Sari Pekkala Kerr, Ph.D.: Do Temporary-Help Jobs Improve the Earnings of Unemployed Women?
Lunchtime Seminar March 24, 2011 (46:10 min.)
Welfare-to-work programs are based on the principle that the best way out of welfare is to be placed in a job that will eventually provide stable employment and higher earnings. Using data on Detroit’s Work First program, Sari Pekkala Kerr, Ph.D., will show that the nature of the job placement (temporary-help versus direct-hire) during the program is a crucial determinant for the success of that strategy. Kerr, a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women, conducted this research in collaboration with David Autor (MIT) and Susan Houseman (Upjohn Institute for Employment Research).