The American labor force will be transformed as the 21st century unfolds. While the retirement of baby boomers will exert a downward pull on labor force participation, future labor supply will depend on many factors. Will baby boomers work longer than their parents did? How will the rising educational attainment of the young affect their lifetime labor supply? How will shifts in labor demand and supply affect relative wages? And what types of personnel policies are firms likely to pursue in response to these changes? This conference will map out what we know—and explore what we don’t—about the U.S. labor force of the future.
Entire book (396 pp., 880K)
1. Introduction
U.S. Labor Supply in the Twenty-First Century
Katherine Bradbury, Christopher L. Foote, and Robert K. Triest
2. The Outlook for Labor Supply in the United States
The Effect of Population Aging on Aggregate Labor Supply in the United States
Bruce Fallick and Jonathan Pingle, with discussion by Chinhui Juhn and Lisa M. Lynch
3. The Labor Supply of Older Americans
The Labor Supply of Older American Men
Alicia H. Munnell and Steven A. Sass, with discussion by Robert Hutchens and Joyce Manchester
4. How Structural Shifts in Labor Demand Affect Labor Supply Prospects
Structural Demand Shifts and Potential Labor Supply Responses in the New Century
David H. Autor, with discussion by Jared Bernstein and Gary Burtless
5. The Cyclical Sensitivity of Labor Supply
Cyclical Movements along the Labor Supply Function
Robert E. Hall, with discussion by Katharin G. Abraham and Susanto Basu
6. Labor Supply and Labor Demand in the Long Run
U.S. Labor Supply and Demand in the Long Run
Dale W. Jorgenson, Richard J. Goettle, Mun S. Ho, Daniel T. Slesnick, and Peter J. Wilcoxen, with discussion by Richard Berner and Erik Brynjolfsson
7. Current and Future Challenges for Policy and Research
Public Policy and the Labor Supply of Older Americans
Stanford G. RossThe Seven Deadly Sins in Aging Policy and Research: A Cautionary List for Policy Makers and Prognosticators
C. Eugene Steuerle