County Labor Research Articles

Agricultural Eco-Efficiency Response and Its Influencing Factors from the Perspective of Rural Population Outflowing: A Case Study in Qinan County, China.

Agriculture is the source of human clothing and food, but it also brings negative externalities to the environment. The outflow of the rural population is one of the factors for changes in the characteristics of the rural population. Farmers' decisions on agricultural production can affect agricultural ecological efficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to study the relationship between the two in rural development. Taking Qin'an County in the Loess Hilly Region of central Gansu, China, as an example, this paper analyzed the demographic characteristics and the evolution characteristics of agricultural eco-efficiency under the background of rural population outflowing, and the impact of the former on the latter, based on the panel statistical data of 17 villages and towns from 2001 to 2020. The results show that (1) From 2001 to 2020, the non-agricultural level of Qin'an County's labor force showed an upward fluctuation trend. The level of aging was relatively stable, and the per capita disposable income was significantly increased. (2) From 2001 to 2020, the agricultural eco-efficiency of Qin'an County showed a wavy change, but there were some towns and villages that have not been effectively developed. The regional differences are significantly different. (3) The non-agriculturalization level of the labor force promotes agricultural eco-efficiency through the direct effect rather than the space spillover effect. The positive effect of aging on agricultural eco-efficiency was mainly reflected through direct effect rather than spatial spillover effect. Per capita, disposable income has a significant positive spatial spillover effect on agricultural eco-efficiency. Finally, this paper provides a scientific reference for promoting the improvement of agricultural eco-efficiency and sustainable development. This is of great theoretical and practical significance for the realization of rural revitalization.

An Interethnic Paradox: Chicago's Irish and Everyone Else

An Interethnic Paradox: Chicago's Irish and Everyone Else

Association of Birth Companionship by Former Traditional Birth Attendants on Birthing Experiences of Parturient Women in Kakamega County, Kenya

The current model of maternity care is institution-centred, rather than woman-centred. Women's experiences illuminate midwives' efforts to maintain power and control by situating birth as a medical event and to secure status by focusing on the technical elements of care, including controlling bodies and knowledge. A study conducted in Kenya, India and Ghana concluded that regardless of the setting, women are not getting adequate person-centred maternity care and that such care varied by socioeconomic status, type of provider and type of facility.Most women in Kakamega county labour alone. As a result, women in labour experience ‘emotional distress’, ‘stressful circumstances’, ‘lack of social support’ and may not open up to service providers contributing to unfavourable birth outcomes. To investigate the association between supportive companionship provided by traditional birth attendants and birthing experiences of parturient women during labour and childbirth in Kakamega County, Kenya. A quasi-experimental cross-sectional mixed method design was adopted involving 2367 parturient women in Kakamega county, Kenya. Former traditional birth attendants were trained and deployed as birth companions providing emotional support in the form of encouragement, advice, information, comfort measures and physical support to women during labour and childbirth in intervention health facilities. Measurements were taken at baseline and after implementation of the birth companion intervention from control and intervention health facilities using a questionnaire capturing data on client satisfaction, anxiety and self-esteem. Data was summarized using frequency distributions and cross tabulations and presented in the form of tables and graphs. Associations were determined using Pearson’s correlation and independent sample t-test. The study found traditional birth attendant as birth companions significantly improved birthing experiences of parturient women. Supported women as they had higher levels of satisfaction, lower anxiety and higher self-esteem than those who were not supported.

Prescription Opioids and Labor Market Pains

We examine the effect of prescription opioids on county labor market outcomes, using data from the Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs of ten U.S. states and labor data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We achieve causal identofication by exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in the concentration of high-volume prescribers as instruments (using Medicare Part D prescriber data). We find strong adverse effects on labor force participation rates, employment- to-population ratios, and unemployment rates. Notably, a 10 percent increase in prescriptions causes a 0.56 percentage point reduction in labor force participation, similar to the drop attributed to the 1984 liberalization of Disability Insurance.

Effects of New Deal Spending and the downturns of the 1930s on private labor markets in 1939/1940

Gross Domestic Product recovered much more quickly than labor markets did during the 1930s. We provide new analysis of this issue by estimating a cross-sectional model for individuals in 1939–1940 as a function of the measures of the Great Contraction of 1929–1933, the recovery, and the Second Dip Recession and average information for three types of New Deal spending. The results show that the Great Contraction of 1929–1933 and the Second-Dip Recession still had powerful negative effects on county labor markets in 1939/1940 and these were only partially offset by public works grants. Relief grants had somewhat negative effects although this might have arisen because of a large layoff of workers by the WPA in 1939. The AAA payments to farmers to take land out of production were associated with lower earnings and private employment, but had mixed effects on skill mobility.

Zawodówka (nie) jest OK? Szkoły zawodowe (branżowe) w opiniach uczniów a wybory edukacyjno-zawodowe w odniesieniu do sytuacji na rynku pracy

The proposed text is an illustration of selected conclusions from a four-module research project conducted in one of the Wielkopolska counties. The aim of the empirical verification was to: make the educational and professional characteristics of the junior high school plans, get acquainted with the opinions of the employers on the situation in the local labor market, get acquainted with the plans connected with the employment of employees, get acquainted with the preparation of graduates of particular types of schools to meet the opinion of the directors of post-gymnasium schools on the state of the vocational education and to get acquainted with the opinions of the students of the upper secondary school classes on the situation on the labor market, the offer of vocational education and the self-assessment of preparation to enter the labor market. The research was conducted in the first quarter of 2016 and 2017, by the diagnostic survey method. The article is based on one of the study modules – a study of middle school students that was conducted in 2016 – the findings from the 2017 study will be cited in some places for comparative purposes only. Due to the specificity of the research topic, the selection of the research sample was random. High school students (N = 486 in 2016 and N = 490 in 2017), upper secondary school students (N = 503 – 2016 and N = 498 – 2017), upper secondary school graduates (N = 6 in 2016 and 2017 ) and the largest employers (N = 78 in 2016, N = 102 in 2017). In this project the diagnostic survey method was used as the basis. The method used to analyze the contents was made using the local traditional (printed) and internet press and the thematic work edited by the County Labor Office in Gniezno and other institutions. The main topic of this paper was the educational and vocational elections of junior high school students in the context of the situation on the local labor market (which, as it turns out, does not correspond to its needs), revealing weaknesses in vocational counseling. Regarding the specific nature of the region, attention has also been paid to the face (as opposed to the offer) of vocational education (depicted in the vocational school 2017/2018) depreciated in the eyes of the local community, which in the reality of the local labor market seems to be a rational educational choice without causing closure Road to higher education. The dissertation on vocational education has been made an additional element of publication.

DETERMINANTS OF DIFFERENTIATION FOR SELECTED COUNTY LABOUR MARKETS IN PODLASKIE VOIVODSHIP – THE APPLICATION OF THE SCENARIO METHOD

The main aim of the paper is to present the possibilities of scenario method use for the identification of the factors determining a different situation in selected county labour markets in Podlaskie Voivodship, Poland. The novelty posited by the authors of the paper consisted in the application of the qualitative method based on the intuitive logic school of scenario construction for the county labour markets analysis. The following pairs of poviats were subjected to the case study: Hajnowski and Bielski, Grajewski and Wysokomazowiecki, Suwalski and Sejneński. The selection of the experts of the presented case study followed the rules of researcher triangulation. The expert team consisted of representatives of labour market institutions, local government units and enterprises, which allowed for a multifaceted view on the analysed issues. The scenario method was preceded by the STEEPVL analysis. The main problem issue undertaken during the case study analysis was the identification of factors affecting the development of selected poviats and the assessment of these factors in terms of validity and uncertainty. The STEEPVL analysis and the scenario method were implemented for poviats, which in pairs of poviats occupy lower positions in the ranking of poviats in the region. The research methods applied by the authors of the paper were literature review, a case study, STEEPVL analysis and the scenario method.

Prescription Opioids and Labor Market Pains: The Effect of Schedule II Opioids on Labor Force Participation and Unemployment

We examine the effect of prescription opioids on county labor market outcomes, using data from the Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs of ten U.S. states and labor data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We achieve causal identification by exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in the concentration of high-volume prescribers as instruments (using Medicare Part D prescriber data). We find strong adverse effects on labor force participation rates, employment- to-population ratios, and unemployment rates. Notably, a 10 percent increase in prescriptions causes a 0.56 percentage point reduction in labor force participation, similar to the drop attributed to the 1984 liberalization of Disability Insurance.

Płeć jako determinanta wystąpienia jednej z konkurujących form wyjścia z bezrobocia

The purpose of the paper is to analyse the impact of gender on the probability of an unemployed person deregistering from a Labour Office because of finding income-generating work, refusal to accept a job, or other causes. Different competing events might become reasons for such a turn of events. The study uses survival analysis methods, helpful in the case of censored data. The cumulative incidence function (CIF) is used to assess competing risks. Gray's test was applied to examine differences in the influence of gender on the probability of deregistration due to a specific cause. The study was based on data of individual jobseekers registered at the County Labour Office in Szczecin.

The Great Recession and America's Geography of Unemployment.

The Great Recession of 2007-2009 was the most severe and lengthy economic crisis in the U.S. since the Great Depression. The impacts on the population were multi-dimensional, but operated largely through local labor markets. To examine differences in recession-related changes in county unemployment rates and assess how population and place characteristics shaped these patterns. We calculate and decompose Theil Indexes to describe recession-related changes in the distribution of unemployment rates between counties and states. We use exploratory spatial statistics to identify geographic clusters of counties that experienced similar changes in unemployment. We use spatial regression to evaluate associations between county-level recession impacts on unemployment and demographic composition, industrial structure, and state context. The recession was associated with increased inequality between county labor markets within states, but declining between-state differences. Counties that experienced disproportionate recession-related increases in unemployment were spatially clustered and characterized by large shares of historically disadvantaged racial and ethnic minority populations, low educational attainment, and heavy reliance on pro-cyclical industries. Associations between these sources of vulnerability were partially explained by unobserved state-level factors. The local consequences of macroeconomic trends are associated with county population characteristics, as well as the structural contexts and policy environments in which they are embedded. The recession placed upward pressure on within-state inequality between local labor market conditions. To present new estimates of the recession's impact on local labor markets, quantify how heterogeneous impacts affected the distribution of unemployment prevalence, and identify county characteristics associated with disproportionately large recession-related increases in unemployment.

Social responsibility in connection with business closures: A study of the close-down of Ericsson Telecom facilities in Norrköping and Linköping

The present article analyses why and how Ericsson Telecom assumed a greater responsibility than was legally required when it dismissed more than 23,000 employees in Sweden at the beginning of the 21st century. The analysis starts from neoinstitutional theory and is based on case studies of the company’s closures in Norrköping and Linköping. The article focuses, in particular, on the interaction between Ericsson, the trade unions, the County Administrative Board, the County Labour Board, the Public Employment Service, the Swedish Employment Security Council, the government and the respective municipalities. It is shown that the greater responsibility taken by Ericsson was based on its desire to maintain legitimacy by taking into consideration prevailing societal expectations regarding the company’s behaviour.

Recent Immigration and Economic Outcomes in Rural America

This paper assessed how recent immigrant flows have affected non-metropolitan county labor market outcomes over the 2000-2005 period. We find the largest impact to be increased net out-migration of natives in the more remote rural counties. Dramatically less out-migration of natives occurred in manufacturing-dependent counties, which also experienced reduced employment rates suggesting greater job queuing. Immigration was positively associated with net migration in persistently high-poverty counties. Given the general absence of statistically significant adverse impacts on other labor market outcomes in these counties, it is possible that immigration helps to revitalize persistently high-poverty counties, although point estimates suggested out-migration may have been insufficient to equalize real wages.

CONFRONTING HOUSTON's DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFT: THE HARRIS COUNTY AFL‐CIO

Power building involves taking risks. In Houston, the leadership of the Harris County American Federation of Labor‐Congress of Industrial Organizations, recognizing the rapid growth of immigrants in the region, advanced a tangible policy to build worker power through mobilizing workers in these new communities, for many years shunned by unions and central labor councils. The labor council recognizes that the struggle to organize immigrants is difficult and unpredictable. In an antiunion environment, the Harris County labor council had to convince immigrant workers that they would provide resources and support directed to the needs of the diverse communities in the city. By supporting immigrant rights and organizing efforts, the labor council hopes to align the local labor movement with the demographic earthquake shaking their communities. At the same time, the council has managed to deliver to affiliates through mobilizing support for organizing and supporting political candidates favorable to organized labor. This article examines diverse strategies formulated on the basis of the real needs of immigrant workers and assesses the efficacy of these new organizing efforts in building greater labor power.

Search Intensity, Cost of Living and Local Labor Markets in Britain

A model is considered in which optimal search intensity is a result of a trade-off between short-run losses due to higher search costs (more interviews, commuting...) and long-run gains due to a higher chance to find a job. We show that this optimal search intensity is higher in areas characterized by larger cost of living and/or higher labour market tightness. We then test this model using county-level data in England for the period 1991-2000. As predicted by the theoretical model, both the county cost of living and the county labour market tightness are found to have a positive and significant effect on the county search intensity. We also find positive spatial correlation between counties (i.e. clustering of counties with similar level of search intensity) and strong spatial spillover effects.

Placental histopathology of congenital syphilis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the contribution of placental histopathology to the diagnosis of congenital syphilis. METHODS: From January 1, 1986, through December 31, 1998, all pregnant women presenting to a large, urban Dallas County labor and delivery unit with untreated syphilis at delivery and who had placental evaluation performed were identified. Women were clinically staged, and the infants were evaluated for congenital syphilis using a standard protocol. Each placenta was evaluated by two independent pathologists. Histologic characteristics of the placenta related to congenital syphilis in live-born and stillborn infants were then analyzed. RESULTS: Sixty-seven women met the study criteria: 33 (49%) stillborn and 18 (27%) live-born infants with congenital syphilis, 15 (22%) uninfected live-born infants, and one uninfected stillborn fetus diagnosed by current criteria. There were no differences between the groups with regard to demographic characteristics, prenatal care, or stage of syphilis. Stillborn infants were more likely to deliver preterm ( P < .001). Controlling for gestational age, histopathology revealed necrotizing funisitis, villous enlargement, and acute villitis associated with congenital syphilis. Erythroblastosis was more common in stillborn infants with congenital syphilis than all live-born infants (odds ratio 16, 95% confidence interval 1, 370). The addition of histologic evaluation to conventional diagnostic evaluations improved the detection rate for congenital syphilis from 67% to 89% in live-born infants, and 91% to 97% in stillborn infants. CONCLUSION: Our results show that histopathologic examination of the placenta is a valuable adjunct to the contemporary diagnostic criteria used to diagnose congenital syphilis.

Unemployment in Regional Labor Markets: Using Structural Theories to Understand Local Jobless Rates in West Virginia

The author uses a range of structural labor market models to understand differing regional jobless rates in a state affected by pockets of structural unemployment. Four theories of regional structural unemployment are presented, and their hypotheses are statistically evaluated using West Virginia county panel data. The author then presents case study evidence to compare these statistical results with the realities of the county labor markets. Both types of empirical evidence suggest that a segmented non-market-clearing model, in which structural unemployment stems from queuing for above-market-clearing wages in both a high-wage primary sector and a lower-wage secondary sector, can shed the most light on regional unemployment rates in West Virginia.

New Estimates of the Impact of EDA Public Works Program Investments on County Labor Markets

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) makes public works investments in distressed areas throughout the nation. In this study, these investments are found to have significantly positive effects on county employment levels after controlling for a variety of geographic, economic, and demographic factors. The investments have no significant effect on employee compensation. The estimates indicate that EDA public works investment provides counties with jobs at relatively low cost, suggesting that such investments are an effective means of job creation and retention in targeted counties. The article’s final section qualifies this conclusion somewhat, discussing the possibility that EDA investments act as a proxy for a coordinated local economic development strategy and evaluating the potential benefits of ameliorating regional decline.

From "Business Unionism" to "Social Movement Unionism": The Case of the AFL-CIO Milwaukee County Labor Council

AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils are regional labor federations that provide horizontal links between locals from different national unions. As such, labor councils afford an opportunity for local unions to become active in matters besides their own collective bargaining agreements. The Milwaukee County Labor Council has exploited its "supra-local" institu tional position to create a labor/community coalition that has crafted and pursued an alternative economic development plan to address the inter ests of both union and non-union workers. It has also used its position to forge electoral coalitions designed to increase the political capacity of organized labor. Taken together, this activity marks a departure from traditional forms of "business unionism", and constitutes a style of union ism that might be termed "social movement unionism."

Tax Incentive Requests and Offers in a State Economic Development Program

This paper analyzes expansion, relocation, and new business projects in Ohio between 1993 and 1995 to determine the characteristics that influence a project’s probability of receiving a tax incentive from the state. Empirical results indicate that establishment size and age, high local wages, and high local air pollution levels decrease a project’s probability of receiving tax assistance from the state government. The number of new jobs promised by the business establishment and the size of the county labor force increase a project’s likelihood of receiving an incentive.

The Australian Wage System and Its Labor Market Effects

In Australia, quasi‐judicial conciliation and arbitration tribunals set the terms and conditions under which the majority of employees work. Many commentators maintain that the activities of these tribunals have significantly affected the county's labor market and the operation of the economy. This paper outlines the distinguishing characteristics of Australia's wage determination system and reviews the research concerning its labor market consequences. Recent evidence suggests that critics of the system may have overstated their case.