Labor Markets
Title	Introduction
Should the U.S. reinstitute a military draft? Full Debate	Shortly before the start of the Iraqi war, Senator Ernest Hollings and Rep. Charles Rangel called for the re-instatement of a military draft in the U.S. This helped lead to renewed public discussion of the arguments for and against a draft. This proposal has helped spur renewed public debate concerning the advantages and disadvantages associated with an all-volunteer army.
Are American Overworked? Full Debate	While individuals generally report that they feel increasing time pressure, an analysis of time-use diaries find that the mix of leisure and work time has not changed substantially in recent decades. Robinson and Bostrom (1994) and Sundstrom (1999) suggest that there may be an upward bias in reports of hours worked by those workers who report relatively long workweeks. Jacobs (1998), however, provides evidence suggesting that the Robinson and Bostrom results may be the result of random errors in the data and not the result of biased reporting of hours worked.
Does U.S. immigration policy harm domestic workers? Full Debate	Most U.S. residents today are the descendants of immigrants who arrived in the U.S. during the past 150 years. Concern over the effect of immigration on domestic workers, however, have resulted in the passage of several laws designed to restrict immigration. Unions, in particular, have argued for more restrictive immigration policy on the grounds that immigration lowers the wage and employment levels for domestic residents.
Does the anti-sweatshop movement help or harm workers in low-wage economies? Full Debate	The anti-sweatshop movement in the U.S. and other industrialized economies has, in recent years, attempted to use consumer boycotts to eliminate sweatshop working conditions and child labor in less developed economies. Unions and college student groups have been leading the drive for sweatshop boycotts.
Does an Increase in the Minimum Wage Result in a Higher Unemployment Rate? Full Debate	Minimum wage laws in the U.S. were first introduced during the 1930s in response to the Great Depression. This period was characterized by falling output, falling prices, and falling employment. The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) of 1933 attempted to stop this downward spiral by encouraging the formation of trade association agreements that established price floors and minimum wages. This was the first national attempt to introduce minimum wages in major industries. Those firms that participated in the trade association agreements were able to display a "blue eagle" logo in their establishments. In 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NIRA was unconstitutional, and these initial minimum wage agreements were terminated.
Should the antitrust exemption for baseball be eliminated? Full Debate	Proponents of the antitrust exemption argue that the antitrust exemption allows professional baseball to maintain a high quality of play by restricting the number of teams allowed to compete in the major leagues. They often suggest that baseball's monopoly power is significantly limited by competition for fans with other professional sports and other forms of entertainment. This competition, it is suggested, helps keep prices relatively low. The debate on the antitrust exemption for baseball is now nearly 80 years old. It is likely to continue to be a source of contention for some time to come.
Do OSHA regulations benefit or harm workers? Full Debate	The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created in 1971 in response to concerns over what were perceived to be relatively high rates of workplace injuries in many occupations. OSHA is charged with studying the causes of workplace injuries and fatalities, formulating regulations to improve workplace safety, and inspecting firms to ensure compliance with these regulations. Fines are assessed against firms that are in violation of these regulations.
Does a gender wage gap still exist? Full Debate	The average wage rate for female workers has been below that for male workers for as long as statistics have been recorded. In recent years, female wages have been approximately equal to 3/4 of the level of male wages. At first glance, statistics such as this may suggest that females are the subject of substantial discrimination in the labor market. There is, however, a fair amount of disagreement among economists concerning the cause of this wage differential.
Is a college education a good investment? Full Debate	One of the questions asked every year by many college students and their parents is: "Is a college education a good investment?" A large body of statistical evidence indicates that, on average, college graduates have higher lifetime earning streams than high school graduates. The rate of return to a college degree, however, is affected by a variety of factors, including: choice of college major, choice of occupation, labor market conditions, college quality, and individual ability. There are, however, several problems that make it difficult to measure the return to education for an individual.
Is There A New Economy? Full Debate	The rate of growth of productivity in the U.S. economy remained relatively low in the 1980s and early 1990s. Real wages fell in many industries during this period. Many economists argued that structural changes in the economy had resulted in a natural rate of unemployment that was over five percent. The late 1990s, however, provided a very different economic situation in which a more rapid rate of productivity growth resulted in higher real wages throughout the economy. This increase in productivity growth was accompanied by relatively low inflation and a rather substantial decline in the unemployment rate (reaching a low of 3.9% in April 2000). This change has been so dramatic that many have argued that the U.S. now has a "new economy" in which the old rules no longer apply. It is generally argued that this "new economy" is the result of the growth of the internet and an expansion of global competition.
Can Open-Source Software Survive? Full Debate	In the early years of computing, a substantial portion of software code was freely distributed by software developers. By the 1980s, however, most software was distributed using a proprietary model in which the companies selling the software maintained exclusive ownership of the software code. In most situations, software purchasers received licenses allowing them to use the software, but the users rarely received copies of the software code. In recent years, however, a growing amount of software is produced under open-source software licenses that allow programs to be freely copied, modified, and redistributed.
Is Workfare Working? Full Debate	In the last few years, welfare caseloads and expenditures have declined substantially. Advocates of workfare argue that this is the direct result of workfare requirements. Opponents of workfare suggest that much of this reduction in welfare expenditures is the result of the prolonged expansion that has substantially reduced unemployment. They express concern about whether workfare can survive when the expansion ends and a recession begins.
Will Social Security survive into the 21st century? Full Debate	The online resources listed below provide a wide range of opinions concerning the magnitude of the problems facing the social security system. Part of the reason for this is that forecasts of future social security revenue depend on factors such as future rates of economic growth, the level of future unemployment and labor force participation rates, and similar factors. Small differences in rates of economic growth can have dramatic effects on the level of output (and tax revenue) over the course of a 20-30 year period. Different assumptions about such future outcomes result in very different conclusions about the future solvency of the social security system.
What accounts for recent increases in income inequality? Full Debate	Recently, the United States has enjoyed a strong economy with low levels of inflation and unemployment. The strong economy, however, has not resulted in a steady rise in income for all Americans. In fact, for the last twenty years, the gap in income between rich and poor has increased. What accounts for the recent increases in income inequality in the United States?
Do technological advances result in higher unemployment? Full Debate	Technological advances allow society to produce more output from the existing mix of resources. These advances may take the form of less costly methods of producing existing output or may result in the production of new (or substantially improved) commodities (such as DVD players, HDTV, anti-lock braking systems, and similar innovations). Society clearly gains from the production of either more output or more highly valued output. But, how do these technological advances affect employment?
Does the U.S. economy benefit from the WTO? Full Debate	One of the basic issues at the heart of the WTO controversy is whether free international trade benefits or harms the U.S. economy. This issue is already examined in an online debate on "foreign trade." The focus of the current debate is on the more narrow topic of whether our participation in the WTO benefits the U.S. economy.
How should we reform the current tax system? Full Debate	While virtually everyone agrees the the current tax system is excessively complex, there is no tax simplification plan that is universally accepted. The major problem is that most proposed changes in the tax structure will benefit some taxpayers and harm others.

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