A life cycle perspective is used in this study to develop and test a model suggesting that events occuring early in the worker's life, and often beyond his control (e.g., choice of parents), influence the control over labor force withdrawal and the retirement incomes of very early retirees. (CT)

Census data (1990) indicate that male African immigrants earn more than their Caribbean-born counterparts or native-born African Americans, but controlling for relevant earnings-related endowments erases the African advantage and elevates Caribbean earnings above those of the other groups. Also, African (but not Caribbean) university degree…

This article estimates economic benefits of White male college graduates in 1971 and 1976 by examining different indicators of economic benefits and variations in benefits by college degree and major. Results show little change in this period. Three tables show educational attainment, earnings variation, and estimated economic benefits of college.…

A matched sample of Social Security and Current Population Survey records is used to determine life-cycle earnings patterns of White males. Estimated effects of schooling and experience compare well with other studies, but interaction effects with cohort do not. Military experience plays a powerful role in earnings differences across cohorts.…

An examination of the effects of high school and college education on the earnings of Black and White males in 1972 and 1978 finds a convergence in the college and high school earnings gap for Whites but growing disparity for Blacks. Five tables provide sample characteristics and education-earnings data. (PB)

The average weekly earnings of nonmetro wage and salary workers continued to rise through 2001, although the pace has ebbed slightly since 2000. Earnings have grown steadily among all major demographic groups, although less educated workers experienced smaller gains than college graduates. Gains for less-educated workers suggest that welfare…

This chapter, Chapter 2 in "the Economics of Gender in Mexico," uses retrospective household survey data from Mexico to assess the long-term impacts of school dropout and of working early in life, in terms of adult labor market returns. Through these data, it is possible to link adult wages to the ages at which individuals started…

Relative earnings of young Mexican American workers declined during 1986-92, influenced by recession-induced changes in the U.S. earnings structure and new immigration laws. Although Mexican American females experienced significantly greater occupational segregation than males, structural changes in labor demand worked to reduce the gender…

This report examines whether the economic well-being of male immigrants to the United States improves substantially over time, details differences in economic progress of immigrants from different countries of origin, and assesses the impact of educational attainment on immigrants' earnings. Analyses are based on Public Use Micro Samples of the…

Economic theory suggests that when the reduction in earnings from dropping out of school is minimal, dropout rates will be high. As earnings loss for dropouts grows, however, the dropout rate should decrease. This chapter examines whether these predicted effects actually occur by looking at changes in dropout rates in Kentucky in the 1970s and…

The assessment of the effects of college social prestige and college selectivity on men's occupational status and income based on a national sample of men from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics is discussed. College selectivity has a significant impact on middle-aged men's income in a single year. (Author/MLW)

Attempts to explain the appreciable rise between 1961 and 1972 in the financial benefits for men aged 25-34 who completed high school. Concludes that the increasing rate of graduation from high school leads to an intensified perception of the high school dropout as unqualified, creating economic deprivation for those persons. (KO)

Racially different economic outcomes stem from multiple causes, including various "mismatches" between minority employees and available jobs. A skill mismatch occurs when individuals' education and job skills do not qualify them for existing jobs. A spatial mismatch means that people live far from the work for which they qualify. A…

The implications of an ethnicity variable, language usage patterns, on the status attainment of 1,777 Mexican American males, ages 18 to 64 years, in the civilian labor force were studied. Language was viewed as a background variable that influences the relative positioning of Chicanos in the stratification system. It was hypothesized that, in…

This paper investigated the effects of educational attainment on occupational status and earnings among men. Drawing on nine data sets, it attempted to assess the effects of schooling that persist after measured and unmeasured aspects of family background, and measured cognitive skill were controlled. It also examined differences in the effects of…