Abstract
Contemporary US metropolitan areas have undergone divergent economic transformation, and as a result labor markets have become the focus of concern in their role as determinants of earnings attainment. Explanations of individual earnings attainmnent as a lobor market outcome have been established in two diafferent stances one who emphasizes personal or group attributes in the human capital perspective and the other who emphasizes economic structure in the labor market segmentation perspective. While remaining at the conceptual level and yet relatively unexplored, the importance of place in labormarket operation is a significant advancement as it appears in labor market areas and local labor markets considering that labor market areas represent the intersection of labor market structure and individual labor market experiences at specific geographic places. The substantive inquiry of this study was to explore labor market characteristics and their differentiation across large metropolitan areas, and assess their effects on the individual earnings attainment. Integating individual attributes and labor market characteristics as major factors of labor market operation, this study intended to contextualize individual earnings attainment with geographic labor market areas. Using 1990 US population census 5% "Public-Use Microdata Samples, " the largest 65 metropolitan areas were first selected and employed male workers who are aged between 25 and 50 for whites, blacks, asians, and hispanics. As an initial step earnings differentials between racial/ethnic groups and selected 65 metropolitan areas were examined using analysis of variance, and then earnings differentials were attributed to the individual attributes such as education, age, and immigration status, and four dimensions of metropolitan labor market differentiation devised by principal component analysis of industrial and occupational segments: Public versus Blue Collar Core(CS1), Finance-Core Utility versus Blue Collar Local Monopoly (CS2), Oligopoly versus Blue Collar Periphery(CS3), and Self Employed-White Collar Periphery versus Low-Skill Core(CS4). As a final analysis, individual earnings were related to each individual attribute and its interaction with metropolitan labor market characteristics to examine how the differentiated metropolitan labor market characteristics alter the role of individual attributes on earnings attainment. The findings indicated that individual attributes, education in particular exert significant effects on earnings attainment, but their effects were significantly altered by metropolitan labor market characterristics. Particularly important dimensions were: Oligopoly differentiated from Blue Colla Periphery metropolitan areas enhancing earnings returns to individual attributes for all groups but minority groups (black, asians, hispanics) rely more on this, and Finance-Core Utility differentiated from Blue Collar Local Monopoly metropolitan areas provide higher earnings returns to whites exclusively. These findings suggest that individuals with identical individual attributes involving racial/ethnic categories would have different earnings atteinments depending on the metropolitan labor market characteristics where they reside. Referring back to the major traditions of the human capital and the labor market segmentation in labor market research, the interaction between individual attributes and metropolitan labor market haracteristics on earnings attainment highlights the complimentary nature of the two on earnings determination in particular geographic places, Hence, labor market characteristics differentiatcd across metropolitan areas are an integral part of labor market operation which should be considered for the explanation of individual earnings attainment and racial/ethnic group earnings differentials. Gcographic places are the important contexts for labor market segmentation and individual labor market experiences. In conclusion, this study brings geographic labor markets to the forefront in the examination of individuals' earnings attainments. The empirical vaidation of the role of metropolitan labor market charecteristics on earnings attainment, while exploratory contributes towards a broader perspective of geographic labor market research that recognizes that individuals' labor market experiences are intertwined with geographic contexts of labor market operatin. operatin.
최근까지 소득수준의 결정에 관한 노동시장 연구는 노동자의 속성 또는 직업의 특 성에 관심을 기울이며 진행되어 지리적 관점의 노동시장 운용에 관한 관심이 미비하였다. 본 연구는 지역노동시장을 실질적인 노동시장 개념으로 설정, 노동력 공급 측면의 특성을 강조하는 인적자본론과 수요측면의 특성을 강조하는 노동시장분절론을 지역적으로 특성화되 어 나타나는 지리적 관점으로 포괄하고, 개인의 소득수준을 개인의 속성과 차별화된 대도시 노동시장의 특성으로부터 영향을 받음을 실증적 분석을 통하여 고찰하였다. 분석에 나타난 개인의 소득수준은 개인의 속성에 의해 영향을 받지만 그 영향은 분절된 노동시장의 대도시 지역간 차별화 단면에 따라 변화함을 보여주고 있다. 이 연구는 기존의 두 주요 노동시장 연구 관점의 절충적 이해를 개인의 소득수준 결정을 통하여 실험적으로 시도하고 실질적 노 동시장의 운용으로 지역노동시장의 중요성을 강조하고 있다.