Climbing the Job Ladder: New Evidence of Gender Inequity

An explanation for the gender wage gap is that women are less able or less willing to “climb the job ladder.” However, the empirical evidence on gender differences in job mobility has been mixed. Focusing on a subsample of younger, university‐educated workers from an Australian longitudinal survey, we find strong evidence that the dynamics of promotions and employer changes worsen women’s labor market position.     

The Relationship between Multiple Choice and Essay Response Questions in Assessing Economics Understanding

Efficiency considerations have led to increased use of multiple-choice questions to assess economics understanding at the secondary and tertiary levels throughout Australia. A multiple-choice test would suffice if multiple-choice and essay questions measure the same dimensions of knowledge, as suggested by least squares estimation of the relationship between these two forms of testing. We show a simultaneous equation bias inherent in least squares estimation of the relationship between these two forms. A two-stage least squares estimation reveals no relationship, implying that these testing forms measure different dimensions of knowledge. Thus, a single form of testing economics knowledge must be avoided.     

DWELLING LAYOUT AND COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ROOMS: TOPOLOGICAL REPRESENTATION AND A CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM

This paper presents a method for the topological representation of dwelling floor plans and a system for the classification of a floor plan according to the amount of communication possible between the rooms.     

Bad Credit,No Problem? Credit and Labor Market Consequences of Bad Credit Reports

We study the financial and labor market impacts of bad credit reports. Using difference-in-differences variation from the staggered removal of bankruptcy flags, we show that bankruptcy flag removal leads to economically large increases in credit limits and borrowing. Using administrative tax records linked to personal bankruptcy records, we estimate economically small effects of flag removal on employment and earnings outcomes. We rationalize these contrasting results by showing that, conditional on basic observables, “hidden” bankruptcy flags are strongly correlated with adverse credit market outcomes but have no predictive power for measures of job performance.     

Who Needs Immigrant Farm Workers? A South African Case Study

Recent writing on migration in Southern Africa focuses on the experiences and desires of migrants themselves. While it gives valuable insights, this article argues that it can obscure the role of employers in structuring migration opportunities. In the case of female migrants from Lesotho working in South African agriculture, farmer demand has clearly impacted on the spectrum of both legal and illegal employment opportunities available, with the boundaries between legal and illegal migration appearing more porous than often imagined. The demand for foreign farm workers is complex and cannot be reduced to a simple story of wage differentials with local workers. The conclusion is that if we wish to understand migration flows, and particularly the use of immigrant labour in South African agriculture, we must retain an analytical role for employers' demand.