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Unions can have either positive or negative effects on risk-adjusted returns in pension plans. On the positive side, a union can improve monitoring of pension advisors and asset managers. On [...]

INTRODUCTION Over the past 30 years, the U.S. private pension system has undergone two important changes. First, the defined benefit (DB) plan has been replaced by the defined contribution (DC) [...], This paper uses simulation methods to determine the optimal mix of assets in a pension plan that has half of its assets in company stock. The optimal share is shown to vary with workers' risk aversion, non-pension wealth, and the financial characteristics of the underlying stock. Relative to a strategy that blends company stock with all bonds, there are substantial efficiency gains from optimizing the mix of stocks and bonds--particularly for workers with lower levels of risk aversion and substantial non-pension wealth holdings. The gains from optimizing also differ substantially depending upon the company stock's mix of systematic and idiosyncratic risk.

Using records from a large public university, we examine the impact of Greek social organizations on academic performance and labor market outcomes. To isolate the causal effect of Greek life, we exploit a university policy prohibiting students from joining a Greek organization during their first semester and requiring a minimum grade point average (GPA) for eligibility. Regression discontinuity and panel methods reveal that Greek affiliation reduces student grades by 0.1 – 0.3 standard deviations. Greek effects are largest during the semester of pledging, semesters of increased social activities, and for males. We find no evidence that Greek affiliation improves labor market outcomes for marginally eligible students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION "If I had not been so loyal to the company and left all of my 401(k) in Enron stock, if I'd diversified, then I would be in a lot [...], This study examines several issues surrounding the tendency for some pension funds to invest in their own company's stock. After reviewing the existing literature describing the benefits and costs of investing in company stock, the legislative environment surrounding company stock holdings is reviewed. Using data from Internal Revenue Service Form 5500 filings on the pension fund holdings of over 300,000 defined-contribution pension plans in the 1990s, we show that about one out often defined-contribution plans invest in their own stock, but about one-third of workers in defined-contribution plans have some company stock in their pension plan. Pension funds are shown to be less likely to invest in company stocks that lead to higher risk that financial markets do not reward. We also find that pensions that hold a larger share of assets in company stock earn a higher average return and a higher variance of returns.

During the 1980s, the minimum wage fell relative to prices and average wages in the U.S. economy. If the minimum to average wage ratio had been constant at the level maintained through the 1970s, the minimum wage would have been $5.51 in 1993. If the 1993 minimum wage had increased to $5.51, payments to minimum wage workers would have increased by an estimated $20.3 billion, and the number of people earning that wage would have risen from 2.0 million to 14.7 million. Elasticity estimates generated from other studies indicate that employment would have fallen 240,000 (4.4%) among 16-19 year olds and 349,000 (3.0%) among 20-24 year olds. Wage payments to minimum wage workers would have substantially increased, but the effect on family income distribution would have been small. Many minimum wage workers are children living with parents or adults in a family with other earners. Consequently, 75% of minimum wage workers account for less than half of their family's income., I. INTRODUCTION Since the Fair Labor Standards Act passed in 1938, the United States has legislated a minimum wage rate. The initial minimum wage was $.25 per hour and covered [...]

This study uses employment data on California county-industry pairs (CIPs) between 1990 and 2016 to test whether minimum wage increases caused employment growth to slow most in the CIPs with a large share of low wage workers. Evidence supports the hypothesis, and we use the estimates to simulate the effect of a 10% increase in the minimum wage. The simulations suggest that a 10% increase could cause a 3.4% employment loss in the average CIP in California. The job loss is projected to be concentrated in two industries: accommodation and food services, and retail. While the most populated counties of California are expected to incur the largest employment loss in terms of the number of workers, the smaller counties generally experience a larger percentage point loss in employment due to the lower wages and the greater number of workers that would be affected by the minimum wage hike. Moreover, there is substantial variation across counties in terms of the percentage of jobs lost within a given industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of their highly developed skills, major league baseball players generate significant economic rents. According to the 'weak version' of the Coase theorem, the allocation of these players is independent of who controls the rights to these rents, which depends on the rules governing competition in the baseball labour market. The rules of Major League Baseball establish a dual system. For senior players the market is competitive, and players have the right of 'free agency,' allowing them to attempt to contract with the team of their choice; for players with fewer years of experience the market is monopsonistic, and a player's right to play baseball is owned by his current team. Consequently, we simultaneously observe two different allocations of property rights. Using individual player data for 1979 and 1980 we test whether baseball player movement is independent of the ownership of these rents. We estimate the wage (marginal revenue) determination process for free-agent and non free agent movers and non-movers. This permits us to generate expected gains from a move for both free-agent eligible and non free-agent eligible players. Coase's theorem is tested by determining if both player types, and, hence, player allocation, are equally responsive to gains from migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data from the Current Population Surveys reveal that between 1979 and 1993 the gap in pension coverage between workers with less than 12 years of education and those with more than 16 years of education nearly tripled among men and more than quadrupled among women. The empirical analysis reveals that differences in labor market characteristics related to gender and education have grown over time and can account for virtually all the changing distribution of coverage. There is mixed evidence on the extent to which the growth of the 401(k) plan has contributed to the changing distribution of coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract--This study provides rationale for the underrepresentation of women in the pension sector, and examines the consequences for the gender wage gap. For a given set of observed characteristics, a woman is 11%-19% less likely than a man to have a pension. Of the unexplained portion of the gender wage gap, 10%-38% is due to unexplained differences m pension coverage. Finally, consistent with a screening effect of pensions, women are paid more equally in the pension sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The substantial effect of employer size on wages, health insurance and pension coverage is examined. Much of the size-related variation in compensation is shown to result from the types of jobs and workers hired by large employers. While firm and establishment size have similar effects on wages, firm-size effects clearly dominate in the provision of fringe benefits, particularly for pensions. Worker and job types explain a larger share of the size-related variation for wages than for health insurance or pension coverage. Possible explanations for these patterns are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two statistical tests are common for testing the efficiency market hypothesis (EMH) in gambling markets. One test is based on the idea that betting lines should be unbiased predictors of actual game outcomes. An alternative test is (in the absence of vigorish) whether there is a 0.5 probability of winning a bet. This article demonstrates that these two tests are not identical, and that the second test is a more useful test. Both test are applied to data from the 1988 NFL football season for both the Las Vegas betting line and the over-and-under line for pre-season, regular season and post-season games. The unbiased predictor test rejects the EMH for pre-season games. The 0.5 test is unable to reject the EMH for both betting lines and all sets of games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model of a firm's decision to guarantee job reinstatement following a parental leave is constructed. Guaranteed reinstatement emerges if the worker is willing to sacrifice wages greater than or equal to the minimum amount a firm requires for the policy. Predictions from the model find support in the empirical analysis. Firm size, training costs, and unions increase, while mobility of jobs skills decrease, the likelihood of a guaranteed leave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aggregate probability of ending a career interruption that begins at childbirth is shown to diminish rapidly with the length of the interruption. The empirical models estimated suggest that the decline can be explained by a combination of structural duration dependence, unobserved heterogeneity, and differences in observed characteristics. The probability of returning to employment for a group of women with identical observed characteristics is found to have an L-shaped distribution for the majority of the sample, suggesting that many women have a very low probability of returning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]