One competitive-market explanation of interindustry wage differentials that is not challenged by the persistence of these differentials is that they are due to differences across workers in unobserved ability or quality. In contrast, this paper explores the unobserved ability hypothesis by using...

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...

The focus on employment effects in recent studies of minimum wages ignores an important interaction between schooling, employment, and the minimum wage. To study these linkages, the authors estimate a conditional logit model of employment and enrollment outcomes for teenagers using state-year...

We explore the feasibility of improving upon the preliminary estimates of payroll employment growth from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics by predicting subsequent revisions to these estimates, using the preliminary estimates themselves and other information available concurrently. Results of...

We study a set of programs implemented in Philadelphia high schools that focus on boosting high school graduation, and especially college attendance, using data from the Philadelphia Educational Longitudinal Study (PELS). We examine the effects of these programs on a set of schooling-related...