This paper critically evaluates the contribution of labor economics and industrial relations research to our understanding of the impact of government labor market regulation. Recent theoretical and empirical literature is analyzed for four major policies: (a) workplace safety and health; (b)...

Between 1964 and 1971, hundreds of riots erupted in American cities, resulting in large numbers of injuries, deaths, and arrests, as well as in considerable property damage concentrated in predominantly black neighborhoods. There have been few studies of an econometric nature that examine the...

This paper uses newly collected archival evidence to examine various aspects of the geographic performance of American labor markets before the Civil War. Much of the paper addresses the evolution of regional differences in real wages, of interest to economic historians because they speak to the...

This paper uses newly collected archival evidence to examine various aspects of the geographic performance of American labor markets before the Civil War. Much of the paper addresses the evolution of regional differences in real wages, of interest to economic historians because they speak to the...

The 1850s witnessed one of the earliest American history. During the decade the proportion of individuals receiving public assistance -- increased from 5.8 in 1850 to 10.2 in 1860, an increase of 76 percent. Previous attempts to explain the increase in antebellum pauperism have been hampered by...

Employer-sponsored group pension plans offer an unusual window into long-term employment relationships. This is because the pension promise is documented in a set of explicit statements regarding future payment and employment agreements between workers and their employers. In this paper, we show...

This paper surveys recent research on employment and unemployment in the 1930s. Unlike earlier studies that tended to rely heavily on aggregate time series, the research discussed in this paper focuses on disaggregated data. This shift in focus stems from two factors. First, dissaggregated...

This paper examines the likely effects of the aging of the baby boom on labor force attachment, unemployment, and wages. Labor market trends between now and 2020 are the focus of analysis, when the majority of the baby boom generation will confront its retirement decision. We begin by reviewing...

Pensions have played a key role in the transformation of the way workers are paid in the US labor market This paper reviews and synthesizes what is known about the form and function of employer-provided pensions, and identifies areas where further information is most needed. for increasing our...