Two essays related to labor market behavior: Demand for publicly provided job training programs in Illinois and poor health, asset accumulation, and early retirement behavior

Essay 1. This essay examines the determinants of the demand for public job training programs in Illinois. My first objective is to determine which personal characteristics influence support for an increase in spending on publicly provided job training programs for the unemployed across various income groups in Illinois. In particular, I empirically test for a U-shaped relationship between income and the demand for publicly-provided job training. My second objective is to examine the role of local economic conditions in determining the demand for job training programs. I use data from the 1995 Illinois Policy Survey supplemented with county- and regional-level data (including the unemployment rate, manufacturing employment, population density, and poverty rate). I do not find a U-shaped relationship between income and the demand for job training. However, I find that regional economic conditions, particularly the unemployment rate, the poverty rate, and population density, significantly influence the demand for job training programs in Illinois. In contrast, I find county-level economic conditions are not very influential.; Essay 2. The purpose of this essay is to examine the impact of chronic health conditions on asset accumulation and retirement. Compared to a healthy worker, a person with a chronic health condition throughout his or her working life may have had reduced labor force participation and may have built a smaller portfolio of assets. Because this individual will have lower asset income than a healthy person, he or she will be less likely to retire, other things equal. Thus, chronic poor health may lead to opposing effects on the labor supply of the elderly. In my empirical analysis, I use data on adults aged 51--61 from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) to study asset accumulation and retirement behavior of the chronically ill. I find that for 90% of individuals with chronic health problems, asset accumulation is sufficiently reduced to delay retirement. The needs of this group have not been addressed by researchers or policy makers discussing critical issues surrounding poor health and retirement.