“An occupational approach places skills, or what economists often call human capital, at the center of the economic development process.”[1] Jesse Keyes gives the approach looks to understand success as based “deeply on talents and synergy in the local economy, and these may be better understood and tapped by identifying skill sets and talents embedded in occupations.”[2]I will segment nightlife workers into four unique, identifiable groups based on the functions they perform, and implicit objectives of their employ: Sojourners (including maître d’s, servers and bartenders) most often associated with those who see their work as a social and economic pathway to other, often creative, careers; Careerists, the floor and general managers,who view nightlife as a profession for the long run,and who number a small percentage of the business; Cooks in the kitchen who also see nightlife as a career move and who are paid lower middle--though at times higher income--salaries; and Low Wage Workers, engaged in repetitive manual labor activities, most frequently immigrants, who work extended overtime hours to earn little, with meager opportunities to advance occupationally.[3] The development of these segments derives primarily from my 10 years active in the industry as an investor, owner, designer, and manager, aimedto develop the most distinct lens to view the divergences in human capital developed throughout the segments.The Census Occupation Codes of 2010 were also analyzed and then employed to match the thesis groupings with a vast array of Occupation Titles, but more broadly to blend those Census Standard Occupational Codes associated with the nightlife industry[4]within the nomenclature used for the thesis nightlife worker typology.
As defined by Richard Florida, the Creative Class includes scientists, engineers, artists, musicians, designers and knowledge-based professionals.Given that wide scope, the categorization has been widely criticized as a “fuzzy” means to understand the specific attributes of any one occupational group, for all occupations contain the possibility of creative engagement. Further, inclusion in Florida’s creative class can be conflated,simply,with the criteria of merely having high educational levels. A more well fleshed out and specific occupational marker is seen in the work of Markusen, who, in a focused manner, refers, simply, to “artists.”So called “Bohemians” are composed ofartistic professionals, artists, writers, designers, film makers, performing artistsand musicians.I hypothesize that this category of would-be artists working in nightlife is most often found employed as Sojourners, and, as explained below, it is this category to which I will pay particular attention.
Jesse Keyes said, The new occupational titles implemented in the late 1990’s by the official Census “remain tightly tied to educational content, despite a desire to base them on what people do rather than what they know.”[5] This is of particular interest in the thesis as it exploresSojourners who identify themselves as would be artists.The focus is analytically, and even demographically, important as the number of Bohemians has steadily increased over time in the Unites States where “there were roughly 250 bohemians for every 100,000 Americans in 1900, a figure that increased to roughly 350 by 1950…before reaching 900 for every 100,000 in 1999.”[6]
As mentioned, emphasizing the analytical approach recommended byMarkusen, Iwill employ the “stereo view” of economic activity via both the establishment approach,seeking to understand the nightlife industry from the economic activity and size of New York City venues,as well as the occupational approach, looking at the human capital embedded in the four nightlife employee segments (Sojourners, Careerists, Cooks, Low Wage Workers) outlined here.
[1]Markusen and King, 7.
[2] Ibid.
[3] “Low WageWorkers” often defined as “workers whose hourly wage rates are so low that even if they worked full time, full year their annual earnings would fall below the poverty line for a family of four,” as developed in Pamela
Loprest, et al. (2009). “Who are Low Wage Workers?”ASPE Research Brief,January. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
[4] The 2010, Census Occupation Codes describing employee groups under study: 4000-4160.
[5]Ann Markusen, “Urban Development and Politics of a Creative Class: Evidence from the Study of Artists,” Environment and Planning A (Vol. 38, No. 10:1921-1940, 2006), 4.
[6] Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class…and How It’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community, & Everyday Life (Cambridge, MA: Perseus, 2002), 46.
No comments:
Post a Comment