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Chapter I, "Lousy and lovely jobs: the rising polarization of work in Britain", shows that the UK since 1975 has exhibited a pattern of job polarization with rises in employment shares in the highest- and lowest-wage occupations. This is not entirely consistent with the standard view of skill-biased technical change as a hypothesis about the impact of technology on the labor market. However, a more nuanced view of skill-biased technological change recently proposed by Autor, Levy and Murnane [2003] (ALM) is a better explanation of job polarization. ALM argue persuasively that technology can replace human labor in routine tasks, be they manual or cognitive, but (as yet) cannot replace human labor in non-routine tasks. Since non-routine tasks are concentrated at both ends of the earnings distribution, it is shown that ALM's routinization hypothesis can explain one-third of the rise in the log(50/10) and one-half of the rise in the log(90/50) wage differential. Chapter II, "The impact of shop closing hours on labor and product markets", adds to a small but growing literature related to the idea that product market regulation affects employment. More specifically, it is argued that shop closing hours can affect the level and composition of employment in retail industries. First, this chapter exploits recent changes in US Sunday Closing Laws to find that total employment, total revenue and the number of shops increase in deregulating industries and possibly decrease in non-deregulating industries. Second, building on what we know about retail markets, a model is presented to show how consumer behavior and retail competition can explain the observed impact of deregulation on retail labor and product markets and therefore ultimately employment. Chapter III, "The recent expansion of higher education in Britain, college premiums and wage inequality", examines the impact of changes in the relative supply of college workers on college premiums and wage inequality between 1975 and 2003 in the UK. First, it provides a test for the hypothesis proposed by Card and Lemieux [2001] (CL) that the inter-cohort slowdown in college attainment growth rates explains the higher college premiums for cohorts born between 1955 and 1970. More precisely, the chapter examines the expansion of Britain's higher education system between 1988 and 1994 to find lower relative earnings for college graduates born between 1970 and 1976, in line with the CL hypothesis. Second, accounting for a positive time trend in college attainment and a secular increase in the relative demand for college workers, it is shown that the slowdown in educational attainment for cohorts born between 1955 and 1970 can explain an important part of the increase in the average college premium and a significant part of the increase in wage inequality after 1980. Relative to the secular increase in the demand for and supply of college workers, the recent expansion of Britain's higher education system is thus expected to significantly reduce the average college premium and therefore wage inequality. Chapter IV, "Cyclicality and fixed effects in gross job flows: a European cross country analysis", uses information on manufacturing establishments during the 1990s in Belgium, France, Italy and the UK to examine whether time series of employment dynamics behave differently across countries and whether persistent differences exist in gross job flows that are country or industry specific. The results suggest job destruction is more cyclically volatile in the UK compared to Continental European countries. In the longer-run, a country fixed effect best captures the process of job reallocation whereas industry specific differences are not important. Symmetry of job creation and destruction over the business cycle and the existence of country specific differences in gross job flows most likely reflect the importance of different labor market regulations in Continental European countries.

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The aim of this research is, through empirical analysis, to understand the acceptance of low pay and low paid employment. The research is the first of its kind to look at people in low paid jobs through the framework of acceptance. The study builds upon the economic arguments of need and the psychological explanations of satisfaction by attempting to capture the effects of both. In doing so, the research employs new ways of looking at why people stay in low paid employment thus contributing towards advancement in pay research. The research was carried out in two phases. First, a review of literature was conducted that looked at both the economic and psychological explanations of acceptance. Second, an empirical analysis was undertaken based on a guiding proposition that was informed by the literature review and two preliminary studies. The empirical study tackles two difficult problems: namely, having to first define and measure the concept of acceptance and then collect data in the sensitive area of pay. The study uses a rough measure of acceptance that of 'not searching for a better job '. This is supplemented by data on extended effort, which is seen as additional evidence of acceptance. Information on pay and opportunity is collected through self-descriptive means using a questionnaire. Based on the understanding of the research question, a proposition was created that guided the study: 'The acceptance of low pay is conditioned by the need to extend labour supply and by low horizons engendered by perceived self evaluation and perceived opportunity' A questionnaire was distributed through trade unions by post and distributed by hand to occupations identified as low paid by the Low Pay Commission (1998). The resulting sample represented three major occupations including hotel, transport & communications and retail. In all 267 complete questionnaires were received and used in the study. The portrait of the 'working poor' which emerged during the study was of extended hours and low pay. The levels of pay were so low as to make individual differences hard to locate. The sample was working hard to maintain its income. There was evidence of limited aspirations in the unconfident perception of opportunities and in the low levels of target earnings, which were lower than national averages by occupational group. Although there was circumstantial evidence that organisational variables were at work, satisfaction levels were so extreme as not to differentiate the sample. Even though the measure was rough some differences were found between those searching and those not searching for a better job. From the results some key variables that influence the acceptance of low pay were identified as working in combination. These were multiple jobs, low perceived opportunities and limited horizons. In short although the results were too extreme to differentiate the sample in important respects, the study justifies the central proposition of examining pay through the concept of acceptance. The use of 'searching for a better job' as a methodological concept requires further investigation.

The significance of seniority for individuals' wage growth has been a very popular topic in labour economics for the past three decades. The extent to which wages rise with employer-tenure is fundamental in the understanding of the dynamics of earnings and labour market behaviour. This thesis is an empirical study of the British labour market in the 1990s and attempts to shed some light on the different kinds of skills individuals acquire in work, and their contribution to the wage determination process. Specifically, the author examines the role of seniority and employer-specific skills in earnings and explores whether industry and occupational specificity in the accumulated human capital can explain part of the variation in wages. Furthermore, the author investigates the interaction of institutional arrangements with these human capital wage premia, giving a particular attention to union representation. Throughout the empirical analysis, the issue of potential endogeneity bias in the estimates of interest is also addressed and alternative estimators are employed for that purpose. For part of the workforce, mainly in 'blue-collar and low-paying jobs, employer-tenure appears to have a significant impact on wage progression, which is further strengthened when employed in a more structured environment, like in the union sector, with well-set promotion ladders and pay rules. Occupational expertise, in contrast, is estimated to play a far more important role in the earnings profiles of those in prestigious, high-paying but more competitive jobs. This is particularly true in less restricted workplaces, where there is no union representation or seniority-pay scales, like in the non-union sector. Overall, the findings of this study provide some rather useful insights into the patterns that govern individuals' wage growth and are informative about individuals' employability and job mobility that could prove to be helpful to policy makers on unemployment and wage inequality issues.

Στην παρούσα εργασία διερευνήσαμε τον τρόπο με τον οποίο διαμορφώνεται το μισθολογικό πλεονέκτημα μεταξύ των εργαζομένων σε επιχειρήσεις διαφορετικού μεγέθους. Για τους σκοπούς της ανάλυσης χρησιμοποιήθηκαν διαστρωματικά στοιχεία από το ελληνικό τμήμα της European Community Household Panel (ECHP) για το έτος 2001 (κύμα 8) και εφαρμόστηκαν τυπικές συναρτήσεις αμοιβών τύπου Mincer. Σύμφωνα με τα αποτελέσματα επιβεβαιώνεται και στην περίπτωση της ελληνικής αγοράς εργασίας η ύπαρξη μισθολογικού πλεονεκτήματος προς όφελος των εργαζομένων σε επιχειρήσεις μεγάλου μεγέθους. Επιπρόσθετα, εξετάστηκε η υπόθεση της συστηματικής επιλογής από την πλευρά των εργαζομένων ως προς το μέγεθος της επιχείρησης (μη τυχαία κατανομή) και με βάση τα αποτελέσματα η υπόθεση αυτή δεν απορρίφθηκε. Στο πλαίσιο αυτό επανεκτιμήθηκαν οι απλές συναρτήσεις αμοιβών διορθώνοντας για την μη τυχαία κατανομή. Επίσης, εφαρμόστηκαν τεχνικές διαχωρισμού των μισθολογικών διαφορών (Oaxaca) μεταξύ εργαζομένων σε επιχειρήσεις διαφορετικού μεγέθους. Με βάση τα αποτελέσματα βρέθηκε, ότι η διόρθρωση για την επιλογή του μεγέθους της επιχείρησης συμβάλλει στην αύξηση της ικανότητας ερμηνείας της παρατηρούμενης μισθολογικής διαφοράς μεταξύ εργαζομένων σε μικρές και μεγάλες επιχειρήσεις. / --