Women in one US state vs. women in another US state.Dicsuss

Women’s Labor and the Economy Analytical Assignment The assignment has three parts. In part one (Facts) you will gather data on given topic for two different groups for two different time periods (the past (1980)) and today (2011 or later); In part two (Explanation) you will offer a potential economic explanation (from class or your textbook) that is consistent with the facts/data you gathered in part one; In part three (Evidence) you will collect more data to support or discredit your explanation in part two. For this assignment you with need to choose one of the following topics (Marriage, Divorce, Fertility, Labor Force Participation), one of the statistics and one of the 18 comparison groups: Marriage: Statistics: Percent never married, percent not married by a given age, or age at 1st marriage 1. Hispanic American Women (or People of Spanish Origins) vs. White Women 2. Women in one US state vs. women in another US state
3. Female High School Graduates vs. Female College Graduates
4. American Women vs. Women in a different country Divorce: Statistics: Percent of first marriages than end in divorce (by a given age), Divorce Rate, or percent ever divorced: 5. African American Women vs. White Women 6. Hispanic American Women (or People of Spanish Origins) vs. White Women
7. Female High School Graduates vs. College Graduates 8. American Women vs. Women in a different country Fertility: Statistics: Fertility Rate, Number of kids per household, or Total Fertility Rate
10. Hispanic American Women (or People of Spanish Origins) vs. African American Women
11. Asian American Women vs. White Women
12. Female High School Graduates vs. Female College Graduates 13. American Women vs. Women in a different country
14. Women in one US state vs. women in another US state Female Labor Force Participation:
Statistics: Female Labor Force Participation Rate, Employment Rate for women:

15. African American Women vs. White Women
16. Married Women vs. Single Women
17. Female High School Graduates vs. Female College Graduates 18. American Women vs. Women in a different country
Part 1 (Fact): Once you have chosen your topic, statistic and one of the comparison groups you will need to gather data from a legitimate government or academic source (Wikipedia is not a legitimate source nor is your textbook but both may help you find original data). The current data should all be available on-line. For the older data you may need to visit the library which should have copies of the Statistical Abstract of the United States and other sources. I want the data to be as comparable as possible- so if you were looking at fertility rates (American Women vs. Women in India) you would want to compare women in the same age category in 1980 and in 2011 or if you are using percent never married you would need that measure for both the early and late data. You will need to attach a copy of your data to the end of your assignment and clearly indicate/highlight the numbers that you used (you may have to use more than one number if so indicate what you did). Also include your sources and construction notes at the bottom of you data table. Your older data should come from 1980 and your recent data should be from 2011 or later. [I will take off points for data from the wrong/different time period.] I have listed some valid data sources below (If you have questions about the validity of a data source, see me or e-mail me for clarification): Valid Data Sources: U.S. Census The World Factbook Survey of Income and Program Participation Statistical Abstract of the United States National Vital Statistics Report Current Population Survey American Community Survey After gathering your current and historical facts- tell me, in percentage terms, which group changed more over the time period (and it what direction) and which group is currently higher.Part 2 (Potential Explanation): Once you know and have reported the facts, offer an explanation that is consistent with the trends you have documented. Your explanation must come from the set presented in class or in your textbook. Briefly explain the theory behind your explanation. Graphical analysis is required if you choose marriage as a topic. Be sure to discuss and/or show how your explanation should impact both subgroups (i.e. does it need to be currently larger for one group than another, or have changed more for one group than the other, or have increased for one group and decreased for the other). Part 3 (Evidence): Now gather additional data to check your explanation (i.e. if you said that there were fewer men in the relevant marriage market for one subgroup then you would have to provide data on the size of the marriage market and how it has changed over time or if you offered up changes in education as your explanation you need to find data on educational obtainment for both groups over time). Be sure to provide the source/s for this data and attach this data to the end of you assignment as well. Again you want the data to be as comparable as possible – in particular you want to use the same years and groups as you used in part 1. Once you have gathered this additional data, answer the following question: “Does this data contradict or support your explanation from part 2?” Why? Be sure to discuss both changes over time and the current situation [Note- it is fine if your data contradicts your explanation. After all you only offered a hypothesis.] I have included a sample assignment (where I made up some of the data) to give you a sense of what I am expecting.
Sample Assignment – Topic: Marriage, Statistic: Percent Never Married 1980 vs. Today African American Women vs. White Women Part 1 Facts: Age at 1st marriage
1980 2012 Percent Change
African American Women 25.5 30.0 17.6%
White Women 23.2 26.2 12.9%
Source: U.S. Decennial Census (1890-2000); American Community Survey (2012). The delay in marriage has increased over time for both groups, but the delay is greater for African American then for White women (17.6% vs. 12.9%).
Perhaps Women have become more financially independent over time, thus they get smaller benefits from marriage than they did in the past. For this explanation to work the economic conditions for African American women should have increase more than for White Women since they experienced a larger decline in marriage. Additionally, for this explanation to work it must be the case that currently African American should have higher earnings since they are more likely to be single. ( I would have to insert the specialization and exchange graph here and show the smaller gains associated with higher female wages. I could also include a supply and demand marriage market analysis and show that the supply of women should fall as female earnings increase.) To test this theory I gathered data on average hourly wages (adjusted for inflation) for never married African American and White women. Average hourly wage for unmarried women (Totally made up numbers)
1980 2012 Change
African American Women $8.00 $12.00 50%
White Women $10.00 $14.23 42.3%
Source: 1980 and 2011 March Current Population Survey. Tables 113 and 157b Note: the 1980 data includes women working part-time. Average hourly wages went up more for African American women than for White women (50% vs. 42.3%), which is consistent with a larger delay in age at first marriage for African American women. However, current wages for African American women are lower than the wages for white women which would suggest that African American women should be more likely to marry than white women which contradicts what I found in part 1. Difference in wages can explain some but not all of the difference in marriage across these groups.