Job Decentralization with Suburban Housing Discrimination: An Urban Equilibrium Model of Spatial Mismatch

The spatial mismatch hypothesis, with its roots in the work of Kain (1968,Quart. J. Econ.82(2), 175–197), has received much recent attention from empirical researchers. Its basic premise is that differences in job access between black and white workers have contributed to increasing racial inequality in urban labor markets. While the initial evidence was ambiguous, recent studies have established that differences in job accessibility have worsened the labor market outcomes of minority workers. This paper develops an urban equilibrium model which allows for the analysis of the impact of job decentralization and suburban housing discrimination on the welfare of workers in a city.     

Institutional barriers in labor markets: Examples, impacts, and policies

This paper examines the institutional biases that impede the competitive functioning of labor markets. Two contexts are considered. The first relates to Moroccan labor migrants in The Netherlands, where institutional bias distorts the competitive functioning of the labor market by downgrading the educational returns to migrant workers and acting as a disincentive for further investment in human capital. The second relates to labor markets in Indonesia and Pakistan. Institutional bias in these two countries leads to an exaggeration of labor returns to certified education, and to over-investment in university education. We argue that such biases are fed by misinformed beliefs and group interests, and stand in the way of achieving higher growth and equity.     

The effects of labor supply shocks on labor market outcomes: Evidence from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Since September 2000, as a result of mobility restrictions, the supply of Palestinian workers competing for local jobs in the West Bank has increased by about fifty percent. This paper takes advantage of this unique natural experiment to study the effects of labor supply shocks on labor market outcomes. Using quarterly information on wages and employment in each city in the West Bank, the paper analyzes the short-run adjustment of labor markets to a large inflow of workers separately from the effects of political instability. The results suggest that low-skilled wages are adversely affected by an increase in the supply of low- and high-skilled workers, while high-skilled wages are only weakly negatively related to an increase in their own supply. This is consistent with a scenario in which high-skilled workers compete for low-skilled jobs, pushing the low-skilled into unemployment. This latter hypothesis is confirmed by analyzing the effects of changes in labor supply on unemployment.     

The Traditional Industrial Sector in Developing Countries: An Update on Its Role and Functioning

A bstract . In the theory of urban labor markets in less developed countries , levels of traditional industrial sector incomes, are a key determinant of modern sector skilled wages (directly through the external labor market) and unskilled wages (indirectly through operations of internal labor markets ). Data on traditional sector incomes for 40 urban areas are assembled from a variety of sources; the quality of these data and needs for future data collection are critically appraised. The data are then used to conduct a preliminary test of the labor market model. In general, the predictions of the model are supported by these tests     

Expected income and labor market choices of US married couples: A locally weighted regression approach

This paper applies a locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (loess) method to estimate the spatially heterogeneous wages of demographic groups of workers across precisely defined US labor markets. We estimate a location choice model using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79) using these estimates of labor market specific wages for men and women as determinants of their place of residence. We compare estimates of this model to a model using more aggregated measures of wages and locations from CPS. We show that potential wages based on these more refined definitions of labor markets and demographic groups provide more explanatory power in a simple migration model than do those based upon less detailed definitions of labor markets and demographic groups.     

Measuring immigration's effects on labor demand: A reexamination of the Mariel Boatlift

Why do immigration shocks tend to have benign effects on native wages? One reason is that immigrants as consumers contribute to the demand for their services. We model an economy where workers spend their wages on a locally produced good, then test it via a reexamination of the 1980 “Mariel Boatlift” using Wacziarg's Channel Transmission methodology. Current Population Survey data on workers in 9 different retail labor markets and Survey of Buying Power data on retail spending by consumers in Miami and four comparison cities are used. We find strong evidence that the Mariel Boatlift augmented labor demand.     

Chinese Migrant Farmers in the Russian Far East: Impact on Rural Labor Markets

The close proximity of China and Russia, the activities of Chinese farmers, and the reduction in Russian labor resources have created job opportunities for Chinese workers in the Russian Far East (RFE). Chinese workers fill a labor shortage in agriculture, but little research has been done on them. We developed an econometric model to test the effects of Chinese intermittent migration on labor markets in the RFE. We found the proximity of Chinese to Russian farms reduces wages for both Russian and Chinese workers and increases their part-time employment on Russian farms. The greater availability of Chinese workers in the region results in lower number of family members working on Russian farms. Thus, the influx of Chinese workers may contribute to demographic shifts in the Russian population.     

Worker Appropriation as Responsibility and Right

Discussion of worker rights often focuses on the right to associate freely and bargain collectively. Such rights may not be achievable in globalized labor markets when workers do not appropriate the value they add. Relationships in which workers either participate in the management of the enterprise or directly appropriate their own surplus are more common than is generally understood. Recent work in economic philosophy provides an inalienable right for workers to collectively appropriate the fruits of their labor. Given the general failure of existing corporate governance systems, the case for worker appropriation as both responsibility and right is both practical and strong.     

一个改进的考察交易效率与城市化之间关系的一般均衡模型

本文考察人口流动受到限制情况下城市化和交易效率之间的关系.在本文的模型中,我们假定人口流动除了受到工资率的影响之外,还受到公共品消费的吸引,同时流动人口因为受到限制从而在城市劳动力市场和农村劳动力市场之外形成了介于其间的劳动力市场,且人口流动达到均衡时三个劳动力市场需达到均衡,流动人口和农村人口的效用也应达到均衡.这对于城乡二元经济结构的中国消除农村人口流动的限制、促进城市化和经济的发展具有深刻的政策内涵.     

Hidden monopsony rents in winner‐take‐all markets—sport and economic contribution of Spanish soccer players

In labor markets where few companies compete for many workers, economic theory predicts monopsony rents. Surprisingly, soccer clubs do not profit from the expected rents. The purpose of this study is to explain such contradictory evidence. Our model and empirical test, using data obtained from the Spanish professional soccer league for the season 2001/2002, suggests that monopsony rents that the clubs were to obtain from most of the soccer players would eventually revert to the superstars. The study also illustrates that the market value of players stems both from their sporting performance and their economic contribution. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Residential Choice, Mobility, and the Labor Market

There is substantial evidence suggesting that the process of suburbanization creates new job opportunities that are not equally exploited by all workers. In order to explain this phenomenon, a simple model is developed which incorporates borrowing constraints as an important restriction on moving decisions, obstructing the necessary labor flows between jurisdictions required to equalize (net) wages. In essence, people who cannot borrow will be restricted in terms of their capability of changing residence location and therefore will have limited possibilities of working in distant labor markets, or they will be subject to excessive commuting. Furthermore, the labor allocation induced by households' behavior facing these constraints affects consumer welfare, production, and producers' profits. The outcomes with perfect credit markets and with borrowing restrictions are calculated and the economic welfare levels are compared. As wages are flexible, they adjust to reflect the relative scarcity of workers present in each jurisdiction. Consequently, some of the negative effects of the borrowing constraints are compensated, so the outcomes cannot be easily compared. Some numerical examples are constructed to have an idea of the possible outcomes under different conditions. Finally, it is found that allowing for moving cost deductions from taxable income may help to alleviate the problem.     

农村劳动力向城市迁移的影响因素分析

文中从宏观和微观两个层面对农村劳动力向城市迁移的影响因素进行了分析,在此基础上建了多元线性回归的计量模型,并利用2000年到2009年间的统计数据进行了实证分析。结果表明,务农和进城打工的收入差距、进城打工收入与城镇居民收入之间的差距和城镇失业率这三个宏观层面的因素是影响农村劳动力向城市迁移的主要因素。     

LOCAL LABOR MARKETS AND NATURAL RESOURCES: A SYNTHESIS OF THE LITERATURE

A primary way that natural resources affect a locality is through the demand for labor, with greater extraction requiring more workers. Shifts in labor demand can be measured through changes in employment and earnings, the main labor market outcomes, or through changes in the population and income, more generally. These changes may spillover into the nonresource economy, leading to greater overall effects or possibly crowd out; be spread unequally across the population, thereby altering the distribution of income and the poverty rate; or influence educational attainment, as people choose between additional schooling and work. In this review, the literature linking natural resources to local labor markets is synthesized by organizing existing studies according to their resource measurement and the outcomes that they consider. This synthesis provides an accessible guide to a literature that has boomed in recent years. It also identifies promising avenues for future research and lays a foundation to further generalize the evidence through an eventual meta‐analysis.     

The Long-Run Effect of Economic Development Policy on Resident Welfare in a Perfectly Competitive Urban Economy

This paper argues that evaluations of economic development policy must consider the long-run effect on resident welfare. The paper uses comparative static analysis of a closed, urban economy with an explicit labor market, to investigate the effect of policies that stimulate economic activity. The paper finds that such policies do not necessarily raise resident welfare, because of the competition for land between firms and households. On the other hand, the paper does find that income transfers increase resident welfare. This model assumes, however, that the land, capital, and labor markets are perfectly competitive. Therefore, these results are based on the assumption that an urban economy is efficient.     

Are specific skills an obstacle to labor market adjustment?

This paper shows that specialized education reduces workers’ mobility and hence their ability to cope with economic changes. We illustrate this point using labor force data from two countries having experienced important macroeconomic turbulence; a large economy with rigid labor markets, Poland, and a small open economy with increased flexibility, Estonia. We find that holding a vocational degree is associated with much longer unemployment duration spells and higher likelihood of leaving activity for older workers. We then build a theoretical framework in which young agents’ careers are heavily determined by the type of initial education, and analyze the transition to a new steady-state after a sectoral demand shift. Quantitative exercises suggest that the over-specialization of the labor force in Poland led to much higher and persistent unemployment compared to Estonia during the period of EU enlargement. Traditional labor market institutions (wage rigidity and employment protection) lead to an increase of the unemployment gap, but to a lesser extent.     

The theory of contracts and labor practices in Japan and the United States

Labor management practices in Japan are quite different from those in the United States. We begin with the assumption that markets are incomplete, and use recent developments in contract theory to develop a conceptual framework to understand why the differences have been maintained. Our basic message will be that the American and Japanese systems are examples of two different equilibria. The distinguishing feature of these two equilibria will be the extent to which exit is used as a method of contract enforcement. In the United States there is a greater tendency for the use of exit because active markets exist for senior workers. In contrast, there is virtually no market for mid-career workers in Japan. We also discuss the implications of this fundamental difference for the structure of the internal and external labor markets.     

Bayesian estimation of labor demand by age: theoretical consistency and an application to an input–output model

Extended input–output models require careful estimation of disaggregated consumption by households and comparable sources of labor income by sector. The latter components most often have to be estimated. The primary focus of this paper is to produce labor demand disaggregated by workers’ age. The results are evaluated through considerations of its consistency with a static labor demand model restricted with theoretical requirements. A Bayesian approach is used for more straightforward imposition of regularity conditions. The Bayesian model confirms elastic labor demand for youth workers, which is consistent with what past studies find. Additionally, to explore the effects of changes in age structure on a regional economy, the estimated age-group-specific labor demand model is integrated into a regional input–output model. The integrated model suggests that ceteris paribus ageing population contributes to lowering aggregate economic multipliers due to the rapidly growing number of elderly workers who earn less than younger workers.     

An empirical assessment of assortative matching in the labor market

In labor markets with worker and firm heterogeneity, the matching between firms and workers may be assortative, meaning that the most productive workers and firms team up. We investigate this with longitudinal population-wide matched employer–employee data from Portugal. Using panel data methods, we quantify a firm-specific productivity term for each firm, and we relate this to the skill distribution of workers in the firm. We find that there is positive assortative matching, in particular among long-lived firms. Using skill-specific estimates of an index of search frictions, we find that the results can only to a small extent be explained by heterogeneity of search frictions across worker skill groups.     

Minimum wages,wages and employment in various sectors in Honduras

This paper contributes to our understanding of the impact of minimum wages on labor markets of developing countries, where there are often multiple minimum wages and compliance is weak. We examine how changes in more than 22 minimum wages over 1990–2004 affect employment, unemployment and average wages of workers in different sectors, defined by coverage under the legislation. The evidence suggests that minimum wages are effectively enforced only in medium and large-scale firms, where a 1% increase in the minimum wage leads to an increase of 0.29% in the average wage and a relatively large reduction in employment of ? 0.46%. We find that public sector wages emulate minimum wage trends but the higher cost of labor does not reduce employment there. There are no discernable effects of minimum wages on the wages of workers in small-firms or the self-employed; yet, higher minimum wages may create more unemployment. We conclude that (even under our upper bound estimate of the effect on the wages of workers) the total earnings of workers in the large-firm covered sector fall with higher minimum wages in Honduras, which warrants a policy dialogue on the structure and level of minimum wages.