Black Sandra E, Muller Chandra, Spitz-Oener Alexandra, He Ziwei, Hung Koit, Warren John Robert
Department of Economics, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.
Department of Sociology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States.
Res Policy. 2021 Sep;50(7). doi: 10.1016/j.respol.2021.104249. Epub 2021 Apr 2.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) jobs have grown in importance in the labor market in recent decades, and they are widely seen as the jobs of the future. Using data from the U.S. Census and American Community Survey, we first investigate the role of employment in STEM occupations when it comes to recent changes in the occupational employment distribution in the U.S. labor market. Next, with data from the High School and Beyond sophomore cohort (Class of 1982) recent midlife follow-up, we investigate the importance of high school students' mathematics and science coursework, knowledge, and skills for midlife occupations. The Class of 1982 completed high school prior to technological changes altering the demand for labor. We find that individuals who took more advanced levels of high school mathematics coursework enjoyed occupations with a higher percentile rank in the average wage distribution and were more likely to hold STEM-related occupations. Findings suggest that the mathematics coursework enabled workers to adapt and navigate changing labor market demands.
近几十年来，科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）领域的工作在劳动力市场中的重要性日益凸显，并且被广泛视为未来的就业方向。我们首先利用美国人口普查和美国社区调查的数据，研究STEM职业就业在美国劳动力市场职业就业分布近期变化中所起的作用。接下来，借助高中及以后二年级学生队列（1982届）近期中年随访的数据，我们研究高中生的数学和科学课程学习、知识及技能对中年职业的重要性。1982届学生在技术变革改变劳动力需求之前就完成了高中学业。我们发现，高中数学课程学习水平较高的人在平均工资分布中所处的百分位排名更高，并且更有可能从事与STEM相关的职业。研究结果表明，数学课程学习使工人能够适应并应对不断变化的劳动力市场需求。
