Winter 2023 Carlson School Research in Progress

Here's a snapshot of two research projects, supported by notable grants, currently underway:

Transitioning Jobs Without a College Degree

Oftentimes, young adults without a college degree jump between low-wage jobs. A nearly $400,000 National Science Foundation grant is powering research to better understand how different factors, such as social class and workplace practices, impact income and career progression for young adults who don’t have college degrees.

Associate Professor Le (Betty) Zhou, Professor Connie Wanberg, and Assistant Professor Abdifatah Ali—all from the Work and Organizations Department—are working on the study in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

The study will follow a pool of unemployed workers aged 18 to 29 without postsecondary degrees over the course of a year. The researchers will pair the participants’ survey responses with administrative data to track how the participants find jobs and adjust to new jobs. The researchers aim to gain insight into strategies for workers to improve job quality and clarify how employers can facilitate workplace development and reduce turnover costs.

Analyzing International Capital Flows

A $441,000 grant from the National Science Foundation is supporting research that will form greater insights on the motives, channels, and distortions that affect the map of international capital flows.

Finance Assistant Professor Juliana Salomao along with University of Minnesota economics Professor Loukas Karabarbounis aim to develop new economic frameworks to analyze the origins and consequences of capital allocation across countries.

Unlike previous research in the field, this study will use disaggregated data from the Federal Reserve System to match security-level information with data on investor characteristics and firm-level balance sheet data. The researchers aim to create a more comprehensive understanding of global asset holdings of U.S. investors and foreign U.S. liabilities and examine the impacts of increased capital flows for global financial markets.