Banner image for Uneven Outcomes in the Labor Market: Understanding Trends and Identifying Solutions - February 1-4, 2021

Location: Virtual

In 2021, community development staff from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, and Philadelphia hosted a conference, Uneven Outcomes in the Labor Market: Understanding Trends and Identifying Solutions. The conference convened a diverse network of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to examine inequities in labor market outcomes and explore the implications of disparities on aggregate economic performance, individual workers, and communities. They also identified new directions for policy and research.

Understanding employment conditions requires evidence from a wide spectrum of sources. To this end, the Federal Reserve is interested in highlighting research that examines disparities in employment, labor force participation, income, and wealth across demographic groups. Do relatively low levels of labor force participation for some prime working-age groups represent slack that, if successfully tapped, could increase the labor force and boost economic activity? Do shocks to the labor market disproportionately affect certain groups? Because of past and present exclusionary policies and practices, racial disparities in employment outcomes have persisted throughout U.S. history. Analyzing these disparate outcomes can inform policy that identify those who are excluded from the mainstream economy and suggests pathways for inclusion.

Agenda

Session 1
Monday, February 1
Watch the session 1 video video file
2–3:30 p.m. (ET)
State of Labor Market Outcomes

Day's Framing: William M. Rodgers III, Rutgers University and Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Research Panel
Presenters

"The Economic Gains from EquityAdobe PDF file format Off-site link
Laura Choi, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco [Presentation Adobe PDF file format]Off-site link

"Assessing the Impact of Systemic Inequality on Racial Income Inequality in Metropolitan Labor MarketsAdobe PDF file format
Niki D. vonLockette, Penn State University [Presentation Adobe PDF file format]

"The COVID-19 Pandemic's Evolving Impacts on the Labor Market: Who's Been Hurt and What We Should DoAdobe PDF file format
Brad J. Hershbein, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research [Presentation Adobe PDF file format]

Discussant and Q&A: Rebecca Dixon, National Employment Law Project

Remarks from Federal Reserve Presidents
Raphael W. Bostic, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Eric Rosengren, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Session 2
Tuesday, February 2
Watch the session 2 video video file
2–3:30 p.m. (ET) The Future of Work/Alternative Work Arrangements

Remarks from Federal Reserve President
Loretta J. Mester, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

Day's Framing: David Weil, Brandeis University

Research Panel
Presenters:
"The Freelance Penalty: Income Variation and Job Structure of High-Skill Freelance Workers in the United StatesAdobe PDF file format
Diana Enriquez, Doctoral Candidate, Princeton University [Presentation Adobe PDF file format]

"Working Remotely and the Supply-Side Impact of COVID-19"Off-site link
Lawrence D.W. Schmidt, MIT Sloan School of Management [Presentation Adobe PDF file format]

"Gender Differences in Telecommuting and Implications for Inequality at Home and WorkAdobe PDF file format
Thomas Lyttelton, Doctoral Candidate, Yale University [Presentation Adobe PDF file format]

Discussant and Q&A: Palak Shah, National Domestic Workers Alliance
Session 3
Wednesday, February 3
Watch the session 3 video video file
2–3:30 p.m. (ET) Education and Credentials

Remarks from Federal Reserve President
Patrick T. Harker, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Day's Framing: Julie Ajinkya, APIA Scholars

Research Panel
Presenters:

"Moving Out to Move Up: Higher Education as a Mobility Pathway in the Rural SouthAdobe PDF file format
Ryan James Parsons, Doctoral Candidate, Princeton University [Presentation Adobe PDF file format]

"Decomposing Outcome Differences between HBCU and Non-HBCU Institutions"
Julie L. Hotchkiss, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta [Presentation Adobe PDF file format]

"Variable Impacts of New Credentials for the Older WorkerAdobe PDF file format
Isabel Cardenas-Navia, WorkCred [Presentation Adobe PDF file format]

Discussant and Q&A: Chauncy Lennon, Lumina Foundation
Session 4
Thursday, February 4
Watch the session 4 video video file
2–3:30 p.m. (ET) Career Pathways

Remarks from Federal Reserve President
Mary C. Daly, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

Day's Framing: Elisabeth Jacobs, Urban Institute

Research Panel
Presenters:

"Navigating with the STARs: Reimagining Equitable Pathways to MobilityAdobe PDF file format
Papia Debroy, Opportunity@Work [Presentation Adobe PDF file format]

Jessica Santos, Brandeis University [Presentation Adobe PDF file format]

Discussant and Q&A: Amanda Cage, National Fund for Workforce Solutions

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Organizing Committee
Stuart Andreason, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Sara Chaganti, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Kyle Fee, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Heidi Kaplan, Federal Reserve Board of Governors
Sarah Miller, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Keith Wardrip, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia