Labor Market Discrimination against Women with Disabilities

This article estimates the extent of wage discrimination and, for the first time, the employment effects of wage discrimination, against women with disabilities. In 1984, more than one-half of the offer wage differential between disabled and nondisabled women is attributable to discrimination, but the absolute wage differential is small. The results suggest that wage discrimination related to disability tends to be most severe for a relatively small group of women with impairments against which prejudice is most intense. There is a large difference between the employment rates of disabled and nondisabled women but only a small part of the differential is attributable to the disincentive effects of wage discrimination. The results also show that women with disabilities face a double burden of gender- and disability-related discrimination, but do not show that gender-related discrimination is worse for women who have a disability.     

Individual Wage Growth: The Role of Industry Experience

This paper focuses on the effect of experience within an industry on wages. I use a correlated random effects simultaneous equation model that allows individual and match heterogeneity to affect wages, job tenure, and industry experience. I estimate my model separately for men and women using a large panel of young Italian workers for the years 1986–2004. Results show that wage returns to industry experience are much higher than wage returns to job seniority. The hypotheses of exogeneity of job seniority and industry experience in the wage equation are rejected: high‐wage workers and high‐wage matches last longer.     

The Part‐Time Wage Gap in Norway: How Large is It Really?

Norwegian working‐life legislation has strict rules against discrimination between full‐time and part‐time work. Partly as a consequence of this, a large proportion of Norwegian women work part‐time. The purpose of this paper is to establish whether there are systematic differences between part‐time and full‐time workers regarding the selection process and earnings capacity. We find wage differences between part‐time and full‐time workers are small in Norway, and there is no evidence of systematic selection bias. The results may be explained by some features of the Norwegian labour market, including, equal rights for part‐time workers, strict rules against the discrimination of part‐time workers, and a generous family policy enabling women to combine work and family life.     

Firm‐Size Wage Gaps along the Formal‐Informal Divide: Theory and Evidence

Observationally equivalent workers are paid higher wages in larger firms. This fact is often called the “firm‐size wage gap” and is regarded as a key empirical puzzle. Using microlevel data from Turkey, we document a new stylized fact: The firm‐size wage gap is more pronounced for informal (unregistered) jobs than for formal (registered) jobs. To explain this fact, we develop a two‐stage wage‐posting game with market imperfections and segmented markets, the solution to which produces wages as a function of firm size in a well‐defined subgame‐perfect equilibrium. The model proposes two explanations. First, taxes on formal employment generate a wedge between formal and informal size wage gaps. Thus, government policy can potentially affect the magnitude of the firm‐size wage gaps. The second explanation features a market‐based framework with strategic interactions. Relative to small firms, large firms typically post higher wages for both formal and informal jobs. A high‐wage formal job attracts a larger pool of applicants than a high‐wage informal job. The larger pool of applicants for the formal job, in turn, allows the firm to somewhat lower the initial wage offer, while this second‐round effect is negligible for informal jobs. As a result, size differentials are lower in formal jobs than informal jobs. We argue that the observed patterns in the use of social connections in job search and heterogeneity in job preferences can be used to justify the validity of this second mechanism.     

A Meta‐Analysis of the Union–Job Satisfaction Relationship

The purpose of this study is to provide a systematic and quantitative review of the existing empirical evidence on the effects of unionization on overall job satisfaction. We conducted a meta‐regression analysis (MRA) with results from a pool of 235 estimates from 59 studies published between 1978 and 2015. The accumulated evidence indicates that unionization is negatively related to job satisfaction but is far from being conclusive. When primary studies control for endogeneity of union membership, the results of the MRA indicate that the difference in job satisfaction between unionized and non‐unionized workers disappears. These results suggest that reverse causation (i.e. dissatisfied workers are more likely to join a union) and time‐varying endogenous effects play a key role in explaining the relationship between unionization and job satisfaction.     

Estimating the Wage Premium of Collective Wage Contracts: Evidence from Longitudinal Linked Employer–Employee Data

Using a large‐scale linked employer–employee dataset from western Germany, this paper presents new evidence on the wage premium of collective bargaining contracts. In contrast to previous studies, we seek to assess the extent to which differences in wages between workers in covered and uncovered firms arise from the nonrandom selection of workers and firms into collective bargaining coverage. By measuring the relative wage changes of workers employed in firms that change contract status, we obtain estimates that depart considerably from previous results relying on cross‐sectional data. Results from analyzing separate transitions show that leaving industry‐level contracts is associated with subsequent wage losses. However, the results from a trend‐adjusted difference‐in‐difference approach indicate that particularly the transitions to no coverage appear to be associated with negative shocks. Overall, our findings provide no evidence of a “true” wage effect of leaving wage bargaining, once we account for differences in pretransition wage growth.     

Wage Effects of On‐the‐Job Training: A Meta‐Analysis

A meta‐analysis is used to study the average wage effects of on‐the‐job training. This study shows that the average reported wage effect of on‐the‐job training, corrected for publication bias, is 2.6 per cent per course. The analyses reveal a substantial heterogeneity between training courses, while wage effects reported in studies based on instrumental variables and panel estimators are substantially lower than estimates based on techniques that do not correct for selectivity issues. Appropriate methodology and the quality of the data turn out to be crucial to determine the wage returns.     

Search Costs and Re-Employment Wage Gains for Displaced Workers

Involuntary job separation generally leads to lower re-employment wages. However, 20–30 percent of displaced workers experience re-employment wage gains. Theoretically, workers with higher search costs accept jobs when the marginal benefit of search is relatively high. When displaced, these workers experience wage gains because they are forced into additional search. Using data from the Displaced Worker Survey, we find that higher search costs (measured as the wage residual from the predisplacement job) are associated with higher re-employment wages.     

The Impact of Living Wages on Employers: A Control Group Analysis of the Los Angeles Ordinance*

This paper analyzes the impact of the Los Angeles Living Wage Ordinance on employers using two original data sets and a quasi‐experimental research design. Relative to a control group of establishments, the starting pay of low‐wage workers has risen by $1.74 per hour, paid days off have risen by two days, and employer‐paid health benefits have not significantly changed among establishments covered by the living wage ordinance. Living wage establishments have witnessed a sizeable reduction in low‐wage worker turnover, a drop in absenteeism, reduced overtime hours, and reduced job training relative to the control group of establishments. The ordinance appears to have had no significant impact on the use of part‐time workers, the intensity of supervision, or the tendency of living wage firms to fill vacancies from within.     

The role of the workplace in ethnic wage differentials

Using linked employer–employee data for Britain, we examine ethnic wage differentials among full-time employees. We find substantial ethnic segregation across workplaces. However, this inter-workplace segregation does not contribute to the aggregate wage penalty in Britain. Instead, most of the ethnic wage gap exists within the workplace, between observationally-equivalent co-workers. Lower pay satisfaction and higher levels of skill mismatch among ethnic minority workers are consistent with discrimination in wage-setting on the part of employers. The presence of recognized trade unions and the use of job evaluation schemes within the workplace are associated with a smaller ethnic wage gap. These findings indicate that more attention should be placed on ensuring fairness in wage determination.     

Barriers or Opportunities? The Causes of Contingent and Part‐Time Work Among People with Disabilities

Why are workers with disabilities about twice as likely as nondisabled workers to be in contingent and part‐time jobs? This study finds that disability income program earnings limits and employer discrimination play relatively minor roles, whereas the primary explanation is health problems that make traditional full‐time jobs difficult or impossible for many people with disabilities. Despite the lower pay and other drawbacks of many nonstandard jobs, they enable many people with disabilities to work who otherwise would not be employed. Policy implications are discussed.     

International Differences in Wage Inequality: A New Glance with European Matched Employer–Employee Data

Using international harmonized matched employer–employee micro data from the European Structure of Earnings Survey for nine European countries, this article examines the origin of international differences in wage inequality. Wage inequality is highly correlated with the magnitude of inter‐firm wage differentials. Workplace‐ and job‐related factors generally have a more significant impact on within‐country wage inequality than individual characteristics. European countries differ significantly not only in the extent of wage inequality but also in the relative influence of factors shaping wage inequality. Although cross‐country differences in labour force composition play a part in the explanation, differences in the distribution and in labour market prices attached to workplace and job characteristics are the primary factors contributing to international differences in wage inequality.     

Multiple Glass Ceilings

Both vertical (between job levels) and horizontal (within job levels) mobility can be sources of wage growth. We find that the glass ceiling operates at both margins. The unexplained part of the wage gap grows across job levels (glass ceiling at the vertical margin) and across the deciles of the intra‐job‐level wage distribution (glass ceiling at the horizontal margin). This implies that women face many glass ceilings, one for each job level above the second, and that the glass ceiling is a pervasive phenomenon. In the Netherlands it affects about 88 percent of jobs, and 81 percent of Dutch women in employment work in job levels where a glass ceiling is present.     

The Wage–Health Insurance Trade‐off and Worker Selection: Evidence From the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 1997 to 2006

Key provisions within healthcare reform will likely further increase the cost of employer‐sponsored insurance. Theory suggests that workers pay for their health insurance through a wage offset. We investigate this issue using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. GMM estimates aimed at correcting for endogenous worker mobility reveal evidence of a trade‐off for workers who are offered health insurance as the only fringe benefit. On the other hand, employees in establishments with a more comprehensive set of benefits enjoy higher wages relative to employees in establishments that offer no benefits. Health also affects the wage–health insurance trade‐off.     

Minimum Wages,Employer‐Provided Health Insurance,and the Non‐discrimination Law

This article exploits cross‐state variation in minimum wages to investigate the impact of minimum wage changes on employer‐provided health insurance. In contrast to the existing empirical literature, this article considers an environment where some firms are constrained by non‐discrimination laws that govern the provision of health insurance. For these firms, minimum wage changes do not reduce the probability that workers will receive employer‐provided health insurance. For firms not covered by the non‐discrimination law, and free to tailor their fringe benefits, low‐skilled workers experience a disproportionate reduction in the availability and generosity of health insurance after a minimum wage increase.     

The Union Wage Effect in Japan

Previous studies point to Japanese labor unions’ lack of bargaining power that results from their organization at an enterprise level. However, a detailed examination of the institutional setting backed by the Labor Standard Law and Trade Union Law reveals that unions have strong bargaining power against deteriorating work conditions. This paper examines the effect of unions on wages using the Japanese General Social Surveys 2000–2003, which cover a period of economic stagnation. We find a robust union wage premium for both males and females. A Cotton–Neumark decomposition reveals that about one‐fifth of union workers’ higher wage is explained by the difference in the union and nonunion wage structures. We also can confirm the union wage compression effect using the DiNardo, Fortin, and Lemieux (1996 ) method. Union workers are likely to think that they will not find jobs with similar compensation packages if they leave their current jobs. In summary, unions in Japan contribute to an increase in the average wage and compress the wage distribution among their workers. This result is reconciled with previous findings by considering the uniqueness of the macroeconomic conditions of the sample period.     

Effects of Occupational Licensing and Unions on Labour Market Earnings in Canada

Using longitudinal data from the Canadian Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics from 1999 to 2011, the article compares the pay and benefits of licensed and unionized workers. In a cross section of respondents and using ordinary least squares estimates, it finds a pay premium of 0.155 log points for those with an occupational licence compared to those without one; the comparable union wage premium is slightly more than half, that is 0.085 log points. Fixed‐effects estimates go in the opposite direction (0.028 and 0.046 log points for licensing and unionization, respectively), suggesting the existence of unobservable factors correlated with licensing and union status. Unionized workers are more likely to access standard benefits, such as medical insurance and pension plans, but licensed workers benefit little from their licensing status in access to benefits. Finally, union workers are significantly less likely to receive incentive pay, such as profit sharing, while the association between occupational licensing and incentive pay is close to zero and statistically insignificant.     

HRM Practices and the Within‐Firm Gender Wage Gap

The effect of HRM practices on the within‐firm gender gap in wages in manufacturing is investigated merging a 1999 survey on work practices among Danish firms to matched employer–employee panel data. Self‐managed teams, project organization and job rotation schemes are the most widely introduced practices. Accounting for non‐randomness in adoption, the pay gap is reduced among hourly paid workers but increases among salaried workers. Considering practices individually, wage gains from adoption accrue to males except for salaried workers in firms that adopt project organization and for hourly paid workers in firms that introduce quality control circles.     

The Structure of the Permanent Job Wage Premium: Evidence from Europe

Using individual longitudinal European Community Household Panel data for thirteen countries during 1995–2001 and fixed‐effects models, I find for men, the permanent job wage premium is higher for younger workers and those who were noncitizens or foreign born; for women, the premium is higher for young workers, short‐tenure workers, and those who were noncitizens or foreign born. Thus, the gain to permanent employment is higher for those with less experience in the domestic labor market.     

Climbing the Job Ladder: New Evidence of Gender Inequity

An explanation for the gender wage gap is that women are less able or less willing to “climb the job ladder.” However, the empirical evidence on gender differences in job mobility has been mixed. Focusing on a subsample of younger, university‐educated workers from an Australian longitudinal survey, we find strong evidence that the dynamics of promotions and employer changes worsen women’s labor market position.