Karen Leppel

Similarities and Differences in the College Persistence of Men and Women

Using national-level data and a two-step procedure combining least squares regression and logit analysis, this paper examines factors influencing college persistence of men and women. Having children has a negative impact on mens persistence but a positive impact on womens persistence. Being Black raises persistence significantly only for women. Age, marriage, and hours worked have a negative impact; and family income, GPA, and being Asian have a positive impact on both mens and womens persistence.

An investigation into sexual orientation discrimination as an explanation for wage differences

This study explores the effects of sexual orientation on earnings. It is found that, ceteris paribus, men living with male partners tend to earn less than other men, and women living with female partners tend to earn more than other women. These earnings differentials tend to vary by region. They also vary by education and occupation for men, and with the presence of minor children for women. In addition, the age-earnings profiles of women living with female partners tend to be higher, flatter, and less concave than those of other women.

The impact of parental occupation and socioeconomic status on choice of college major

This study examines the effects of socioeconomic status and parental occupation on choice of college major, with special attention directed toward female and male differences. The study uses multinomial logit analysis and data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 1990 Survey of Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS). Having a father in a professional or executive occupation has a larger effect on female students than does having a mother in a similar occupation. The opposite holds for males. Women from families with high socioeconomic status are less likely to major in business; the opposite holds for males. Students who believe that being very well off financially is very important are more likely to major in business than are other students.

The impact of major on college persistence among freshmen

Using national-level data and a two-step procedure combining least squares regression and logit analysis, this paper examines the impact of majors on college persistence among freshmen. Holding other variables constant, women with business majors and undecided majors are less likely to persist than other women. Women with health majors are most likely to persist. Men with education majors and undecided majors are less likely to persist than other men. Men with business majors are slightly more likely to persist than other men. Differences in persistence rates are explained by differences in the relative magnitudes of goal-commitment, subject-interest, social-forces, and self-image effects. Some policy recommendations are provided.

LOGIT ESTIMATION OF A GRAVITY MODEL OF THE COLLEGE ENROLLMENT DECISION

A set of students who had been accepted at a particular university was examined to determine the factors influencing a students decision to enroll at that school. A gravity model predicted that distance is an important determinant of the enrollment decision. The students ability level, by influencing the students other options, also was expected to have an impact on the decision. Logit analysis confirmed these predictions. While other variables, such as family income and program of study, may have an impact on earlier stages of the college selection decision, those variables do not influence the final stage of that decision.

Labour Force Status and Sexual Orientation

This study explores the probabilities of being employed, unemployed, and not in the labour force, for men and women in same-sex couples and married and unmarried opposite-sex couples. Same-sex partners were more likely to be unemployed than married opposite-sex partners but less likely than unmarried opposite-sex partners. Laws prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination had positive and larger effects on unemployment for same-sex partners than for other partners. The presence of young children increased the probability of being out of the labour force more for male same-sex partners than for other men, and less for female same-sex partners than for other women.

The growth in involuntary part-time employment of men and women

This study presents an economic model that explains the growth in involuntary part-time employment. The results of three-stage least squares estimation show that for men and women, similar factors have influenced involuntary part-time employment. Its growth has been encouraged by downturns in the business cycle and expansion of the service sector. Declines in the percent of the population under 5 years of age and increases in the level of skill among the employed have had the opposite effect.

Race, Hispanic Ethnicity, and the Future of the College Business Major in the United States.

Abstract This article explores the impact of race and Hispanic ethnicity on the business major. Results of a survey show that, when other characteristics are held constant, Asians and non-Hispanic Blacks are less likely and Hispanics more likely to major in business than non-Hispanic Whites are. If, for each demographic group, the high school graduation rate, the percentage of high school graduates attending 4-year institutions, and the percentage of students majoring in business remain constant, an increase in the number of business majors can be expected. However, if Hispanics and non-Hispanic Blacks make socioeconomic advances, the number of business majors is likely to increase to a lesser degree and may even decrease.

The Importance of Job Training to Job Satisfaction of Older Workers

If job training has positive impacts on worker satisfaction, then job training can have desirable consequences for an organization that result both directly through its effects on productivity and indirectly through its effects on job satisfaction. Furthermore, the aging of the workforce implies that older workers will become increasingly important to firms and to the economy. This study, therefore, seeks to examine the relationship between job training and job satisfaction, focusing in particular on U.S. workers born in 1964 or earlier. The results of ordered logit regression analysis indicate that availability and quality of training received directly affect job satisfaction.

The labor force status of transgender men and women

ABSTRACT This study uses data from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey to explore the labor force status of transgender men and women. The data suggest that transgender individuals tend to have higher unemployment rates than those reported elsewhere for the general U.S. population. Differences in the distributions of labor force statuses of transgender men and women were found; women were more likely to be out of the labor force, while men were more likely to be employed. Multinomial logit analysis revealed both similarities and differences in the effects of characteristics that influence labor force status of transgender men and women. In particular, the ability of other people to identify transgender individuals as such increased the odds of both transgender men and women being out of the labor force rather than employed. State laws prohibiting employment discrimination against transgender individuals increased the odds of transgender men being out of the labor force rather than employed, while no significant effect of such laws on transgender women was found.