期刊-NBER美国国民经济研究局-Fall1980_47页_762kb

NBER Reporter Summary: Fall 1980

Core Content

The Fall 1980 issue of the NBER Reporter provides an overview of the National Bureau of Economic Research's Program in Labor Studies, highlighting key research areas, projects, and developments in labor economics during that period. The report emphasizes the importance of understanding labor market dynamics, including employment, wages, unemployment, and productivity, through improved data collection, economic theory, and econometric analysis.

Main Topics and Projects

1. Youth Unemployment

• A major research effort was initiated in 1978 to study the nature, causes, and consequences of youth joblessness.
• Findings indicate that joblessness is concentrated among a small group of young people, particularly minority youths.
• A follow-up study on inner-city black youth was launched, using detailed surveys administered to over 2,400 youths in Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
• Studies on residential segregation, reservation wages, and long-term effects of youth unemployment were conducted.
• David Ellwood found that young blacks spend more time commuting to work than young whites.
• David Wise and Robert Meyer noted that the effects of youth unemployment on work time diminish rapidly with age.

2. Federal Regulations and Labor Market Outcomes

• Researchers examined the impact of federal regulations on labor market outcomes such as employment, wages, and productivity.
• Unemployment Insurance studies included evaluations of its effects on consumption and labor market transitions.
• Minimum Wage research expanded to include effects on income distribution, turnover, training, and inflation.
• Equal Employment Opportunity legislation was studied to assess its impact on the labor market position of minorities and women.
• Wayne Gray began analyzing how federal regulations affect productivity across manufacturing industries.

3. Trade Unionism

• Trade unionism remains a central labor institution, but its nonwage effects were underexplored.
• The NBER labor program focused on the impact of unionization on wages, employment, and productivity.
• Katharine Abraham and James Medoff found that seniority has a greater impact on promotion and termination decisions in unionized settings.
• Freeman and Clark studied the dispersion of wages and union impact on profits.
• Research on public sector unionism included analyses of collective bargaining laws and their effects on unionization and wage distribution.

4. Labor Mobility and Supply

• Longitudinal data was used to study the role of mobility in labor markets and the interpersonal structure of wages.
• Jacob Mincer and colleagues found that young men are more likely to experience immediate wage gains from job changes.
• James Heckman developed econometric procedures to analyze tenure dependence and heterogeneity in labor market outcomes.
• Studies on labor supply in a life-cycle framework explored the impact of work interruptions on earnings.
• Michael Wachter examined how employment changes across demographic groups affect the productivity slowdown.

5. Compensation and Labor Economics

• The NBER program emphasized the determinants of labor compensation, including wage structures, nonwage benefits, and the role of unions.
• Edward Lazear and Sherwin Rosen analyzed how relative positions within firms influence compensation.
• Kim Clark and Laurence Kotlikoff studied the impact of pensions on labor mobility and compensation.
• The 1980 Conference on the Economics of Compensation and the 1981 Conference on the Measurement of Wages provided forums for further research on compensation.

6. Data and Econometric Analysis

• The program has focused on developing new data sets and improving econometric tools for labor market analysis.
• Researchers like James Heckman, Gary Chamberlain, Zvi Griliches, Jerry Hausman, and Thomas MacCurdy have contributed to the analysis of longitudinal data.
• Surveys and data collection efforts have been expanded to better understand labor market behavior and outcomes.

Other Sections

• The Public Library by Malcolm Getz explored the economic value of public library services relative to their tax costs.
• The study analyzed branch services, hours of operation, and materials availability, suggesting that New York Public Library operates too many branches.
• The report compared city vs. suburban library systems, finding that labor costs, cost-of-living differences, and fiscal conditions influence compensation levels and service provision.
• Collective bargaining was found to have a significant impact on salaries of white-collar workers, though not on recruit librarians.
• The static model of public library operations was discussed, with the need to consider technological change in future research.

Conclusion

The NBER Program in Labor Studies has made significant contributions to understanding labor market dynamics, particularly in the areas of youth unemployment, union effects, labor mobility, and compensation. The program has also emphasized the importance of data development and econometric analysis to support these studies. The Fall 1980 issue highlights the breadth and depth of NBER's research, as well as its ongoing efforts to improve the understanding of labor market institutions and their effects on economic outcomes.