Market and non-market effects on male and female occupational status attainment

Nous étudions dans cet article le processus ?acquisition de statut social, au regard de quatre approches sur le marché du travail: 1/ le chômage structural; 2/ les cycles économiques; 3/ la théorie des files ?attente et 4/ la théorie de la segmentation. Les implications de ces perspectives sont évaluées au moyen ?un modèle ?acquisition de statut qui comporte trois dimensions: temps, antécédents socio-économiques, sexe. Notre échantillon est composé?individus qui ont obtenu laur premier emploi à temps plein entre 1961 et 1972. Les résultats de ?analyse sont en accord avec les perspectives du chômage structurel et de la théorie de la segmentation, alors que ?accord n'est que partiel avec la perspective du cycle des affaires. Et on peut conclure dans un sens ni dans ?autre en ce qui a trait à la théorie de la file ?attente. De plus, nous montrons que les caractéristiques des individus (surtout les femmes) étudiés varient dans le temps, et que ceci doit être pris en compte si ?on veut comprendre la stratification et ?acquisition de statut social dans les sociétés complexes. The paper examines the status attainment process in relation to four labour market perspectives: 1/ structural unemployment; 2/ the business cycle; 3/ queuing theory; and 4/ segmentation theory. We evaluate their implications by developing a status attainment model which varies along three dimensions - time, socio-economic background and sex -and by testing the model on a heterogeneous sample of individuals who entered their first full-time job between 1961 and 1972. The results support our structural unemployment and segmentation-theoretic hypotheses, are partially supportive of our business cycle hypothesis and are ambiguous with respect to our queuing hypothesis. The discussion relates various labour market trends over the 1961–72 period to the status attainment process. In addition, we emphasize that the characteristics of individuals (particularly of women) entering into their first full-time job are time-dependent, and that this has implications for the understanding of status attainment and social stratification processes in complex societies.     

ADJUSTMENT TO PRODUCTION UNCERTAINTY AND THE THEORY OF THE FIRM

This paper considers the behavior of the firm which faces uncertainty in its production process but can adjust its output once the uncertainty is resolved. Ex post adjustment, unlike previous treatments, involves a marginal cost penalty if more output is required and a lowering of price if too much is produced. With ex post adjustment allowed in this fashion, it is found that nonlinear risk preferences do not affect the sign of the firm's marginal risk premium at optimum ex ante output. The firm will produce less output than under certainty whether it is risk averse, risk neutral, or prefers risk.     

CONSUMERS ARE NOT RICARDIAN: EVIDENCE FROM NINETEEN COUNTRIES

I develop a model which nests both Ricardian equivalence and an alternative non-Ricardian theory. The alternative is a stochastic variant of Blanchard's [1985] model, and its empirical implications are derived. I then test Ricardian equivalence against this alternative using data from nineteen countries. Ricardian equivalence is resoundingly rejected. Moreover, the estimated deviation from Ricardian equivalence is roughly what one would expect if households faced perfect insurance markets and did no have altruistic bequest motives. For many purposes, however, the estimated deviation from Ricardian equivalence has no practical import.     

BLACK-WHITE WEALTH INEQUALITY: IS INHERITANCE THE REASON?

Racial differences in the receipt of financial inheritances he& to explain why the average difference in wealth between black and white households is larger than the average difference in income. Using data from a panel of prime-aged males and from a representative survey of the U.S. population, we document the greater likelihood of white households receiving an inheritance than black households. Controlling for other factors which contribute to racial differences in wealth, we estimate that financial inheritances may account for between 10% and 20% of the average difference in black-white household wealth.