Losing Generations Adolescents in High-Risk Settings (1993) / Chapter Skim
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2 EARNINGS AND EMPLOYMENT
2 EARNINGS AND EMPLOYMENT
Pages 24-40
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From page 24... ...
Although many factors form the settings in which adolescents live, and these are discussed in subsequent chapters, family income is the key influence on all settings. Therefore, to understand why increasing numbers of children and adolescents are spending their formative years in high-risk settings, it is first necessary to understand the economic position of their parents.
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From page 25... ...
economy, coupled with demographic changes that have increased the number of femaTe-headed households, have caused a substantial and broacI-basec3 deterioration in the economic position of this age group. The decline in income cuts across race, gender, and educational attainment, but it is especially pronounced among the less educated- those with a high school diploma or less-and is almost as significant for high school graduates who do not obtain a 4-year college degree.
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From page 26... ...
All Workers 21,823 20,678 -5.2 White Males Dropoutsa 19,848 16,108 -18.8 High school graduatesb 24,889 21,776 -12.5 College graduatesC 29,288 29,780 +1.7 Black Males Dropouts 14,596 14,594 0 High school graduates 19,449 16,638 -14.5 College graduates 26,830 24,348 -9.3 White Females Dropouts 12,623 10,852 -14.0 High school graduates 15,403 15,348 0 College graduates 20,987 23,791 +13.4 Black Females Dropouts 11,749 11,169 -4.9 High school graduates 14,596 13,285 -9.0 College graduates 19,349 19,567 +1.1 NOTES: Whites include both the white and the "other" racial group. aCompleted schooling of less than 12 years.
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CSchooling of 16 years or more. SOURCE: The statistics were calculated using data from the March 1980 and March 1989 Current Population Surveys.
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Overall employment levels may also be affected, especially in situations where young, less skilled workers - ,~ {due to the demand for higher skill levels J or unwilling to accept them Due to lower wages d. For young blacks, the loss of manufacturing jobs is even more important because relative wages for black workers have been higher in this sector than in others {Berlin and Sum, 1988; Krueger and Summers, 1987; Sum and Fogg, 1987J.
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. Immigrant workers have increased the workforce of high school dropouts by approximately 25 percent, the workforce of high school graduates by 6 or 7 percent, and the workforce of college graduates by 10 to 11 percent {Borjas et al., l991al.
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Although a lower minimum wage has the beneficial effect of stimulating job creation, particularly for teenagers, there are also costs. A Tower minimum wage also constrains the wages paid to unskilled workers, jobs that are held by blacks, high school dropouts and young, less educated black women bound and Freeman, 1991; Blackburn et al., 19901.
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Most evidence suggests that racial discrimination against nonwhite men continues, and that women of all races suffer considerable discrimination in comparison with men {Taynes and Williams, 19891. The previously cited study of Chicago-area businesses found strong prejudices against inner-city black men, who were viewed by employers as "unstable, uncooperative, dishonest and uneducated." Employers screened out job candidates based on class characteristics and were particularly wary of hiring men or women who exhibited speech and dress patterns associated with ghetto culture {Kirschenman and Neckerman, 19901.
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._ ~ ~ a ~ _ lo_ Adequacy of Basic Skills Another explanation for decreased earnings among less educated workers is a decline in basic reading and math skills. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, 30 percent of adolescents and young adults lack basic literacy skills and are consequently unable to absorb and synthesize written information essential to carrying out an unfamiliar task {Venezky et al., 19871.
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From page 33... ...
Thus higher paying jobs are increasingly less accessible to illiterate or marginally literate workers iBailey, 19881. Trends in basic skills cannot explain the declining economic position of less educated young adults; The demand for basic academic skills {due to technological changes and other factors J rose more rapidly over the past 15 years than the supply of young workers with such skills, but other forces are also at work.
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The authors conclude that the clecline in marriage rates among black women and the concomitant increase in black babies born to unmarried! women has been a major cause of the persistently large gap between family incomes of blacks and whites.
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has hypothesized that the diminished economic position of young black males is the primary contributing factor to the increasing proportion of black women who have children outside of marriage. Espenshade i1985J, FarIey and Bianchi jl987)
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The causes of declining family incomes are rooted in complex economic and sociological changes that are only partially understood, and that will therefore be difficult to alter. In the chapters that follow, we examine the major settings that shape the lives of adolescents, consider how these are influenced by family income, and assess how settings influence adolescent behavior and life opportunities.
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1989b Is the test score decline responsible for the productivity growth decline? American Economic Review 79~1 I: 1 78-197.
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Weinberg 1992 The Historical Record: Trends in Family Income, Inequality, and Poverty. Paper prepared for the Panel on Poverty and Family Statistics, Committee on National Statistics, National Research Council, Washington, D.C.
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Mincer, J 1991 Human Capital, Technology, and the Wage Structure: What Do Time Series Show?
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From page 40... ...
Monthly Labor Review 112~1l)
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