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Author: Key, Jennifer Anne
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1. Key, Jennifer Anne
An Empirical Study of Gender and Racial Differences in Quits and Layoffs of Young Workers
Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1999
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Ethnic Studies; Gender Differences; Job Turnover; Layoffs; Modeling, Multilevel; Quits; Racial Differences; Racial Studies; Wage Gap

That female and nonwhite workers are less attached to the labor market has been frequently offered as an explanation for the observed gender and racial wage gaps in the United States. Yet, empirically little is known about the propensities of females and nonwhite workers to leave their jobs. This dissertation examines the factors that influence the separation, quit and layoff rates of young workers: male, female, white and nonwhite. McLaughlin's (1991) model of quits and layoffs in an efficient turnover framework is extended to include the effects of job tenure and a stochastic value of nonmarket work. The framework allows for the decision to separate to nonemployment and the decision to separate to alternative employment to be motivated by different factors. Specifically, the empirical analysis in this thesis uses Nested Multinomial Logits (NMNL) to examine the probability of separating to nonemployment, the probability of separating to alternative employment, and the conditional Probability of a quit given a separation to either nonemployment or alternative employment. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, NMNLs are performed on four subgroups of workers: white males, white females, nonwhite males, and nonwhite females. The results indicate that the job turnover behavior of white female workers is quite different from that of the three other groups of workers. White females have the lowest probability of staying at a job and are twice as likely to separate to alternative employment. Also, white female workers are much more likely to separate to alternative employment following the birth of a child. Nonwhite male workers are much more likely to be laid off to alternative employment than the other groups of workers. This may be due to discrimination in the labor market. Contrary to other studies, these results indicate that, controlling for other factors that influence wage rates, job tenure has a positive effect on job separations. This result is consistent with the conceptual framework. Finally, divorce is found to have a large positive effect on the likelihood of separating to nonemployment and alternative employment. This is the first study to include the effects of divorce on job turnover.
Bibliography Citation
Key, Jennifer Anne. An Empirical Study of Gender and Racial Differences in Quits and Layoffs of Young Workers. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Colorado at Boulder, 1999.