INSTRUCTIONS: Choose a topic and then read the required articles on labor force participation. In addition, you should find at least two more articles that look at the question from an economic perspective. Based on these sources, answer the questions for each assignment in your paper. A major purpose of this writing assignment is to practice using economic reasoning. Please use the tools of economic analysis. Your comments based on knowledge from other disciplines and your normative judgements are welcome, but please put these in a summary discussion or conclusion at the end of your paper.
Topic
DECLINING LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION AMONG PRIME AGE MEN: CAUSES AND IMPLICATIONS
Explain the major reasons why labor force participation has decreased among prime age men in the last few decades. Why is this an important obstacle to economic growth? What can be done about it?
Council of Economic Advisers, “The Long-Term Decline in Prime-Age Male Labor Force Participation” June 2016 (pdf on Blackboard) Executive Summary p. 2-4
ADDITIONAL SOURCES: To support your arguments, read at least 2 additional sources. Sources may include reputable business and economics periodicals such as the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, Business Week and Forbes. Articles from peer-reviewed economics journals are highly encouraged.
CITATIONS: Acknowledging that you have used other people’s ideas is a central part of academic discourse. It is only fair to give credit to someone whose work you are using. For this reason, all quotations, and all significant ideas or facts taken from your sources, must be acknowledged.
In this assignment, you may use an abbreviated style to refer to the assigned texts, such as (North p. 34). For your additional sources, use the author’s name, publication date and then page. For example, if you are citing Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel, published in 1999, you may write (Diamond 1999, p. 3) in the text, and then include the full citation in a bibliography at the end of the text.
MAXIMUM LENGTH: 7 pages, 1.5 space, 12 point Times Roman type. Please do not exceed to this length.
Note: A major purpose of this writing assignment is to practice using economic reasoning. Please use the tools of economic analysis. Your comments based on knowledge from other disciplines and your normative judgements are welcome, but please put these in a summary discussion or conclusion at the end of your paper.
Men’s declining labor force participation
In “Why are prime-age men vanishing from the labor force?” (Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, first quarter 2018), author Didem Tüzemen looks at the decline in the labor force participation rate of “prime-age men” (men who are ages 25 to 54, which is generally considered to be “prime working age,” a period when people’s employment and earnings potential may be at its maximum).
The labor force participation rate is the proportion of the adult population that is in the labor force, either working or looking for work. The participation rate for men has declined substantially since the 1960s and the decline has accelerated in recent years. The economic consequences of men’s nonparticipation in the labor force may be significant in coming decades. Thus the increasing level of nonparticipation is of interest to economists and policymakers.
The increase in men’s nonparticipation varies depending on their age, education attainment, and job skill level. Tüzemen’s article uses data from the Current Population Survey to analyze changes in the nonparticipation among men with these different characteristics.
During the 1996–2016 period, the nonparticipation rate increased the most for younger men of prime working age, those age 25 to 34. In terms of education, the largest increase in nonparticipation was seen among men with the middle levels of educational attainment—those with either (1) a high school diploma but no college, (2) some college, or (3) an associate’s degree. Historically, men with less education have had higher nonparticipation rates than more educated men. Over the last two decades, the increase in nonparticipation was less pronounced among men at the extremes of the educational attainment spectrum, those with less than a high school education and those with a bachelor’s degree or more education.
One possible explanation for the larger increase in the nonparticipation rate among men in the middle educational categories is that “job polarization” has decreased the demand for middle-skill workers while increasing the demand for both lower skilled and higher skilled workers. What both the low-skilled jobs (such as food preparation, cleaning, and security and protective services) and the high-skilled jobs (such as managerial, professional, and technical work) have in common is that they are not easily amenable to automation and computerization. In addition, demand for many of the middle-skilled jobs (for example, jobs in manufacturing) has been decreased by technological changes that make workers more productive and by increased offshoring and globalization. Tüzemen maintains that this reduction in the demand for middle-skill workers accounts for most of the decline in labor force participation among prime-age men. Sadly, the lack of employment may be the start of a vicious cycle of inactivity, depression, and other health problems that, in turn, become additional obstacles to gainful employment.
Men’s declining labor force participation
