Elasticity of Supply to the Firm and the Business Cycle

A body of recent empirical work has found strong evidence that the labor elasticity of supply to the firm is finite, implying that firms may have wage setting power. However, these studies capture only snapshots of the parameter. We study this parameter over a period that provides substantial variation in the business cycle. Using a rich employee level dataset from the inter-war period, we are able to estimate the elasticity of supply to the firm during several recessions and expansions. Our analysis suggests that the elasticity is indeed lower during recessions, consistent with the comparative statics from the Burdett-Mortensen search model. This differential wage setting power over the business cycle provides an alternative explanation of the pro-cyclicality of wages.business cycles, labor market frictions, monopsony

On Input Market Frictions and Estimation of Factors Demand

In this paper we explore the impact of imperfectly competitive input markets on production function estimation. First order profit maximizing conditions are altered when frictions in input markets cause the elasticity of input supply to the firm to be finite. A consequence of this is that the standard econometric model used for production function estimation will be misspecified. We prove that, in all non trivial cases, finite elasticities of supply to the firm will lead to inconsistent estimates of production function parameters. Monte Carlo simulations show that the resulting bias can be economically significant.input market frictions, labor market frictions, estimation of factor demand

The Labor Market Value to Legal Status

We present estimates of the effect of legal immigration status on earnings of undocumented workers. Our contribution to the literature centers on a two-step procedure that allows us to first estimate the legal status of an immigrant and then estimate the effect of the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) on immigrants’ labor market outcomes using a triple difference approach. From a sample of young to middle aged Mexican men, our results show that IRCA causes a 20 log point increase in labor market earnings of Mexican immigrants over the long run, and that nearly all of this increase is in the occupational wage. These results suggest that the primary disadvantage for undocumented workers is the type of jobs that they are able to obtain. We estimate the model for immigrants from other countries not benefiting from IRCA to the extent that Mexican immigrants did, and find no systematic bias towards positive and significant results.immigration, legal status, immigration reform

Mexican Immigrants, the Labor Market and the Current Population Survey: Seasonality Effects, Framing Effects, and Sensitivity of Results

In this paper we compare estimates of immigrants’ labor supply assimilation profiles using the Current Population Survey Annual Demographic Files (March ADS) and the Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Groups (ORGs). We use a measure that is seemingly consistent across both surveys: usual weekly hours of work in the main job. Our results indicate that the two surveys produce dramatically different estimates of the change in average hours of work as immigrants’ years in the United States increase: estimates from the March ADS predict much steeper hour’s assimilation profiles than do estimates obtained from the ORGs. We argue that these differences stem from two separate factors that differentiate the data. First, the ADS and ORG frame the usual hours worked question differently. Also, differences in the timing of the surveys may produce seasonality effects that differentially affect the composition of recent and earlier migrants, thereby changing assimilation profiles.immigration, March CPS, CPS outgoing rotations, hours of work

Leadership: Three Key Employee-Centered Elements with Case Studies - Editor's Commentary

Type: Commentar

Migration Creation, Diversion, and Retention: New Deal Grants and Migration: 1935-1940

During the 1930s the federal government embarked upon an ambitious series of grant programs designed to counteract the Great Depression. The amounts distributed varied widely across the country and potentially contributed to population shifts. We estimate an aggregate discrete choice model, in which household heads choose among 466 economic subregions. The structural model allows us to decompose the effects of program spending on migration into three categories: the effect of spending on keeping households in their origin (retention), the effect of pulling non-migrants out of their origin (creation), and the effect of causing migrants to substitute away from an alternative destination (diversion). An additional dollar of public works and relief spending increased net migration into an area primarily by retaining the existing population and creating new migration into the county. Only a small share of the increase in net migration rate was caused by diversion of people who had already chosen to migrate. AAA spending contributed to net out migration, primarily by creating new out migrants and repelling potential in migrants. A counterfactual analysis suggests that the uneven distribution of New Deal spending explains about twelve percent of the internal migration flows in the United States between 1935 and 1940.

Leadership: Three Key Employee-Centered Elements with Case Studies - Editor's Commentary

Type: Commentar

Reinventing how pharmacy educators connect as a community

© Pharmacy of Colleges of Association American 2020. The onset of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has added a new layer of complexity to an already difficult period for academic pharmacy. The need to follow social-distancing guidelines has resulted in rapid adoption of technology-enabled communication strategies. While these technologies provide unprecedented ways in which we can connect as an academic community, we must consider their effectiveness in not only promoting exchange of information, but also creating inspiration within the community and supporting the level of interdependence required to tackle the difficult challenges that lie ahead. As the connecting body within the community of pharmacy education, it is incumbent on the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) to consider how we will adapt during this period of disruption. We must adopt new strategies that will allow our members to connect in new, meaningful ways, ways that stimulate ideas, new partnerships, and an overall sense of hope for our future

Defining Levels of Learning for Strengths Development Programs in Pharmacy

The Clifton StrengthsFinder® is an online measure of personal talent that identifies where an individual’s greatest potential for building strengths exists. This paper describes a framework for strengths education in pharmacy which includes introductory, intermediate and advanced levels of learning. The use of the StrengthsFinder® assessment and supporting workshops aids student pharmacists, pharmacy residents and practitioners in identifying and refining their talents and connecting talents to roles in the profession. Additional learning strategies support a learner’s progression to intermediate and advanced levels of learning, which focus on the application of strengths in teams, leadership, and organizational development. By articulating and recognizing levels of learning around strengths-related content and skills, strong instructional design is fostered. Optimal design includes development of a sequence of learning opportunities delivered over time, a roll-out plan and consideration of the instructional resources required

Sharing Community Engagement in Pharmacy - An Invitation

Type: Invitatio