Labor Markets and Opportunity Structures

Abstract

This article uses linked county-level and individual-level economic, demographic, and social indicators drawn from three historical U.S. censuses to examine a construct that has been labeled labor market or opportunity structure in historical and demographic multilevel research. Findings are that turn-of-the-twentieth-century localities were diverse opportunity structures that systematically and differentially shaped older men’s unemployment rates and their likelihood of work and retirement. This article also highlights issues that researchers might face as they work with linked census data—specifically, multidimensionality of contextual influences with resultant collinearity and variable selection problems.