Measures to directly create jobs have begun to occupy an important position in American economic policies. Most of these measures involve direct public service programs and employment subsidies. This paper explores the reasons for the emergence of such programs and notes that the economic rationale for these measures suggests a substantial…

Policies to regulate and support labor markets in the United States have mainly been an initiative of the federal government. Historically, states and localities were reluctant to act independently to build up worker rights and protections for fear of competitively disadvantaging resident industries with added costs. Federal constitutional…

In response to a 1982 request by the U.S. Department of the Army, the National Research Council's Board on Army Science and Technology established the Committee on Army Manpower to investigate the professional environments and use of civilian and military scientists/engineers in Army laboratories. The committee's primary objective was to identify…

Unemployment compensation in the United States is provided through a federal-state system of unemployment insurance (UI). UI provides temporary partial wage replacement to active job seekers who are involuntarily out of work. For older workers, UI is an important source of income security and a potential influence on work incentives. For example,…

The General Accounting Office (GAO) studied selected nations' policies to increase the number of older workers participating in the labor force. The main data collection activities were as follows: (1) an analysis of population and labor force data from eight high-income Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development member nations; (2) an…