Doctoral Dissertation Research: Job Instability and Worker Wellbeing

自20世纪80年代以来，随着雇主在雇佣制度中追求更大的灵活性，美国工人的工作稳定性一直在下降。传统上的弱势群体，如年轻工人和黑人，稳定性下降幅度最大，但即使是迄今为止稳定的工人，如年长的经理和专业人士，也受到了影响。这个项目调查了在20世纪80年代初首次进入劳动力市场的工人频繁更换工作的经济后果。由于工人和劳动力市场的特点决定了流动性和工资之间的关系，不稳定的经济影响不太可能是统一的。因此，该项目探讨了在哪些条件下工作不稳定会产生更好或更差的工资结果。利用1979年至1998年全国青年纵向研究的数据，该分析确定了三个主要背景因素如何塑造流动模式和工资概况之间的关系：1)工人换工作的原因，2)工作变化的模式，3)发生变化的劳动力市场类型。研究结果为经济变化对工人福利的影响提供了理论见解，并为解决没有永久雇主的工人的需求提供了政策启示。

Since the 1980s, job stability for American workers has been falling as employers pursue increased flexibility in employment systems. Traditionally vulnerable groups such as young workers and blacks have experienced the largest decreases in stability, but even hitherto stable workers such as older managers and professionals have been affected. This project investigates the economic consequences of frequent job changes for workers who first entered the labor market in the early 1980s. Because worker and labor market characteristics shape the relationship between mobility and wages, the economic effects of instability are unlikely to be uniform. The project thus explores the conditions under which job instability creates better or worse wage outcomes.Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth from 1979 to 1998, the analysis identifies how three main contextual factors shape the relationship between mobility patterns and wage profiles: 1) workers' reasons for changing jobs, 2) patterns of job change, 3) and types of labor markets in which the changes occur. The results offer theoretical insights into the consequences of economic change for worker well-being, and policy implications for addressing the needs of workers without a permanent employer.