The problem of this study is to make a comparative analysis of the success, based on wages and increases in wages, of 209 students. There were 103 students who had completed Type "B" vocational training and 106 high school graduates who had not completed or taken Type "B" vocational training in the Houston Public Schools.

This dissertation includes three papers that examine the programs, policies, and contexts that explicitly or implicitly relate to food insecurity in the United States. Paper I estimates participation in social welfare programs across disability status and examines how access to participation differs by level of unmet food need in the household. Paper II estimates the causal effects of state minimum wage increases on household food security status across varying levels of wage increases and household characteristics. Paper III explores the relationship between food security status and metro-area classification, investigating how distributional differences in individual, household, and state-level characteristics across geographic location influence this relationship.

M.S.

Yes / Ireland’s selective system of collective agreed minimum wages has come under significant pressure in recent years. A new fast-food employer body took a constitutional challenge against the system of Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) and this was strengthened by the discourse on the negative effects of minimum wages as Ireland’s economic crisis worsened. Taking a historical institutional approach, the article examines the critical juncture for the JLC system and the factors which led to the subsequent government decision to retain but reform the system. The article argues that the improved enforcement of minimum wages was a key factor in the employers’ push for abolition of the system but that the legacy of a collapsed social partnership system prevented the system’s abolition.

Yes / In this paper we explore how paying a living wage in global supply chains might affect employment and carbon emissions: Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 13. Previous work has advocated using wage increases for poorer workers to increase prices for wealthier consumers, thereby reducing consumption and associated environmental damage. However, the likely effects of such an approach remain unclear. Using an input-output framework extended with income and demand elasticities, we estimate the employment and carbon effects of paying a living wage to Brazilian, Russian, Indian and Chinese (BRIC) workers in the Western European clothing supply chain. We find negligible effects on carbon emissions but a substantial increase in BRIC employment under 3 scenarios of consumer behaviour. Changes in Western European consumption lead to small decreases in global carbon emissions and BRIC employment. However, the increase in BRIC wages increases demand in BRIC. This increased demand increases production which largely cancels out the carbon savings and generates net increases in BRIC employment. We conclude by arguing that paying higher wages in global supply chains represents a good but not sufficient step toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Gender-segregated labor markets remain a barrier to economic equality, significantly con- tributing to the persistent income disparities between men and women. While extensive literature has documented the prevalent wage gaps, it often attributes these disparities to educational attainment, career tenure, and familial obligations. This thesis focuses on the Swedish Armed Forces, a predominantly male-dominated organization, providing unique insights into organizational structures not extensively documented in current lit- erature. Using individual-level data from Statistical Sweden, a linear regression analysis investigates the gender wage gap, followed by a quantile regression to further explore gender variations across the income distribution. The results reveal a significant gender wage gap, although it has decreased over time and can be explained by individual char- acteristics. Persistent wage disparities in the labor market can often be attributed to the ongoing gender segregation in certain professions, where women, as minorities, tend to earn less. This uneven distribution where men predominantly occupy higher-ranked and higher-paid positions, exacerbates the income inequality. This structural imbalance not only reflects existing societal norms but also highlights the economic impact of occupa- tional segregation, which continues to disadvantage women.

Text in Afrikaans / Suid-Afrika ondervind reeds geruime tyd hoe en stygende vlakke van werkloosheid. Gedurende die tagtigerjare bet die opkoms van vakbonde 'n fundamentele herstrukturering van die Suid-Afrikaanse arbeidsmark veroorsaak en die styging in werkloosheid gedurende die tydperk word dikwels aan vakbondoptrede toegeskryf. In die studie word verskillende oorsake van werkloosheid aan die hand van die klassieke, Keynesiaanse, natuurlike werkloosheidskoers- en nie-versnellende-inflasiewerkloosheidskoersbenaderings ondersoek ten einde die invloed van vakbonde en loononaanpasbaarheid op werkloosheid te probeer bepaal. Ooreenkomste sowel as verskille tussen die teoriee word geidentifiseer. Dit wil voorkom asof vakbonde gedurende die tagtigerjare in Suid-Afrika deur middel van bulle invloed op . loonverhogings 'n betreklik geringe invloed op werkloosheid gehad bet en dat loononaanpasbaarheid geensins 'n beduidende faktor was nie. Dit blyk ook dat die Keynesiaanse benadering die toepaslikste raamwerk hied vir die ontleding van hoe vlakke van werkloosheid en die invloed van vakbonde daarop. · / High and rising levels of unemployment have been experienced in South Africa for quite some time. The rise in trade union activity during the eighties caused a fundamental restructuring of the South African labour market and the increase in unemployment during this period is often blamed on trade union activity. In this study the classical approach, the Keynesian approach, the natural rate of unemployment and the non-accelerating inflation rate of unemployment are used to examine the different causes of unemployment with the purpose of assessing the influence of trade unions and wage rigidity on the level of unemployment. Similarities as well as differences between the theories are identified. It appears that trade unions had a marginal effect on unemployment in South Africa during the eighties through their influence on wage increases and that wage rigidity was not a significant cause of unemployment during this period. The Keynesian approach seems to be the most appropriate framework to analyse the causes of high levels of unemployment as well as the influence of trade unions on unemployment. / Department of Economics / M. Comm (Economics)

Kung Ching-yi. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-191). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / Acknowledgement --- p.iii / Table of Contents --- p.v / List of Figures --- p.vi / List of Tables --- p.vii / Chapter Chapter 1. --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter Chapter 2. --- Literature Review --- p.8 / Chapter Chapter 3. --- Data --- p.32 / Chapter Chapter 4. --- The Gender Wage Differential: A First Look --- p.49 / Chapter Chapter 5. --- Returns to Schooling --- p.89 / Chapter Chapter 6. --- Decomposition of Gender Wage Differential --- p.140 / Chapter Chapter 7. --- Change of the Gender Wage Differentials from 1988through1999 --- p.163 / Chapter Chapter 8. --- Conclusion --- p.178 / Appendix: Alternative Treatments of Schooling Years and Potential Experience --- p.181 / References --- p.187

論文提要 改革是社會主義制度的自我完善與發展，是經濟體制和經濟增長方式根本轉變的動力，也是建立新的工資分配機制的必經之路。而工資分配格局的改革，是整個社會經濟改革的一個重要環節，關係著各方面利益關係的調整和變動，也關係著社會主義市場經濟的發展和現代企業制度的形成。研究工資改革的歷程、條件、矛盾、主要經驗和發展趨勢對於工資改革的繼續深入發展，全面運作目標的確定，理性思維能力的提高，都是必要的。工資改革的實踐是一個基礎，對這種實踐的認識、探索、合理引導是一項長期的任務。 中國大陸自改革開放以來，工資制度改革方興未艾。隨著國家經濟體制改革總體目標--建立社會主以市場經濟體制確立之後，工資分配制度的改革在新形勢下面臨的一個重大課題是：工資改革該如何運作？改革的目標是什麼？如何實現改革的目標？為此，改革須從以下三各思路著手：首先，要研究並確立工資制度改革的目標，即建立社會主義市場經濟條件下國有企業工資分配體制目標模式；第二，要分析並把握國有企業工資體制改革的現狀；第三，要根據工資體制改革目標模式的要求，立足於城鎮地區職工工資分配的現實基礎，積極創造有利的環境條件，採取相應措施，不斷推進工資改革，逐步實現工資改革向社會主義市場經濟條件下目標體制的過渡。 根據研究資料顯示，在中國大陸城鎮地區，由於工資制度改革提高了大部分職工的工資收入，隨著經濟改革的深化與經濟持續的成長，職工對工資收入提高的需求不斷膨脹，然而企業經營效益未能有效提高，工資的發放受到企業經營效益與工資總額限制地影響，當經濟成長到達某一個階段後，職工工資總額成長反而慢了下來。改革二十年來，經濟隨然維持著一定的增長速率，但是城鎮職工獲取工資收入的心態仍殘存著傳統平均分配的心態，無法良好適應市場機制中透過競爭與付出相對勞動量獲取勞動工資的方式。然而部分職工可以經由市場經濟體制獲得較高的工資收入，工資的差距就形成了工資攀比的來源。吃慣企業『大鍋飯』的職工們試圖在雙重經濟體制下，從工資攀比中擠佔企業留利、變相轉化福利補貼項目為個人收入，這也形成許多行政力量難以管制、且市場機能無法調節的灰色地帶或真空地帶，讓工資攀比行為有機可趁，混亂了整體的工資分配格局。 本文透過相關統計資料所作的因素分析，發現在城鎮職工工資總額構成中，基本工資對工資增長的影響力相對越來越小；另外，非工資收入的部分之比重則逐年上升，且普遍呈現平均發放的狀態。資料顯示基本工資的比重下降主要是因為基本工資增長缺乏正常增資晉級機制，加上雙重體制下的工資攀比因素，獲取非工資收入渠道增加，非工資收入對整體工資收入的構成就起著相當決定性的影響。要體現工資所具有的激勵、調節與分配等功能，主要是透過基本工資來反映職工勞動貢獻，而從分析中發現基本工資本身也存在平均發放的現象，職工工資收入並不能明顯反映勞動生產力的差異性，顯然職工並未從勞動過程中分配到應有的工資報酬。除了基本工資增長緩慢與平均發放的現象外，雙軌體制運行造成其它難以調控的分配渠道大量存在，加上企業普遍缺乏『硬預算約束』以及勞動力無法自由流動，也使得職工有機會獲取非工資收入，降低工資調節、分配的功能。 本文進一步利用基尼係數檢視中國大陸城鎮職工收入分配情況。研究發現，改革開放初期，中國大陸城鎮地區的基尼係數顯示出收入分配差距很小，在低工資的配給制度下，收入差距微乎其微，隨著改革開放的腳步向前邁進，中共國家統計局估計的基尼係數顯示城鎮地區基尼係數有緩步增加，但仍保持在合理區間，經濟成長似乎並未將收入差距擴大到不合理的狀況。然而工資收入中存在著許多難以估計的隱性收入部分，這部分收入並非單純透過基尼係數所能確實衡量反應的，由此可知，經濟改革的確拉大了收入差距，但收入差距也伴隨著平均主義共生。 工資制度在雙軌體制下進行改革，改變了職工的工資結構，而工資結構的變化進一步影響了工資分配的格局。照理說，工資制度的改革最主要的目的是為了提昇經濟效率，減輕平均主義衍生的職工惰性，但在實際情況中卻演變成薪平均主義與收入差距懸殊並存的現象。造成這種情形的主要原因在於工資分配機制尚未完全納入市場機能運作中，工資分配結構難以合理化、正常化。研究結果顯示，工資制度改革未能達到預期效果，除了內在因素外，有相當大的部分是源於外在的整體市場結構未健全化，體制改革不配套，導致工資改革措施難以落實。 健全發展與落實工資制度，工資的功能才能有效發揮，達到兼顧效率與公平的收入分配格局。就其內在因素來看，主要是要健全正常的工資增長晉級制度，減少工資分配格局中的無序現象；其次是要建立現代化企業制度，使企業能自主經營、自負盈虧。就外在因素來看，需建立國家宏觀調控機制，督導、促進企業工資分配制度完善化；工資制度盡可能完善化之後，再和整體經濟體制改革進行配套改革發展，以便順利過渡到市場經濟體制，維持持續的經濟成長。

This thesis consists of four self-contained studies in empirical labor economics. Micro data on both employers and workers are used to analyze the questions asked in the essays. By using disaggregated information, issues related to firm and individual heterogeneity can be studied.The first essay, The Impact of Temporary Contracts on Gross Job and Worker Flows (with Mahmood Arai), examines job and worker flow dynamics for temporary and permanent contracts. The micro approach to job flows concerns changes in employment at the plant or firm level. Data used in earlier research on gross labor flows do not allow for a distinction between different types of employment contracts (an exception is Abowd et al. (1999). This distinction is especially important in Europe since several European countries discriminate between permanent and temporary contracts in their employment legislation.The data contain quarterly information on the stock of permanent and temporary contracts, as well as direct information on hires and separations for permanent and temporary workers. The information is from a representative sample of around 10,000 Swedish private establishments.The results indicate that temporary contracts, covering only around 10 percent of all contracts, stand for half of all gross job (and worker) flows. This means that gross job (and worker) flow rates for temporary contracts are around 10 times larger than job (and worker) flows for permanent contracts. Our results imply that job reallocation associated with temporary contracts is acyclical in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors. For permanent contracts, job reallocation only exhibits a countercyclical pattern in manufacturing, characterized by a low fraction of temporary contracts. Services employing a higher fraction of temporary contracts exhibit no cyclical pattern in job reallocation, implying that establishments in services use temporary contracts as an adjustment buffer and can adjust its labor input more smoothly.The share of temporary contracts varies with the industry structure and changes as a result of sectoral shifts. This implies that cross-country comparisons, as well as studies of the dynamics of job and worker flows, based on aggregated time-series data, can be distorted by the impact of the fraction of temporary labor on gross labor flows. This, in turn, makes the distinction between permanent and temporary contracts crucial in analyzing job and worker flows, especially when labor protection laws discriminate between short-and long-term employment contracts. The second essay, Wage Dispersion and Allocation of Jobs, investigates the relationship between job turnover and the distribution of wages. One possible explanation for similar labor reallocation rates across labor markets with very different employment-protection legislations is related to differences in wage setting institutions. Bertola and Rogerson (1997) argue that although job-security laws lead to lower job flows, their impact might be reduced if differences in wage-setting institutions have opposite effects. Bertola and Rogerson’s conclusion is that when labor protection laws and wages are jointly considered, the result might very well be that job flows in countries with high adjustment costs and a compressed wage structure mimic those in countries with low adjustment costs and decentralized wages.Using establishment data on job turnover and wages for a panel of around 10,000 establishments in the Swedish private sector, the relationship between wage compression and job reallocation is studied at the industry level.Estimating industry fixed-effects models for 14 two-digit industries yield results indicating large sector differences regarding the effect of the degree of wage dispersion on job reallocation. In accordance with the Bertola and Rogerson hypothesis, this effect is positive in the manufacturing sector. Running separate regressions for job creation and job destruction shows a negative and significant effect of wage dispersion on job destruction, whereas it is insignificant in the job-creation equation. These results are in accordance with wages being more rigid downwards than upwards. The quantitative effect of the impact of wage dispersion on job turnover is limited, however. A one standard deviation increase in wage dispersion reduces the total job reallocation by around 10 percent. Turning to the non-manufacturing sector, the Bertola and Rogerson hypothesis is not supported.Further results include (i) a strong positive effect of the industry-share of temporary employees on job reallocation and (ii) a negative relationship between the use of overtime and job turnover.In the third essay, Wages, Profits and Individual Unemployment Risk: Evidence from Matched Worker-Firm Data (with Mahmood Arai), the impact of firm performance on individual wages is studied. Several studies have found a positive and significant effect of profits on wages. The most widely suggested interpretation for this phenomenon is that employers and employees engage in rent-sharing, thereby splitting the profits created between themselves.The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of rent-sharing and the impact of individual and aggregated unemployment risk on wages of individual workers. We use a sample of over 170,000 Swedish employees for 1991 and 1995 matched with their employing firm’s profits and the unemployment registers. The matched data contain detailed information on individual characteristics, including their unemployment experience during 1992-1995 as well as annual profits as reported in the firms’ balance-sheet reports.The contribution of this paper is that it provides evidence on the wage determination, based on disaggregated individual and firm data dealing with the problems of firm and worker heterogeneity, and the endogeneity of profits. Our results imply positive effects of profits on wages, both in 1991 and 1995. The reported elasticities imply that the wage inequality in Sweden due to the spread in profits is as high as 13% of the mean wages in 1991, according to Lester’s range of pay. These correlations are robust for controlling for time-invariant unobserved individual- and firm characteristics.Using firm-reported short-term product market elasticity and the number of competitors as instruments for profits suggest Lester’s measure of wage inequality due to profits to be as high as 50% of the mean wages.Finally, we investigate the impact of individual heterogeneity with respect to unemployment risk that might also affect wages. We include the individuals’ unemployment event record in our regressions, and our results confirm that individuals with a higher unemployment risk also have lower wages. Including aggregated measures along with individual unemployment risk in our estimations show results suggesting that there exists a robust negative correlation between unemployment risk and wages at various aggregation levels.The final essay, Pay Inequality and Firm Performance: Evidence from Matched Employer-Employee Data, tests several implications from tournament models on the same matched employer-employee data set as in essay 3.According to a variety of theories, the wage distribution both within and between firms can have important effects on individual productivity and firm performance. One argument for high wage differentials, based on incentive effects, is found in Lazear and Rosen’s (1981) tournament theory. Higher wage differentials lead to higher individual effort, and are therefore productivity enhancing. This, in turn, suggests that there is a positive relationship between wage dispersion and productivity. The opposite relationship is found in theories stressing fairness and cooperation between co-workers.For white-collar workers, the results show a positive effect of intra-firm pay spread on firm performance for 1991 and 1995. This applies to different measures of wage dispersion, capturing both raw differences and differences corrected for the fact that part of the wage spread is due to differences in human capital accumulation. To take firm heterogeneity into account, difference equations are estimated on a panel of firms. Once more, consistent with tournament theory, a positive and significant effect of wage dispersion on profits is found. The results for managers are based on information on about 10,000 managers. For various measures of wage dispersion and specifications, a positive and significant association between managerial pay and profits is found. No support is found for the hypothesis of a positive relationship between the number of managers (contestants) and wage spread. Instead, the results show a negative and significant effect of the number of executives and pay spread among managers.Finally, consistent with tournament theory, higher wage dispersion is found in firms operating in volatile product markets characterized by a high degree of output uncertainty. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk., 2002