The Black youth employment crisis / edited by Richard B. Freeman and Harry J. Holzer.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Freeman, Richard B. (Richard Barry), 1943-

Holzer, Harry J., 1957-

Series:

National Bureau of Economic Research project report.

National Bureau of Economic Research project report

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

African American youth--Employment--Congresses.

African American youth.

Unemployment--United States--Congresses.

Unemployment.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (482 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1986.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In recent years, the earnings of young blacks have risen substantially relative to those of young whites, but their rates of joblessness have also risen to crisis levels. The papers in this volume, drawing on the results of a groundbreaking survey conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research, analyze the history, causes, and features of this crisis. The findings they report and conclusions they reach revise accepted explanations of black youth unemployment. The contributors identify primary determinants on both the demand and supply sides of the market and provide new information on important aspects of the problem, such as drug use, crime, economic incentives, and attitudes among the unemployed. Their studies reveal that, contrary to popular assumptions, no single factor is the predominant cause of black youth employment problems. They show, among other significant factors, that where female employment is high, black youth employment is low; that even in areas where there are many jobs, black youths get relatively few of them; that the perceived risks and rewards of crime affect decisions to work or to engage in illegal activity; and that churchgoing and aspirations affect the success of black youths in finding employment. Altogether, these papers illuminate a broad range of economic and social factors which must be understood by policymakers before the black youth employment crisis can be successfully addressed.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

The Black Youth Employment Crisis: Summary of Findings

1. Black Youth Nonemployment: Duration and Job Search

2. Transitions between Employment and Nonemployment

3. Layoffs, Discharges and Youth Unemployment

4. The Spatial Mismatch Hypothesis: Are There Teenage Jobs Missing in the Ghetto?

5. The Demographic Determinants of the Demand for Black Labor

6. Brothers of a Different Color: A Preliminary Look at Employer Treatment of White and Black Youth

7. Do Better Jobs Make Better Workers? Absenteeism from Work Among Inner-City Black Youths

8. Market Incentives for Criminal Behavior

9. Who Escapes? The Relation of Churchgoing and Other Background Factors to the Socioeconomic Performance of Black Male Youths from Inner-City Tracts

10. The Effects of Attitudes and Aspirations on the Labor Supply of Young Men

11. Do Welfare Programs Affect the Schooling and Work Patterns of Young Black Men?

Appendix: NBER-Mathernatica Survey of Inner-City Black Youth: An Analysis of the Undercount of Older Youths

Contributors

Author Index

Subject Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographies and indexes.

ISBN:

9786611430948

9781281430946

1281430943

9780226261829

0226261824

OCLC:

476229347