The impact of part-time employment on union density

Because part-time employees are less likely to be unionized than full-timers, increases in part-time employment may lower unionization rates. However, the size of the reduction, after controlling for other factors, has not been estimated. My results obtained from a probit analysis indicate that part-time status has a small, but significant, negative effect on the probability that a worker is a union member. Not surprisingly, as the working hours of part-time employees decrease, the negative effect increases. The results of this analysis also show that the negative effect of part-time variables had decreased between 1973 and 1989. I thank Darold T. Barnum of the University of Illinois, Chicago and Richard U. Miller of the University of Wisconsin, Madison for their valuable comments and support.     

Part II: differences between sexually victimized and nonsexually victimized male adolescent sexual abusers and delinquent youth: further group comparisons of developmental antecedents and behavioral challenges

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, we assessed the differences between sexually victimized and nonsexually victimized male adolescent sexual abusers ( Burton, Duty, & Leibowitz, 2011 ). We found that the sexually victimized group had more severe developmental antecedents (e.g., trauma and early exposure to pornography) and behavioral difficulties (sexual aggression, arousal, pornography use, and nonsexual offenses). The present study compares sexually victimized and nonsexually victimized adolescent sexual abusers with a group of nonsexually victimized delinquent youth. Findings included that delinquent youth had fewer behavioral and developmental problems than the comparison groups. In addition, sexually victimized sexual abusers had the highest mean scores on trauma and personality measures. Implications for research and treatment are offered.     

The Balance Point: The Blacksmiths of the Digital Age or the Economics of Serials

This column discusses the effects of real or perceived funding reductions on serials resources. The focus is on bibliographic instruction and cataloging aspects of “fee” versus “free” resources.     

An economic model of teenage pregnancy decision-making

In this paper, we model unmarried teenagers' decisions about their pregnancy outcome by considering that the teenager contrasts her expected utility (1) as a married mother, (2) as an unmarried mother, or (3) after abortion. We use cross-sectional data on 297 California teenagers aged 13-19 who were pregnant for the first time between 1972 and 1974. Both Anglo and Mexican-American girls are included. We find that pregnant girls who are eligible for or are receiving public assistance are more likely to give birth and remain unmarried. Teenagers with greater time values are more likely to choose abortion, and Mexican-American girls are more likely to carry their pregnancies to term.     

Explaining changes in married mothers’ employment over time

Employment of married mothers with preschool children rose dramatically between 1971 and 1990. Using CPS data, we find that about one-fifth of the increase in labor supply can be attributed to changes in mothers’ demographic characteristics (age, education, and number of children). Changes in the earnings opportunities of new mothers and their husbands explain another one-fifth of the growth in employment. Over the two decades, infants up to three months old became less of a barrier to employment, while women’s labor supply became more sensitive to their own earnings opportunities and less sensitive to those of their husbands.