PITTSBURGH LABOR-MARKET ADJUSTMENTS IN THE 1980S - WHO GAINED AND WHOLOST

This research describes the distribution of changes in labor market ou tcomes for individuals in a region disrupted by severe economic restru cturing. We use data from western Pennsylvania to compare individuals' 1990 labor market outcomes with those they would have expected had th e economic characteristics of the region remained unchanged for the pr evious IO years. The comparison between these outcomes provides a meas ure of the cumulative effect of all labor market changes. We compare t he average differences across subgroups of the population to explore h ow various demographic groups of workers fared. Our analysis suggests that the dynamic forces of economic change have a cumulative effect th at differs greatly across subgroups of the population. In particular, older and less educated workers face the largest losses in wages and e arnings. As expected, dislocation from a job adds to these economic lo sses, but the results indicate that age and education have larger nega tive effects, regardless of dislocation status.