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Unskilled Labor (unskilled + labor)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting75%

Selected Abstracts

Capital-skill Complementarity and Inequality: A Macroeconomic Analysis

ECONOMETRICA, Issue 5 2000
Per Krusell
The supply and price of skilled labor relative to unskilled labor have changed dramatically over the postwar period. The relative quantity of skilled labor has increased substantially, and the skill premium, which is the wage of skilled labor relative to that of unskilled labor, has grown significantly since 1980. Many studies have found that accounting for the increase in the skill premium on the basis of observable variables is difficult and have concluded implicitly that latent skill-biased technological change must be the main factor responsible. This paper examines that view systematically. We develop a framework that provides a simple, explicit economic mechanism for understanding skill-biased technological change in terms of observable variables, and we use the framework to evaluate the fraction of variation in the skill premium that can be accounted for by changes in observed factor quantities. We find that with capital-skill complementarity, changes in observed inputs alone can account for most of the variations in the skill premium over the last 30 years. [source]

The Green Revolution, development of labor markets, and poverty reduction in the rural Philippines, 1985,2004

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2006
Jonna P. Estudillo
Poverty; Landlessness; Green Revolution; Investments in schooling Abstract Using a long-term household panel data set collected in three rural villages in the Philippines in 1985 and 2004, this article explores how the Green Revolution and development of the labor markets have affected household income and poverty situation. The initial rise in income associated with the Green Revolution and a stronger credit access has enabled the households to allocate funds for investing in children's schooling. With the increased integration of the rural with the urban labor market, these children are able to explore labor opportunities in the nonfarm sector that resulted in a decline in poverty by about one-half. The landless households, who are less educated, benefited, too, from the expansion of the nonfarm labor market, because of the rise in rural wages associated with the rise in demand for the unskilled labor, which is by far their most important asset. [source]

Characteristics of teens with and without work permits

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MEDICINE, Issue 11 2009
Janet Abboud Dal Santo DrPH
Abstract Background Factors associated with the issuance of mandated work permits for teens, and their enforcement are currently unknown. Methods A cross-sectional survey was administered to 1945 teens at 16 randomly selected North Carolina high schools. Predictor variables examined included teens' socio-demographic characteristics, employment patterns, and labor law knowledge. Results One thousand and ninety-four non-working and 844 working teens participated. Seventy-seven percent of working teens worked during the school year and 39% started working younger than 16. The majority (80%) worked in retail and services. Forty-four percent worked without work permits. Factors associated with being less likely to be issued a work permit included white race, employment in a family-owned business, being a laborer, and limited or no knowledge of child labor laws. Conclusions Adherence to and enforcement of the work permit system is low. Interventions should specifically target teens who work in family owned businesses, in unskilled labor and in hazardous industries. Am. J. Ind. Med. 52:841,849, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Why Are Chinese Exports Not So Special?

CHINA AND WORLD ECONOMY, Issue 1 2009
Shunli Yao
C43; F10; F14 Abstract Applying a commonly used index for export sophistication in a cross-country study, Rodrik finds that the technological content of Chinese exports over the past decade has been so high that it cannot be explained simply by the economic fundamentals of a low-income country abundant with unskilled labor. Question has been raised for the empirical robustness of the index. I am also doubtful with Rodrik's analysis but develop my argument from a different perspective. This paper briefly reviews Rodrik's methodology and identifies other factors his empirical results potentially hinge on. Based on this, it elaborates on China's unique processing trade regime, the uneven distribution of its exports across Chinese regions and the limitation of HS codes in terms of identifying differentiated products, in an attempt to show that these factors also contribute to higher estimations of China's export sophistication level. Finally, it organizes trade data to reveal the trade patterns that are indeed consistent with the country's comparative advantage. [source]