The Relative Effects of Unionism on the Earnings Distributions of Women and Men

This study examines the differential effects of union density on the degree of earnings inequality among women and among men. Our results suggest an equalizing impact of union density for all men and for both men and women who work year-round and full time. Union density does not appear to equalize and may even contribute to a disequalization of the earnings distribution for all women.     

收益与收益质量的分层研究

各层面对收益的不同认识以及所导出的收益质量问题是极为重要的实际问题。本文先以经济学和会计学辨析的视角说明收益的内涵及在理论与实践中的偏差，阐明全面收益理论的要点与意义。然后深入到收益质量内部，从经济收益的大小、会计收益与真实收益差异的客观性和人为因素导致的收益质量三个不同层面进行分析，最后就研究结论，运用统计分析的方法对我国上市公司收益质量进行实证描述与分析，本文旨在揭示收益质量不高的原因，找出辨析与提高收益与收益质量的方法与途径。     

Family Structure and Family Earnings: The Determinants of Earnings Differences among Family Types

Mean total family earnings differ greatly by family structure (the number, age, and gender of adults, and the presence or absence of children and dependent elders). This study classifies families into seven major types by structure, and analyzes inequality in mean earnings among these types. Differences in mean earnings among types depend primarily on the amount of labor supplied to the labor market. The quantity of labor supplied, in turn, while reflecting in part differences in the head's characteristics (such as human capital), is largely determined by family structure. Earnings changes by family type over time from 1973 to 1987 are also discussed.     

Earnings and Percentage Female: A Longitudinal Study

Comparable worth advocates assume that the relation between earnings and percentage female in an occupation is due to crowding or other forms of discrimination. An alternative explanation is that the relation stems from women freely choosing different occupations. Using longitudinal data to control for time-invariant omitted variables, as well as cross-sectional data (for comparison with previous research), we find that although men's estimated penalty is not reduced, the percentage female penalty falls substantially for women and is not statistically significant. These results imply that estimates of the percentage female effect based on cross-sectional data may be inflated for women–except for those with intermittent labor force participation. This group does experience a sizeable penalty for working in female-dominated occupations. Hence, a comparable worth policy would most likely benefit women with discontinuous employment.     

The Immigrant Earnings Disadvantage across the Earnings and Skills Distributions: The Case of Immigrants from the EU's New Member States

We analyse the earnings of immigrants from the EU's new member states (NMS) using a large‐scale dataset with information on employees in Ireland. We find that the average earnings difference between these immigrants and natives is between 10 and 18 per cent, depending on the controls used. However, the difference is found to be lower for people at the lower end of the earnings distribution. It is also generally lower for people at the lower end of the education distribution. We find mixed evidence on whether unions have an impact on the wages of immigrants from the NMS, although such immigrants appear to suffer a wage penalty as a result of being in firms that provided training to a significant proportion of their workforce.     

Long‐Term Earnings Inequality,Earnings Instability and Temporary Employment in Spain: 1993–2000

This article provides a longitudinal perspective on changes in Spanish male earnings inequality for the period 1993–2000 by decomposing the earnings covariance structure into its permanent and transitory parts. Cross‐sectional earnings inequality of male full‐time employees falls over the second half of the 1990s. Such decline was determined by a decrease in earnings instability and an increase of the permanent earnings component. Given the marked decline in temporary employment over the sample period, we also examine the effect of the type of contract on earnings variance components and find that workers on a fixed‐term contract face, on average, more instability than workers on a permanent contract. This evidence suggests that the decline in temporary employment is responsible for the decreasing earnings instability.     

The Time Allocation and Earnings of Artists

This article presents the results of an investigation into the time allocation and earnings of artists. Artists are unique because theyspend substantial amounts of time both at art work and at nonart work while earning the majority of their income from the latter. In order to empirically examine this allocation of time between art and nonart work, we estimate a four-equation system. We find that artists respond to price signals in the directions predicted by economic theory.     

The Determinants of Employee Productivity and Earnings

This paper uses data on employee wages and characteristics drawn from a nationwide sample of firms to re-examine the determinants of employee productivity and earnings. The results show that previous experience and tenure in the current job have significant, positive effects on wages and productivity. Hours of training are positively related to productivity and wage growth but generally not to levels of either. Lastly, gender effects are evident. Productivity growth and current productivity levels are slightly higher for females while their wages are significantly lower.     

Inequality and Union Membership: The Influence of Relative Earnings and Inequality Attitudes

Using surveys from the International Social Survey Programme covering the period 1985–2002 for seven European countries (West and East Germany, Sweden, Norway, Italy, the Netherlands and Great Britain), we examine the effect of relative earnings on union membership and show that union density is higher among workers in the intermediate earnings group than among low or high earners. Next, we examine the association of inequality attitudes with union membership and demonstrate that union membership is not only motivated by instrumental considerations related to relative earnings, but also by normative concerns about inequality. We interpret our findings suggesting that rising earnings inequality is in itself a source of union decline.     

亚太地区"高价"进口石油的损失及其对策

因石油制品巨大，亚太地区每年要花费巨额外汇购买石油。研究表明，亚太地区的石油进口价格明显高于欧美的石油进口价格，1990－1999年亚太地区从中东进口原油的价格平构比欧美进口油高出1－1．5美元／桶，主要原因是大多数中东产油国出口到不同地区的原油采用的参考油和价格调整因素即升贴水不同。在目前的国际政治经济环境条件下，亚洲国家可以通过选择不同的石油贸易方式组合，寻找多种油原，加强与石油供应商对话以确定合理的石油价格定价机制，加强亚太地区石油进口国的合作，形成合力共同应对国际石油市场的风险等措施，来减少石油进口中的不必要损失。     

不做沧海一粟--访虎门镇委书记钟淦泉

提起昔日的虎门,人们都知道那是民族英雄林则徐销烟抗辱的地方.而今的虎门,经过20多年发展,无论是对这个城镇抑或她的支柱产业都可以用"通往世界的港口、伶仃渔火、古亘夕照的美景、服装、时尚、潮流或者繁荣"来形容她,虎门现在已成为中国最为重要的服装生产基地和服装集散地之一,"虎门服装"这张亮丽的名片已传送到全球.日前,记者南下虎门采访了印制这张名片的虎门镇委书记钟淦泉.     

Earnings Progression and the Workforce Investment Act: Evidence from Washington State

This research measures earnings progression among participants in federally funded Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs in the state of Washington during the period 2001 through 2008, using state administrative data and propensity score‐weighted regressions. Unlike previous evaluations that have emphasized earnings levels, this study addresses both earnings progression and levels to assess whether workers are on a path to reaching economic self‐sufficiency within a short time after participation. The analysis finds that participants in WIA Adult services had similar earnings progression as people receiving only less‐intensive Labor Exchange services.     

Earnings Mobility and Long-Run Inequality: An Analysis Using Matched CPS Data

In this article we use matched cross sections from the Current Population Survey (CPS) to examine patterns of short-term earnings mobility for the period 1967-91, which we then employ to assess the impact of rising annual individual earnings inequality on inequality over a longer span, First, we find that less-educated individuals and blacks have more instability in their earnings than those who are more highly educated and non-black. Second, short-term mobility levels have not undergone major changes over the time span we examine. Third, our results suggest that long-run inequality (calculated over five years) rose in the latter half of the 1980s. Fourth, important differences exist across demographic groups in long-run inequality trends, with long-term inequality increasing most in the 1980s for less-educated males.     

Decomposing the Sources of Earnings Inequality: Assessing the Role of Reallocation

This study exploits longitudinal employer–employee matched data from the U.S. Census Bureau to investigate the contribution of worker and firm reallocation to changes in earnings inequality within and across industries between 1992 and 2003. We find that factors that cannot be measured using standard cross‐sectional data, including the entry and exit of firms and the sorting of workers across firms, are important sources of changes in earnings distributions over time. Our results also suggest that the dynamics driving changes in earnings inequality are heterogeneous across industries.     

Temporary Help Work: Earnings,Wages, and Multiple Job Holding*

Temporary help services (THS) employment has been growing in size, particularly among disadvantaged workers. An extended policy debate focuses on the low earnings, limited benefits, and insecurity that such jobs appear to provide. We investigate the earnings and wage differentials observed between THS and other jobs in a sample of disadvantaged workers. We find lower quarterly earnings at THS jobs but a $1 per hour wage premium. We reconcile these findings in terms of the shorter duration and lower hours worked at THS jobs. We interpret the premium as a compensating wage differential.     

Effects of Skill and Attitudes on Employee Performance and Earnings

This study uses original survey and archival data from factory and office employees in one firm to relate differences among individual employees' performance to differences in their skill and attitudes about work, and to test the association between employees' earnings and their performance, skill, and attitudes. We suggest that the way in which skill and attitudes affect performance will depend on the type of work that is done. The main results show that among factory employees, those who have on-the-job training and longer experience receive better performance ratings than those without training and with less experience. Factory employees' earnings depend on their performance, following the human capital model of wage determination. Among office workers, training and experience do not significantly affect performance ratings; instead, higher-rated employees have more positive attitudes about work. Office employees' earnings depend on their classroom training, experience, and attitudes, but not on their rated performance.