Robert Hutchens

People/Emeriti faculty
Professor Emeritus
Economics
Robert Hutchens

Contact

259 Ives Hall
Ithaca, NY 14950
United States

Tel
607-255-2749
CV
hutchens_vita_March2008.pdf
Overview

Robert Hutchens is a Professor in the Department of Labor Economics at Cornell’s ILR School. He received his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1976, specializing in labor economics, public finance, and econometrics. His teaching focuses on labor economics and on the economics of government tax and transfer programs. His early research dealt with the economics of government transfer programs, with an emphasis on social security, unemployment insurance and Aid to Families with Dependent Children. More recently his research has concentrated on the labor market for older workers with a particular emphasis on employer policies toward phased retirement. 

Professor Hutchens served as a Policy Fellow at the Brookings Institution, as an Associate Editor at the Industrial and Labor Relations Review, as Chairman of the Department of Labor Economics, and as a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). He has held visiting positions at the University of British Columbia, at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and at the International Labor Organization.

Teaching Statement 

Robert Hutchens focuses his teaching on labor economics and on the economics of government tax and transfer programs. He is particularly interested in helping students apply basic economic theory and methods to areas where government policy influences labor markets outcomes.

Research Statement 

Robert Hutchens focuses his research on the labor market for older workers as well as the problem of developing measures of labor market segregation. His most recent article is "Symmetric Measures of Segregation, Segregation Curves, and Blackwell's Criterion," Mathematical Social Sciences.

Service Statement 

Robert Hutchens served as Director of the Cornell in Washington program from 2008 to 2016

Publications

Journal Articles

  • . . Symmetric Measures of Segregation, Segregation Curves, and Blackwell’s Criterion . Mathematical Social Sciences, 73, 63-68.
  • . . Worker Characteristics, Job Characteristics, and Opportunities for Phased Retirement. Labour Economics, 17(6), 1010 - 1021.
  • , & . . Employer Willingness to Permit Phased Retirement: Why Are Some More Willing than Others?. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 59(4), 525-546.
  • . . Erratum to 'Numerical measures of segregation'. Mathematical Social Sciences, 47, 259-260.
  • . . One Measure of Segregation. International Economic Review, 45(2).
  • , , & . . From Welfare to Child Care. Poverty Research News, 6(2), 11-13.
  • , & . . Regulatory Obstacles to Phased Retirement in the For-Profit Sector. Benefits Quarterly, 18(3).
  • . . Numerical Measures of Segregation: Desirable Properties and Their Implications. Mathematical Social Sciences, 42(1).
  • . . Social Security Benefits and Employer Behavior: Evaluating Social Security Benefits as a Form of Unemployment Insurance. International Economic Review, 40(3), 659-678.
  • , & . . Wages, Seniority, and Demand for Rising Consumption Profiles. (DOI:dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/0167-2681(93)90052-Q)
  • . . Segregation Curves, Lorenz Curves, and Inequality in the Distribution of People Across Occupations. Mathematical Social Sciences, 21(1), 31-51.
  • , , & . . AFDC and the Formation of Subfamilies. Journal of Human Resources, 24(4), 599-628.
  • . . Seniority, Wages, and Productivity: A Turbulent Decade. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3(4), 49-64.
  • . . Hiring the Older Worker: Do Job Opportunities Decline with Age?. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 42(1), 89-99.
  • . . A Test of Lazear's Theory of Delayed Payment Contracts. Journal of Labor Economics, 5(4), S153-S170.
  • . . The Effects of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 On AFDC Recipients: A Review of the Studies. Research in Labor Economics, 8(B).
  • . . Delayed Payment Contracts and a Firm's Propensity to Hire Older Workers. Journal of Labor Economics, 4(4), 439-457.
  • . . Layoffs and Labor Supply. International Economic Review.
  • . . Distributional Equity in the Unemployment Insurance System. Industrial and Labor Relations Review.
  • . . Entry and Exit Transitions in a Government Transfer Program: The Case of Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Journal of Human Resources.
  • . . The Effect of Policy Parameter Changes on the Distribution of Unemployment Insurance Benefits. National Tax Journal.
  • . . Welfare, Remarriage, and Marital Search. American Economic Review, 69(3/4), 369-379.
  • . . Changes in AFDC Tax Rates, 1967-1971. Journal of Human Resources, 13(1), 60-74.

Book Chapters

  • , & . . Will the Real Family-Friendly Employer Please Stand Up?. In Workplace Flexibility: Realigning 20th Century Jobs for a 21st Century Workforce. (pp. 157-177). Cornell University Press.
  • . . Occupational Segregation with Economic Disadvantage: An Investigation of Decomposable Indexes. In Occupational and Residential Segregation. (pp. 99-120). Research on Economic Inequality, Elsevier.
  • . . Job Opportunities for Older Workers: When Are Jobs Filled With External Hires. In Population Change, Labor Markets and Sustainable Growth. (pp. 133-160). Elsevier Science.
  • , & . . The Role of Employers in Phased Retirement: Opportunities for Phased Retirement Among White Collar Workers. In Work Options for Mature Americans. Notre Dame Press.
  • , & . . Developments in Phased Retirement. In Re-inventing the Retirement Paradigm. (pp. 133-162). Oxford University Press.
  • , & . . Moving Toward Retirement: Employers, Older Workers, and Reduced Work Schedules. In It’s About Time: Couples and Careers. Cornell University Press.
  • . . Social Security and Employer Induced Retirement. In Prospects for Social Security Reform. (pp. 268-292). University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • . . Employer Policies for Discouraging Work by Older People: The U.S. Experience. In Between VUT and Shukko: Firm Level Practices of Early Exit and Lifelong Work in Industrialized Countries. Walter de Gruyter & Co..
  • . . Restricted Job Opportunities and the Older Worker. In As the Workforce Ages: Costs, Benefits, and Policy Challenges. ILR Press.
  • , & . . The Future of Workers' Compensation. In New Perspectives in Workers' Compensation. ILR Press.
  • . . Joint Determination of Quits and Layoffs. In Unemployment Compensation: Studies and Research. National Commission on Employment Compensation.

Book Reviews

  • . . Review of R. Penner, International Perspectives on Social Security Reform.
  • . . Review of Hardy, M., Hazelrigg, L., and Quadagno, J., 'Ending a Career in the Auto Industry'.
  • . . Review of Ashenfelter, Orley C. and Hallock, Kevin F., 'Labor Economics'.
  • . . Review of Atkinson, A.B. and Mogensen, Gunnar Viby, 'Welfare and Work Incentives: A North European Perspective'.
  • . . Review of Rebecca M Blank, 'Social Protection Versus Economic Reality: Is there a Trade-Off'.
  • . . Review of David Ellwood, 'Poor Support'.
  • . . Review of Charles Murray, 'Losing Ground'.
  • . . Review of George E. Rejda, 'Social Insurance and Economic Security'.

Books

  • , , & . . From Welfare to Child Care: What Happens to Young Children when Single Mothers Exchange Welfare for Work?. Lawrence Erlbaum.
  • , , & . . Strikers and Subsidies: The Influence of Government Transfer Programs on Strike Activity. W.E. Upjohn Institute.

Research Reports

  • . . The Cornell Study of Employer Phased Retirement Policies: A Report on Key Findings.
  • . . Layoffs and Labor Supply.
  • . . The Relationship between Welfare Benefits, Wages, and Community Income Levels in New York State.

Technical Report

  • . . Analyzing Interstate Differences in Unemployment Insurance Expenditures.
  • , , & . . The Distribution of Unemployment Insurance Benefits and Costs.

Professional activities

  • The Problem of Measuring Segregation: Old Approaches and New Directions. Presented to Population Research Institute, Pennsylvania State University. State College, Pennsylvania. 2009.

Honors and Awards

  • MacIntyre Award for Teaching and Advising for 2019, The ILR School .
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