Documents Black, Sandra E. 4 results

"Job reallocation is considered a key characteristic of well-functioning labor markets, as more productive firms grow and less productive ones contract or close. Despite its potential benefits for the economy, however, costs that are borne by the displaced workers are significant. The authors study how job displacement in Norway affects cardiovascular health, using a sample of men and women who are predominantly in their early 40s. To do so, they merge survey data on health and health behaviors with register data on person and firm characteristics. The authors compare the health of displaced and non-displaced workers from five years before to seven years after displacement. Results show that job displacement leads to an increase in smoking behavior for both men and women but few other short-term health effects. These results are robust to a variety of specification checks."

"Job reallocation is considered to be a key characteristic of well-functioning labor markets, as more productive firms grow and less productive ones contract or close. However, despite its potential benefits for the economy, there are significant costs that are borne by displaced workers. We study how job displacement in Norway affects cardiovascular health using a sample of men and women who are predominantly aged in their early forties. To do so we merge survey data on health and health behaviors with register data on person and firm characteristics. We track the health of displaced and non-displaced workers from 5 years before to 7 years after displacement. We find that job displacement has a negative effect on the health of both men and women. Importantly, much of this effect is driven by an increase in smoking behavior. These results are robust to a variety of specification checks."

"An argument dating from Gary Becker's work in 1957, but seldom tested, is that discrimination withers in an increasingly competitive environment because its practice raises production costs. This study finds that employers in concentrated U.S. manufacturing industries--which, compared to competitive industries, are largely insulated from competitive pressures--did reduce discrimination against women partly in response to globalization-related increases in competition in the 1980s. Specifically, between 1976 and 1993, the residual gender wage gap narrowed more rapidly in concentrated industries that experienced a trade shock than in competitive industries that experienced a trade shock. The authors conclude that although trade may increase wage inequality by modestly reducing the relative wages of less-skilled workers, at the same time it appears to benefit women by reducing the ability of firms to discriminate."