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Journal Article
Are displaced workers now finished at age forty?
In recent years, the media has devoted considerable attention to the effects of downsizing and corporate restructuring on U.S. workers. Economists as well as the media have focused in particular on the plight of laid-off, or "displaced," middle-aged workers. Because many displaced workers incur significant costs, the displacement rate and the effects of displacement on workers are of concern to policymakers. ; The conventional wisdom that middle-aged workers face an increased risk of being displaced and increased difficulties after displacement is partially borne out by this article's ...
Working Paper
Family structure and sex differences in postdisplacement outcomes
Labor force outcomes after an involuntary job loss tend to differ systematically between men and women, with women experiencing a lower probability of finding another job, a longer average duration of nonemployment, and larger losses in hours given reemployment. This study examines the role of family structure in such sex differences in postdisplacement outcomes. Data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics indicate that unmarried women have postdisplacement outcomes similar to men whereas married women?s outcomes differ considerably from those of men. The presence of children in the ...
Working Paper
Explaining changes in the age distribution of displaced workers
Using Displaced Worker Survey data, this paper examines changes in the age distribution of displaced workers during the 1983?87 and 1993?97 periods. Older workers comprised a significantly larger fraction of displaced workers during the later period. Potential explanations for this phenomenon include demographic shifts in the labor force, changes in technology, and industry and occupational shifts. Kernel density estimates indicate that the aging of the labor force accounts for the majority of the shift in the age distribution of displaced workers. Changes in technology also appear to have ...