amenities such that wage inequality overstates inequality in utility (Smith, 1979). This paper joins these perspectives by constructing a new measure of labor market success that evaluates the degree to which workers’ job amenity preferences and outcomes match. This measure of subjective success is used to predict workers’ job satisfaction and to test the hypothesis that some degree of labor force inequality in wages is due to preference-based tradeoffs among all job amenities. Findings demonstrate that the new measure predicts workers’ job satisfaction and provides evidence for the presence of compensating differentials in the primary and intermediate, but not secondary, labor markets.     

Displacement in new economy labor markets: Post-displacement wage loss in high tech versus low tech cities

While scholars and politicians tout education as the salve to employment disruptions, we argue that the geography of the new economy, and the social closure mechanisms that geography creates, may be just as important as individuals’ characteristics for predicting post-displacement wage loss (or gain). We use data from the 2012 Displaced Workers ement of the Current Population Survey and from the 2010 United States Census to test hypotheses linking local labor markets in different industrial contexts to post-displacement wage loss. Our results point to age as a closure mechanism, and to the partially protective effect of education in high-tech versus low-tech economic sectors. This study is the first to use national level data to examine how employment in high-tech cities influences post-displacement wages. These findings are relevant both for theorizing about the new economy and for public policy.     

Measuring short-term labor force mobility with the Labor Utilization Framework

Continuing employment growth and declining unemployment rates in the U.S. labor force since 1982 have raised new questions about employment quality and shifts between adequate and marginal employment. In this paper, we use an individual-matched file from the 1986 and 1987 March annual demographic supplements of the Current Population Survey to examine 1-year transitions between labor force states measured with the Labor Utilization Framework (LUF). Short-term shifts between nonparticipation, unemployment, underemployment, and adequate employment—as conceived in the LUF—are characterized here for the first time. Our results suggest that the majority of recent job takers found adequate employment, but that new labor force entrants and the previously unemployed nevertheless experienced rates of involuntary part-time and low-wage employment exceeding rates for the labor force as a whole. Association models reveal wideranging differences in patterns of mobility and immobility across labor force positions. We find that upward transitions are largely counterbalanced by downward transitions, essentially yielding a one-to-one exchange of workers between specific pairs of labor force states. The analysis also indicates similarity across sex and race groups in patterns of mobility and only small differences in immobility. Mobility and immobility largely serve to reproduce from year-to-year existing sex and race inequalities in the labor force.     

White,black, and Hispanic male youths in central city labor markets

Data from the 1% 1980 Census Public Use Sample are used to estimate the determinants of employment and wage rates for out-of-school male youths residing in central cities. Separate calculations are undertaken for white, black, and Hispanic youths. Independent variables include individual, family background, and local labor market characteristics. Three basic findings emerge. First, racial inequality persists, with whites showing the best outcomes, Hispanics second, and blacks at the bottom. Second, underlying these unequal outcomes are rather different patterns of effect for personal and family characteristics by race. Note-worthy here is the Hispanic pattern of low reliance on schooling and high reliance on family. Finally, net of these effects, intercity differences are interesting and important. These include negative effects of city size and race composition effects which show white gains where blacks and Hispanics are a larger share of the population.     

American crime drops: Investigating the breaks,dips and drops in temporal homicide

ObjectivesWhile a great deal of attention has been given to the 1990s crime drop, less is known about the more recent decline in homicide rates that occurred in several large U.S. cities. This paper aims to explore whether these represent two distinct drops via statistical evidence of structural breaks in longitudinal homicide trends and explore potentially differing explanations for the two declines. Methods: Using homicide data on a large sample of U.S. cities from 1990 to 2011, we test for structural breaks in temporal homicide rates. Combining census data and a time series approach, we also examine the role structural features, demographic shifts, and crime control strategies played in the changes in homicide rates over time. Results: Statistical evidence demonstrates two structural breaks in homicide trends, with one trend reflecting the 1990s crime drop (1994–2002) and another trend capturing a second decline (2007–2011). Time series analysis confirms previous research findings about the contributions of structural conditions (e.g., disadvantage) and crime control strategies (e.g., police force size) to the crime drop of the 1990s, but these factors cannot account for the more recent drop with the exception of police presence. Conclusions: Although both structural conditions and crime control strategies are critical to the longitudinal trends in homicide rates over the entire span from 1990 to 2011, different factors account for these two distinct temporal trends.     

Female labor force participation in the US: How is immigration shaping recent trends?

Women entered the paid workforce in unprecedented numbers during the 20th century. Yet recent years have been witness to a creeping reversal in women's labor force participation. Why did the revolution stall? In response to debates over a “natural” limit to women's employment, or a cultural backlash against the dual-breadwinner household, we consider an alternative explanation, namely whether immigration has slowed the growth in female labor force participation. Using CPS data from 1998 to 2018, we show that the increase in the share of immigrants and children of immigrants in the population has reduced overall female labor force participation. However, immigration accounts for relatively little of the retreat from the labor force. Instead, the compositional effect of population change is overshadowed by behavioral shifts that affect both natives and immigrants. Lower participation rates among native-born women accounts for most of the overall decline. Despite persistent differences, we also find substantial convergence in the labor force behavior of native-born and foreign-born women, which bodes well for the long-term economic incorporation of immigrants and their children.     

Variations in age-specific homicide death rates: a cohort explanation for charges in the age distribution of homicide deaths

An age-period-cohort characteristic model previously used to explain age-period-specific rates of homicide arrests for those 15 to 49 from 1960 to 1995 is applied to measures of age-period-specific homicide deaths. The extension of this model to the examination of homicide victimization is significant because we are able to test the utility of the model across a longer time span (1930 to 1995) and a wider range of ages (10 to 79) and disaggregated by sex and race (Whites and non-Whites). Although the results indicate that past and recent shifts in age-period-specific rates of homicide deaths are associated with specific characteristics of cohorts, there are some important differences across race and sex groupings in the effects of these characteristics. The effects of the cohort variables examined in our model are independent of age and period, often substantively large, and last throughout the life course. The results are consistent with Durkheimian explanations of lethal violence, hypotheses from victimization theory, and basic tenets of cohort theory.     

Marketization,occupational segregation,and gender earnings inequality in urban China

This article analyzes a large sample of the 2005 population mini-census data and prefecture-level statistics of China to investigate gender earnings inequality in the context of economic marketization, paying special attention to the changing role of occupational segregation in the process. We approximate marketization by employment sectors and also construct an index of marketization at the prefecture level. Results show that, despite the tremendous economic growth, marketization has exacerbated gender earnings inequality in urban China's labor markets. Gender earnings inequality is the smallest in government/public institutions, followed by public enterprises, and then private enterprises. The gender inequality also increases with the prefecture's level of marketization. Multilevel analyses show that occupational segregation plays an important role in affecting gender earnings inequality: the greater the occupational segregation, the more disadvantaged women are relative to men in earnings in a prefecture's labor market. Moreover, the impact of occupational segregation on gender earnings inequality increases with the prefectural level of marketization. These findings contribute to understanding the dynamics of gender earnings inequality and have important implications for policy to promote gender equality in urban China.     

新劳动合同法与和谐劳动关系

劳动关系是市场经济条件下最基本、最重要的社会关系。建设和谐劳动关系是落实科学发展观的本质要求,是整个社会和谐的基础。新劳动合同法是构建和谐劳动关系的重要保证,本文由此引出了对用人单位构建和谐劳动关系的几点思考。新劳动合同法的实施对企业构建和谐劳动关系具有里程碑意义。     

进一步规范劳动行为 和谐企业劳动关系

法律的意义不仅在于颁布更在于实施。《中华人民共和国劳动保护法》施行以来在调节劳动关系、保护劳动者合法权益、促进企业发展等方面发挥了重要作用，但在现实的劳动关系中存在的问题也不容忽视。本文作者认为用人单位和劳动者作为劳动关系的主体，双方都要进一步增强法律意识，规范自己的劳动行为。稳定和谐的劳动关系是企业发展的重要条件，它的形成要靠有关劳动法律主体的共同努力和完善执法来实现。     

劳工品质、劳动保护与跨国资本空间转移——基于中印两国的比较研究

全球自由市场与低劳动力成本是比较优势模式发展的前提条件.劳工品质与资本流向正相关,劳动力价格、劳工技能以及劳工纪律性是劳工品质的基本内涵.劳工纪律性是社会建构的结果,政治机会结构与微观动员条件是两种主要的建构力量.较之于印度,劳工守规矩的品质是中国吸引资本的巨大优势.劳动保护需要与政治社会体制相匹配,这样才能实现与经济发展的均衡.中国不用担心劳工涨薪会导致资本外移,印度应该在政治社会结构允许的空间里一定程度地减少劳动保护,强化劳工纪律性.突破比较优势模式,通过产业升级完成经济增长方式的转型才是中印两国未来的根本出路.     

A new look at married women’s labor force transitions in Japan

In this paper, we examine educational differences in married women’s labor force attachment in Japan using 10 waves of data from a nationally representative survey. Results of discrete-time multi-state hazard models of labor force exit and entry indicate that university graduates are both more likely to remain in and less likely to reenter the labor force relative to women with a high school education or less. Their relatively low likelihood of labor force exit reflects educational differences in occupational characteristics, especially employment in full-time, standard jobs. However, junior college and university graduates remain substantially less likely to reenter the labor force net of family circumstances, characteristics of previous employment, and efforts to control for unobserved characteristics. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that tension between emerging incentives to remain in the labor force and lingering incentives to remain out of the labor force are both relatively strong among highly educated women. We conclude with speculation about the implications of these educational differences in married women’s employment for stratification.     

邯郸区县农村剩余劳动力转移研究

在城镇化的进程中,农村剩余劳动力转移到非农产业是一个必然的趋势,否则,将不可避免地导致农业资源的过度开发和人力资源的极大浪费,并导致从根本上难以解决农民收入的增加问题.因此,有必要在农村劳动力转移的过程中,研究和分析农村劳动力转移的具体形势,探究剩余劳动力转移和农村经济发展,农业劳动力转化和农村城镇化之间的关系问题.在实证研究邯郸区县剩余劳动力转移的基础上,获取不同的转移类型,为进一步解决农村剩余劳动力转移问题提供对策参考.     

Explaining relationships between ethnic diversity and informal social capital across European countries and regions: Tests of constrict, conflict and contact theory

In this study we focus on the relationship between ethnic diversity and informal social capital. As this refers to rather strong social ties in the intimate domain, it is a strict test of Putnam’s claim that ethnic diversity would decrease social capital. In order to explain these relationships, we derived mediating mechanisms from conflict and contact theory. Using data from the European Social Survey (2002/2003), we applied multilevel analyses considering three levels: individuals, regions and countries. Our results revealed a direct positive effect of ethnic diversity at the country level on informal helping, yet no indirect effect via the mediating variables. At the regional level, we only found an indirect effect of ethnic diversity. Here, ethnic diversity increases the likelihood of intergroup contact that in turn is positively related to both informal social meeting and helping. Perceived ethnic threat turned out to have a negative effect on informal social meeting.     

The effect of late-life debt use on retirement decisions

This paper examines parallel shifts in late life debt use and retirement behaviors. After discussing the conceptual linkages between credit and labor markets, I use data from the 1992 to 2008 waves of the Health and Retirement Study to examine the temporal patterning of retirement and debt behaviors. I rely on the longitudinal structure of the data to estimate the effects of debt accumulation on retirement behaviors, using alternative specifications to identify treatment and control groups. The findings suggest that debt accumulation in later life has a significant effect on decisions to remain in the workforce in later years.