Labor Supply,Labor Demand,and Men's Underemployment in Rural and Urban Labor Markets1

Abstract This paper examines how the structure of the labor market differentially affects white men's underemployment in urban and rural areas. The effects of labor supply and demand, including special measures of public employment and two previously neglected aspects of competition—global industrial competition and sexual labor market competition—on unemployment, low-wage employment, and low-hours employment are examined. A higher proportion of females in the labor force in rural labor market areas provides benefits to men in the form of lower unemployment, but also costs them, through an increased prevalence of low-wage employment, while the opposite effects are evident for areas with concentrations in periphery service industries. The findings suggest that industrial restructuring in the form of increased foreign competition and an increased loss of core transformative jobs are especially threatening to rural men's employment adequacy.     

FEMININE CAPITAL: The Forms of Capital in the Female Labor Market in Japan

There are many studies of the effect of human capital on individual labor market out-comes and on the contribution of educational institutions to an individual's human, social, and cultural capital. Logistic regression analyses, using data on women's job placement in Japan, showed that a feminine characteristics and support from school were important for being hired by large companies for clerical jobs. This paper argues that there are forms of capital that are specific to women's employment outcome in the Japanese labor market. This lays the basis for gender discrimination and a "glass ceiling" on women's advancement in corporate Japan.     

Temporary Help Firms as Entrepreneurial Actors

Competing explanations of growth in the temporary help supply (THS) industry stress its role in meeting the needs and desires of workers vs. those of employers. Until now, less attention has been paid the growth agenda of the THS industry itself. Yet evidence from a study of THS firms in Wisconsin suggests that their entrepreneurial efforts may be an important, overlooked factor driving the industry's expansion. This paper examines the growth and geographic dispersal of Wisconsin's THS firms through a theoretical framework of entrepreneurial action. Data from in-depth interviews with their owners and managers reveal strenuous efforts to create new markets for THS services. THS firms' highly proactive stance is reflected in their decisions about where to locate, efforts to become part of local social networks, and innovative approaches to product development and marketing. Previous studies have implied that THS firms opportunistically and reactively respond to changes in labor supply or demand factors. This study finds THS firms actively promoting their own growth, intervening in labor markets to forge a role for themselves as employment intermediaries and gatekeepers to permanent jobs.     

Uneven Development in North Carolina? Job Quality Differences Between Local and Nonlocal Firms1

Abstract Do outside firms come to North Carolina or, more generally, to the rural South to take advantage of the low-wage unorganized local relations of production? Do they disrupt local labor market arrangements? We use data from a survey of North Carolina employees to examine labor market and job quality differences between local and outside firms and also the organization of regional labor markets. Results, based on multiple regression models, suggest that outside firms provide higher quality jobs, mediated by organizational resources and internal firm relations of production. Urban Piedmont labor markets provide better jobs than rural labor markets, regardless of the establishment's ownership locale. Generally, uneven development predictions are supported by additive models, but challenged by additional analyses of interactions. These analyses suggest that outside firms may be undermining local relations of production in rural North Carolina. Results of this research present rural policymakers with a challenge for future economic development strategies.     

Inscribing Gender in Rural Development: Industrial Homework in Two Midwestern Communities1

Abstract A resurgence of informal economic work, such as home-working, occurred in some rural areas during the 1970s and the 1980s. In two midwestern communities, an employer of industrial homeworkers was recruited in an effort to boost the local economy with new jobs. In these communities, ideas about women's roles in households and the labor market are crucial to the states' ability to couple industrial homeworking with rural community development. Industrial homeworking as development in the United States shows how development goals support and maintain the sexual division of labor in households and in the local labor market. Personal interviews and archival documents form the basis of the case study data. These data are content-analyzed for themes about the process of development and the relationship of the local states and industrial firms.     

IMPERFECT COMPETITION and BUSINESS CYCLES: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION

Does imperfect competition increase the magnitude of business cycles? If so, the variability of an industry's employment and output should be positively related to the market power of firms in that industry. This paper demonstrates that the opposite is true: U.S. manufacturing industries with high price-cost margins display less employment variability than do low-markup industries. These high-markup industries display less price variability as well. Highly concentrated industries, however, do display more employment variability. To some degree, markups may reflect labor hoarding rather than market power; this may account for part, but not all, of the negative correlation between markups and variability.     

Do Pathways Matter? Linking Early Immigrant Employment Sequences and Later Economic Outcomes: Evidence from Canada

Employment mobility is a critical feature of immigrants’ settlement experiences and longer‐term life chances. While current research typically treats mobility as a singular outcome, becoming established in a new labor market is a complex process that can entail multiple transitions in and out of employment and between different types of jobs over time. This article advances understanding of the process of immigrant labor market incorporation by engaging with its potentially multidimensional, cumulative, and path‐dependent aspects. Using data from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada, I test the impact of an empirically derived typology of month‐by‐month immigrant employment trajectories on the odds of occupational degradation and on weekly wages. I find that the pathways immigrants take through the labor market in their first four years constitute a distinct and important mechanism shaping later employment outcomes.     

From Global Cities to the Lands’ End: The Relocation of Corporate Headquarters and the New Company Towns of Rural America

Since the 1970s, a number of major corporations have located their corporate headquarters in rural and non-metropolitan areas. I interrogate this phenomenon, based on a case study of Lands’ End, a global apparel firm in Wisconsin. Much research has exposed how firms insulate themselves from claims made by workers and communities through organizational and spatial distance (i.e. global sourcing, casualization of employment structures). Corporate headquarters relocation presents a paradox, bringing key decision-makers in the global economy into new, face-to-face relationships with workers and communities. Negotiated against a radical transformation of local class structure, I argue that new forms of social regulation are emerging—in particular, a hybrid version of the Fordist-era company towns.

The Effect of Absentee Ownership on Local Employment Change

Abstract

To determine whether absentee-owned firms destabilize local economies, we examine the relationship between absentee ownership of manufacturing companies and employment change in manufacturing for 109 Pennsylvania towns. This issue arises because some earlier studies find that corporate connections through absentee-owned firms are positively related to local employment growth, whereas other work claims that locally owned operations are more stable. We attempt to reconcile these findings by arguing that absentee ownership is destabilizing only in the case of non-conglomerate firms. Our results show that absentee ownership in fact increases the closure rate of firms, thereby negatively affecting manufacturing employment change. Yet, this relationship differs by the parent company's organizational structure. Employment in branches of non-conglomerate firms is more detrimental than employment in branches of conglomerates — an important qualification of the argument that the “conglomeratization” of advanced industrial societies negatively affects communities.     

SIZE MATTERS:

Previous research explaining macrolevel crime patterns has generally been limited in focus to urban communities. Further, the bulk of this research has narrowly investigated links between socioeconomic deprivation, and to a lesser extent labor market characteristics, and crime rates. Taken together, these two foci reveal important limitations in extant research. First, few studies have examined whether levels of socioeconomic disadvantage impact crime rates in nonmetropolitan settings, despite the fact that some rural communities have high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage and serious crime problems. Second, research on labor markets and crime has assumed that manufacturing industries are uniformly good for communities. Yet an emerging body of research suggests that the size of local manufacturing establishments may have important implications for community socioeconomic well-being, organization, and social control. Drawing from recent research documenting the positive impact small manufacturing firms have on communities, we expect a strong presence of small firms to be associated with low crime rates in nonmetropolitan areas. Moreover, our conceptual framework suggests that the presence of small manufacturing will temper the criminogenic effects socioeconomic disadvantage has on crime rates. Based on data from 1,731 nonmetropolitan counties, our findings lend strong support to these expectations. The implications of these findings for theory and research on aggregate crime rates are discussed.     

Repositioning in the global apparel value chain in the post‐MFA era: Strategic issues and evidence from Sri Lanka

This article examines structural adjustment in the world apparel trade following the abolition of Multi‐Fibre Arrangement (MFA) quotas through a case study of the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. The evidence suggests that, in a quota‐free global market, individual exporting countries have room for carving out a niche in specific products. The Sri Lankan apparel industry has managed to maintain growth dynamism through specialization in intimate apparel and upmarket casualwear. The expansion of the industry and its adjustment to MFA abolition was aided by an easily trainable domestic workforce and collaborative actions of industry associations and the government, with foreign buyers playing a pivotal role in linking the Sri Lankan firms to the global value chain.     

Women and plant closings: Unemployment,re-employment,and job training enrollment following dislocation

Major changes in the U.S. economy are leaving blue collar women vulnerable to extended unemployment, permanent job loss, or re-employment at lower wage and benefit levels. Consequently, retraining for other jobs may be a virtual necessity. Information about factors associated with women's employment status after job loss may be useful to policy makers and program planners providing assistance or training to dislocated women. This study of women workers, who are dislocated from jobs in textile and apparel plants in Georgia, identifies the differences between women who are unemployed, re-employed, or enrolled in job training programs following job loss. Findings suggest that stage of the family life cycle and the demands of combining production work and family responsibilities contribute to women's experience of unemployment and their labor market participation.     

Strong Ties,Weak Ties,and Human Capital: Latino Immigrant Employment Outside the Enclave*

Abstract This study focuses on the role of social ties and human capital in the integration of Latino immigrants into the local economy. This analysis extends earlier research by focusing on more rural contexts with limited labor‐market opportunities and less access to social resources provided by coethnics. We reconsider conclusions of previous studies by focusing on areas with limited labor‐market opportunities and less access to resources provided by coethnics. Using data from in‐depth interviews, focus‐group discussions, and surveys of former farmworkers in five rural communities in New York, we consider how individuals move from agricultural to other types of employment. Multinomial logit and ordinary least squares regression analyses confirm indications from our qualitative data that strong social ties, weak ties, and human capital all play distinctive parts in the economic integration of immigrants outside the ethnic enclave. These resources have the most positive impact on incomes when they contribute to the immigrants' self‐reliance in finding employment. This finding is consistent with observations from the social‐network literature that those who are less reliant on strong social ties are better able to take advantage of a broader range of labor‐market opportunities.     

Upgrading,uneven development,and jobs in the North American apparel industry

In this article we examine the developmental consequences of globalization at multiple scales, using a commodity chains framework to investigate the case of the North American apparel industry. In the first section we outline the apparel commodity chain and offer a brief typology of its lead firms. In the second section we discuss the concept of industrial upgrading and describe several main export roles in the global apparel industry. In the third section we focus on the regional dynamics resulting from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). We contrast the Mexican experience with that of countries in the Caribbean Basin to show the impact of distinct trade policies on export‐oriented development. We argue that NAFTA is creating upgrading opportunities for some Mexican firms to move from the low value‐added export‐oriented assembly (or maquila) model to full‐package production. In the fourth section we explore the unevenness of upgrading dynamics through a comparison of two blue jeans manufacturing clusters in the United States and Mexico: El Paso and Torreon. Our conclusions about upgrading and uneven development in the North American apparel industry emphasize the importance of local, national and regional institutional contexts in shaping inter‐firm networks and their development impact.     

Small business development in remote rural areas: The example of mature manufacturing firms in Northern England

There is a growing interest in the potential contribution of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to rural economic development, as reflected in the Rural Development Commission's strategy for the 1990s. Using some evidence on the development of mature manufacturing SMEs in remoter rural areas during the 1980s and comparing them with similar urban based firms, the paper shows that whilst there was little difference between the rural and urban SMEs in terms of their growth performance when measured by sales turnover, the rural firms generated significantly more jobs. This indicates a different relationship between SME growth and employment generation in different geographical environments. SMEs in remote rural areas are shown to pursue rather different development paths than their urban counterparts resulting from the way in which they adjust to the opportunities and constraints afforded by their local operating environments. The main section of the paper focuses on three particular kinds of adaptation: (i) to local market conditions, and in particular on the ability of SMEs to make the transition into national and international markets; (ii) to local labour market conditions, including various qualitative characteristics of rural labour such as skill levels and functional flexibility; and (iii) to the lack of an industrial milieu, especially the limited opportunities for externalising production. The paper concludes by raising some concerns about the longer term competitiveness of SMEs in remote rural areas including low levels of labour productivity, technological backwardness and skill levels within the workforce.     

Spatial Redistribution of Poverty through Migration of Poor People to Depressed Rural Communities1

Recent demographic studies document movement of poor people from both urban and rural places to depressed rural communities. Such migration redistributes poverty to rural areas and further concentrates it within them. This article presents a case study of one depressed community in New York that became a migration destination for urban poor people, causing dramatic increases in poverty rate, welfare rolls, and service needs. On-site research showed that the community's attraction was inexpensive rental housing that had become available after loss of manufacturing jobs prompted a middle-class exodus. The lack of jobs was not a deterrent for low-income inmigrants, though, because many of them had limited job skills and other employment barriers and would have had difficulty getting or holding a job anyway. Similar processes of economic decline, population loss, and poverty inmigration appear to be occurring elsewhere also. The article identifies community-level impacts and policy implications; it concludes with suggestions for further research needs.     

LABOR CONTRACTS AND FLEXIBILITY: EVIDENCE FROM A LABOR MARKET REFORM IN SPAIN

This paper evaluates the effects of a labor market reform in Spain that removed restrictions on fixed‐term or temporary contracts. Our empirical results are based on longitudinal firm‐level data that cover observations before and after the reform. We posit and estimate a dynamic labor demand model with indefinite and fixed‐term labor contracts, and a general structure of labor adjustment costs. Experiments using the estimated model show important positive effects of the reform on total employment (i.e., a 3.5% increase) and job turnover. There is a strong substitution of permanent by temporary workers (i.e., a 10% decline in permanent employment). The effects on labor productivity and the value of firms are very small. In contrast, a counterfactual reform that halved all firing costs would produce the same employment increase as the actual reform, but much larger improvements in productivity and in the value of firms. (JEL J23, J32, J41)     

The Malaysian state's response to migration

This paper aims to provide a profile of migration trends in Malaysia since 1970 and to analyze public policy on migration in the context of economic growth and the labor market. The discussion centers on the impact of the Asian financial crisis. There is long history of immigration to Malaysia. The development strategy of the 1970s and 1980s was to create more jobs and restructure employment to meet equity goals. Labor shortages on plantations and construction booms led to a more organized, sustained effort to import labor. Recession in the mid-1980s led to unemployment, but many Malaysians were unwilling to work on plantations, in construction, or in low paying jobs. Economic growth during 1987-96 was very high, and labor shortages spread to service and manufacturing sectors. Migration policy has shifted over the decades. Both the market and the government's promotion of export-based industrialization require access to low cost migrant labor. Public and official recognition of the large number of migrants was not made until 1995. The financial crisis in 1998 led to enforcement of a new migration policy on illegal migrants and greater outflow of migrants. The economic crisis has increased job and income inequities in the region; this encourages continued migration. It is argued that it would be best for Malaysia to maximize short-term gains while minimizing long-term economic, social, and political costs.     

Mechanisms of control in the temporary help service industry

As firms increasingly rely on temporary clerical workers, previous control mechanisms centered in the workplace no longer are sufficient to maintain labor discipline and ensure production quality and uniformity. Through participant observation of four temporary help service firms and two placement sites, this case study reveals forms of control that differ from those in place at more commonly studied manufacturing enterprises. Temporary help service firms have developed a dualistic form of control that operates on two levels: (1) a decentralized level, whereby the temporary help service firm indirectly controls workers; and (2) a bureaucratic level, whereby the temporary help service firm rationalizes jobs in the organization's hierarchy by delimiting a set of tasks, competencies, and responsibilities.     

On Farm and Packhouse: Employment at the Bottom of a Global Value Chain*

Abstract The fresh vegetables commodity chain linking Kenyan producers with United Kingdom (UK) consumers employs significant numbers of workers in production and processing. This chain is dominated by UK retailers that determine the production imperatives of Kenyan firms upstream in the chain and, indirectly the employment strategies they adopt. This paper explores how competitive pressures are transmitted through the supply chain, and how exporters absorb these risks by placing greater emphasis on organizational flexibility and the elasticity of labor in horticultural production. The paper argues that while the industry provides substantial employment opportunities in Kenya, the commodity chain is dependent upon the “gendered” and insecure forms of employment it creates.