This special minority award will give Ph.D. student Edwin Melendez additional flexibility in pursuing his graduate studies and research in economics. This award will strengthen minority research participation in economics. More specifically, the grant will permit Melendez to study the youth labor market in 1988 using the March 1988 Current Population Survey. Melendez will compare the labor force status of Hispanic, black and white youth across 50 standard metropolitan statistical areas. The research will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the factors that influence the labor supply and employment opportunities of black and Hispanic youth. This is especially important because there has been little research on Hispanic youth employment. The research will also enhance the the graduate training of Melendez by developing and refining his research skills. An important part of the project consists of learning the necessary computer skills to access the data needed to conduct this project.
