Joseph C. Ullman

Women of Steel: Female Blue-Collar Workers in the Basic Steel Industry.

ine whether making WC premiums more accurately reflect the firms injury experiences significantly reduces industrial injuries. The answer is not obvious because small firms (with no experience rating) and large firms (the most completely experience rated) have the lowest injury rates. Chelius and Smith present results strongly implying that improved experience rating has little effect on injury rates. While they are careful to note that a more detailed measure of premium savings might provide a sharper picture, my opinion is that if one has to use a microscope to find something, it is not very large. William Johnson raises the possibility that WC has caused greater work disincentives over time because of growing reliance on payments related to wage loss rather than on lump-sum payments. Unfortunately, he puts this simple idea in very cumbersome economic language, so that the argument (on pages 139-40) loses much of its force. Moreover, his basic empirical result is that among the injured, benefit generosity has little influence on labor supply. He fails, however, to provide empirical results on the behavioral influence of payment mode-lump sum versus payments contingent upon earningsalthough the data appear to be there. How benefit increases during the 1970s influenced the allocation of resources to injury protection is the topic addressed in the essay by James Chelius. He finds a positive relationship between income replacement generosity and a measure of injury frequency. Although Chelius does not note it explicitly, the implication of an early part of his essay is that workers take fewer precautions as their costs of injuries fall. Another interpretation, consistent with research on unemployment insurance, is that causality runs both ways and that states with relatively high injury rates pass WC laws with relatively generous benefits. Thus, we cannot be sure from Cheliuss single-equation model what is going on. The final essay, by Alan Dillingham, examines structural changes in the economy and the workforce using a fixed coefficient framework to summarize the effect of changes in the agesex-industry-occupation distributon on injury rates and WC costs over time. He finds downward pressure on WC costs during the 196080 period, which he attributes to a decrease in the number of older workers and an increase in the number of younger and female workers. He also forecasts WC costs through 1995 based on demographic trends. This essay presents the types of numbers that are helpful in the policy decision process. It also underscores that the issue of sex differences in injury rates merits further analysis. The general thrust of this set of essays might have been improved if the authors had made readers more aware of how the subject fits into the field of social insurance. In particular, these essays could have benefited from greater recognition of the similarities between WC and medical and unemployment insurance. Still, I think that this book is must reading for someone interested in the relation between the economics of job safety and the WC program.

How Accurate are Estimates of State and Local Unemployment

Local and area unemployment has increased interest in and the importance of state and local unemployment estimates. This study examines the accuracy of such estimates by comparing those provided by the 1960 Census of Population with those of the Bureau of Employment Security of the United States Department of Labor (for April 1960). Additional comparisons are also made with national and regional Current Population Survey estimates for the same month. The study shows that there was considerable divergence between the BES and Census estimates of state and local unemployment, thus raising the question of the adequacy of these estimates for purposes of resting policy decisions on them. (Authors abstract courtesy EBSCO.)

JOB SEARCH IN THE LABOR MARKET FOR COLLEGE GRADUATES: A CASE STUDY OF MBAs

The article explores the relationship between job search and subsequent careers of alumni of master of business administration (MBA). There was a significant positive relationship between the magni...

Are Job Banks Improving The Labor Market Information System

Discussion of the effectiveness of Job Banks in improving the labor market information system in the United States. Reasons for the need to improve the labor market information system; Relationship between unemployment and inflation; Details on the proposed memorandum related to the extension of Utah-type systems into a nationwide network. (Abstract copyright EBSCO.)

The Structure and Scope of Appeals Procedures for Public Employees

Examines the structure and scope of public sector appeals procedures and compares them with private sector procedures. Overview of public sector appeals procedures; Criteria for evaluating grievance procedures; Extent of grievance arbitration. (Abstract copyright EBSCO.)