This study proposes to analyze the 1984, 1985 and 1986 Panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation to examine the labor force behavior of blacks, Hispanics and other whites from a dynamic and comparative perspective. Four general aims include: 1. Classifying and Documenting Minority Labor Force Experiences This descriptive goal entails developing a classification for prior labor force experience and current position which represents different levels of labor market attachment and stable versus unstable activity as well as stable inactivity. Subsequently we will a) document aggregate flows between these categories based on panel-type descriptions; b) describe individual-level duration and spell data across labor force statuses; and decompose cross-sectional rates of unemployment and labor force participation by experience and position statuses. 2. Analyses of Labor Force Transitions Using hazard rate methods to model the transitions between labor force statuses, propose to analyze the determinants of changes in work effort and determine transitions into unemployment and joblessness vary with individual, familial and, appropriate, labor market conditions and job characteristics. Both prospective retrospective data will be analyzed, and results compared. 3. Consequences of Minority Unemployment and Underemployment We will assess the economic costs of unemployment and underemployment by a) calibrating the difference between expected and reported earnings; b) mapping transitions in labor market statuses of individuals against changes in economic status and welfare participation of families. 4. Methodological Contributions Aims 1 - 3 have substantial methodological implications, including a) development of classification schemes that distinguish between chronic and transitory joblessness; b) reconciliation of results based on prospective and retrospective data; c) devising strategies to demarcate entry and exit from labor force states while taking into account left and right censoring. In addition, we propose a battery of sensitivity tests and strategies to deal with selection, attrition and seam transitions.
