TRADE UNIONS AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

This paper investigates the relationship between trade unionsand financial performance using British establishment-leveldata. We estimate the average overall impact of manual unionrecognition in 1990 to be roughly half what it was in 1984.We report results suggesting that in 1990 unionized establishmentshave lower financial performance only where there are closedshop arrangements and the establishments have some product marketpower and that this effect is greater where managerial freedomto allocate tasks is limited by union work rules. This lattercombination occurs in only about one in ten of the unionizedworkplaces in our sample.     

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT,FIRM SIZE AND RESERVATION WAGES IN SOUTH AFRICA

The level of youth unemployment in South Africa is much higher than in comparator countries. We investigate whether one of the reasons may be that the wages young people want or need are above those that they could reasonably expect to earn given their characteristics. Unlike previous work on the relationship between reservation wages and unemployment we differentiate between wages in different sizes of firms. Larger firms pay more and thus, even if reservation wages are similar to average predicted wages, they may be above the wages that young people could expect to earn in smaller firms. We find that this is the case.     

WAGES AND WORKPLACE COMPUTER USE IN CHILE

This paper presents robust evidence regarding the impact of computer use in the workplace in Chile during the period 2000–2006. The key contribution of this paper is to present evidence for a developing country using matching techniques and assuming a homogeneous treatment effect. Wage impact is then measured through the nearest neighbor and kernel estimators. The results consistently show that there is a premium associated with the use of computers in the workplace, interpreted as an increase in worker productivity arising from the inclusion of an additional production factor (i.e., the computer). Estimates indicate a premium of around 26% for 2000 and 16% for 2006.     

UNEMPLOYMENT AND RESERVATION WAGES IN WORKING-CLASS CAPE TOWN

Are the unemployed in South Africa ‘pricing themselves out of the labour market;’? This paper explores this proposition through an analysis of reservation wages in Cape Town's working class district of Khayelitsha/Mitchell's Plain. It argues that reservation wages are not out of line with predicted wages. This, in turn, suggests that unemployment in the area is not attributable to job seekers having unrealistically high reservation wages.     

WAGES THROUGH BOOMS AND RECESSIONS: A CASE STUDY OF ZIMBABWE

This paper examines developments in the wage system in Zimbabwe. The analysis focuses on the wage formation process and wage differentials. The paper observes that real wages have been flexible and have fallen sharply. Wage inflexibility is thus ruled out as a cause of unemployment. The collapse of wages has given rise to non‐standard labour market practices as workers try to cushion themselves against rapid wage declines. Wages also exhibit wide gender, racial and occupational differentials. The paper also argues that a wage policy in Zimbabwe must be pillared on decentralised, coordinated and synchronised collective bargaining.     

TRADE LIBERALIZATION AND WAGE PREMIUM IN ARGENTINA: THE ROLE OF TRADE FACTOR INTENSITY

During the 1990s, several Latin American countries implemented policies directed to the removal of barriers on international trade. However, there is a perception that reforms, especially trade liberalization, failed to deliver on their promises, easing the way for policies aimed at reversing some of them. Following Wood's hypothesis, we allow for the effects of liberalization to vary, depending on the skill intensity of production. The evidence confirms that the role of trade liberalization has been relatively small, but controlling for the presence of endogeneity gives larger estimates. Contrary to previous evidence, the wage premium of skilled workers was more sensitive to the increase of skill‐intensive exports than to that of unskilled‐intensive imports.