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Author: Light, Audrey L.
Resulting in 39 citations.
1. Brown, James N.
Light, Audrey L.
Interpreting Panel Data on Job Tenure
Journal of Labor Economics 10,3 (July 1992): 219-257.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2535088
Cohort(s): Older Men, Young Men
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Data Quality/Consistency; Job Tenure; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Variables, Independent - Covariate

This paper discusses the quality of job tenure data within two longitudinal data sets, the PSID and the NLS (Older Men and Young Men). It focuses on two major issues facing researchers using these data sources, namely: (1) the ability to identify distinct jobs within each data set; and (2) the choice of how and whether to clean the data to ensure that tenure and time increment by the same amount within jobs. The following four problems are highlighted: (1) The use of error- ridden tenure data to identify job changes may seriously reduce the reliability of estimates that require precise information about job changes. Estimates of the effect of job change on wage growth and the effects of many covariates on the probability of job separation appear especially sensitive to this problem. (2) Researchers who must identify job changes from tenure responses are likely to overstate the precision of their estimates, because standard errors (as conventionally computed) do not account for the effect of partition error on parameter estimates. (3) The failure to use internally consistent tenure sequences can lead to misleading conclusions about the slope of wage-tenure profiles. It does not appear to matter how internal consistency is imposed, as long as it is done. (4) The inclusion of jobs that contain unusually inconsistent tenure responses can alter the results in certain applications. Methods for utilizing these data are offered and recommendations for improvements in the PSID and NLS survey instruments suggested.
Bibliography Citation
Brown, James N. and Audrey L. Light. "Interpreting Panel Data on Job Tenure." Journal of Labor Economics 10,3 (July 1992): 219-257.
2. Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso
Light, Audrey L.
Identifying Sheepskin Effects in the Returns to Education
Working Paper, Department of Economics, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, April 2004.
Also: http://gsbwww.uchicago.edu/labor/flores2004.pdf
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago
Keyword(s): Education; Educational Attainment; Educational Returns; Schooling

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

[Exerpt from Introduction] In this study, we ask how to interpret the range of estimated sheepskin effects that arise from different model specifications. We begin with the observation that sheepskin effects are identified because individuals with a given amount of schooling differ in their degree attainment or, stated differently, because S varies among individuals within a given degree category. It is important to recognize that the variation needed for identification can represent 'signal,' 'noise,' or a combination of both, and that the source of variation determines which parameters are identified and how we should interpret the estimates. To illustrate the identification issues, suppose we observe variation in S among individuals who hold a bachelor's degree. This variation might accurately reflect the underlying behavioral process if, for example, some college students choose full-time (or even part- time) employment at the expense of more rapid progress toward a degree. The variation might also reflect measurement error: data that cross-classify individuals as college graduates with only 12, 13 or 14 years of school should certainly be met with suspicion, and even reports that appear more logical can be error-ridden. Variation in S within degree category is essential if we wish to identify S-D interactions in a wage model, but it is equally important to consider the source of variation. Under the first scenario, we might predict that the sheepskin effect increases with S because S is positively correlated with omitted in-school work experience, however, the estimate should be interpreted as a reward for work experience rather than evidence that employers use degrees to screen for unobserved traits. If the variation arises primarily from measurement error, it might pay to restrict the functional form of our wage model rather than rely on 'noise' for identification.
Bibliography Citation
Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso and Audrey L. Light. "Identifying Sheepskin Effects in the Returns to Education." Working Paper, Department of Economics, University of Arizona, Tucson AZ, April 2004.
3. Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso
Light, Audrey L.
Interpreting Degree Effects in the Returns to Education
Discussion Paper No. 4169, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) (May 2009).
Also: Working Paper 20 (December 2009), China Center for Human Capital and Labor Market Research, Central University of Finance and Economics.
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
Keyword(s): College Dropouts; College Graduates; Educational Returns; GED/General Educational Diploma/General Equivalency Degree/General Educational Development; High School Diploma; Modeling; Schooling, Post-secondary; Wage Equations

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

Researchers often identify degree effects by including degree attainment (D) and years of schooling (S) in a wage model, yet the source of independent variation in these measures is not well understood. We argue that S is negatively correlated with ability among degree holders because the most able graduate the fastest, while a positive correlation exists among dropouts because the most able benefit from increased schooling. Using data from the NLSY79, we find support for this explanation, and we reject the notion that the independent variation in S and D reflects reporting error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso and Audrey L. Light. "Interpreting Degree Effects in the Returns to Education." Discussion Paper No. 4169, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) (May 2009).
4. Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso
Light, Audrey L.
Interpreting Degree Effects in the Returns to Education
Journal of Human Resources 45,2 (March 2010): 439-467.
Also: http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/45/2/439.abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Dropouts; College Graduates; Educational Returns; GED/General Educational Diploma/General Equivalency Degree/General Educational Development; High School Completion/Graduates; High School Dropouts; Modeling; Schooling, Post-secondary; Wage Equations

Researchers often identify degree effects by including degree attainment (D) and years of schooling (S) in a wage model, yet the source of independent variation in these measures is not well understood. We argue that S is negatively correlated with ability among degree-holders because the most able graduate the fastest, but positively correlated among dropouts because the most able benefit from increased schooling. Using NLSY79 data, we find support for this argument; our findings also suggest that highest grade completed is the preferred measure of S for dropouts, while age at school exit is a more informative measure for degree-holders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Human Resources is the property of University of Wisconsin Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Bibliography Citation
Flores-Lagunes, Alfonso and Audrey L. Light. "Interpreting Degree Effects in the Returns to Education." Journal of Human Resources 45,2 (March 2010): 439-467.
5. Light, Audrey L.
Estimating Returns to Schooling: When Does the Career Begin?
Economics of Education Review 17,1 (February 1998): 31-45.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775797000113
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Life Cycle Research; Schooling; Schooling, Post-secondary; Wage Models; Work Experience

Because the life cycle is not neatly divided into a period of full-time schooling followed by a period of full-time employment, it is unclear where analysts should "start the clock" on the career for purposes of estimating the returns to schooling. This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to determine how estimated returns to schooling are influenced by the choice of career starting date. Schooling and experience measures are defined for four alternative starting dates and then used to estimate a standard wage model for samples of white and non-white men. Estimated returns to schooling increase dramatically as an increasingly later starting date is used because increasingly large amounts of unmeasured, "pre-career" work experience bias the schooling effects. A specification that controls more accurately for the accumulation of schooling and work experience is suggested as an alternative to the orthodox model. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. "Estimating Returns to Schooling: When Does the Career Begin?" Economics of Education Review 17,1 (February 1998): 31-45.
6. Light, Audrey L.
Gender Differences in the Marriage and Cohabitation Income Premium
Demography 41,2 (May 2004): 263-275.
Also: http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=13494321&db=aph
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Earnings, Husbands; Earnings, Wives; Family Income; Family Size; Gender Differences; Income Dynamics/Shocks; Marital Status; Marriage; Unions

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

Using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I identify causal effects of marriage and cohabitation on total family income. My goals are to compare men's and women changes in financial status upon entering unions and to assess the relative contributions of adjustments in own income, income pooling, and changes in family size. Changes in own income that are due to intrahousehold specialization prove to be minor for both men and women relative to the effects of adding another adult's income to the family total. Women gain roughly 55% in needs-adjusted, total family income, regardless of whether they cohabit or marry, whereas men's needs-adjusted income levels remain unchanged when men make these same transitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. "Gender Differences in the Marriage and Cohabitation Income Premium." Demography 41,2 (May 2004): 263-275.
7. Light, Audrey L.
High School Employment
NLS Discussion Paper No. 95-27, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington DC, June 1995.
Also: http://stats.bls.gov/ore/abstract/nl/nl950060.htm
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: U.S. Department of Labor
Keyword(s): Career Patterns; Employment, In-School; High School; Wages, Youth; Youth Services

This study addresses a question that, despite its apparent simplicity, has yet to be satisfactorily answered by social scientists: Does holding a job while enrolled in high school enhance, detract from, or have no effect on subsequent career outcomes? From a theoretical perspective, high school employment has an ambiguous effect on career outcomes. On one hand, it may give students a "leg up" in their subsequent careers by providing them with marketable skills, good work habits, and knowledge of the world of work. On the other hand, high school employment may indirectly hinder subsequent employment opportunities by preventing students from performing as well in high school as they otherwise would. In light of the widely documented difficulties faced by many youths in transiting from school to a permanent, productive position in the labor force, it is important to know which effect dominates. After all, public policy can readily be directed toward helping high school students gain employment (by providing job placement services, for example) or, as appropriate, toward discouraging such activities. The current study focuses exclusively on the relationship between high school employment and subsequent average hourly wages rather than considering a broad array of career outcomes. However, it contends with the complexity of this single relationship in ways that previous research does not.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. "High School Employment." NLS Discussion Paper No. 95-27, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington DC, June 1995.
8. Light, Audrey L.
In-School Work Experience and the Returns to Schooling
Journal of Labor Economics 19,1 (January 2001): 65-93.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/209980
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Earnings; Educational Returns; Schooling; Wage Effects; Wage Models; Work Experience

Students often accumulate substantial work experience before leaving school. Because conventional earnings functions do not control for in-school work experience, their estimates of the return to schooling include the benefit of work experience gained along the way. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, I estimate wage models with and without controls for in-school work experience. The estimated schooling coefficients are 25%-44% higher (depending on how I control for ability bias) when in-school work experience is omitted than when it is included. These findings indicate that conventional models significantly overstate the wage effects of "school only."
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. "In-School Work Experience and the Returns to Schooling." Journal of Labor Economics 19,1 (January 2001): 65-93.
9. Light, Audrey L.
Job Mobility and Wage Growth: Evidence from the NLSY79
Monthly Labor Review 128,2 (February 2005): 33-39.
Also: http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2005/02/art5exc.htm
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: U.S. Department of Labor
Keyword(s): Employment; Employment, History; Job Turnover; Labor Market Surveys; Longitudinal Surveys; Transfers, Skill; Wage Growth

Data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth provide an unusually complete history of employment experiences; analyses of why workers separate from their employers, frequencies of these separations, and job mobility's impact on earnings reveal that today's labor markets are far more dynamic than previously realized.

One phenomenon that has received considerable scrutiny is the persistent, voluntary job mobility of young workers. In the mid 1970s, economists began using search-theoretic models to explain why information costs compel workers to systematically "shop" for a better job. The idea is that workers cannot immediately locate firms where their skills are valued the most highly, so upon accepting a job offer they continue to search for an even better outside opportunity. Workers might also learn over time that their current job is not as productive as they initially predicted. New information regarding outside offers or the current job is predicted to lead to a worker-initiated job separation. Empirical researchers have used longitudinal data to determine which theoretical models are supported by the data and to identify the contribution of "job shopping" to life-cycle wage growth.

A related issue of long-standing concern is the effect of job immobility on wage growth. Human capital models predict that wages rise with job seniority when workers "lock in" and invest in firm-specific skills. Because these skills cannot be transferred to a new job if a separation occurs, workers and firms agree to share the costs and benefits of the investment--and the worker's return on the shared investment takes the form of within-job wage growth above and beyond any gains due to the acquisition of general (transferable) skills. A variety of agency models provide alternative explanations for upward sloping wage-tenure profiles. In these models, employers defer wages as a means of discouraging workers from quitting or shirking; stated differently, they require workers to "post a bond" as an incentive to sustain the employment relationship. Longitudinal data have proved to be essential for assessing the merits of these theoretical models and identifying the effect of tenure on wages.

Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. "Job Mobility and Wage Growth: Evidence from the NLSY79." Monthly Labor Review 128,2 (February 2005): 33-39.
10. Light, Audrey L.
Job Shopping and the Wage Growth of Young Men
Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California - Los Angeles, 1987
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Job Search; Job Tenure; Mobility; Mobility, Job; Mobility, Occupational; Wage Growth; Wage Levels; Wages, Young Men

This study examines job mobility and wage growth in a sample drawn from the NLS of Young Men. The early career is highlighted because most young workers undergo rapid turnover and enjoy substantial wage growth as they shop for a good match. The objectives are: (1) to describe the labor force activities of young men; (2) to determine whether job-specific investments are undertaken during the early career and, if so, whether they increase in match quality; and (3) to compare within-job and between-job wage growth. Recognition that match quality depends on both wage levels and wage growth distinguishes this study from previous work. A job shopping model incorporates this broad view of match quality and yields the implication that within-job wage growth--to the extent that it reflects investment in job-specific human capital--is an outcome of job shopping. The model justifies the fact that job changers may accept a wage cut in exchange for increased wage growth. Apparently, jobs become more valuable as tenure increases because specific investments are undertaken. The hazard also decreases in the current wage, but increases in wage growth. This suggests that workers with high wage growth receive extremely attractive job offers.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. Job Shopping and the Wage Growth of Young Men. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California - Los Angeles, 1987.
11. Light, Audrey L.
The Effects of Interrupted Schooling on Wages
Journal of Human Resources 30,3 (Summer 1995): 472-502.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146032
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): Benefits, Fringe; Dropouts; Human Capital; Labor Economics; Schooling; Training; Training, On-the-Job; Wage Differentials; Wage Models; Wages

Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth reveal that 35 percent of white men who leave school between 1979 and 1988 return to school by 1989. This paper examines the wage effects of these nontraditional enrollment patterns. I estimate a wage model which allows individuals to follow a different wage path before and after their reenrollment and an alternative model which does not account for school and work discontinuities. I find that young men who delay their schooling receive wage boosts that are smaller than those received by their continuously schooled counterparts. Wage models that fail to account for 'delayed' schooling tend to understate the returns to schooling received prior to the start of the career.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. "The Effects of Interrupted Schooling on Wages." Journal of Human Resources 30,3 (Summer 1995): 472-502.
12. Light, Audrey L.
Transitions from School to Work: A Survey of Research Using the National Longitudinal Surveys
NLS Discussion Paper 94-18, Washington D.C., U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 1994.
Also: http://stats.bls.gov/ore/abstract/nl/nl940030.htm
Cohort(s): NLSY79, Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: U.S. Department of Labor
Keyword(s): Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Educational Attainment; Educational Returns; Job Search; Job Training; Mobility, Job; Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID); Transfers, Skill; Transition, School to Work; Work History

The person who completes his or her desired level of schooling and immediately begins a career of continuous employment is not representative of the entire youth population. For many young people, the transition from school to work is far less ordered. This report surveys the literature that uses data from the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor Market Experience (NLS) to analyze transitions from school to work. The survey is limited to the youth, young men, and young women cohorts. The following phenomena--work while in school, participation in job training, reenrollment in school, job search, and nonemployment--are given a considerable amount of attention in this literature. However, these phenomena are intrinsically related to such broader issues as skill acquisition (including the costs of and benefits to schooling), the determinants of earnings, and job mobility. As a result, the "school-to-work literature" encompasses all of these areas.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. "Transitions from School to Work: A Survey of Research Using the National Longitudinal Surveys." NLS Discussion Paper 94-18, Washington D.C., U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 1994.
13. Light, Audrey L.
Ahn, Taehyun
Divorce as Risky Behavior
Demography 47,4 (November 2010): 895-921.
Also: http://www.springerlink.com/content/15g8j58430171381/
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Divorce; Marriage; Modeling, Probit; Risk Perception; Risk-Taking; Variables, Independent - Covariate

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

Given that divorce often represents a high-stakes income gamble, we ask how individual levels of risk tolerance affect the decision to divorce. We extend the orthodox divorce model by assuming that individuals are risk averse, that marriage is risky, and that divorce is even riskier. The model predicts that conditional on the expected gains to marriage and divorce, the probability of divorce increases with relative risk tolerance because risk averse individuals require compensation for the additional risk that is inherent in divorce. To implement the model empirically, we use data for first-married women and men from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to estimate a probit model of divorce in which a measure of risk tolerance is among the covariates. The estimates reveal that a 1-point increase in risk tolerance raises the predicted probability of divorce by 4.3% for a representative man and by 11.4% for a representative woman. These findings are consistent with the notion that divorce entails a greater income gamble for women than for men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Demography is the property of Population Association of America and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Taehyun Ahn. "Divorce as Risky Behavior." Demography 47,4 (November 2010): 895-921.
14. Light, Audrey L.
Bhattacharya, Samrat
Computer Use and Children's Academic Achievement
Presented: Columbus, OH, Ohio State University, Initiative in Population Research, Spring Seminar Series, April 2006
Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79
Publisher: Initiative in Population Research, Ohio State University
Keyword(s): Academic Development; Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Childhood; Computer Use/Internet Access

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

Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Samrat Bhattacharya. "Computer Use and Children's Academic Achievement." Presented: Columbus, OH, Ohio State University, Initiative in Population Research, Spring Seminar Series, April 2006.
15. Light, Audrey L.
McGarry, Kathleen
Determinants of Household Wealth at Age 50: Evidence from the NLSY79
Presented: Miami FL, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 12-14, 2015
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM)
Keyword(s): Net Worth; Retirement/Retirement Planning; Wealth

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

n this paper, we focus on the question of how baby boomers accumulate resources for retirement. Using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we are able to follow a sample of several thousand baby boomers born in 1958-64 from age 20 to 50. We model each sample member's household net worth at age 50 as a function of detailed arrays of variables measuring educational investments, health, employment, family formation, household composition, and environmental factors over the preceding 30 years. This strategy allows us to identify factors ranging from divorce to job loss to "boomerang" children that affect resource availability as baby boomers approach retirement age.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Kathleen McGarry. "Determinants of Household Wealth at Age 50: Evidence from the NLSY79." Presented: Miami FL, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Annual Fall Research Conference, November 12-14, 2015.
16. Light, Audrey L.
McGarry, Kathleen
Job Change Patterns and the Wages of Young Men
The Review of Economics and Statistics 80,2 (May 1998): 276-286.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2646638
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Keyword(s): Job Tenure; Job Turnover; Mobility; Mobility, Job; Modeling; Wage Models

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

This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to distinguish empirically between mover-stayer, "search good," and "experience good" models of job mobility. We estimate wage models in which the pattern of overall job mobility affects both the level and tenure slope of the log-wage path. After controlling for the correlation between mobility patterns and time-constant person- and job-specific unobservables, we find that workers who undergo persistent mobility have lower log-wage paths than less mobile workers. This finding is consistent with models in which job mobility is driven by time-varying unobservables, such as "experience good" models, where changes in perceived match quality cause turnover. Copyright 1998, President and Fellows of Harvard College and the MIT.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Kathleen McGarry. "Job Change Patterns and the Wages of Young Men." The Review of Economics and Statistics 80,2 (May 1998): 276-286.
17. Light, Audrey L.
McGarry, Kathleen
Why Parents Play Favorites: Explanations for Unequal Bequests
CCPR-020-03, On-line Working Paper Series, California Center for Population Research, February 2003.
Also: http://www.ccpr.ucla.edu/ccprwpseries/ccpr_020_03.pdf
Cohort(s): Mature Women, Young Women
Publisher: California Center for Population Research (CCPR)
Keyword(s): Assets; Family Studies; Genetics; Intergenerational Patterns/Transmission; Modeling; Transfers, Family

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

Economists have invested a great deal of effort in trying to understand the motivation for family transfers, yet recent empirical work testing the seemingly appealing models of altruism and exchange has led to decidedly mixed results. A major stumbling block has been the lack of adequate data. We take a fresh look at the issue using responses to an innovative survey question that directly asks mothers about the planned division of their estates. We find that both altruism and exchange are frequently offered as explanations of behavior and are of nearly equal importance. Furthermore, the explanations are consistent with observable characteristics of the mother, lending support to the validity of the question. We also find that among step or adopted families, genetic ties play an important role. Because motivating factors appear to differ across families the lack of a consensus among previous researchers about motives ought not to be surprising. A copy of this paper is also available at http://papers.nber.org/papers/W9745.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Kathleen McGarry. "Why Parents Play Favorites: Explanations for Unequal Bequests." CCPR-020-03, On-line Working Paper Series, California Center for Population Research, February 2003.
18. Light, Audrey L.
McGarry, Kathleen
Why Parents Play Favorites: Explanations for Unequal Bequests
American Economic Review 94,5 (December 2004): 1669-1682.
Also: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/0002828043052321
Cohort(s): Mature Women, Young Women
Publisher: American Economic Association
Keyword(s): Inheritance; Mothers; Mothers, Health; Transfers, Parental

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

The article explores the explanations given by mothers in the U.S. who participated in the 1999 National Longitudinal Surveys of Young Women and Mature Women, on why they intend to divide their estates unequally among their children. The data for a sample of 45- to 80-year-old mothers include a feature not available in other surveys which assessed the relative importance of alternative motives for parental transfers: verbatim explanations of why mothers intend to divide their estates unequally among their children. The analysis indicates that a variety of motives come into play when mothers determine the allocation of their estates. Relatively few mothers intend to differentiate among their children in making bequests, but those who do are equally likely to provide explanations that are consistent with altruism and explanations that suggest exchange. Among mothers with adopted children or stepchildren, a surprisingly large number refer to their children's biological status in their response. Factors such as poor maternal health, the presence of non-biological children and increased within-family variation in children's predicted income are associated with a higher probability of unequal bequests.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Kathleen McGarry. "Why Parents Play Favorites: Explanations for Unequal Bequests." American Economic Review 94,5 (December 2004): 1669-1682.
19. Light, Audrey L.
McGee, Andrew Dunstan
Does Employer Learning Vary by Schooling Attainment? The Answer Depends on How Career Start Dates are Defined
Labour Economics 32 (January 2015): 57-66.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537114001456
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Career Patterns; Educational Attainment; Learning Hypothesis; Methods/Methodology; Transition, School to Work; Work Experience

We demonstrate that empirical evidence of employer learning is sensitive to how we define the career start date and, in turn, measure cumulative work experience. Arcidiacono et al. (2010) find evidence of employer learning for high school graduates but not for college graduates, and conclude that high levels of schooling reveal true productivity. We show that their choice of start date--based on nonenrollment at survey interview dates and often triggered by school vacation--systematically overstates experience and biases learning estimates towards zero for college-educated workers. Using career start dates tied to a more systematic definition of school exit, we find that employer learning is equally evident for high school and college graduates.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Andrew Dunstan McGee. "Does Employer Learning Vary by Schooling Attainment? The Answer Depends on How Career Start Dates are Defined." Labour Economics 32 (January 2015): 57-66.
20. Light, Audrey L.
McGee, Andrew Dunstan
Employer Learning and the “Importance” of Skills
IZA Discussion Paper No. 6623, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), June 2012
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
Keyword(s): Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Occupational Information Network (O*NET); Skills; Wage Determination

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

We ask whether the role of employer learning in the wage-setting process depends on skill type and skill importance to productivity. Combining data from the NLSY79 with O*NET data, we use Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery scores to measure seven distinct types of pre-market skills that employers cannot readily observe, and O*NET importance scores to measure the importance of each skill for the worker’s current three-digit occupation. Before bringing importance measures into the analysis, we find evidence of employer learning for each skill type, for college and high school graduates, and for blue and white collar workers. Moreover, we find that the extent of employer learning – which we demonstrate to be directly identified by magnitudes of parameter estimates after simple manipulation of the data – does not vary significantly across skill type or worker type. Once we allow parameters identifying employer learning and screening to vary by skill importance, we find evidence of distinct tradeoffs between learning and screening, and considerable heterogeneity across skill type and skill importance. For some skills, increased importance leads to more screening and less learning; for others, the opposite is true. Our evidence points to heterogeneity in the degree of employer learning that is masked by disaggregation based on schooling attainment or broad occupational categories.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Andrew Dunstan McGee. "Employer Learning and the “Importance” of Skills." IZA Discussion Paper No. 6623, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), June 2012.
21. Light, Audrey L.
Munk, Robert
Business Ownership versus Self‐Employment
Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society 57,3 (July 2018): 435-468.
Also: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/irel.12213
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Wiley Online
Keyword(s): Entrepreneurship; Job Characteristics; Self-Employed Workers

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

Using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY79), we find that 68 percent of jobs classified as self‐employment are not independently reported as self‐owned businesses, while 16 percent of self‐owned businesses are not independently classified as self‐employment. Businesses not regarded as self‐employment are often associated with such signs of entrepreneurship as self‐identification as an entrepreneur, job descriptions that refer to business ownership or a managerial role, and high individual skill/asset levels. Self‐employed jobs that are not independently classified as self‐owned businesses are dominated by contract work and home‐based, single‐person pursuits. Our evidence suggests that self‐employment should not be viewed as a synonym for business ownership.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Robert Munk. "Business Ownership versus Self‐Employment." Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society 57,3 (July 2018): 435-468.
22. Light, Audrey L.
Nandi, Alita
Identifying Race and Ethnicity in the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Population Research and Policy Review 26,2 (April 2007): 125-144.
Also: http://www.springerlink.com/content/p308463686246t74/
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Kluwer Academic Publishers
Keyword(s): Ethnic Groups/Ethnicity; Racial Studies; Self-Reporting

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

The 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth is among the few surveys to provide multiple reports on respondents' race and ethnicity. Respondents were initially classified as Hispanic, black, or "other" on the basis of data collected during 1978 screener interviews. Respondents subsequently self-reported their "origin or descent" in 1979, and their race and Hispanic origin in 2002; the latter questions conform to the federal standards adopted in 1997 and used in the 2000 census. We use these data to (a) assess the size and nature of the multiracial population, (b) measure the degree of consistency among these alternative race-related variables, and (c) devise a number of alternative race/ethnicity taxonomies and determine which does the best job of explaining variation in log-wages. A key finding is that the explanatory power of race and ethnicity variables improves considerably when we cross-classify respondents by race and Hispanic origin. Little information is lost when multiracial respondents are assigned to one of their reported race categories because they make up only 1.3% of the sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Alita Nandi. "Identifying Race and Ethnicity in the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth." Population Research and Policy Review 26,2 (April 2007): 125-144.
23. Light, Audrey L.
Nandi, Alita
Identifying Race and Ethnicity in the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth
Working Paper, Department of Economics and Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University (February 2004), revision, November 2005
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Department of Economics, The Ohio State University
Keyword(s): Ethnic Groups/Ethnicity; Ethnic Studies; Racial Studies

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

The 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth is among the few surveys to provide multiple reports on respondents' race and ethnicity. Respondents were initially classified as Hispanic, black, or "other" on the basis of data collected during 1978 screener interviews. Respondents subsequently self-reported their "origin or descent" in 1979, and their race and Hispanic origin in 2002; the latter questions conform to the federal standards adopted in 1997 and used in the 2000 census. We use these data to (a) assess the size and nature of the multiracial population, (b) measure the degree of consistency among these alternative race-related variables, and (c) devise a number of alternative race/ethnicity taxonomies and determine which does the best job of explaining variation in log-wages. A key finding is that the explanatory power of race and ethnicity variables improves considerably when we cross-classify respondents by race and Hispanic origin. Little information is lost when multiracial respondents are assigned to one of their reported race categories because they make up only 1.3% of the sample.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Alita Nandi. "Identifying Race and Ethnicity in the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth." Working Paper, Department of Economics and Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University (February 2004), revision, November 2005.
24. Light, Audrey L.
Nencka, Peter
Predicting Educational Attainment: Does Grit Compensate for low Levels of Cognitive Ability?
Learning and Individual Differences 70 (February 2019): 142-154.
Also: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1041608019300214
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB); Cognitive Ability; Educational Attainment; Modeling, Probit; Personality/Big Five Factor Model or Traits

This study examined the role of cognitive ability in moderating grit's association with educational outcomes. Using a large, representative sample of young adults, we estimated probit models for the probability of graduating from high school, enrolling in college, earning any college degree, and earning a bachelor's degree. For each outcome, the effect of grit (and, alternatively, each lower-order facet) was allowed to differ flexibly with cognitive ability. We found that grit's estimated marginal effect is largely concentrated among students at the high and low ends of the ability distribution. The low-ability effect is more pronounced when expressed relative to the ability-specific, baseline probability of success, and the high-ability effect increases with each successive outcome. The findings are consistent with the notion that high-ability students adopt self-regulated learning processes that exploit their grit, especially as educational tasks become more challenging. For low-ability students, it appears that grit plays a compensatory role.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Peter Nencka. "Predicting Educational Attainment: Does Grit Compensate for low Levels of Cognitive Ability?" Learning and Individual Differences 70 (February 2019): 142-154.
25. Light, Audrey L.
Omori, Yoshiaki
Can Long-Term Cohabiting and Marital Unions be Incentivized?
Research in Labor Economics 36 (2012): 241-283.
Also: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/S0147-9121(2012)0000036011/full/html
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Emerald
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Marriage; Unions

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

In this study, we ask whether economic factors that can be directly manipulated by public policy have important effects on the probability that women experience long-lasting unions. Using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we estimate a five-stage sequential choice model for women's transitions between single with no prior unions, cohabiting, first-married, re-single (divorced or separated), and remarried. We control for expected income tax burdens, Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits, Medicaid expenditures, and parameters of state divorce laws, along with an array of demographic, family background, and market factors. We simulate women's sequences of transitions from age 18 to 48 and use the simulated outcomes to predict the probability that a woman with given characteristics (a) forms a first union by age 24 and maintains the union for at least 12 years, and (b) forms a second union by age 36 and maintains it for at least 12 years. While non-policy factors such as race and schooling prove to have important effects on the predicted probabilities of long-term unions, the policy factors have small and/or imprecisely estimated effects; in short, we fail to identify policy mechanisms that could potentially be used to incentivize long-term unions.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Yoshiaki Omori. "Can Long-Term Cohabiting and Marital Unions be Incentivized?" Research in Labor Economics 36 (2012): 241-283.
26. Light, Audrey L.
Omori, Yoshiaki
Determinants of Long-Term Unions: Who Survives the “Seven Year Itch”?
Presented: Washington, DC, Population Association of America Annual Meetings, March 31-April 2, 2011
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Coresidence; Life Course; Marital Stability; Marriage

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

Most studies of union formation and dissolution identify probabilities of union transitions in the next year; they do not reveal the likelihood of forming unions and maintaining them for the long-term. We use NLSY79 data to estimate a series of choice models in which never-married women decide when to cohabit or marry, cohabitors decide when to separate or marry, first-married women decide when to divorce, and women with prior unions advance through similar stages. We use the estimates to simulate women's union-related outcomes from age 18 to 42, and then predict probabilities of following long-term paths. We find that cohabitation substantially increases the probability of entering and maintaining a long-term union (defined as 8+ years) because the high chance of entry outweighs the low chance of stability. We also find that race and skill affect probabilities of long-term unions, but determinants that can be manipulated by public policy do not.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Yoshiaki Omori. "Determinants of Long-Term Unions: Who Survives the “Seven Year Itch”?." Presented: Washington, DC, Population Association of America Annual Meetings, March 31-April 2, 2011.
27. Light, Audrey L.
Omori, Yoshiaki
Determinants of Long-Term Unions: Who Survives the “Seven Year Itch”?
Population Research and Policy Review 32,6 (December 2013): 851-891.
Also: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11113-013-9285-6
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Springer
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; Divorce; Marital History/Transitions; Marriage; Racial Differences

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

Most studies of union formation focus on short-term probabilities of marrying, cohabiting, or divorcing in the next year. In this study, we take a long-term perspective by considering joint probabilities of marrying or cohabiting by certain ages and maintaining the unions for at least 8, 12, or even 24 years. We use data for female respondents in the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to estimate choice models for multiple stages of the union-forming process. We then use the estimated parameters to simulate each woman’s sequence of union transitions from ages 18–46, and use the simulated outcomes to predict probabilities that women with given characteristics follow a variety of long-term paths. We find that a typical, 18 year-old woman with no prior unions has a 22 % chance of cohabiting or marrying within 4 years and maintaining the union for 12+ years; this predicted probability remains steady until the woman nears age 30, when it falls to 17 %. We also find that unions entered via cohabitation contribute significantly to the likelihood of experiencing a long-term union, and that this contribution grows with age and (with age held constant) as women move from first to second unions. This finding reflects the fact that the high probability of entering a cohabiting union more than offsets the relatively low probability of maintaining it for the long-term. Third, the likelihood of forming a union and maintaining it for the long-term is highly sensitive to race, but is largely invariant to factors that can be manipulated by public policy such as divorce laws, welfare benefits, and income tax laws.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Yoshiaki Omori. "Determinants of Long-Term Unions: Who Survives the “Seven Year Itch”?" Population Research and Policy Review 32,6 (December 2013): 851-891.
28. Light, Audrey L.
Omori, Yoshiaki
Economic Incentives and Family Formation
Presented: Philadelphia, PA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, March-April 2005
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Coresidence; Cost-Benefit Studies; Divorce; Marriage

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

We identify the importance of a broad set of economic factors in driving individuals' decisions to marry, cohabit and divorce. Most studies of union formation consider such factors as schooling attainment, employment status, and wages. We broaden the focus to economic costs and benefits conferred by law on married couples. Upon marrying, couples typically incur changes in their income taxes, face lower costs if one partner dies, incur changes in their welfare benefits, and secure property rights in the event of divorce. We wish to learn whether individuals are more likely to choose marriage over the alternatives when the benefits associated with civil marriage are large. We use data from the NLSY79 to estimate a sequential choice model of cohabitation, marriage and divorce decisions, and exploit exogenous variation arising from cross-state and cross-year differences in the relevant laws and institutions to identify the effects of "legal factors" on union-forming decisions.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Yoshiaki Omori. "Economic Incentives and Family Formation." Presented: Philadelphia, PA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, March-April 2005.
29. Light, Audrey L.
Omori, Yoshiaki
Fixed Effects Maximum Likelihood Estimation of a Flexibly Parametric Proportional Hazard Model with an Application to Job Exits
Economics Letters 116,2 (August 2012): 236-239.
Also: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176512000869
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Education; Employment; Job Tenure; Job Turnover; Mobility, Job; Modeling, Hazard/Event History/Survival/Duration

We extend the fixed effects maximum likelihood estimator to a proportional hazard model with a flexibly parametric baseline hazard. We use the method to estimate a job duration model for young men, and show that failure to account for unobserved fixed effects causes negative schooling and union effects to be downward biased.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Yoshiaki Omori. "Fixed Effects Maximum Likelihood Estimation of a Flexibly Parametric Proportional Hazard Model with an Application to Job Exits." Economics Letters 116,2 (August 2012): 236-239.
30. Light, Audrey L.
Omori, Yoshiaki
Unemployment Insurance and Job Quits
Journal of Labor Economics 22,1 (January 2004):159-189.
Also: http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?an=12322932&db=buh
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Benefits, Insurance; Job Turnover; Modeling, Hazard/Event History/Survival/Duration; Quits; Unemployment Insurance

We investigate an unexplored avenue through which unemployment insurance increases unemployment. As unemployment insurance benefits rise, workers lose incentive to "preempt" impending layoffs by changing jobs. We formalize this prediction in a job search model and investigate it empirically by estimating a proportional hazard model with data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, using state- and year-specific algorithms to compute each worker's expected unemployment insurance benefits. Our estimates reveal that an exogenous increase in benefits deters job quits by a small but statistically significant amount.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Yoshiaki Omori. "Unemployment Insurance and Job Quits." Journal of Labor Economics 22,1 (January 2004):159-189.
31. Light, Audrey L.
Rama, Apoorva
Moving Beyond the STEM/non-STEM Dichotomy: Wage Benefits to Increasing the STEM-Intensities of College Coursework and Occupational Requirements
Education Economics 27,4 (2019): 358-382.
Also: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09645292.2019.1616078?journalCode=cede20
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Group
Keyword(s): College Major/Field of Study/Courses; Occupations; STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics); Wages

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

Using a sample of college graduates from the NLSY97, we introduce a new approach to assessing wage benefits of STEM training, STEM jobs, and the match between the two: rather than classify individuals dichotomously as STEM or non-STEM, we measure the STEM-intensities of both their college coursework and their occupational requirements. While the orthodox approach simply predicts that 'STEM pays,' we find that workers at the top of both gender-specific STEM-intensity distributions are predicted to out-earn their counterparts at the bottom by a substantial margin -- even when we condition on their dichotomous STEM classification -- but that predicted log-wages do not increase monotonically with STEM-intensity throughout the entire joint distribution.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Apoorva Rama. "Moving Beyond the STEM/non-STEM Dichotomy: Wage Benefits to Increasing the STEM-Intensities of College Coursework and Occupational Requirements." Education Economics 27,4 (2019): 358-382.
32. Light, Audrey L.
Schreiner, Sydney
College Major, College Coursework, and Post-College Wages
Economics of Education Review 73 (December 2019): 101935.
Also: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272775719303784
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): College Major/Field of Study/Courses; Skills; Wage Gap; Wage Models

We ask whether estimated wage payoffs to college majors change when we account for skills acquired in college by including college major dummies and detailed coursework measures in log-wage models. Using data from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we find that students in all majors differ considerably in the percentage of credits taken within-major, as well as in their overall credit distributions. When credit distributions are taken into account in modeling log-wages, estimated coefficients for college majors often fall by 50% or more. Moreover, estimated log-wage gaps between select pairs of majors often change by orders of magnitude depending on whether we compare individuals whose overall credit distributions correspond to obtaining a low, medium, or high level of credit concentration within the major.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Sydney Schreiner. "College Major, College Coursework, and Post-College Wages." Economics of Education Review 73 (December 2019): 101935.
33. Light, Audrey L.
Strayer, Wayne Earle
Determinants of College Completion: School Quality or Student Ability?
Journal of Human Resources 35,2 (Spring 2000): 299-332.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/146327
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Education; College Enrollment; College Graduates; Colleges; Modeling, Probit; School Completion; School Quality; Skills

We investigate whether the "match" between student ability and college quality is an important determinant of college graduation rates. We jointly estimate a multinomial probit model of college attendance decisions in which the alternatives are no college and attendance at college in four quality categories, and a binomial probit model of subsequent graduation decisions. By allowing the error terms to be correlated across alternatives and time periods, we identify the effects of observed factors net of their correlation with unobservables. We find that students of all ability levels have higher chances of graduating if the quality level of their college "matches" their observed skill level.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Wayne Earle Strayer. "Determinants of College Completion: School Quality or Student Ability?" Journal of Human Resources 35,2 (Spring 2000): 299-332.
34. Light, Audrey L.
Strayer, Wayne Earle
From Bakke to Hopwood: Does Race Affect Attendance and Completion?
Review of Economics and Statistics 84,1 (February 2002): 34-44.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3211737
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Keyword(s): Affirmative Action; College Dropouts; College Education; College Enrollment; College Graduates; Educational Attainment; Minorities

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

In light of recent, state-level actions banning racial preference in college admissions decisions, we investigate how whites and minorities differ in their college-going behavior. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we estimate a sequential model of college attendance and graduation decisions that allows correlations among the errors. Our estimates reveal that minorities are more likely than observationally equivalent whites to attend colleges of all quality levels. Being a minority has a positive effect on graduation probabilities, but, overall, minorities are less likely than their white counterparts to complete college because they possess fewer favorable unobserved factors.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Wayne Earle Strayer. "From Bakke to Hopwood: Does Race Affect Attendance and Completion?" Review of Economics and Statistics 84,1 (February 2002): 34-44.
35. Light, Audrey L.
Strayer, Wayne Earle
Who Receives the College Wage Premium? Assessing the Labor Market Returns to Degrees and College Transfer Patterns
Journal of Human Resources 39,3 (Summer 2004): 746-774.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3558995
Cohort(s): NLSY79
Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
Keyword(s): College Education; Colleges; Educational Attainment; Heterogeneity; Modeling; Wage Determination; Wage Models; Wage Theory

Using data from the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, we estimate wage models in which college-educated workers are classified according to their degree attainment, college type, and college transfer status. The detailed taxonomy produces modest improvements in explanatory power relative to standard specifications, and reveals considerable heterogeneity in the predicted wages of college-educated workers. We find that transfer students receive an "indirect" wage benefit insofar as changing colleges allows them to earn a degree. Some transfer students receive an additional "direct" wage benefit, presumably because switching schools increases their skill investment opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Wayne Earle Strayer. "Who Receives the College Wage Premium? Assessing the Labor Market Returns to Degrees and College Transfer Patterns." Journal of Human Resources 39,3 (Summer 2004): 746-774.
36. Light, Audrey L.
Ureta, Manuelita
Early-Career Work Experience and Gender Wage Differentials
Journal of Labor Economics 13,1 (January 1995): 121-154.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2535309
Cohort(s): Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Job Tenure; Modeling; Wage Differentials; Wage Gap; Work Experience

This article estimates a wage model that includes an array of variables measuring the fraction of time worked during each year of the career. This array fully characterizes past employment experience, regardless of how sporadic it has been. Our model yields substantially higher estimated returns to experience and lower returns to tenure than do models that measure experience cumulatively and use the standard quadratic functional form. Findings show that the data reject the standard model but fail to reject our model. Furthermore, findings indicate that 12% of the male-female wage gap is due to differences in the timing of work experience.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Manuelita Ureta. "Early-Career Work Experience and Gender Wage Differentials." Journal of Labor Economics 13,1 (January 1995): 121-154.
37. Light, Audrey L.
Ureta, Manuelita
Gender Differences in the Quit Behavior of Young Workers
NLS Discussion Paper No. 92-7, Washington DC: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1990.
Also: http://stats.bls.gov/ore/abstract/nl/nl900020.htm
Cohort(s): Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: U.S. Department of Labor
Keyword(s): Gender Differences; Heterogeneity; Job Patterns; Job Turnover; Marital Status; Mobility, Job; Quits

Using data from the NLS of Young Men and Young Women, this report estimates discrete time proportional hazard models for various samples of young men and women in order to learn how they differ in their job turnover behavior. Four issues are examined: (1) Which gender undergoes the most turnover during the early career and what observable factors influence this turnover. (2) Do unobservable factors account for a significant amount of turnover. (3) Is the turnover behavior of men and women changing over time and do continuously employed workers exhibit a different pattern of turnover than workers who interrupt their careers. (4) Are voluntary job transitions caused by a different set of factors than other types of job separations. Findings include: (1) Of pre-, first-time-, or early-career starters during the year of the first interview (the "full sample"), women have a higher hazard rate than men. (2) Men and women respond very differently to family characteristics such as married, becoming married, and the birth of a child. (3) Both men and women appear to engage in job shopping and the hazards of both genders fall with increased experience. (4) For women, there are pronounced differences between an early birth cohort and a late birth cohort. (5) There are also important differences among successive labor market entry cohorts. (6) Among continuously employed workers, family characteristics are less important in explaining turnover. (7) Many variables that are important determinants of job separations do not explain voluntary and job-to-job transitions.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Manuelita Ureta. "Gender Differences in the Quit Behavior of Young Workers." NLS Discussion Paper No. 92-7, Washington DC: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1990.
38. Light, Audrey L.
Ureta, Manuelita
Gender Differences in Wages and Job Turnover Among Continuously Employed Workers
American Economic Review 80,2 (May 1990): 293-297.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2006587
Cohort(s): Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: American Economic Association
Keyword(s): Behavior; Earnings; Educational Attainment; Gender Differences; Job Turnover; Labor Force Participation; Mobility; Mobility, Job; Women; Work Histories

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

This study uses the Young Men and Young Women cohorts of the NLS to determine whether a significant number of women work continuously during their early careers, which women are likely to do so, and how these women compare to men in terms of their interfirm mobility and earnings. It was found that roughly 88 percent of the women in our sample spend more than ten percent of their time working when they are between the ages of 24 and 30, while 25 percent work for more than 90 percent of their time. However, women are far more likely to work a large fraction of their time if they have a college education, and there has been a tremendous increase over time in the fraction of white women (especially those who are well educated) who work at least 90 percent of their time. In comparing the job turnover behavior of continuously employed men and women, the authors found that both genders exhibit identical degrees of negative duration dependence. While women born in 1944-46 are less likely than men to leave their jobs (regardless of race, education, and current tenure), the opposite is true for a cohort born just six years later. In comparing starting wages of men and women, it was found that the wage gap is less pronounced among continuously employed workers than among the full sample in almost every race-cohort-schooling group, and the gap is narrowing far more rapidly among the continuously employed.
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Manuelita Ureta. "Gender Differences in Wages and Job Turnover Among Continuously Employed Workers." American Economic Review 80,2 (May 1990): 293-297.
39. Light, Audrey L.
Ureta, Manuelita
Panel Estimates of Male and Female Turnover Behavior: Can Female Non-Quitters Be Identified?
Journal of Labor Economics 10,2 (April 1992): 156-182.
Also: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2535245
Cohort(s): Young Men, Young Women
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Keyword(s): Gender Differences; Job Tenure; Job Turnover; Mobility, Job; Quits; Work Attachment; Work Experience; Work Histories

Using NLS data on Young Men and Young Women born between 1944 and 1952, the authors estimate proportional hazard models in order to learn whether it is more difficult for employers to identify female non-quitters than male non-quitters. It was found that women may be a higher risk than men in the overall sample because they are relatively more likely to be "movers" for unobserved reasons and because they tend to quit for reasons that cannot be observed ex ante (such as the birth of a child). When focus was on a relatively recent birth cohort, however, the authors found that women have lower quit rates than men and that the men are more likely to be the "movers."
Bibliography Citation
Light, Audrey L. and Manuelita Ureta. "Panel Estimates of Male and Female Turnover Behavior: Can Female Non-Quitters Be Identified?" Journal of Labor Economics 10,2 (April 1992): 156-182.