Women's relative wage rate in The Netherlands, 1950–1983: A test of alternative discrimination theories

Summary This article presents the results of an inquiry into the relationship that is to be expected on theoretical grounds between women's wage rate compared to men's on the one hand and some macroeconomic variables on the other. Becker's discrimination theory is confronted with alternative theories. On the base of data for the Netherlands the authors investigate which theory is most suited to explain the development of women's relative wage rate for the period 1950–1983. They conclude that the results of the empirical analysis predominantly support Becker's theory.The authors wish to thank Mr. R. Haagsma and Professor C.K.F. Nieuwenburg for their comments on an earlier draft of this article. Furthermore, they are grateful to Miss M.J.R. Key for computational assistance.     

The inversion of married women's labour supply and wage: Evidence from Thailand

This study investigates the labour supply behaviour of married Thai women with reference to their own and their spouse's wages. Controlling for spousal education and number of children, the main findings indicate an inverse relationship between married women's labour supply and wages, contrary to the evidence from developed countries. The estimated own wage elasticity ranges from ?1.70 to ?2.40 and the cross elasticity ranges from ?0.16 to ?0.17, indicating that the impact of own wage on labour supplied is much larger than spouse's wage. The results from disaggregation classified according to different socioeconomic backgrounds also show negative elasticities between own and spouses' wage across all subgroups, except for those with university degrees and higher income.     

A simple test of the effect of interest rate defense

High interest rates to defend the exchange rate signal that a government is committed to fixed exchange rates, but may also signal weak fundamentals. We test the effectiveness of the interest rate defense by disaggregating into the effects on future interest rates differentials, expectations of future exchange rates, and risk premia. While much previous empirical work has been inconclusive due to offsetting effects, tests that “disaggregate” the effects provide significant information. Raising overnight interest rates strengthens the exchange rate over the short-term, but also leads to an expected depreciation at a horizon of a year and longer and an increase in the risk premium, consistent with the argument that it also signals weak fundamentals. J. Japanese Int. Economies 20 (4) (2006) 612–636.     

The effect of unemployment among union members on union wage contracts

Conclusions In this paper a simple modification of union behavior has been suggested. This modification endogenized union preferences by making them depend on the level of unemployment among union members. When placed in the context of a two-sector economy, with a unionized and nonunionized sector and stochastic demand conditions, the model generated realistic patterns of wage and employment outcomes. These outcomes were shown to be critically sensitive to the union's concern with employment versus high wages. To the extent that such concerns are established through organizations, labor market outcomes in economies with a high degree of unionization will depend on the pattern of institutional arrangements as well as underlying economic influences, such as the level of productivity, the level of aggregate demand, and the composition of aggregate demand.     

A chaotic model of the exchange rate: The role of fundamentalists and chartists

A monetary model of the exchange rate is constructed in which fundamentalists and chartists interact. It is shown that the non-linearity of this speculative dynamics leads to chaotic motion of the exchange rate. The model is also capable of generating some of the stylized facts of exchange rate dynamics.     

A research on wage status and wage expectations of migrant workers in Hulan District

Since 2004, there has been the succession of migrant workers labor shortage all over the country. Among the factors causing farmers to hunt jobs in cities, wage plays a decisive role. So in this paper, it made an investigation and research on wages status and salary expectations of migrant workers in Hulan District. There are three main problems of migrant workers wages in Hulan District： The migrant workers＇ average wage is less than the community average wage; the wages were cut down in fact because of long working hours, as well as the low rate of return. In this district, the wage expectation of migrant workers on average is between 1341.8 and 1496.9 Yuan, that is 0.91-1.01 times as many as local minimum wage standard （after adding the overtime pay）; and 0.98-1.12 times as many as AVG salary last year. At last, it gives some suggestions： The enterprises should raise the standard of wages referring to the wage expectation of local migrant workers; local government should enhance skill trainings for migrant workers.     

The measurement and interpretation of black wage and occupational gains: A Reevaluation

Conclusion Important changes have occurred in the economic situation of black Americans over the last two decades. The reported convergence in black and white wages and occupational positions are critically important to understand. An awareness of the tenacity of racism should not lead us to argue that reality is static. At the same time, it would be a mistake to draw extreme conclusions about the crumbling of one of the historical building blocks of the U.S. economy. This article has been particularly motivated by the latter concern.     

Pollution mitigation,unemployment rate and wage inequality in the presence of agricultural pollution

This paper established a small open general equilibrium model to investigate the effects of the changes of consumers' unit private mitigation expenditure on the unemployment rate and the urban-rural wage inequality etc.. We found that (1) in the capital specific case, the increase of unit private mitigation expenditure will not only increase the urban unemployment rate but also expend the urban-rural wage inequality; (2) in the capital movable case, the conclusions are exactly opposite to that of the capital specific case. And under certain conditions, the increase of unit private mitigation expenditure may improve national income. According to the parameter calibration and numerical simulation results of the relevant macroeconomic data of China in 2017, we also found that (3) the effects of the changes of unit private mitigation expenditure on the urban unemployment rate is greater than that of the urban-rural wage inequality; (4) the influence degree of the changes of unit private mitigation expenditure on the unemployment rate in the capital movable case is greater than that of the capital specific case, but the influence degree of the change of unit private mitigation expenditure on the urban-rural wage inequality in the capital movable case is smaller than that of the capital specific case.     

Unemployment and the real wage gap: A reappraisal of the German experience

Unemployment and the Real Wage Gap: A Reappraisal of the German Experience.- The major European economies experienced a rise in unemployment since the late 1970s. At the same time, the real wage gap, a widely used measure of wage pressure, declined. This paper develops an analytical framework that relates the two phenomena. Particular emphasis is placed on the interaction of capital accumulation, wage setting and labour demand. The model is applied to the particular case of Ger-many and found to be consistent with the observed behaviour of wages, investment, output and employment.     

Globalization and wage inequalities: A synthesis of three theories

Globalization and Wage Inequalities: A Synthesis of Three Theories. — The theoretical insights of Heckscher and Ohlin, Feenstra and Hanson, and Tang and Wood provide a plausible explanation of the effects of globalization on wage inequalities in developed and developing countries. In combination, these three theories can explain, among other things, why inequality has fallen in some developing countries but risen in others. Improved travel and communications facilities raise the relative wages of highly skilled Northern workers, but in both the North and the South have mixed effects on wage gaps between medium-skilled and unskilled workers, sometimes reinforcing and sometimes offsetting the effects of falling barriers to trade.     

The high wage economy and the industrial revolution: a restatement

This article responds to Humphries's critique of Allen's assessment of the high wage economy of eighteenth‐century Britain and its importance for explaining the industrial revolution. New evidence is presented to show that women and children participated in the high wage economy. It is also shown that the high wage economy provides a good explanation of why the industrial revolution happened in the eighteenth century by showing that increases of women's wages around 1700 greatly increased the profitability of using spinning machinery. The relationship between the high wage economy of the eighteenth century and the inequality and poverty in Britain in the nineteenth century is explored.     

The minimum wage and the financialization of firms: Evidence from China

This paper utilizes China's A-listed firm data to investigate whether increasing the minimum wage promotes the financialization of firms. We apply instrumental variable estimation and various robustness tests to address measurement errors and potential endogeneity. We find robust and consistent evidence that exposure to higher minimum wages increases a firm's investment in financial assets. Furthermore, we explore the effects of moderators, such as increased employment stickiness, intensification of financial constraints, and reduced innovation activities as potential explanations for the positive effect of increasing minimum wages. Moreover, firms located in non-coastal cities with relatively higher equity concentration and lower market competition are substantially more incentivized to increase investment in financial assets. Overall, this paper provides new insights into understanding the effects of increasing labor costs on firms' asset allocation in emerging market economies.     

The black dropout rate and the black youth unemployment rate: A Granger-causal analysis

The high unemployment rate of black high school graduates can create the perception that a diploma is of little value and encourage dropping-out of school. Black youth who do drop out are less employable and further push up the black youth unemployment rate. This raises a question: Is the high dropout rate of black youth due to their high unemployment rate or is their high unemployment rate due to their high dropout rate? A study of this question using the definition of Granger-causality finds that it is the high unemployment rate which causes the high dropout rate rather than the opposite.