Adult Labor Research Articles

Adolescent Neighborhood Effects on Labor Market and Economic Outcomes

Using linked data from the U.S. Census and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), I examine how adolescent conditions affect young adult labor market and economic outcomes. A number of theories are examined, including the welfare theory; several neighborhood theories, including the social isolation and epidemic theories; and an economic theory. The results indicate that adolescent neighborhood conditions have strong effects. The results support the social isolation hypothesis and the epidemic theory of neighborhoods. Findings for adult labor income, wages, and income‐to‐needs indicate that adolescents living in the most economically disadvantaged neighborhoods had far lower levels of these outcome variables than adolescents living in only slightly more advantaged neighborhoods. The results for adolescent neighborhood conditions supported the social isolation hypothesis for time spent living below the poverty line for adults. The results also give support to both the welfare and economic models. Adoles...

Historical perspectives on the shifting boundaries around youth and alcohol. The example of pre-industrial England, 1350-1750.

This study identifies some of the factors that account for why young males are permitted to drink in some cultures and not in others. The primary materials consulted in this study suggest that in the case of pre-industrial England the same norms governed both adult and juvenile access to alcohol in the late medieval period, and that separate standards for adults and juveniles only emerged some time after 1500. The materials also suggest that the norms governing juvenile access to alcohol were at their most restrictive when adult and juvenile labour were both in low demand, and when childhood was a state from which an individual exited at an early age, but adulthood was a status that was postponed for a large proportion of the population. Apparent changes in the norms governing juvenile access to alcohol also coincided with two other developments in the early modern period. These were: (1) the gradual transformation of drinking into an essentially recreational activity conducted outside the home and among groups consisting largely or entirely of males; and (2) the introduction of new and potentially more intoxicating alcoholic beverages, first in the form of beer, and later in the form of cheap spirits distilled from grain.

A Visionary Framework

A Visionary Framework

Evidence on substitutability of adult and child labour

Whether child labour displaces adult labour, giving rise to unemployment, is a matter of their substitutability in production. Using a flexible form production function fitted to data on Egypt's economy, we generate Hicks elasticities of complementarity, own and cross‐price elasticities, as well as simulate employment effects on adult labour as a result of changing the fixed quantity of labour in compliance with the international call to end child labour. Adult males appear to be complementary with, and adult females substitutes for child labour, although the employment effects of banning child labour are inconclusive.

Order from Chaos? The Effects of Early Labor Market Experiences on Adult Labor Market Outcomes

This paper examines the consequences of initial periods of churning,' floundering about,' or mobility' in the labor market to help assess whether faster transitions to stable employment relationships--such as those envisioned by advocates of school-to-work programs--would be likely to lead to better adult labor market outcomes. Our interpretation of the results is that there is at best modest evidence linking early job market stability to better labor market outcomes. We find that adult labor market outcomes (defined as of the late 20s or early to mid-30s) are for the most part unrelated to early labor market experiences for both men and women. This evidence does not provide a compelling case for efforts to explicitly target the school-to-work transition, insofar as this implies changing the structure of youth labor markets so that workers become more firmly attached to employers, industries, or occupations at

Order from Chaos? The Effects of Early Labor Market Experiences on Adult Labor Market Outcomes

This paper examines the consequences of initial periods of “churning” or “mobility” in the labor market, to help assess whether faster transitions to stable employment relationships—as envisioned by advocates of school-to-work programs—would be likely to lead to better adult labor market outcomes. An analysis of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data for the years 1979–92 yields modest evidence, at best, linking early job market stability to better labor market outcomes. The authors find that for both genders, adult labor market outcomes (defined as of the late 20s or early to mid-30s) are for the most part unrelated to early labor market experiences. This evidence does not support efforts to explicitly target the school-to-work transition, insofar as doing so implies changing the structure of youth labor markets so that workers form earlier and firmer attachments to employers, industries, or occupations.

Coût du travail et emploi des jeunes

It is sometimes said that, in France, the extent of relative youth unemployment is due to the fact that there are no institutional methods, without considering the wide range of unemployment policies, that would enable to disconnect youth labour cost from adult labour cost. Such a disconnection may appear to be necessary in order to compensate for lower productivity, stemming from inexperience and a lack of training. The aim of this study is to give some elements to evaluate the macro- economic effects on may expect from a lowering of youth labour cost through a youth minimum wage or a specific reduction of employer's social contributions for young employed persons. Going through the theorical and empirical littérature gives the impression of a lot of uncertainties : empirical studies do not give precise answers to problems that are not solved by the theory regarding the impacts on employment and youth employment of the minimum wage. Empirical studies, curried out upon both North America and France, show results having poor robustness or even contradictory conclusions, especially concerning the present period. The present evaluation relies on the hypothesis of an elasticity of substitution between production factors (labour, capital but also between categories of the working population) equals to one. Our results confirm that the impact of both measures could be large as far as employment is concerned. Even if there is no massive solution to the nowadays worrying situation of the labour market, it seems that employment, especially youth employment, should be strongly stimulated. However, our results indicate that the total number of job creations is always less numerous than that of job creations for young persons. It means that the studied policies, even if they may improve the youth labour market, may have be detrimental for the adult labour market which would face job destructions.

Household Labor and Child Care Needs among Philippine Highland Farmers

This paper explores implications of Chayanovian analysis, the New Home Economics, and anthropological household studies for understanding relationships among reproductive and productive activities in farming households. Data on labor recall, household membership, and farming practice are analyzed from households in a community in Benguet Province, Philippines. These households include some which practice traditional rice and root farming and others which plant commercial vegetable crops as well. Variation among these households demonstrates a correspondence of three-generation extended families with traditional farming practices and of active recruitment of adult labor with households practicing commercial farming. These households appear to vary in the degrees to which they commit to productive or reproductive activity, and most may actively coordinate these two endeavors through management of household membership and choices of productive strategies. I suggest that attention to the relationships among management of both childcare needs and farm production is necessary in order to develop appropriate agricultural technologies, policies, and programs for Third World countries.

Agricultural land use patterns and malaria conditions in Kenya

This paper studies the problem of malaria control in irrigation and non-irrigation areas in Kenya. Empirical results show that in both areas, households' level of awareness of malaria as a health problem, including its cause, was very high. However, attempts to trace the direct effects of malaria upon income or upon agricultural production were not statistically important. This does not imply that malaria has no consequence on household welfare. It is possible that the model equations were mis-specified--aggregate variables (total family size, total family income) and failure to quantify land in the production relationships may have contributed to these results. In addition, poor separation of malaria as a disease, from malaria as an infection, may have underestimated the effect of the disease on production. Thirdly, labour substitution (hiring or within-family substitution) was not measured in this early study, but was taken into account in subsequent research. Finally, labour requirements in the annual crop production schedules and the co-relation between these labour requirements and the pattern of adult morbidity were not longitudinally monitored. Cross-section data would bias the findings, particularly in those areas where the peak transmission season is short, where the crop grown does not require major labour input during this transmission season, and where acquisition of immunity would reduce the clinical impact of malaria upon adult labour. These vulnerabilities in the specification of the model and the data collected, probably affect the results obtained. Our empirical work raises a number of interesting and important questions which should be taken into account in future research.

An occupational health programme for adults and children in the carpet weaving industry, Mirzapur, India: a case study in the informal sector.

The Indo-Dutch Environmental and Sanitary Engineering Project under Ganga action Plan in Kanpur and Mirzapur is being executed within the framework of Indo-Dutch bilateral development cooperation. The project aims to integrate technological, social and health related improvements. It is expected that the development approach and methodology can be replicated in other urban settlements in India. The project is being supplemented by a training and institutional strengthening programme, which will facilitate the transfer of new technologies and improvements in operation and maintenance of these new technologies. One of the project's goals is to improve living conditions in the targeted areas by installing drinking water and drainage systems. A socio-economic unit (SEU) in the project supports these technical interventions by encouraging the community to participate in project activities. The Occupational Health Programme in Mirzapur was conceived by the SEU to improve the health and living conditions of child and adult weavers. At the start of the programme, 200 weavers and 60 non-weaver workers from Mirzapur city, matched for age and socio-economic status, were interviewed and underwent a physical examination. The mean age of the weavers is 27 years, reflecting the relatively large percentage of child labour (13.5%). Illiteracy among them is 73%, whereas 14% have had only a primary education. 64.5% of the carpet weavers are Muslims and 35.6% are Hindus. 61% own a loom or work in a family owned loom shed. 95% of the weavers have a monthly income of less than 600 Rs. Complaints of a persistent cough and cough with expectoration, backache, the common cold and joint pains occurred more often in the weaver population than in the comparison group and have been identified as 'occupational hazards'. An intervention programme has been implemented based on the results of the occupational health survey. These interventions include awareness camps, installment of plexiglass tiles for light improvement in the loom sheds, training of community health volunteers and house-to-house health education. Another essential part of the programme is the provision of functional literacy classes for child and adult labourers in the carpet weaving industry. Occupational health as an entry point proved to be a successful approach in this segment of the informal sector, where child labour plays an important role.

Children's participation in household labor: Child socialization versus the need for household labor

Despite the scarcity of studies of children's participation in housework, it has been established that children contribute a significant amount of total household labor. However, research on why some children contribute more than others has yielded ambiguous results. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households(J. A. Sweet, L. Bumpus, and V. Call [1988], working paper NSFH-1, Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison), this study tests two competing theories of children's labor participation. The first, dealing with child socialization,proposes that parents assign household chores to children as a socializing experience (e.g., to promote responsibility). The second posits that children are used as a labor source whenever structural constraints prevent adults from performing the necessary chores, and alter the demand for household labor.The results indicate that children average 7 hours of housework per week, representing 12% of all household labor. Both theories receive support, yet the pragmatic aspects of households (e.g., adult labor force participation) receive greater confirmation.

The Decline of Child Labor in the U.S. Fruit and Vegetable Canning Industry: Law or Economics?

Child labor in the U.S. economy declined significantly between 1880 and 1920. This case study of the fruit and vegetable canning industry examines variations in laws, technology, and income across states and time to assess the relative importance of legal and economic factors in reducing the employment of children. The authors find that economic factors, especially a technologically driven shift toward a greater demand for adult labor, were relatively more important. While economic development was often a precondition for legal restrictions on child labor, compulsory schooling and child labor laws restricted the employment of children in technologically backward canneries.

Handling Shocks: on the Representation of Experience in Walter Benjamin's Analogies

The latter statement, Benjamin's rumination on the philosophy of history and historical materialism, contains the German locution ins Werk zu setzen; I have translated it as 'to put in play'.3 It can, of course, be rendered more literally as 'to set to work'. The present context with Groos's writing touching upon Benjamin's induces use of the somewhat figurative (but for English speakers, entirely proper) variant. While Benjamin alludes to the originality of each new present as it works upon or makes contact with history, Groos links the original experience of each new being to the infant's capacity for tactual play. Indeed, it is a truism that children's play is their work. Accordingly, in a vignette entitled 'Construction Site [Baustelle]', Benjamin wrote of children's playful engagement with the material discards of adult labour the remnants of 'build-

Biomechanical evaluation of lift postures in adult Koli female labourers

Three lift-postures, back straight and knees bent, back bent and knees straight and squatting were evaluated biomechanically based on data from 100 Koli female labourers, when lifting loads from the floor to hold them at knee height. The maximum weight was lifted with the back bent and the knees straight which is a posture commonly used by Indian labourers for lifting a load. Squatting (a posture used by Indians for performing household chores) produced the least physical strain in terms of moment and moment ratio (moment per kilogramme of load lifted). Consequently, squatting was found to be the best posture for lifting a load, specifically for the Indian labourers who are accustomed to squatting when working.

Subjective assessment of lift postures in adult Koli females working at construction sites

Three lift postures of straight back, bent back and squatting were evaluated by obtaining subject's opinion on the site, intensity and frequency of pain after holding the maximum load for one and two minutes. The study was based on a sample of 100 adult Koli female labourers. Most of the subjects reported knee pain in straight back posture, pain in the lower part of the back in the bent back posture, and pain in the lower arm in squatting posture. In the majority of the subjects, the site of pain remained unchanged for one minute and two minutes of weight holding. Since the intensity and the frequency of pain after holding the load for one and two minutes were the least in the straight back and squatting postures, they were judged to be the best postures for repetitive and continuous holding tasks, respectively.

Accreditation of Prior Learning – A Contribution to National Economic Objectives

Accreditation of prior learning (APL) is the formal assessment and certification of employees′ and job seekers′ existing skills and knowledge in accordance with nationally recognised standards of occupational competence. The potential role of APL in making maximum effective use of existing national resources and in encouraging adults to acquire new skills is assessed. The relevance of APL in closing the “skills gap” and in tapping the adult labour market is examined. The UK Government′s APL initiatives are reviewed including the implementation of two, two‐year programmes. Colleges, employers and organisations in the public and private sectors are all interested in taking APL further but the real costs are still to be examined, an institutional model is yet to be established and the required infrastructure needs to be put in place nationally.

Opportunities, Aspirations, and Urban Unemployment of Youth: The Case of Colombia

Previous articleNext article No AccessOpportunities, Aspirations, and Urban Unemployment of Youth: The Case of ColombiaJaime TenjoJaime Tenjo Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Economic Development and Cultural Change Volume 38, Number 4Jul., 1990 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/451831 Views: 14Total views on this site Citations: 10Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1990 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Chiara Cazzuffi, Vivián Díaz, Juan Fernández, Cristian Leyton Spatial inequality and aspirations for economic inclusion among Latin American youth, Children and Youth Services Review (Sep 2020): 105496.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105496Aysit Tansel, H. Mehmet Taşçı Hazard Analysis of Unemployment Duration by Gender in a Developing Country: The Case of Turkey, LABOUR 24, no.44 (Nov 2010): 501–530.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9914.2010.00480.xAnindya Sengupta Rural Unemployment: Incidence and Evidence, SSRN Electronic Journal (Jan 2008).https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2262641Pieter Serneels The Nature of Unemployment among Young Men in Urban Ethiopia, Review of Development Economics 11, no.11 (Feb 2007): 170–186.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9361.2007.00389.xUgo Panizza, Christine Zhen-Wei Qiang Public–private wage differential and gender gap in Latin America: Spoiled bureaucrats and exploited women?, The Journal of Socio-Economics 34, no.66 (Dec 2005): 810–833.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2005.07.022Josefina Bruni Celli, Richard Obuchi Adolescents and Young Adults in Latin America, Critical Decisions at a Critical Age: Young Adult Labor Market Experience, SSRN Electronic Journal (Jan 2002).https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1814726Alan Gilbert Employment and Poverty during Economic Restructuring: The Case of Bogotá, Colombia, Urban Studies 34, no.77 (Jul 2016): 1047–1070.https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098975727TEKALIGNE GODANA Returns to Education in Tie Manufacturing Sector in Zimbabwe: Some Empirical Evidence., The South African Journal of Economics 65, no.11 (Mar 1997): 48–55.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1813-6982.1997.tb01353.xJohn Humphrey Are the Unemployed Part of the Urban Poverty Problem in Latin America?, Journal of Latin American Studies 26, no.33 (Feb 2009): 713–736.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022216X00008579Alan Gilbert Third World Cities: Poverty, Employment, Gender Roles and the Environment during a Time of Restructuring, Urban Studies 31, no.4-54-5 (May 1994): 605–633.https://doi.org/10.1080/00420989420080601

The Challenge of Education to Social Work: The Case for Minority Children

system is analyzed and critiqued, as is the role of social work within that system. Analysis is presented using in stitutional perspectives to explain the functional relationship between edu cation and the oppression of people of color. The author finds education culpable in the massive undereduca tion of minority children and social work powerless to prevent it. The rele vance of educational reform to the goals and purposes of social work in the broader context of fairness and equity is explained. The author recommends changes in social work practice and policy that will give the field a larger role and stronger voice in the reform of education. Education in the united States is in crisis, and this fact has enormous consequences for the social work profession. At the root of a host of social problems and problems of per sonal functioning is an educational bureaucracy that has failed to deliver promised benefits. In recognition of this crisis, the past decade has witnessed calls for educational reform from a variety of sectors and at several levels of government (Goodlad, 1983; National Commission on Excellence in Educa tion, 1983). These concerns have be come more pressing largely in response to putative losses in educational attain ment among nonminority children. The undereducation of minority children is arguably an equally serious if not a greater threat to the strength and well being of the U.S. economy, for these children will make up the bulk of the adult labor force in the next century. An underclass of poorly educated minority children would likely drain social, health, welfare, political, and economic

Trends in Occupational Mobility: The Gender Gap in Sweden

This paper is an attempt to develop earlier work on the intergenerational occupational mobility of men and women in order to bring gender variation into focus. Against the background of the changing structure of occupations, various measures, often used in mobility studies to estimate class inequality, are applied to estimate gender inequality in the Swedish labour market over a thirteen-year period in which one of the major features of social change may well be the extension of dependence on gainful employment to women of all social strata Results show a narrowing, but by no means eliminated, gender gap in certain broad aspects of occupational opportunities in the younger cohort of the adult labour force. However, they also show that age is a crucial variable when the actual occupational attainment and thus potential for self-sufficiency of women are compared to that of men with similar social background.

Child labour, adult literacy and employment rates in India.

This study assesses the relationship between literacy and labour rates among the adults and children in 17 Indian states. Among children aged 5-14 years, 53.9% were literate and 3.74% were working for wages; these figures, however varied markedly among the states. Kerala, a state with the best overall adult literacy, also recorded the highest child literacy rate, and the lowest child employment rate. The states with high adult literacy also tended to have high child literacy (Spearman's coefficient of rank correlation, Rho 1 = 0.95, P less than 0.001), and low child labour (Rho = 0.56, P less than 0.02). Child labour rates did not correlate with adult labour rates. However, change in adult literacy and labour rates over a 7-year period correlated significantly both with the change in child literacy and labour rates: The states with a greater increase in adult literacy also observed a greater rise in child literacy, and a greater fall in child labour rates. But the states with a greater increase in adult labour had a greater rise in child labour rates; for each ten additional adults working, two more children also worked for wages, suggesting that increasing job opportunities drew both adults and children into the labour force. The findings, and their implications for pediatric care are discussed.