Search Results

Author: Freeman, Richard B.
Resulting in 24 citations.
1. Ballen, John
Freeman, Richard B.
Transitions Between Employment and Nonemployment
Presented: Cambridge, MA, Conference on Inner City Black Youth Unemployment, August 1983.
Also: http://www.nber.org/chapters/c6283.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Author
Keyword(s): Employment; High School Dropouts; Inner-City; Job Turnover; Poverty; Racial Differences; Teenagers; Unemployment, Youth

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

Data from both the NLS and NBER-Mathematica Survey of Inner City Black Youths are used to analyze patterns of movement to and from employment of out-of-school youths. The major finding is that the increase in employment with age for blacks, particularly high school dropouts, is quite small early in the work life. The authors trace the problem to a relatively low transition from nonemployment to employment rather than a high transition from employment to nonemployment. It is found that the transition probability from nonemployment to employment is adversely affected for inner city black youths by the incidence of nonemployment not only because many have shorter spells of employment and longer spells of nonemployment, but also due to the large number of inner city youth who are never employed. Also, it appears that those youths have higher employment-nonemployment transitions and do not experience the same positive duration dependence in that transition as do other youths. All told, the evidence suggests that for inner city black youths, high nonemployment is likely to extract a significant cost in the future because the dynamics of their transition to work is notably worse than those for other groups of youths.
Bibliography Citation
Ballen, John and Richard B. Freeman. "Transitions Between Employment and Nonemployment." Presented: Cambridge, MA, Conference on Inner City Black Youth Unemployment, August 1983.
2. Freeman, Richard B.
Black Economic Progress after 1964: Who Has Gained and Why?
In: Studies in Labor Markets. S. Rosen, ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1981
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Affirmative Action; Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Earnings; Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO); Family Background and Culture; Racial Differences; Schooling; Socioeconomic Status (SES)

This study used three types of evidence to analyze the nature and cause of black economic progress in post-World War II years: (1) aggregate evidence on the timing and incidence among skill groups of changes in the relative earnings or occupational position of blacks; (2) cross- sectional evidence on the family background determinants of the socioeconomic achievement of blacks; and (3) information from company personnel offices regarding personnel policies toward black (and other) workers affected by civil rights legislation.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Black Economic Progress after 1964: Who Has Gained and Why?" In: Studies in Labor Markets. S. Rosen, ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1981
3. Freeman, Richard B.
Black Economic Progress after 1964: Who Has Gained and Why?
NBER Working Paper No. 282, National Bureau of Economic Research, November 1978.
Also: http://www.nber.org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/papers/w0282
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Black Family; Black Studies; Economics of Minorities; Family Background and Culture; Socioeconomic Status (SES)

[Revised November 1978]
This study used three types of evidence to analyze the nature and cause of black economic progress in post-World War II years: aggregate evidence on the timing and incidence among skill groups of changes in the relative earnings or occupational position of blacks; cross-sectional evidence on the family background determinants of the socioeconomic achievement of blacks; and information from company personnel offices regarding personnel policies toward black (and other) workers affected by civil rights legislation.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Black Economic Progress after 1964: Who Has Gained and Why?" NBER Working Paper No. 282, National Bureau of Economic Research, November 1978.
4. Freeman, Richard B.
Career Patterns of College Graduates in a Declining Job Market
Discussion Paper No. 850, Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1981
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: Harvard Institute of Economic Research
Keyword(s): Career Patterns; College Graduates; Earnings; Overeducation

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

This study examines the earnings growth of college graduates relative to high school graduates in the depressed market of the 1970s. Evidence does not support the conclusion that young graduates who suffered economic losses will recover the traditional college advantage as time proceeds. Finally, divergencies between cross-section and longitudinal income profiles in the period were found, which raises doubts about the use of cross-sectional data as a method of approximating true longitudinal income profiles.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Career Patterns of College Graduates in a Declining Job Market." Discussion Paper No. 850, Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1981.
5. Freeman, Richard B.
Crime and the Employment of Disadvantaged Youths
In: Urban Labor Markets and Job Opportunity. G. Peterson and W. Vroman, eds. Latham, MD: Urban Institute Press, 1992
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Urban Institute
Keyword(s): Crime; Incarceration/Jail

See also:
FREEMAN, RICHARD B. Crime and the Employment of Disadvantaged Youths. Working Paper No. 3875, National Bureau of Economic Research, October 1991. Also: http://papers.nber.org/papers/w3875.pdf Cohort(s): NLSY79
ID Number: 4880
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Crime and the Employment of Disadvantaged Youths" In: Urban Labor Markets and Job Opportunity. G. Peterson and W. Vroman, eds. Latham, MD: Urban Institute Press, 1992
6. Freeman, Richard B.
Crime and the Employment of Disadvantaged Youths
NBER Working Paper No. 3875, National Bureau of Economic Research, October 1991.
Also: http://papers.nber.org/papers/w3875.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Crime; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Disadvantaged, Economically; Educational Attainment; High School Dropouts; Incarceration/Jail; Punishment, Criminal; Racial Differences; Unemployment, Youth

This paper examines the magnitude of criminal activity among disadvantaged youths in the 1980s. It shows that a large proportion of youths who dropped out of high school, particularly black school dropouts, developed criminal records in the decade; and that those who were incarcerated in 1980 or earlier were much less likely to hold jobs than other youths over the entire decade. The magnitudes of incarceration, probation, and parole among black dropouts, in particular, suggest that crime has become an intrinsic part of the youth unemployment and poverty problem, rather than deviant behavior on the margin. Limited evidence on the returns to crime suggest that with the decline in earnings and employment for less educated young men, crime offers an increasingly attractive alternative.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Crime and the Employment of Disadvantaged Youths." NBER Working Paper No. 3875, National Bureau of Economic Research, October 1991.
7. Freeman, Richard B.
Employment and Earnings of Disadvantaged Young Men in a Labor Shortage Economy
NBER Working Paper No. 3444, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1990.
Also: http://nber.nber.org/papers/W3444
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Earnings; Education; Employment, Youth; Geographical Variation; Local Labor Market; Racial Differences; Residence; Unemployment, Youth

This study contrasts the economic position of youths across local labor markets that differ in their rates of unemployment using the annual merged files of the Current Population Survey and the NLSY. The paper finds: (1) Local labor market shortages raise the employment-population rate and reduce the unemployment rate of disadvantaged youths by substantial amounts. (2) Shortages also raise the hourly earnings of disadvantaged youths. In the 1980s, the earnings gains for youths in tight labor markets offset the deterioration in the real and relative earnings of the less skilled that marked this decade. (3) Youths in labor shortage areas had greater increases in earnings as they aged than youths in other areas, implying that improved labor market conditions raise the longitudinal earnings profiles as well as the starting prospects of youths. These findings show that despite the social pathologies that plague disadvantaged youths, particularly less educated black youths, and the 1980s twist in the American labor market against the less skilled, tight labor markets still operated to substantially improve their economic position.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Employment and Earnings of Disadvantaged Young Men in a Labor Shortage Economy." NBER Working Paper No. 3444, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1990.
8. Freeman, Richard B.
Job Satisfaction as an Economic Variable
American Economic Review 68,2 (May 1978): 135-140.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1816677
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: American Economic Association
Keyword(s): Job Satisfaction; Mobility; Mobility, Labor Market; Quits; Unions

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

Satisfaction is shown to be a major determinant of labor market mobility, in part, it is argued, because it reflects aspects of the workplace not captured by standard objective variables. Satisfaction is also found to depend anomolously on some economic variables (such as unionism) in ways that provide insight into how those factors affect people. Most variables like age, wages, and a race dummy had the expected opposite coefficients on satisfaction compared to quits. Overall, the results of comparing satisfaction as a dependent variable with quits indicates that, consistent with economists' suspicions, satisfaction cannot be treated in the same ways as standard economic variables. The divergent effects the unions and to a lesser extent tenure have on satisfaction and quits suggests that at least some economic institutions and variables have very distinct effects on the subjective way in which individuals view their job satisfaction. The empirical analysis finds job satisfaction to be a major determinant of labor market mobility and turns up puzzling relations between certain economic variables, notably unionism, and satisfaction that appear attributable to the subjective nature of the variable.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Job Satisfaction as an Economic Variable." American Economic Review 68,2 (May 1978): 135-140.
9. Freeman, Richard B.
Longitudinal Analyses of the Effects of Trade Unions
Journal of Labor Economics 2,1 (January 1984): 1-26.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2535015
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Benefits, Fringe; Research Methodology; Unions; Wages

This paper examines how measurement error biases longitudinal estimates of union effects. It develops numerical examples, statistical models, and econometric estimates which indicate that measurement error is a major problem in longitudinal data sets. There are three major findings: (1) the difference between the cross-section and longitudinal estimates is attributable in large part to random error in the measurement of who changes union status. Given modest errors of measurement, of the magnitudes observed, and a moderate proportion of workers changing union status, also of the magnitudes observed, measurement error biases downward estimated effects of unions by substantial amounts; (2) longitudinal analysis of the effects of unionism on nonwage and wage outcomes tends to confirm the significant impact of unionism found in cross-section studies, with the longitudinal estimates of both nonwage and wage outcomes lower in the longitudinal analysis than in the cross-section analysis of the same data set; and (3) the likely upward bias of cross-section estimates of the effect of unions and the likely downward bias of longitudinal estimates suggests that, under reasonable conditions, the two sets of estimates bound the "true" union impact posited in standard models of what unions do.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Longitudinal Analyses of the Effects of Trade Unions." Journal of Labor Economics 2,1 (January 1984): 1-26.
10. Freeman, Richard B.
Occupational Training in Proprietary School and Technical Institutes
Review of Economics and Statistics 56,3 (August 1974): 310-318.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1923968
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Keyword(s): Educational Attainment; Family Influences; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Mobility, Social; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Training, Occupational

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

The effect of occupational training in proprietary schools on job status and earnings of male workers is examined. Similar patterns in earnings between proprietary training and formal schooling appear. Proprietary training costs compare to those of colleges and universities, but the social rate of return is higher because of a lack of public subsidies. This type of occupational training differs among workers and job markets. The earnings of older black men, in comparison to those of their white counterparts, increase more with proprietary training and job tenure. Those who use their training at work also obtained higher returns than those whose training was less job specific.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Occupational Training in Proprietary School and Technical Institutes." Review of Economics and Statistics 56,3 (August 1974): 310-318.
11. Freeman, Richard B.
Parental Family Stability and Socioeconomic Success: Effects of the Broken Home
Discussion Paper [Mimeo], Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1972
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: Harvard Institute of Economic Research
Keyword(s): Educational Attainment; Family Resources; Marital Instability; Mobility; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Work Knowledge

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

This study analyzes the impact of family structure on educational, occupational, and income achievement in the U.S. during the 1960s. The results indicate that coming from a broken family has a modest negative effect on the socio-economic achievement, more so for whites than blacks. This is largely because of the lesser educational attainment achieved by youth from broken households. Secondly, intergenerational mobility patterns are less significant for blacks than for whites reflecting the same phenomenon Third, a majority of the reduction in educational attainment associated with broken homes results from the lower family income in those families. Finally, prevalence of broken homes in the black community is not a major factor behind black-white economic differences.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Parental Family Stability and Socioeconomic Success: Effects of the Broken Home." Discussion Paper [Mimeo], Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1972.
12. Freeman, Richard B.
Social Mobility in the New Market for Black Workers
Discussion Paper (Mimeo), Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1974
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: Harvard Institute of Economic Research
Keyword(s): Discrimination, Racial/Ethnic; Earnings; Educational Returns; Mobility; Private Schools; Socioeconomic Status (SES); Vocational Training

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

This paper examines the effect of the improved labor market for black Americans on longstanding patterns of intergenerational social mobility. It finds that the impact of parental status on blacks has increased substantially in recent years and that black/white background differences have become the critical factor in economic disparities among young workers. The results contrast sharply with traditional findings on the "failure" of black families to transmit socio-economic status to their children and on the relative importance of background and discrimination as determinants of economic differences between black and white men.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Social Mobility in the New Market for Black Workers." Discussion Paper (Mimeo), Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1974.
13. Freeman, Richard B.
The Effect of Unionism on Worker Attachment to Firms
Journal of Labor Research 1,1 (March 1980): 29-61.
Also: http://www.springerlink.com/content/nuv04375m2326455/
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: John M. Olin Institute at George Mason University
Keyword(s): Behavior; Grievance System; Job Tenure; Unions; Wage Effects; Wages

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

Findings from an investigation of the effect of unionism on job tenure show that: (1) trade unionism is associated with greater job tenure and lower probabilities of separation; (2) the increase in worker attachment to firms resulting from unionism is due to changes in worker behavior caused by union work settings; and (3) some of the union effect on tenure appears due to grievance systems which give unions a voice in the job market. In addition, findings suggest that unions have non-monopoly wage effects on the job market.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "The Effect of Unionism on Worker Attachment to Firms." Journal of Labor Research 1,1 (March 1980): 29-61.
14. Freeman, Richard B.
The Effect of Unionism on Worker Attachment to Firms
NBER Working Paper No. 400, National Bureau of Economic Research, October 1979.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w0400
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Exits; Job Tenure; Quits; Unions

This study examines these important questions using newly available data files on individuals, which contain information on their job tenure and union status, among other things. Section one examines the theoretical reasons for expecting unionism to increase job tenure. Section two develops the "waiting time" statistics and econometrics needed to analyze tenure and its converse, separations. Section three describes the data sets under study and presents the basic econometric analysis of the effect of unionism on tenure and separations. Section four analyzes the routes by which unionism influences the variables. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of the analysis for understanding the economic effects of unionism.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "The Effect of Unionism on Worker Attachment to Firms." NBER Working Paper No. 400, National Bureau of Economic Research, October 1979.
15. Freeman, Richard B.
The Exit-Voice Tradeoff in the Labor Market: Unionism, Job Tenure, Quits and Separations
Discussion Paper [Mimeo], Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1977
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: unknown
Keyword(s): Behavior; Grievance System; Job Tenure; Job Turnover; Layoffs; Quits; Unions

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

This paper examines the effect of trade unionism on the exit behavior of workers in the context of Hirschman's exit-voice dichotomy. Unionism is expected to reduce quits and permanent separations and raise job tenure by providing a "voice" alternative to exit when workers are dissatisfied with conditions. Empirical evidence supports this contention, showing significantly lower exit for unionists in several large data tapes. It is argued that the grievance system plays a major role in the reduction in exit and that the reduction lowers cost and raises productivity.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "The Exit-Voice Tradeoff in the Labor Market: Unionism, Job Tenure, Quits and Separations." Discussion Paper [Mimeo], Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1977.
16. Freeman, Richard B.
The Exit-Voice Tradeoff in the Labor Market: Unionism, Job Tenure, Quits
NBER Working Paper No. W0242, National Bureau of Economic Research, November 1980.
Also: http://www.nber.org/papers/w0242.pdf
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Exits; Growth Curves; Job Tenure; Quits; Unions

This paper examines the effect of trade unionism on the exit behavior of workers in the context of Hirschman`s exit-voice dichotomy. Unionism is expected to reduce quits and permanent separations and raise job tenure by providing a "voice" alternative to exit when workers are dissatisfied with conditions. Empirical evidence supports this contention, showing significantly lower exit for unionists in several large data tapes. It is argued that the grievance system plays a major role in the reduction in exit and that the reduction lowers cost and raises productivity.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "The Exit-Voice Tradeoff in the Labor Market: Unionism, Job Tenure, Quits." NBER Working Paper No. W0242, National Bureau of Economic Research, November 1980.
17. Freeman, Richard B.
The Exit-Voice Tradeoff in the Labor Market: Unionism, Job Tenure, Quits, and Separations
Quarterly Journal of Economics 94,4 (June 1980): 643- 673.
Also: http://qje.oxfordjournals.org/content/94/4/643.abstract
Cohort(s): Older Men
Publisher: MIT Press
Keyword(s): Exits; Growth Curves; Job Tenure; Racial Differences; Unions

This paper examines the effect of trade unionism on the exit behavior of workers in the context of Hirschman's exit-voice dichotomy. Unionism is expected to reduce quits and permanent separations and raise job tenure by providing a "voice" alternative to exit when workers are dissatisfied with conditions. Empirical evidence supports this contention, showing significantly lower exit for unionists in several large data tapes. It is argued that the grievance system plays a major role in the reduction in exit and that the reduction lowers cost and raises productivity.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "The Exit-Voice Tradeoff in the Labor Market: Unionism, Job Tenure, Quits, and Separations." Quarterly Journal of Economics 94,4 (June 1980): 643- 673.
18. Freeman, Richard B.
Who Escapes? Relation of Church Going and Other Background Factors to the Socio-economic Performance of Black Male Youths from Inner-City Poverty Tracts
Presented: Cambridge, MA, Conference in Inner City Black Youth Unemployment, August 1983
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: Author
Keyword(s): Behavioral Problems; Delinquency/Gang Activity; Family Influences; Inner-City; Poverty; Racial Differences; Religious Influences; Unemployment; Unemployment, Youth

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

This paper examines factors which determine "escapes" from the socioeconomic spiral of a ghetto with data from the 1979-80 National Bureau of Economic Research-Mathematica surveys of inner-city black youth (NBER) and from the 1979-81 National Longitudinal Survey of Young Men. The NBER Survey had the advantage of gathering information on youths' allocation of time in a day and on socially deviant behavior (crime, drug use) in addition to standard school and work questions. The NLS data permit comparison of young blacks and whites not possible with the NBER Survey. The primary finding is that even in relatively homogeneous inner city poverty areas there is enough diversity in the measured backgrounds of youths for certain aspects of youths' background to provide remarkably good predictions about 'who escapes.' There is also some indication that at least part of the background- achievement relation among young black men represents a 'true' causal link rather than a sorting of yo uths by background and achievement. The principal variable on which the paper focuses, church-going, is associated with substantial differences in the behavior of youths, and thus in their chances to "escape" from inner city poverty. It affects allocation of time, school-going, work activity, and the frequency of socially deviant activity. In addition to church-going, the background factors that most influenced 'who escapes' are whether other members of the family work and whether the family is on welfare. Youth's allocation of time and other activities are significantly influenced by market opportunities (or perceptions thereof), with those who believe it would be easy to find a job if they had to find one more likely to engage in socially productive activities than others, and youths who see many opportunities to make illegal money less likely to engage in socially productive activities than other youths.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Who Escapes? Relation of Church Going and Other Background Factors to the Socio-economic Performance of Black Male Youths from Inner-City Poverty Tracts." Presented: Cambridge, MA, Conference in Inner City Black Youth Unemployment, August 1983.
19. Freeman, Richard B.
Why Do So Many Young Americans Commit Crimes and What Might We Do About It?
Journal of Economic Perspectives 10,1 (Winter 1996): 25-42.
Also: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.10.1.25
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: American Economic Association
Keyword(s): Education; Illegal Activities; Income Dynamics/Shocks; Labor Economics; Labor Market, Secondary

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

This essay examines the following questions. What induces young American men, particularly less educated and black men, to engage in crime in large numbers despite the risk of imprisonment? Is the rising rate of criminal involvement related to the collapse in the job market for the less skilled? Is "locking them up" the only efficacious way to fight crime? It shows that participation in crime and involvement with the criminal justice system has reached such levels as to become part of normal economic life for many young men. Evidence is presented that labor market incentives influence the level of crime and that the depressed labor market for less skilled men in the 1980s and l990s has contributed to the rise in crime.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. "Why Do So Many Young Americans Commit Crimes and What Might We Do About It?" Journal of Economic Perspectives 10,1 (Winter 1996): 25-42.
20. Freeman, Richard B.
Gottschalk, Peter
Generating Jobs: How to Increase Demand for Less-Skilled Workers
New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, 1998
Cohort(s): NLSY79, Young Men
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
Keyword(s): Employment; Job Analysis; Job Rewards; Skilled Workers; Skills; Wage Dynamics; Wages

Contributors: Introduction: Part I: Wage Subsidies and Public Employment. Chapter 1, Wage Subsidies for the Disadvantaged. L awarence E Katz. Chapter 2, The Spatial Dimension: Should Worker Assistance Be Given to Poor People or Poor Places? Edward M. Gramlich and Colleen M. Heflin Chapter 3, The Impact of Changes in Public Employment on Low-Wage Labor Markets. Peter Gottschalk. Part II: Changes in Modes of Pay. Chapter 4, Profit-Sharing and the Demand for Low-Skill Workers. Douglas L. Kruse. Chapter 5, The Effects of Employer Mandates. Susan N. Houseman. Part III: Employment Regulations. Chapter 6, Work-Sharing to Full Employment: Serious Option or Populist Fallacy? Richard B. Freeman
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. and Peter Gottschalk. Generating Jobs: How to Increase Demand for Less-Skilled Workers. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation, 1998.
21. Freeman, Richard B.
Medoff, James L.
The Impact of Collective Bargaining: Can the New Facts be Explained by Monopoly Unionism?
Discussion Paper No. 886, Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1982
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: Harvard Institute of Economic Research
Keyword(s): Behavior; Collective Bargaining; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Industrial Sector; Layoffs; Mobility, Job; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Private Sector; Quits; Unions

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

In this paper we focus our attention on the question of whether union-nonunion differences in nonwage outcomes can, in fact, be explained in terms of standard price-theoretic responses to real wage effects, as opposed to the real effect of unionism on economic behavior. We reach three basic conclusions. First, unions and collective bargaining have real economic effects on diverse nonwage variables which cannot be explained either in terms of price-theoretic responses to union wage effects or be attributed to the poor quality of our econometric "experiments." Second, we find that while sensitivity analyses of single-equation results and longitudinal experiments provide valuable checks on cross-sectional findings, multiple-equations approaches produced results which are too sensitive to small changes in models or samples to help resolve the questions of concern. Finally, on the basis of these findings we conclude that the search for an understanding of what unions do requires more than the standard price theoretic "monopoly" model of unionism. New (and/or old) perspectives based on institutional or industrial relations realities, contractarian or property rights theories, or other potential sources of creative views are also needed.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. and James L. Medoff. "The Impact of Collective Bargaining: Can the New Facts be Explained by Monopoly Unionism?" Discussion Paper No. 886, Harvard Institute of Economic Research, Havard University, Cambridge MA, 1982.
22. Freeman, Richard B.
Medoff, James L.
Two Faces of Unionism
NBER Working Paper No. 364, National Bureau of Economic Research, June 1979.
Also: http://www.nber.org.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/papers/w0364
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Unions; Wage Growth

Our research demonstrates that the view of unions as organizations whose chief function is to raise wages is seriously misleading. For in addition to raising wages, unions have significant non-wage effects which influence diverse aspects of modern industrial life. By providing workers with a voice both at the workplace and in the political arena, unions can and do affect positively the functioning of the economic and social systems. Although our research on the non-wage effects of trade unions is by no means complete and some results will surely change as more evidence becomes available, enough work has been done to yield the broad outlines of a new view of unionism.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. and James L. Medoff. "Two Faces of Unionism." NBER Working Paper No. 364, National Bureau of Economic Research, June 1979.
23. Freeman, Richard B.
Medoff, James L.
Why Does the Rate of Youth Labor Force Activity Differ Across Surveys?
Presented: Arlie House, VA, Conference on Youth Joblessness and Employment, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1979
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)
Keyword(s): Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Longitudinal Surveys; NLS of H.S. Class of 1972; Research Methodology; Unemployment

One prerequisite for analysis of the economic problem of youth is a set of sound estimates of the employment and labor force status of the young. Existing estimates of the extent of labor market involvement and the extent of work activity of the young based on the monthly Current Population Survey and from special longitudinal surveys of the young give strikingly different pictures of the labor market for young men. The purpose of this study is to answer these questions by providing a detailed quantitative analysis of the divergences between the rates of labor force activity for male youths indicated by these surveys.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. and James L. Medoff. "Why Does the Rate of Youth Labor Force Activity Differ Across Surveys?" Presented: Arlie House, VA, Conference on Youth Joblessness and Employment, National Bureau of Economic Research, 1979.
24. Freeman, Richard B.
Wise, David A.
Youth Labor Market Problem: Its Nature, Causes, and Consequences
In: Youth Labor Market Problem: Its Nature, Causes, and Consequences. R. Freeman, et al., eds. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1982
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Employment; Teenagers; Vocational Education; Wages; Work Experience

This article elaborates on the findings of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) on the nature of youth employment, the causes of changes in youth employment rates over time, the causes of individual differences in employment experiences, and the consequences of youth unemployment. The authors find that lack of employment is not a severe problem for the vast majority of youth. Black youths are less likely to be employed than white youths, but once employed the two groups have similar wage rates. Vocational training in school, in contrast to work experience and academic performance, is shown to be unrelated to employment and wages. The authors also find that early employment experience has virtually no effect on later employment after controlling for persistent characteristics of individuals, and that wages earned upon entry into the labor force do not affect wage rates earned a few years later. Not working in earlier years is shown to affect subsequent wages negatively.
Bibliography Citation
Freeman, Richard B. and David A. Wise. "Youth Labor Market Problem: Its Nature, Causes, and Consequences" In: Youth Labor Market Problem: Its Nature, Causes, and Consequences. R. Freeman, et al., eds. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1982