Journal Article
Local price variation and labor supply behavior
Taylor, Lowell J.; Kolesnikova, Natalia A.; Black, Dan A. (2009-11)
In standard economic theory, labor supply decisions depend on the complete set of prices: wages and the prices of relevant consumption goods. Nonetheless, most theoretical and empirical work in labor supply studies ignore prices other than wages. We address the question of whether the common practice of ignoring local price variation in labor supply studies is as innocuous as generally assumed. We describe a simple model to demonstrate that the effects of wage and nonlabor income on labor supply typically differ by location. In particular, we show that the derivative of the labor supply with ...
Review , Volume 91 , Issue Nov , Pages 613-626

Journal Article
Understanding poverty measures and the call to update them
Kolesnikova, Natalia A.; Liu, Yang (2012-07)
Official poverty rates are on the rise in the United States. But does this necessarily mean that more people can?t meet their basic needs? This article examines how poverty is calculated and looks at the criticisms of these measures.
The Regional Economist , Issue Jul

Journal Article
Community colleges: not so junior anymore
Shimek, Luke M.; Kolesnikova, Natalia A. (2008-10)
Nearly half of all undergraduates in the U.S. are attending community colleges. Such colleges are cheaper, closer to home-and much more varied in their offerings than ever before. At some, you can even get a bachelor's degree.
The Regional Economist , Issue Oct , Pages 6-11

Journal Article
Community colleges and economic mobility
Kolesnikova, Natalia A. (2010-01)
This paper examines the role of community colleges in the U.S. higher education system and their advantages and shortcomings. In particular, it discusses the population of community college students and economic returns to community college education for various demographic groups. It offers new evidence on the returns to an associate's degree. Furthermore, the paper uses data from the National Survey of College Graduates to compare educational objectives, progress, and labor market outcomes of individuals who start their postsecondary education at community colleges with those who start at ...
Review , Volume 92 , Issue Jan , Pages 27-54

Journal Article
The return to education isn't calculated easily
Kolesnikova, Natalia A. (2010-01)
Most studies estimate that the return to each year of education is about 10 percent. But calculating the financial gain is not a cut-and-dried process. Even more difficult is calculating the nonmonetary return.
The Regional Economist , Issue Jan , Pages 12-13

Journal Article
From community college to a bachelor's degree and beyond: How smooth is the road?
Kolesnikova, Natalia A. (2009-07)
The Regional Economist , Issue Jul , Pages 10-11

Journal Article
Jobless recoveries: causes and consequences
Kolesnikova, Natalia A.; Liu, Yang (2011-04)
The Regional Economist , Issue Apr , Pages 18-19

Journal Article
The economic progress of African Americans in urban areas: a tale of 14 cities
Taylor, Lowell J.; Kolesnikova, Natalia A.; Black, Dan A. (2010-09)
How significant was the economic progress of African Americans in the United States between 1970 and 2000? In this paper the authors examine this issue for black men 25 to 55 years of age who live in 14 large U.S. metropolitan areas. They present the evidence that significant racial disparities remain in education and labor market outcomes of black and white men, and they discuss changes in industrial composition, migration, and demography that might have contributed to the stagnation of economic progress of black men between 1970 and 2000. In addition, the authors show that there was no ...
Review , Volume 92 , Issue Sep , Pages 353-379

Journal Article
Gender wage gap may be much smaller than most think
Kolesnikova, Natalia A.; Liu, Yang (2011-10)
The Regional Economist , Issue Oct , Pages 14-15

Journal Article
A bleak 30 years for black men: economic progress was slim in urban America
Kolesnikova, Natalia A.; Liu, Yang (2010-07)
In many ways, black men were still worse off than white men in 2000, more than three decades after passage of the Civil Rights Act. A decline in manufacturing and relatively low levels of education were contributing factors.
The Regional Economist , Issue Jul , Pages 4-9