In this paper we use data from a recent survey of employers to analyze the job performance and retention rates of recently hired welfare recipients. In particular, we analyze whether or not the employer experienced each of a set of problems with that employee; subjective employer ratings of worker...

A consistent observation is that black employers tend to hire African Americans at greater rates than their white counterparts. This paper examines the reasons for this pattern using data from the 1992-94 Multi-City Employer Survey, which is a representative sample of firms in Atlanta, Boston,...

In this paper, we analyze employer demand for ex-offenders. We use data from a recent survey of employers to analyze not only employer preferences for offenders, but also the extent to which they check criminal backgrounds in the presence of very imperfect information about the job applicants...

In this paper, we assess whether boosting minority car-ownership rates would narrow inter-racial employment rate differentials. We pursue two empirical strategies. First, we explore whether the effect of auto ownership on the probability of being employed is greater for more segregated groups of...

In this paper we review evidence from previous studies of job and employment instability among less-educated young workers, and we provide some new evidence from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Our results indicate that early employment instability contributes somewhat to the low...

In this paper I present evidence on the extent to which labor market tightness, and measured by job vacancy rates and other indicators of hiring difficulty, affect the willingness of establishments to hire welfare recipients. From these estimates, I infer the effects of the business cycle on the...

We present evidence that the employment and labor force participation rates of less-educated young black men declined in the 1980?s as well as the 1990?s, despite the very strong economic conditions of the latter period. The secular decline among young black men is much stronger than among other...

This study hypothesizes that stringent state welfare policies may promote enrollment and reduce employment through four mechanisms taking place in the larger society, the local labor market and the family, particularly for adolescents from low-income families. We conduct a rigorous and robust...

The federal government spent more than $19 billion on subsidized housing programs for the poor in Fiscal Year 1992. Of this amount, roughly two-thirds was spent on Section 8 housing vouchers and one-third on public housing projects. Although spending on these programs is nearly equal to Aid to...

The Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), enacted in 1982 as a major initiative of the Reagan Administration, created what became a $5 billion federally-funded employment and training program for disadvantaged workers. The JTPA directs the states to provide services to "those who can benefit...