CPR Working Paper Series No. 6

The Fortune's of One's Birth: Relative Cohort Size and the Youth Labor Market in the United States

Diane Macunovich

March 1999

Abstract:  Using two different measures of relative cohort size-one indicating the size and placement of an individual's own birth cohort, and the other, the ratio of young to prime age adults in the United States. in that year-it has been possible to isolate strong effects of the population age structure on wages in the United States over the past 33 years. These effects have been strong enough that virtually all of the observed change in the experience premium, and a substantial proportion of the changes in the college wage premium, can be explained by the relative cohort size variables alone. Even changes in the amount of within-group variance in wages appear to be largely a function of changing age structure, and absolute wage levels have been strongly affected by these demographic changes, suggesting that population growth can have positive effects on the economy.

You can download a PDF version of the paper and view it and print it using a FREE copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Click here for the Adobe Acrobat version of CPR Working Paper 6

Or
for more information on ordering a hard copy of this paper, please contact the Publications Officer, Center for Policy Research, 426 Eggers Hall, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244-1020 or e-mail our Publications Officer at puboff@maxwell.syr.edu. Each hard copy costs $5.00 (US) and payment should be included with mail order.

File current as of

If you have any questions or comments, please contact the webmaster.