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Unions can have either positive or negative effects on risk-adjusted returns in pension plans. On the positive side, a union can improve monitoring of pension advisors and asset managers. On [...]

This study shows that the wage premium paid by large firms fell over the past 20 years and that this decline in the size premium is most pronounced among the least educated workers. Empirical evidence supports several explanations for the shrinking size premium. First, there has been a convergence in the returns to worker characteristics at large and small firms over time. Second, small and large firms are hiring more workers with similar characteristics. Particularly important are the declining share of workers at large manufacturing firms and the rising share of workers at large retail firms. Also, the greater decline of unionism at large firms has contributed significantly to the decline in the size premium. JEL Classification: J31, J33, 1. Introduction Large firms pay higher wages than small firms. This fact was first documented nearly 100 years ago and has been confirmed by myriad studies since then. Considerable effort [...]

Among recent retirees, women receive substantially less retirement income from Social Security and private pensions than men. Increases in women's labor market attachment and earnings relative to men over the past 50 years provide some optimism for an improvement in female retirement income, particularly for married women. This study shows that women's income from Social Security and private pensions has improved only slightly relative to men over the past 25 years. Using data on people approaching retirement age over the next 20 years, prospects for future improvement are investigated. One of the main conclusions is that pension income among women (particularly married women) will rise sharply relative to men's over the next few decades, but a substantial gap could remain even if women close the gap in experience and salaries. JEL Classification: J32, J26, 1. Introduction The real incomes of elderly women are substantially below that of elderly men. Among people aged 65 and over in 1994, median income was $15,250 for men and [...]

This study uses panel data to examine the wage and employment dynamics of minimum wage workers. Compared with workers earning above the minimum, minimum wage workers are much more likely to be new entrants or to exit the labor market. Changes in industry, occupation, and access to job training are particularly important to improving the wages of minimum wage workers. Many minimum wage workers earn less than their potential wage temporarily because of nonwork circumstances that make higher-paying jobs less attractive., 1. Introduction An important issue in the policy debate over the merits of increasing the minimum wage is the duration of minimum wage employment. At one extreme, if minimum wage [...]

During the 1980s, the minimum wage fell relative to prices and average wages in the U.S. economy. If the minimum to average wage ratio had been constant at the level maintained through the 1970s, the minimum wage would have been $5.51 in 1993. If the 1993 minimum wage had increased to $5.51, payments to minimum wage workers would have increased by an estimated $20.3 billion, and the number of people earning that wage would have risen from 2.0 million to 14.7 million. Elasticity estimates generated from other studies indicate that employment would have fallen 240,000 (4.4%) among 16-19 year olds and 349,000 (3.0%) among 20-24 year olds. Wage payments to minimum wage workers would have substantially increased, but the effect on family income distribution would have been small. Many minimum wage workers are children living with parents or adults in a family with other earners. Consequently, 75% of minimum wage workers account for less than half of their family's income., I. INTRODUCTION Since the Fair Labor Standards Act passed in 1938, the United States has legislated a minimum wage rate. The initial minimum wage was $.25 per hour and covered [...]

I. Introduction This paper examines the extent to which differences in workers' rates of time preferences can explain pension coverage outcomes. We argue that workers with a high rate of [...]

percent for males, and 6.8 percent for females (see Hurd 1990). 22. Retirees with a defined contribution plan who do not convert their account into an annuity, but instead take [...]

I. Introduction The wage gap between men and women in the private sector has narrowed from .40 to .31 between 1973 and 1988.(1) Explanations for the narrowing of the gap [...]