Madeline Zavodny

Women’s fertility and employment decisions are closely linked, and both may be influenced by the availability of childcare. We investigate the role of grandparent coresidence—a potential source of childcare—in maternal employment, focusing on differences between Asian and non-Hispanic white women in the United States. Specifically, we examine whether the higher share of Asians living in an intergenerational household can account for why the maternal employment gap is smaller among Asian women than among their white counterparts. We also explore whether differences in characteristics among the older generation help explain this difference in the maternal employment gap. We find that living in an intergenerational household is positively related to employment among Asian women, on average, whereas the opposite is the case among white women. Furthermore, we find that having a coresident grandparent appears to be an important contributor to the smaller maternal employment gap among Asians. In addition, grandparent coresidence is more strongly related to maternal employment among foreign-born women than among US natives, suggesting that immigrants may be more likely to bring over their parents if they need childcare.

This chapter examines internal immigration enforcement in the U.S. The chapter explains two main ways in which immigration enforcement is currently carried out in the U.S. interior: employment-based enforcement and police-based enforcement. It then surveys the literature on the economic and social consequences of these internal enforcement policies. Finally, it proposes a set of principles that underlie the ethics of internal immigration enforcement.

In 2015, the Obama administration eased the rules regarding employment for accompanying spouses of some temporary foreign workers who hold an H-1B visa. The policy change allowed some spouses of H-1B visa holders who were in the queue for a permanent resident visa to work. This study uses data from the National Survey of College Graduates to examine the impact of the policy change on employment rates among dependent spouses of temporary visa holders. The results indicate that the policy change increased their employment rate substantially.

State laws requiring employers to verify workers' employment eligibility may reduce employment and earnings among unauthorized workers and make it difficult for them to switch jobs. Using data from the 2005–2014 Quarterly Workforce Indicators, we find evidence of a reduction in employment and job turnover among Hispanics as a whole in states that require all employers to verify employment eligibility. These adverse effects become larger as the share of likely unauthorized Hispanic workers falls. The drop in job turnover may be due to the laws trapping some Hispanic workers in their jobs. There is little effect on employment or job turnover among non‐Hispanic whites or blacks. There is no effect on average pay for all groups of workers. (JEL J15, J61, J68)