Search Results

Source: Southern Economic Journal
Resulting in 39 citations.
1. Adams, Arvil Van
The Stock of Human Capital and Differences in Post-School Formal Occupational Training for Middle-Aged Men
Southern Economic Journal 44,4 (April 1978): 929-936.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1057739
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Apprenticeships; Earnings; Evaluations; Human Capital Theory; Industrial Training; Manpower Programs; Schooling, Post-secondary; Training, Occupational; Training, Post-School; Vocational Guidance

This study examines the extent of post-school occupational training among middle-aged men. White men were almost two times more likely than black men to participate in formal occupational training. However, these differences disappear when racial variations in personal characteristics and differences in prior training are controlled. The author argues for public policy intervention to offset the earlier disadvantage of blacks.
Bibliography Citation
Adams, Arvil Van. "The Stock of Human Capital and Differences in Post-School Formal Occupational Training for Middle-Aged Men." Southern Economic Journal 44,4 (April 1978): 929-936.
2. Addison, John T.
Surfield, Christopher James
Atypical Work and Pay
Southern Economic Journal 73,4 (April 2007): 1038-1065.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20111941
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Employment, Part-Time; Human Capital; Wage Differentials; Work, Atypical

Atypical work has long been criticized in popular debate as providing poorly compensated, precarious employment. Yet the empirical evidence is both incomplete and mixed. The main contribution of the present paper is to estimate wage differences for the full set of these alternative work arrangements while simultaneously controlling for observed demographic characteristics and unobserved person-specific fixed effects. The paper also allows for the skewness in atypical worker earnings while retaining the Mincerian human capital earnings function. Our improved estimates are consistent with some of the more optimistic findings reported in the literature, the caveat being that we are examining here only the wage component of the total compensation package. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Bibliography Citation
Addison, John T. and Christopher James Surfield. "Atypical Work and Pay." Southern Economic Journal 73,4 (April 2007): 1038-1065.
3. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina
Pozo, Susan
Precautionary Saving by Young Immigrants and Young Natives
Southern Economic Journal 69,1 (July 2002): 48-72.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1061556
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Immigrants; Income Dynamics/Shocks; Modeling; Savings; Wealth

Explores the wealth accumulation patterns of younger cohorts as well as immigrants' and natives' precautionary saving in response to income uncertainty using the 1979 Young Cohort of the National Longitudinal Surveys. Time-varying, conditional measure of income uncertainty; Buffer-stock model of savings.
Bibliography Citation
Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina and Susan Pozo. "Precautionary Saving by Young Immigrants and Young Natives." Southern Economic Journal 69,1 (July 2002): 48-72.
4. Artz, Benjamin
Welsch, David M.
Overeducation and Wages Revisited: A Two‐cohort Comparison and Random Coefficients Approach
Southern Economic Journal 87, 3 (January 2021): 909-936.
Also: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/soej.12476
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Educational Attainment; Overeducation; Wages

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

We examine the effect of overeducation on wages by comparing two cohorts from the 1979 and 1997 U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth panels. Using an econometric technique uncommon to the literature, we allow for overeducation to have a disparate impact on wages across individuals by employing random slopes models. Overeducation has a positive marginal effect on wages. Yet, cohort comparisons reveal that the returns to overeducation declined dramatically over time. In the past, surplus schooling in full‐time jobs returned nearly as much as the correct level of education. Presently it returns approximately 50% less than in the past. The effect of undereducation and required education on wages changed as well, but by far less.
Bibliography Citation
Artz, Benjamin and David M. Welsch. "Overeducation and Wages Revisited: A Two‐cohort Comparison and Random Coefficients Approach." Southern Economic Journal 87, 3 (January 2021): 909-936.
5. Averett, Susan L.
Whittington, Leslie A.
Does Maternity Leave Induce Births?
Southern Economic Journal 68,2 (October 2001): 403-417.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1061601
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Family Studies; Fertility; Gender Differences; Leave, Family or Maternity/Paternity

Alleviating the tension between the conflicting responsibilities women may face as mothers and as workers is a topic of current policy interest. Expansion of guaranteed maternity leave to all employed women in the United States is suggested as one possible 'family-friendly' solution. Controversy surrounding the issue of increased maternity leave centers around the potential cost to firms of widespread access to leave. One specific concern is that the availability of maternity leave will actually increase births among eligible working women. This paper uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine the impact of maternity leave on fertility.
Bibliography Citation
Averett, Susan L. and Leslie A. Whittington. "Does Maternity Leave Induce Births?" Southern Economic Journal 68,2 (October 2001): 403-417.
6. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Food Stamps on Obesity
Southern Economic Journal 77,3 (January 2011): 623-651.
Also: http://news-business.vlex.com/vid/the-effects-food-stamps-on-obesity-250297346
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Allen Press, Inc.
Keyword(s): Disadvantaged, Economically; Food Stamps (see Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program); Obesity; Poverty

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Poverty has historically been associated with a decrease in food consumption. This at least partially changed in 1964 when the Food Stamp Act began guaranteeing food for those in poverty. Since the act's passage, the prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically, particularly among those with low incomes. This article examines the effects of the Food Stamp Program on the prevalence of obesity using 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data. Results indicate that food stamps have significant positive effects on obesity and the obesity gap for females, but these effects are relatively small, and consequently, such benefits are approximated to have played a minor role in increasing obesity at the aggregate level
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Effects of Food Stamps on Obesity." Southern Economic Journal 77,3 (January 2011): 623-651.
7. Baum, Charles L., II
The Effects of Maternity Leave Legislation on Mothers' Labor Supply after Childbirth
Southern Economic Journal 69,4 (April 2003): 772-800.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1061651
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Childbearing; Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); Human Capital; Leave, Family or Maternity/Paternity; Legislation; Maternal Employment; Work Reentry

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, 12 states and the District of Columbia passed maternity leave legislation (MLL) allowing mothers a period of leave from work after childbirth. In 1993, President Clinton signed the first piece of federal MLL, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Similar to state legislation, the FMLA guarantees 12 weeks of unpaid leave for eligible mothers. I evaluate the effect of MLL on the incidence of leave taking, the probability that mothers will eventually return to work at their prechildbirth jobs, and the timing of their return. The results indicate that the legislation increases the number of mothers who eventually return to their prechildbirth jobs but that MLL does not have a statistically significant effect on the incidence of leave taking. The results also indicate that MLL allows mothers to delay their return to work at their prechildbirth jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II. "The Effects of Maternity Leave Legislation on Mothers' Labor Supply after Childbirth." Southern Economic Journal 69,4 (April 2003): 772-800.
8. Baum, Charles L., II
Ruhm, Christopher J.
The Changing Benefits of Early Work Experience
Southern Economic Journal 83,2 (October 2016): 343-363.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/soej.12157/abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79, NLSY97
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Earnings; Employment, In-School; High School Students; Occupational Attainment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

We examine whether the benefits of high school work experience have changed over the last 20 years by comparing effects for the 1979 and 1997 cohorts of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Our main specifications suggest that the future annual earnings benefits of working 20 h per week in the senior year of high school have fallen from 17.4% for the earlier cohort, measured in 1987-1989, to 12.1% for the later cohort, in 2008-2010. The gains have diminished by similar amounts for men and women but much more substantially for those who do not later attend college than for those who do. We further show that most of the differential between cohorts can be attributed to the way that high school employment is related to subsequent adult work experience and occupational attainment.
Bibliography Citation
Baum, Charles L., II and Christopher J. Ruhm. "The Changing Benefits of Early Work Experience." Southern Economic Journal 83,2 (October 2016): 343-363.
9. Birnbaum, Howard
Career Origins, On-the-Job Training, and Earnings
Southern Economic Journal 42,4 (April 1976): 587-599.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1056251
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Career Patterns; Earnings; Educational Returns; Job Training; Schooling; Work History

Career origins are analyzed as a measure of the effect of job experience and job experiences are categorized. These categories suggest the potential limits the job experience may place on individual training and labor market experiences. Initial on-the-job training and career origins are crucial for they initiate a dynamic process that continually affects the level of earnings. Failure to account for on-the-job training, for which career origins is a proxy, will tend to overstate the returns to education.
Bibliography Citation
Birnbaum, Howard. "Career Origins, On-the-Job Training, and Earnings." Southern Economic Journal 42,4 (April 1976): 587-599.
10. Canterbery, E. Ray
A Vita Theory of the Personal Income Distribution
Southern Economic Journal 46,1 (July 1979): 12-47.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1057002
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Control; Discrimination; Endogeneity; Human Capital Theory; Income Dynamics/Shocks; Job Training; Labor Market Demographics; Labor Market, Secondary; Life Cycle Research; Migration; Schooling; Wage Differentials; Work Experience

This paper develops a testable theory of the personal income distribution in which the distribution of endowments is endogenous. Human capital theory is modified by integration with labor market theory (hence, the term vita theory) and with the results of the discrimination and migration literature. This approach provides a general framework for otherwise diffuse empirical findings in which personal income differentials are attributed to education, experience, training, dual labor markets, as well as to differences in race, sex, class, and region. Variables over which individuals have personal control and those in which they as members of society have collective control are delineated; thus the relation of endowments to public policy choices also is made clear.
Bibliography Citation
Canterbery, E. Ray. "A Vita Theory of the Personal Income Distribution." Southern Economic Journal 46,1 (July 1979): 12-47.
11. Chuan, Amanda
The Impact of Oil and Gas Job Opportunities during Youth on Human Capital
Southern Economic Journal published online (16 August 2022): DOI: 10.1002/soej.12595.
Also: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/soej.12595
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): College Education; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Geocoded Data; Geographical Variation; Human Capital; Industrial Sector

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Leaving school to work trades off schooling with on-the-job human capital acquisition. How do industry shocks impact how youth make this trade-off? Exploiting the geography of natural resources, I estimate the effect of oil and gas job prospects on college and work outcomes. Using CPS data, I find that these job opportunities decrease college-going for men but not women. I next assess the importance of this schooling loss for later outcomes using longitudinal geocoded NLSY79 data. I find permanent declines in college attainment but gains in employment and earnings at ages 25-30, driven by cohorts who reach college age during industry booms. The results suggest that informal human capital can compensate for schooling loss for the men who leave school for oil and gas work. They speak to the need for further research on non-college work as a form of human capital investment outside of the traditional college pathway.
Bibliography Citation
Chuan, Amanda. "The Impact of Oil and Gas Job Opportunities during Youth on Human Capital." Southern Economic Journal published online (16 August 2022): DOI: 10.1002/soej.12595.
12. Colman, Gregory J.
Dave, Dhaval
Unemployment and Health Behaviors over the Business Cycle: A Longitudinal View
Southern Economic Journal 85,1 (July 2018): 93-120.
Also: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/soej.12283
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Body Mass Index (BMI); Economic Changes/Recession; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Physical Activity (see also Exercise); Smoking (see Cigarette Use); Unemployment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

We examine the first‐order internal effects of unemployment and nonemployment on a range of health behaviors during the most recent recession using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth‐1979. Ours is the first study to analyze the effect of own‐unemployment on energy intake, energy expenditure, and the net effect (body mass index) using longitudinal records. Exploiting information enveloping the recent steep recession and prolonged recovery is valuable since recent job losers will modify their behavior little if they expect soon to be re‐employed, whereas if they expect joblessness to last, they will adjust to a possibly prolonged decline in income and increase in nonwork time. We find that becoming unemployed is associated with a small increase in leisure‐time exercise, a moderate decrease in smoking, and a substantial decline in total physical activity. We also find that unemployment and nonemployment are associated with a decline in purchases of fast food. Together, these results imply that both energy consumption and expenditure may decline in the United States during recessions, the net result being essentially no change in body weight. There is considerable heterogeneity in these effects across specific health behaviors, across the intensive and extensive margins, across the outcome distribution, and across gender.
Bibliography Citation
Colman, Gregory J. and Dhaval Dave. "Unemployment and Health Behaviors over the Business Cycle: A Longitudinal View." Southern Economic Journal 85,1 (July 2018): 93-120.
13. Cseh, Attila
Effects of Depressive Symptoms on Earnings
Southern Economic Journal 75,2 (October 2008): 383-409.
Also: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+effects+of+depressive+symptoms+on+earnings.-a0188352376
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Allen Press, Inc.
Keyword(s): Depression (see also CESD); Gender Differences; High School; Modeling, Fixed Effects; Wages

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Conventional wisdom is that depression lowers productivity. The magnitude of this effect has been of interest to economists and other social scientists as well as medical researchers. In this paper, I take advantage of the longitudinal nature of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 to investigate the effects from a dynamic perspective and to control for unobserved heterogeneity in a fixed-effects framework. Exploiting the fact that the data set provides information about depressive symptoms in multiple years, I am able to study how changes in depressive symptoms impact productivity. My results indicate that taking personality into account is important in estimating how depression affects wages. While ordinary least-squares results render a strong negative significant effect to depressive symptom measures (especially in the men's sample), taking unobserved personal characteristics into account reduces the effects of these measures.
Bibliography Citation
Cseh, Attila. "Effects of Depressive Symptoms on Earnings." Southern Economic Journal 75,2 (October 2008): 383-409.
14. Ewing, Bradley T.
Payne, James E.
The Trade-Off Between Supervision and Wages: Evidence of Efficiency Wages from the NLSY
Southern Economic Journal 66,2 (October 1999): 424-432.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1057002
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Earnings; Wage Models; Wage Theory; Wages

Standard efficiency wage models suggest that workers employed in places with lower probabilities of identifying shirking will earn more, as will workers who have better alternative opportunities. This paper provides new empirical evidence in support of efficiency wage theory using the National Longitudinal Surveys of Youth data. The empirical results support the prediction of the model that workers employed in larger work groups are paid more, a finding consistent with a supervision-wage trade-off. Additional evidence supports the prediction that workers with better alternative opportunities earn more.
Bibliography Citation
Ewing, Bradley T. and James E. Payne. "The Trade-Off Between Supervision and Wages: Evidence of Efficiency Wages from the NLSY." Southern Economic Journal 66,2 (October 1999): 424-432.
15. Falaris, Evangelos M.
An Empirical Study of the Timing and Spacing of Childbearing
Southern Economic Journal 54,2 (October 1987): 287-300.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1059314
Cohort(s): Young Women
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Births, Repeat / Spacing; Childbearing; Earnings; Employment; First Birth

Data from the Young Women's cohort of the NLS are used to study the role of economic forces on the timing and spacing of births. An empirical model of the timing and spacing of childbearing is estimated and evidence is presented that economic factors significantly influence these aspects of fertility. The main results with respect to economic explanatory variables are that an upward shift in a woman's wage profile results in a tendency to postpone childbearing and an opposing tendency for closer spacing. An upward shift in her husband's earnings profile results in earlier timing of births.
Bibliography Citation
Falaris, Evangelos M. "An Empirical Study of the Timing and Spacing of Childbearing." Southern Economic Journal 54,2 (October 1987): 287-300.
16. Gabriel, Paul E.
Williams, Donald R.
Schmitz, Susanne
The Relative Occupational Attainment of Young Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics
Southern Economic Journal 57,1 (July 1990): 35-46.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1060476
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Gender Differences; Hispanics; Minorities, Youth; Occupational Attainment; Occupational Segregation; Racial Differences

The proposition is examined that young blacks and Hispanics encounter discrimination resulting in occupational segregation in the labor market. A multinomial logit model was utilized to construct hypothetical occupational distributions for young black and Hispanic males and females, based on estimated white male and female occupational structures from the NLSY. A comparison of hypothetical distributions with actual distributions permitted an estimate of the extent to which minority youth face different processes for occupational attainment than whites. The findings suggest that, for all minority cohorts examined, occupational distributions improved when adjusted to the white occupational structure. Overall, the impact of disparate treatment on occupational segregation was most pronounced for black males and least pronounced for Hispanic females. The difference was statistically significant only for black males. It is noticed that policy measures designed to decrease occupational segregation among black males should focus on the unionized sectors of the economy. [ABI/INFORM]
Bibliography Citation
Gabriel, Paul E., Donald R. Williams and Susanne Schmitz. "The Relative Occupational Attainment of Young Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics ." Southern Economic Journal 57,1 (July 1990): 35-46.
17. Goldsmith, Arthur H.
Veum, Jonathan R.
Wages and the Composition of Experience
Southern Economic Journal 69,2 (October 2002): 429-445.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1061681
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Career Patterns; Human Capital Theory; Job Skills; Job Tenure; Job Turnover; Wage Models; Wage Theory; Work Experience

This paper provides evidence on the relation between alternative forms of experience and wages using data drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Prior labor market experience is segmented into mutually exclusive categories based on industry and occupation to examine how subsequent employers value skills acquired on previous jobs. We find that most forms of experience, including tenure at the current job, provide a comparable return. However, the wage return to prior experience in a different occupation and industry is significantly lower. Such "career changes" constitute over half of all prior work experience among workers in their mid-30s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Goldsmith, Arthur H. and Jonathan R. Veum. "Wages and the Composition of Experience." Southern Economic Journal 69,2 (October 2002): 429-445.
18. Grossberg, Adam J.
Sicilian, Paul
Legal Minimum Wages and Employment Duration
Southern Economic Journal 70,3 (January 2004): 631-646.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4135335
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Benefits, Fringe; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Gender Differences; Heterogeneity; Human Capital; Job Tenure; Job Turnover; Labor Economics; Minimum Wage; Modeling, Hazard/Event History/Survival/Duration; Wage Rates

Estimates the effect of minimum wage on employment duration in the U.S., using event history data from the 1988-1994 rounds of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Turnover due to rents created by minimum wages; Dependence of the net effect of minimum wage on its magnitude relative to the typical wage in the labor market.
Bibliography Citation
Grossberg, Adam J. and Paul Sicilian. "Legal Minimum Wages and Employment Duration." Southern Economic Journal 70,3 (January 2004): 631-646.
19. Heckman, James J.
Tobias, Justin L.
Vytlacil, Edward
Four Parameters of Interest in the Evaluation of Social Programs
Southern Economic Journal 68,2 (October 2001): 211-223.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1061591
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): College Education; Evaluations; Sociability/Socialization/Social Interaction

This paper reviews four treatment parameters that have become commonly used in the program evaluation literature: 1. the average treatment effect, 2. the effect of treatment on the treated, 3. the local average treatment effect, and 4. the marginal treatment effect. The paper derives simply computed closed-form expressions for these treatment parameters in a latent variable framework with Gaussian error terms. These parameters can be estimated using nothing more than output from a standard two-step procedure. It also briefly describes recent work that seeks to go beyond mean effects and estimate the distributions associated with various outcome gains. The techniques presented in the paper are applied to estimate the return to some form of college education for various populations using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.
Bibliography Citation
Heckman, James J., Justin L. Tobias and Edward Vytlacil. "Four Parameters of Interest in the Evaluation of Social Programs." Southern Economic Journal 68,2 (October 2001): 211-223.
20. Hunt, Janet C.
Kau, James B.
Migration and Wage Growth: A Human Capital Approach
Southern Economic Journal 51,3 (January 1985): 697-710.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1057873
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Human Capital Theory; Job Search; Job Status; Migration; Wage Growth

Using panel data, migration is analyzed as an investment in human capital. The study focuses on two issues: (1) the economic motivation for migration and the reasons some movers receive high returns relative to others; and (2) a test of the human capital model explaining wage profiles of nonmovers, first-time, and repeat migrants. The NLS of Young Men 1966-1971 cross-section is employed to identify migrants and measure earnings for a 4-year interval after the location decision was made. Two procedures are used to determine whether migration pays relative to remaining in the current location. Findings support the idea that migration is properly treated as a human capital investment. Job status influences the monetary return to migration; distance moved is also positively correlated with migrant wages over the entire time period of the panel. Thus, wages clearly increase with the amount of expenditures or physical relocation and job search information. Repeat movers receive a 13% wage gain over nonmigrants and onetime movers.
Bibliography Citation
Hunt, Janet C. and James B. Kau. "Migration and Wage Growth: A Human Capital Approach." Southern Economic Journal 51,3 (January 1985): 697-710.
21. Isaac, Elliott
Marriage, Divorce, and Social Safety Net Policy
Southern Economic Journal 86,4 (April 2020):1576-1612.
Also: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/soej.12431
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Divorce; Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC); Marital History/Transitions; Marriage; Test Scores/Test theory/IRT

I study the effects of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and welfare reforms of the 1990s on flows into and out of marriage. I use test scores to predict who is most likely to be affected by the policy changes, and employ a flexible functional form to estimate heterogeneous effects. I find that lower‐earning married women are more likely to divorce as the EITC expands, but I find no effect of EITC generosity on marriage. I find little effect of welfare generosity on marriage or divorce flows for any group. My results suggest that there are nonsymmetric responses to policy on flows into and out of marriages.
Bibliography Citation
Isaac, Elliott. "Marriage, Divorce, and Social Safety Net Policy." Southern Economic Journal 86,4 (April 2020):1576-1612.
22. Kahn, Lawrence M.
Low, Stuart A.
The Demand for Labor Market Information
Southern Economic Journal 56,4 (April 1990): 1044-1058.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1059890
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Behavior; Job Search; Unemployment Insurance; Wages

A model of the job seeker's demand for the labor market information provided by intermediaries is developed and tested. The value of using such indirect search methods is that one can increase knowledge about particular firms' potential offers. The model predicts that several factors raise the likelihood of using indirect search methods: (1) a lower stock of firm-specific information; (2) a lower discount rate; (3) greater unemployment insurance (UI) coverage; and (4) higher variance of one's wage offer distribution. These predictions are tested on the 1981 wave of the NLSY cohort aged 14-21 in 1979. Empirical support is found for the impact of information stock, UI coverage, and wage offer variance. The results for UI illustrate that UI affects job search behavior, in addition to its macroeconomic role. The effects of offer variance and information stock suggest some mechanisms that limit the amount of wage inequality unexplained by productivity differences. [ABI/INFORM]
Bibliography Citation
Kahn, Lawrence M. and Stuart A. Low. "The Demand for Labor Market Information." Southern Economic Journal 56,4 (April 1990): 1044-1058.
23. Kunze, Astrid
Troske, Kenneth R.
Gender Differences in Job Search among Young Workers: A Study Using Displaced Workers in the United States
Southern Economic Journal 82,1 (July 2015): 185-207.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.4284/0038-4038-2012.239/abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Displaced Workers; Gender Differences; Job Search; Job Tenure; Wages

This article investigates gender differences in job search, job tenure, and wages, whether these differences vary over the early part of the life-cycle, and whether they are associated with fertility decisions. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youths on highly attached displaced workers aged 20 to 45, we find that 20- to 29-year old women and women older than 40 experience longer spells of displacement than comparable men, but that time to a new job is similar by gender for those between 30 and 39 years of age. The age pattern in male-female wage differences in the post-displacement job is similar, with the largest differences occurring at ages 20 to 29 and over 40. We find no gender differences in tenure in the post-displacement job. We interpret the differences for the younger ages to be related to fertility and we provide evidence that supports this view.
Bibliography Citation
Kunze, Astrid and Kenneth R. Troske. "Gender Differences in Job Search among Young Workers: A Study Using Displaced Workers in the United States." Southern Economic Journal 82,1 (July 2015): 185-207.
24. Lewis, Danielle
Terrell, Dek
Experience, Tenure, and the Perceptions of Employers
Southern Economic Journal 67,3 (January 2001): 578-597.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1061452
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Bayesian; Job Tenure; Racial Differences; Wage Differentials; Wage Growth; Work Experience

This paper examines how group-based assessments concerning employee ability impact employee compensation. The employer learns about worker ability through Bayesian updating, creating an additional channel for wage growth that is not available to those workers with only general labor market experience. Consistent with the model's predictions, results from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) indicate that black workers fare much better relative to white workers in returns to tenure than in returns to experience. Finally, parameter estimates in the structural model suggest that employers initially undervalue black males but that their wages rise with learning by employers over time. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.
Bibliography Citation
Lewis, Danielle and Dek Terrell. "Experience, Tenure, and the Perceptions of Employers." Southern Economic Journal 67,3 (January 2001): 578-597.
25. Long, James E.
Jones, Ethel B.
Part-Week Work by Married Women
Southern Economic Journal 46,3 (January 1980): 716-725.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1057141
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Children; Earnings; Family Resources; Husbands, Income; Part-Time Work; Schooling; Time Use; Wives

Over one-third of mature women who are married with spouse present choose part-week work (34 hours or less) when they participate in labor market activity. Using data from the NLS of Mature Women, the determinants of the wife's allocation of time among part-week work, full-week work, and nonmarket production are estimated. The findings suggest that, other things the same, wives working part-week have either lower market earnings potential, higher income spouses, more schooling or more and younger children than full-week workers. Productivity and income variables also differentiate part-week workers from wives not in the labor force.
Bibliography Citation
Long, James E. and Ethel B. Jones. "Part-Week Work by Married Women." Southern Economic Journal 46,3 (January 1980): 716-725.
26. Low, Stuart A.
Ormiston, Michael B.
Stochastic Earnings Functions, Risk, and the Rate of Return to Schooling
Southern Economic Journal 57,4 (April 1991): 1124-1132.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1060339
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Earnings; Educational Returns; Gender Differences; Schooling

A simple Mincer-type model is used to investigate the relation between human capital investment and the riskiness of the wage distribution and to determine the rate of return to education when risk considerations are taken into account. Data are taken from the National Longitudinal Surveys Young Male and Female cohorts for 1981. The analysis shows that general human capital is risk increasing while specific human capital is risk reducing. It also shows that both risk and risk aversion are significant factors working to reduce the rate of return to schooling. For males, the generalized stochastic earnings function yields estimates of the rate of return to schooling that are 6.5% (risk neutral) to 89% (strongly risk averse) lower than those obtained using the standard, Mincer-type earnings function. For females, the results are equally dramatic, with the generalized estimates yielding estimates that are 4.5% to 90% lower than the standard earnings function. [ABI/INFORM]
Bibliography Citation
Low, Stuart A. and Michael B. Ormiston. "Stochastic Earnings Functions, Risk, and the Rate of Return to Schooling." Southern Economic Journal 57,4 (April 1991): 1124-1132.
27. Madden, Janice Fanning
Economic Rationale for Sex Differences in Education
Southern Economic Journal 44,4 (April 1978): 778-797.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1057729
Cohort(s): Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): College Graduates; Discrimination, Sex; Duncan Index; Earnings; Educational Attainment; Educational Returns; High School Completion/Graduates; Military Service

The author investigates sex differences in educational attainment, occupational status and wages, and analyzes whether these factors constitute an economic rationale for the observed differences in education. The results support the argument that sex differences in labor market experiences explain sex differences in educational attainment. The most striking difference in education is the greater proportion of women who receive exactly a high school education. The most outstanding sex difference in returns to education is the comparatively greater return to women from high school graduation. It seems plausible that while women who are disadvantaged because they are either competing for manual jobs which employ male high school dropouts, or for jobs that entail training which employ college educated men, they have an advantage when competing with men for clerical job opportunities. This study suggests that education differences between men and women may be the result of differences in job opportunities.
Bibliography Citation
Madden, Janice Fanning. "Economic Rationale for Sex Differences in Education." Southern Economic Journal 44,4 (April 1978): 778-797.
28. McCue, Kristin
Reed, W. Robert
New Evidence on Workers' Willingness to Pay for Job Attributes
Southern Economic Journal 62,3 (January 1996): 627-652.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1060884
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Benefits, Fringe; Wages, Reservation

This paper provides new evidence on the importance of nonwage job attributes. Using self-reported data from the NLS Youth Cohort, the authors calculate differences in reservation wages across six different job types. The results suggest that workers generally place a relatively large monetary value on nonpecuniary dimensions of work. Furthermore, the authors find evidence of substantial heterogeneity in workers' valuations. This has implications for a number of labor market phenomena, including length of job search, losses associated with job placement, and the interoccupational mobility of labor.
Bibliography Citation
McCue, Kristin and W. Robert Reed. "New Evidence on Workers' Willingness to Pay for Job Attributes." Southern Economic Journal 62,3 (January 1996): 627-652.
29. Mellow, Wesley
Equilibration in the Labor Market
Southern Economic Journal 45,1 (July 1978): 192-204.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1057626
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Employment; Job Tenure; Mobility, Job; Wages

This paper tests the competitive theory prediction that noncompensating wage differentials are liquidated in the dynamic setting. Except for the finding that job stayers maintain positive differentials, our results indicate an equilibrating labor market. At the risk of oversimplification, the implication of our results for the validity of the competitive model of wage determination can be summarized as follows. At full employment, market forces facilitate the worker's attainment of his potential wage. A significant group of workers, however, remains insulated from market forces and maintains existing rents. In this respect the labor market is segmented; some workers maintain an enclave wage. A deterioration in aggregate labor market conditions reverse the scenario: the liquidation of negative differentials declines and rents are expropriated.
Bibliography Citation
Mellow, Wesley. "Equilibration in the Labor Market." Southern Economic Journal 45,1 (July 1978): 192-204.
30. Mennemeyer, Stephen T.
Sen, Bisakha
Undesirable Juvenile Behavior and the Quality of Parental Relationships
Southern Economic Journal 73,2 (October 2006): 437-460.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20111900
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Allen Press, Inc.
Keyword(s): Adolescent Behavior; Home Environment; Household Structure; Marital Status; Parent-Child Relationship/Closeness; Parental Influences

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

We examine how undesirable juvenile behavior is related to the structure and quality of home life. In homes with both own-parents or one parent and another adult partner, we distinguish among unhappy, moderately happy, and very happy relationships for the adults. Single-parents are treated as one category. Living with both own-parents in a very or moderately happy relationship is associated with reduced likelihood of most undesirable behaviors. In most cases, we cannot reject the hypothesis that the probability of juvenile undesirable behavior is the same across own-parents in an unhappy relationship, a very or moderately happy parent and stepparent, and a single-parent.

In this article we address this latter question by looking at a unique set of questions that were asked to three waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97). Teenage children (we use the terms youth, teenager, and child/children as synonyms throughout this article to describe these individuals) were asked about how the parent or parent-figures in their household treated each other. Teenage children were also asked how much these figures knew about the child's own friends and behavior. Additionally, the teenagers were asked about their own behavior with regard to a number of undesirable activities, including (but not limited to) smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, using marijuana, stealing, destroying property, and physical fighting. We combine this information to examine how the likelihood of undesirable juvenile behavior is affected by both family structure and the quality of the relationships among the household's members.

Bibliography Citation
Mennemeyer, Stephen T. and Bisakha Sen. "Undesirable Juvenile Behavior and the Quality of Parental Relationships." Southern Economic Journal 73,2 (October 2006): 437-460.
31. Mykerezi, Elton
Milis, Bradford F.
The Wage Earnings Impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Southern Economic Journal 75,1 (July 2008): 173-187.
Also: http://ideas.repec.org/a/sej/ancoec/v751y2008p173-187.html
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Allen Press, Inc.
Keyword(s): Black Studies; College Education; Gender Differences; Racial Differences; Racial Studies; Wage Models; Wages

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

The impact on wages from blacks' attendance of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) versus other colleges is examined using geo-coded National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 data. The paper reconciles seemingly conflicting findings in previous studies by estimating wage profiles over time, rather than by estimating wages at a single point in time. Estimates indicate that black males show no initial wage advantage as a result of HBCU attendance, but their wages increase 1.4-1.5% faster per year after attending HBCUs compared to other colleges. This faster growth generates discounted career earnings from HBCU attendance that are 9.6% higher for HBCU attendees and 8.9% higher for the average four-year college black student. For black females, HBCU attendance has no significant impact on initial wages or on subsequent wage growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Mykerezi, Elton and Bradford F. Milis. "The Wage Earnings Impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities." Southern Economic Journal 75,1 (July 2008): 173-187.
32. Oettinger, Gerald S.
Sibling Similarity in High School Graduation Outcomes: Causal Interdependency or Unobserved Heterogeneity?
Southern Economic Journal 66,3 (2000): 631-648.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1061429
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Endogeneity; Family Background and Culture; High School Completion/Graduates; High School Diploma; Siblings; Simultaneity

This paper uses data on age-adjacent sibling pairs from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to test for causal interdependencies between the high school graduation outcomes of older and younger siblings. Even after controlling for observable background characteristics, the graduation probability of an individual whose sibling graduated from high school exceeds the graduation probability of an individual whose sibling did not graduate by a large amount. However, this difference does not measure the causal effect of sibling graduation because of unobserved family factors and genuine simultaneity in the determination of all siblings' graduation outcomes. To measure the causal effect of sibling achievement on own achievement, I specify models in which sibling achievement is endogenous and estimate these models by two-stage methods using sibling-specific background characteristics as instruments. The evidence indicates that older sibling achievement has a positive causal effect on younger sibling achievement but that younger sibling achievement has no significant influence on older sibling achievement. These results are consistent with a model of intrafamily allocation in which parents learn about child endowments sequentially.
Bibliography Citation
Oettinger, Gerald S. "Sibling Similarity in High School Graduation Outcomes: Causal Interdependency or Unobserved Heterogeneity?" Southern Economic Journal 66,3 (2000): 631-648.
33. Quella-Isla, Núria
Rendon, Silvio Roberto
Interactions Between Job Search and Housing Decisions: A Structural Estimation
Southern Economic Journal 90, 2 (10 August 2023): 414–443.
Also: https://doi.org/10.1002/soej.12650
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Allen Press, Inc.
Keyword(s): Financial Behaviors/Decisions; Financial Investments; Financial Market Participation; Housing/Housing Characteristics/Types; Job Search; Labor Economics; Labor Market Outcomes; Savings; Structural Estimation

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Abstract Housing and financial market shocks affect frictional labor markets. We structurally estimate a model of job search with accumulation of liquid and residential wealth and randomly persistent house prices. Using NLSY data from 1978 to 2000, we show that reservation wages and nonemployment increase in total wealth and respond to the composition of wealth, home prices and financial markets' tightness. We cluster counties of residence by HPI growth and find a residential wealth effect on labor markets that erodes with fast home price growth. When we counterfactually fix downpayment rates above observed trajectories, nonemployment becomes one percentage point higher in counties of average or fast home price growth and 1.2 percentage points lower where home prices are stagnant. Fixing interest rates at 2% generates a 0.5 percentage point decline in nonemployment in counties with no home price growth, but no changes where price growth is average or fast.
Bibliography Citation
Quella-Isla, Núria and Silvio Roberto Rendon. "Interactions Between Job Search and Housing Decisions: A Structural Estimation." Southern Economic Journal 90, 2 (10 August 2023): 414–443. A.
34. Shapiro, David
Sandell, Steven H.
Age Discrimination in Wages and Displaced Older Men
Southern Economic Journal 52,1 (July 1985): 90-102.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/pss/1058907
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Age and Ageing; Discrimination, Age; Displaced Workers; Job Search; Job Training; Wage Differentials; Wages, Men

This paper analyzes the age/wage relationship among male workers 45 years and older who were displaced and subsequently found new jobs between 1966 and 1978. The study is designed to increase our knowledge of age discrimination in the labor market. Our strategy is to examine the relationship between age and wages and possible age discrimination using a sample of older workers who are forced to look for new jobs, since older workers who do not change jobs may be protected from potential age discrimination by factors such as seniority provisions and across-the-board annual wage increases.[2] Using data from the National Longitudinal Surveys (NLS) of Mature Men,[3] we control for factors determining wage rates at the pre-displacement jobs, and then use this analysis as a benchmark for purposes of evaluating the age/wage pattern on post-displacement jobs. In addition, we also consider the effects of national economic conditions on the loss in earnings due to displacement.
Bibliography Citation
Shapiro, David and Steven H. Sandell. "Age Discrimination in Wages and Displaced Older Men." Southern Economic Journal 52,1 (July 1985): 90-102.
35. Shapiro, David
Shaw, Lois B.
Growth in the Labor Force Attachment of Married Women: Accounting for Changes in the 1970s
Southern Economic Journal 50,2 (October 1983): 461-473.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1058219
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Children; Employment; Husbands, Income; Schooling; Unemployment; Wages; Wives; Work Attitudes

Our purpose is to determine to what extent this growth can be attributed to changes in characteristics of women in this age range, and to what extent important behavioral changes have occurred. The data and methods of analysis are described in section II, while empirical estimates of the determinants of married women's work activity are presented in section III. Analysis of the importance of the past decade's changes in these determinants/characteristics in accounting for the observed growth in labor supply is provided in section IV. Concluding observations, along with some speculation concerning the future course of married women's labor force attachment, are in section V. This study has examined the labor force participation and hours worked in the preceding year of 30-34 year old white married women in 1967 and in 1978, using NLS data on two panels of women. Consistent with previous research, we find that work attachment is highly significantly related to a woman's own wage and educational attainment, the presence of preschool children in the household, and husband's earnings. Marital history and (in 1978) local labor market conditions also influence labor-supply behavior. Between 1967 and 1978, the impact on work attachment of both the market wage and educational attainment increased, while the impact of husband's earnings declined somewhat.
Bibliography Citation
Shapiro, David and Lois B. Shaw. "Growth in the Labor Force Attachment of Married Women: Accounting for Changes in the 1970s." Southern Economic Journal 50,2 (October 1983): 461-473.
36. Shaw, Kathryn L.
Occupational Change, Employer Change, and the Transferability of Skills
Southern Economic Journal 53,3 (January 1987): 702-719.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1058765
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Income; Job Training; Mobility; Mobility, Occupational; Transfers, Skill; Unemployment Rate, Regional

Presents a human capital investment model to describe the direction and timing of change in occupation for upward occupational mobility leading to the growth in income. Features of the investment processes associated with occupational change; Factors that one considers while changing occupation and employer specific skills; Empirical specification of the model; Reasons for change in occupation.
Bibliography Citation
Shaw, Kathryn L. "Occupational Change, Employer Change, and the Transferability of Skills." Southern Economic Journal 53,3 (January 1987): 702-719.
37. Stratton, Leslie S.
The Effect Interruptions in Work Experience Have on Wages
Southern Economic Journal 61,4 (April 1995): 955-970.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1060734
Cohort(s): Young Women
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Benefits, Fringe; Labor Economics; Re-employment; Schooling; Skills; Training; Wage Differentials; Wage Levels; Wages; Work Experience

The impact that interruptions in work experience have upon wages is examined in order to explain why previous studies found higher rates of wage depreciation the greater the fraction of recent reentrants in the sample data. Using a new sampling technique and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women, an overall sample average depreciation rate of two percent a year is estimated. Further analysis, however, reveals that this estimate is quite sensitive to the length of the post-reentry employment spell. Individuals who remain employed for at least three years following reentry do not appear to have reentered at significantly lower wages.
Bibliography Citation
Stratton, Leslie S. "The Effect Interruptions in Work Experience Have on Wages." Southern Economic Journal 61,4 (April 1995): 955-970.
38. Tempesti, Tommaso
Fringe Benefits and Chinese Import Competition
Southern Economic Journal 86,4 (April 2020): 1307-1337.
Also: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/soej.12426
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Keyword(s): Benefits, Fringe; Import Competition; Wages

While many studies have quantified the impact of Chinese import competition on U.S. wages, to my knowledge this is the first study to also estimate the effect on fringe benefits. This is important because in the United States, fringe benefits are now more than 30% of compensation. I first argue that if trade affects the share of benefits in compensation, focusing on wages and ignoring fringe benefits may give us misleading estimates of the effect of trade on workers' total compensation. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, I track the subsequent outcomes of workers who were working in manufacturing in 1996. Similar to Autor et al. (2014), I find that exposure to Chinese competition negatively affects wage income. As to fringe benefits, the effect on participation in a defined benefit retirement plan and the availability of vacation days is negative and significant. The effects on other benefits are usually negative but imprecisely estimated. The effect on the overall dollar value of benefits is negative and significant. However, in percentage terms, the effect on benefits is smaller than the effect on wages. This suggests that, in percentage terms, the impact of Chinese import competition on overall compensation is less severe than the one found in Autor et al. (2014) for wages.
Bibliography Citation
Tempesti, Tommaso. "Fringe Benefits and Chinese Import Competition." Southern Economic Journal 86,4 (April 2020): 1307-1337.
39. Veum, Jonathan R.
Training, Wages, and the Human Capital Model
Southern Economic Journal 65,3 (January 1999): 526-538.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1060813
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Human Capital; Job Training; Training; Wages

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Using recent data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this study examines the predictions of the human capital model concerning the relationship between training, starting wages, and wage growth. As implied by the model, training, particularly employer-financed training, is positively related to wage growth. Company-financed training also appears to be portable across jobs or to have a general component. In addition, there is some evidence that workers pay for initial Graining through a reduced starting wage. The results provide partial support for the human capital model.
Bibliography Citation
Veum, Jonathan R. "Training, Wages, and the Human Capital Model." Southern Economic Journal 65,3 (January 1999): 526-538.