Dr. Henry Sui, UBC

Dr. Henry Sui from University of British Columbia will present a seminar on March 5.

Title: The Micro and Macro of Disappearing Routine Jobs: A Flows Approach

Abstract:

In recent decades, the U.S. labor market has become increasingly polarized with the share of employment in middle-wage jobs shrinking over time. This job polarization process has been
associated with the disappearance of per capita employment in occupations focused on routine
tasks. We use matched individual-level data from the CPS to study labor market flows and
determine how this disappearance has played out at the "micro" and "macro" levels. At the
macro level, we determine which changes in transition rates account for the disappearance of
routine employment. We find that changes in three transition rate categories are of primary
importance: (i) the unemployment to routine employment transition rate, (ii) the labor force non- participation to routine employment rate, and (iii) the routine employment to non-participation
rate. At the micro level, we study how these transition rates have changed since job polarization
and the extent to which these changes are accounted for by changes in demographic composition or changes in the behavior of individuals with particular demographic characteristics. We find that the preponderance of changes are due to changes in the propensity of individuals to make such transitions, and relatively little is due to demographics.

Time: 4:00 pm

Location: Timlin Room (Arts 807)

This seminar is part of the Department of Economics Seminar Series. Everyone is welcome.