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With the introduction of enterprise bargaining in 1991, decentralised wage determination in Australia was generally expected to widen the gender wage gap (see Chapter 3). However, as discussed in Chapter 4, the research that underlies this expectation is typically based upon aggregated data and suffers from a number of deficiencies. In contrast, this dissertation utilises unit record data from the extensive 1995 Australian Workplace Industrial Relations Survey (AWIRS95) commissioned by the former Department of Workplace Relations and Small Business to test the hypothesis that enterprise bargaining has affected the gender wage gap in Australia. Whilst the passing of four years between 1991 and the time of data collection may not have allowed for the landmark industrial relations change to have worked itself through the labour market, a noteworthy and major feature of AWIRS95 is that it identifies workers and workplaces operating under enterprise bargaining agreements, as well as containing a female/male split of the enterprise bargaining status (see Chapter 5). Along with hourly earnings data derived from AWIRS95, a clear assessment can be made of gender wage gaps for employees under enterprise bargaining and those not employed under enterprise bargaining. The thesis uses OLS earnings regressions to identify the part of any gender wag gap that can be justified by the difference in measured characteristics between males and females, as well as identifying the part that remains unexplained (see Chapter 7). Given the potential that workplace characteristics can affect the integrity of OLS results, a random effects model is also used (see Chapter 8). Interestingly, the OLS and random effects results are virtually identical (see Chapter 9). It needs to be noted that the component of the gender wage gap that is unable to be justified by direct statistical reference to the regression model has been attributed to discrimination in the labour market. However, this is something of a misnomer as the unjustified component also captures the impact of: � model misspecification, including excluded variables; � mismeasurement; and � errors of calculation. 111 Every effort has been made to reduce these effects. Nevertheless, there may be an element of discrimination in the regression model utilised in this thesis that is not discernible through the observable and measurable variables (see Chapter 3). Results of analysis undertaken in this thesis indicate that the gender gap, as well as the unexplained component thereof, are larger for employee data associated with enterprise bargaining than is the case for workers not so employed. Even so, the result is not deemed to be statistically significant, as is further supported by extensive sensitivity testing (see Chapters 7 and 8). Further research is needed to support the posed hypothesis. Nevertheless, the thesis still provides a wide range of interesting outcomes in providing a greater understanding of an observable gender wage gap in Australia, as well as the associated and contributing characteristics of employees and employers. It is in this capacity that the research work recorded in this thesis provides a new level of knowledge and understanding, particularly given the thorough use made of recent microdata and the observed earnings effects of selected variables. As a consequence, the results of this thesis will form a solid foundation upon which further gender wage gap debate, policy formulation and labour economics research can stand.

<p>Problem: The Swedish wage-setting has changed since the time for the breakthrough of the industrialism until today. Before that, wages often consisted of perquisites or goods that could be exchanged against other goods. Rural people were often self-sufficient. In some cases the farmer owned the land, in other cases they where tenants. At the time for the breakthrough of industrialism the demand for similar labour were increased. This situation in combination with urbanization leads to an increasing demand for money as means of payment. The wage-setting runs all through the story and is important for the development of a society. The cooperation between employers and employees is important and the institutions is a great part in these game. The question is how the wage-setting has developed from the middle of 19th century until today, and what the most important elements for development are.</p><p>Purpose: The purpose with this thesis is to describe the Swedish wagesetting between 1850-2009, from an institutional point of view, and analyse important factors for these changings.</p><p>Results: The Swedish wage-setting between 1850-2009 has gone from a situation with pure theory in the middle of the 1900 century, to a more complicated system for wage-setting in the middle of 20th century. After 1970 we can see a development towards the pure theory for wage-setting that is presented by Olivier Blanchard. Some reasons for that is the change from industrial society to service society, women are introduced on the labourmarket, globalization and an increasing competition from other countries outside Europe, and an increased public sector.</p>

<p>During the Fall of 2001 a survey created by Kathleen Cannings and sponsored by the Swedish Medical Association was sent out to a random sample of 1 out of every 12 medical doctors in Sweden. Using this data, linear regressions have been estimates to study the effects of variables such as age, gender, and unionization on the wages of Swedish doctors. The results indicate that variables such as age, tenure, and union bargaining all have a positive impact on wages. The relative wage advantage was around 7 percent for both age and union bargaining, while the effect of tenure was lower by about 5 percent. These three variables have more positive effects for male doctors, which suggest that gender discrimination is still a reality in the medical field. During 2001, male physicians could expect an almost 6 percent higher average wage than their female colleges.</p>

<p>In this Bachelor paper, I have studied the field of citizen wage, a revolutionary concept that challenges the current system of welfare, our view of society today, which can have implications on our perception of different spaces and patterns of movement between different rooms. The subject has on an academic level been discussed and accepted however not on a political level.</p><p>Citizen wage is a concept of a broader meaning of a social security system that entails providing the states citizens with economic subsidy without any form of requirements around it. The subsidy should cover all basic costs of living and be collected through taxation.</p><p>The idea is based on principles of human justice, that everyone has the right to a decent living, and the state is therefore obliged to distribute sufficient economic means for living without any conditions, as a right not as a solution.</p><p>The main focus of this study has been to investigate the opinions of citizen wage in Sweden, what the main arguments for or against an implementation of citizen wage is perceived to be. This study is based on a literature study concerning subjects relevant when discussing citizen wage, as well as a quantitative study of a number of articles derived from Swedish press concerning the theme.</p><p>The study resulted in findings that reflect a mostly negative outlook on citizen wage, however the large amount of positive articles indicate that there is an interest of implementing citizen wage in Sweden. Therefore one can ask if it is representative or not, that citizen wage is no longer found on any parties political agenda in Sweden.</p>

During the Fall of 2001 a survey created by Kathleen Cannings and sponsored by the Swedish Medical Association was sent out to a random sample of 1 out of every 12 medical doctors in Sweden. Using this data, linear regressions have been estimates to study the effects of variables such as age, gender, and unionization on the wages of Swedish doctors. The results indicate that variables such as age, tenure, and union bargaining all have a positive impact on wages. The relative wage advantage was around 7 percent for both age and union bargaining, while the effect of tenure was lower by about 5 percent. These three variables have more positive effects for male doctors, which suggest that gender discrimination is still a reality in the medical field. During 2001, male physicians could expect an almost 6 percent higher average wage than their female colleges.

<p>Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögskolan, 2010. Felaktigt angivet år på spikbladet</p>

Federal education policy has targeted children who are disadvantaged in order to improve their academic performance. The most recent federal education policy is the No Child Left Behind law signed by President Bush in 2001. Indicators often used to identify an at-risk youth range from economic, personal, family, and neighborhood characteristics. A probit model is used in this study to estimate the probability that a student graduates from high school as a function of 8th grade variables. Students are classified as at-risk of dropping out of high school or non at-risk based on having one or more risk factor. The main measures of academic outcomes are high school completion and post-secondary academic achievements. The main measures of labor market outcomes are short-term and long-term earnings. The results show that a student who comes from a low income family, has a sibling who dropped out, has parents with low education, is home alone after school for three hours or more, or comes from a step family in the eighth grade is at-risk of dropping out of high school. At-risk students are less likely than non at-risk students to graduate from high school. They appear to be more sensitive to existing conditions that may impair/assist their academic progress while they are in high school. At-risk students are also less likely to select a bachelor’s degree. When they are compared to comparable non at-risk students, a greater percentage of at-risk students select a bachelor’s degree or post-graduate degrees than non at-risk students. At-risk individuals face long-term disadvantage in the labor market, receiving lower wage offers than the non at-risk group. Comparing only those without post secondary education shows that the average earnings offered to at-risk individuals were lower than those offered to non at-risk individuals. At-risk college graduates also receive lower earnings than non at-risk college graduates. The wage differential is largely due to the disadvantage at-risk individuals face in the labor market.

This dissertation explores how different labor market policies implemented following the transition to market system in Eastern Europe affected labor market outcomes. As the result of different policies implemented countries of Eastern Europe that were very similar at the beginning of the transition achieved different economic outcomes. We focus on Lithuania and Ukraine that represent two groups of countries with respect to the broad approach to economic transition. Our analysis explores change in gender wage gap in the two countries as well as evolution in returns to human capital. We compare labor market institutions and composition of the labor force for these two countries. Labor market of the Soviet Union serves as a reference point for this comparison. The data from Household Budget Surveys is utilized for this analysis. Returns to education levels are examined in both countries. We find no evidence of increase in returns to higher education in Ukraine following the decentralization of the wage setting system. However, higher educated workers in Lithuania were able to benefit from the transition. The second part of this dissertation focuses on evolution of the gender wage gap. We decompose gender wage gap using Oaxaca decomposition as well as Juhn, Murphy, and Pierce decomposition. We consistently find that it is the “unexplained” component that is single handedly responsible for the gender wage differential in both countries.

This dissertation comprises two essays. While the topics of both essays are different both are interrelated on the base of economic development. The first essay examines ethnic wage gaps on segmented labor markets with evidence from Latin American countries. The second essay revisits the determinants of fiscal decentralization with an emphasis on the role that geography plays in determining fiscal decentralization. The first essay contributes to limited literature on ethnic wage gaps in Latin America. It examines ethnic wage gaps for workers in formal and informal labor markets. Using data from Latin American countries we estimate and examine across-ethnic wage gaps for informal and formal markets, their changes over time, factors that explain their differences, and the wage gap distribution. More specifically, we verify that different ethnic wage gaps do exist across formal and informal markets; they behave differently not only at their means but also along the wage distribution. The results indicate that higher ethnic wage gaps in informal sectors exist not only on average but also throughout the distribution. In addition, we find that wage gaps have declined significantly over the last 10 years. we explain this by examining changes in the prices of institutional factors and changes in human capital endowments. The distributional analysis shows a decrease in the unexplained component, especially in the top part of the distribution. The second essay contributes to the existing literature on the determinants of fiscal decentralization by motivating theoretically and exploiting in depth the empirical relevance that geography has as a determinant of fiscal decentralization. The relationship between decentralization and geography is based on the logic that more geographically diverse countries show greater heterogeneity among their citizens, including their preferences and needs for public goods and services provisions. Communications and physical distance are also a very important issue and play a key role on the effect of geography over time. (Lora et. al., 2003) argue geography plays a key role in economic and social development, as well as in the institutional design of the countries; yet, this effect could be enhanced (or diminished) in the presence of better physical infrastructure or communications. The theoretical model in this paper builds on the work by Arzaghi and Henderson (2002) and Panizza (1999). For the empirical estimation, we use a panel data set for approximately 91 countries for the period 1960-2005. Physical geography is measured along several dimensions, including elevation, land area and climate. We construct a geographical fragmentation index and test its effect on fiscal decentralization. In addition, we interact the geographical fragmentation index with time-variant infrastructure variables in order to test the effect that infrastructure and communications have on the relationship between geography and fiscal decentralization. For robustness, we construct Gini coefficients for in-country elevation and climate. We find a positive and strong correlation between geographical factors and fiscal decentralization. We also find that while the development of infrastructure (in transportation, communications, etc.) tends to reduce the effect of geography on decentralization, this effect is rather small and mostly statistically insignificant, meaning that the impact of geography survives over time. The strategy has additional value because geography may be used as an instrument for decentralization in future econometric estimations where decentralization is used as an explanatory variable, but may be suspected to be endogenous to the economic process being studied (economic growth, political instability, macroeconomic stability, income distribution, etc.).