9302034 Singelmann This U.S.-Mexico award will support a workshop on the sociological perspectives of labor markets. The workshop, organized by Professors Joachim Singelmann and Charles Tolbert of Louisiana State University, and Professors Humberto Munoz of the Universidad Autonoma Nacional de Mexico (UNAM) and Orlandina de Oliveira of the El Colegio de Mexico, will bring together scholars with expertise in quantitative measures of labor market areas and in case study approaches. The primary objective of the workshop is to build collaborative ventures in both countries that will enhance opportunities for joint research. Though labor market research programs are well established in both Mexico and the U.S., the research traditions on both sides of the border are very different. The Mexican approach primarily consists of rich case studies of local market areas, whereas the U.S. research tradition has emphasized broad labor market areas that can serve as statistical units of analysis While the Mexican and the U.S. approach are complementary, there have been few attempts to combine their perspective in comparative work. This workshop will contribute toward that goal by bringing together Mexican and U.S. sociologists to discuss collaboration on labor market research. This cooperation is critical if the social science communities of both countries are to monitor and assess the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). ***
