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As temporary employment has become a pervasive feature of modern labor markets, reasons for wage growth have become less well understood. To determine whether these two phenomena are related, the authors investigate whether the dualized structure of labor markets affects macroeconomic developments. Specifically, they incorporate involuntary temporary workers into the standard wage Phillips curve to examine wage growth in 30 European countries for the period 2004–2017. Relying on individual-level data to adjust for a changing employment composition, their findings show, for the first time, that the incidence of involuntary temporary workers has strong negative effects on permanent workers' wage growth, thereby dampening aggregate wage growth. This effect, which the authors name the competition effect, is particularly pronounced in countries where wage bargaining institutions are weak. The findings shed further light on the reasons for the secular slowdown of wage growth after the global financial crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors estimate the effects of an increase in the youth minimum wage in the Netherlands on low-paid workers' employment and earnings, using a difference-in-differences approach with detailed administrative data. Findings show that the increase does not have a negative effect on the number of jobs or hours worked, hence raising overall earnings for affected workers. Further, the minimum wage increase has substantial spillover effects, accounting for close to 70% of the average wage increase experienced by workers. While employment grows in fixed-term and temporary help agency contracts, the authors do not find evidence of declines in employment in other types of work arrangements, nor of labor-labor substitution. Labor market outcomes evolve most favorably for full-time incumbent workers who are not enrolled in education and are thus less likely to be transient occupants of minimum wage jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can the Nordic wage-setting model, where social partners decide wages through collective agreements, counteract a growing low-paid sector? This article tests four definitions of low-paid jobs to analyze whether this sector has grown for the period 2005–2020 in Sweden. Despite policy changes pointing towards growth, all definitions show a slight decrease in low-paid jobs over time. The authors argue that the industrial relations system, with the aim of keeping the industry wage increases in check to aid export competitiveness, also sets a uniform level wage that limits low-paid jobs. It is also found that low pay in the Swedish setting is partly a result of working less than full-time or having unstable employment, and service workers and those with low education are becoming increasingly common in this position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global demand for button mushrooms has surged in recent years, driven by their health benefits, creating a significant challenge for the mushroom industry in meeting this increasing demand. The increasing reliance on human labor, which is becoming unsustainable due to labor shortages and rising wage costs, highlights the urgent need for automated harvesting solutions. This review examines the integration of automated systems in button mushroom harvesting, delving into the key components such as robots, mechanisms, machine elements, programming, and algorithms. It offers a thorough analysis of the performance, design, operational mechanisms, and advantages and limitations of robotic systems, comparing the different methods employed in automated harvesting. This paper compares the performance of all the mushroom harvesters, including the commercially available ones with manual harvesting, and identifies their potential and limitations. The commercial harvesters are shown to pick 2000 mushrooms per hour on average, which is similar to how much a skilled worker picks at the same time. However, commercial automation harvesting has a relatively low success rate, high initial cost, high operating cost, and energy consumption, identifying areas for future research and challenges. This paper serves as a valuable resource for researchers and industry professionals striving to advance automated harvesting technology and improve its efficiency in meeting the rising demand for button mushrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractUsing China’s Annual Survey of Industrial Firms (ASIF) and the China Customs Database (CCD) from 2000 to 2013, this study explores the impact of adopting industrial robots on the employment in Chinese manufacturing firms. We find a positive association between the adoption of industrial robots and the employment scale of China’s manufacturing enterprises. We also find evidence that the positive association is more pronounced in capital-intensive industries, non-state-owned firms, and firms in coastal areas. Mechanism test indicates that ‘scale expansion effects’ and ‘productivity effects’ are the main channels through which industrial robots promote employment growth. Further analysis indicates that the adoption of industrial robots did not have obvious industry spillover effects. Additionally, other labor market results demonstrate that the adoption of industrial robots significantly increases the average wage level of enterprises while decreasing their labor share. This study provides micro-level evidence revealing the impact of adopting industrial robots on employment in developing countries. It also provides important policy implications for countries worldwide seeking to promote automated production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The functioning of labour market in pre-industrial era is still a puzzling phenomenon. Using the payrolls of the Royal Palace of Palermo, this paper adopts a micro-data approach to disentangle how the labour market operated, focusing on the length of the working year and progression of careers. This paper provides three main insights. First, the estimates confirm the length of the working year, which is commonly assumed to be approximately 250 working days. Second, the primary labour market was segmented, and members of the guilds that belonged to a family network had faster career. Third, in the secondary market, unskilled workers who could not access the primary one were rewarded more time on the building site instead of a wage increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study deals with the main issues concerning the interplay between homeownership and labour market outcomes, namely (1) the relation between homeownership and labour market outcomes, at both the individual level and the aggregate level, and (2) the relation between homeownership and human capital. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is both theoretical and empirical. A search and matching model of the labour market is developed to explain the strong relation between mortgage markets and wages. A regional panel analysis in Italy is used to verify the interplay between homeownership and wages. Findings: Homeownership is not, by itself, a condition for receiving higher wages, but rather higher wages increase the probability to become a homeowner, since they positively affect the probability of acquiring a mortgage from the bank. Eventually, wages cause homeownership, but the reverse may not be true. Research limitations/implications: The paper focuses on the labour market, while the housing market model is restricted to the mortgage market. Practical implications: The positive effect of homeownership on wages is hard to theoretically formalise and is not empirically proven. Before investigating a (potential) bidirectional relationship between homeownership and labour market outcomes, therefore, the related literature should assume a new theoretical link between homeowners and wages. Social implications: The result that "homeownership is not, by itself, a condition for receiving higher wages" has positive implications for human and social development. If homeownership could lead to better labour market outcomes, indeed, socio-economic inequalities would increase in the society, because homeownership would be the starting point of a "lucky" circle that increases the well-being of people who are already wealthy. Originality/value: First, this study clearly explains why the microeconomic result that homeowners are more likely to be employed than tenants is consistent – at the aggregate level – with a negative relation between homeownership and better labour market outcomes. Second, the related literature has largely ignored the social implications of the topic. A potential bidirectional relation between homeownership and (better) labour market outcomes, indeed, could imply an increase in the well-being of people who are already wealthy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission has recently implemented legislative measures to improve worker protection through an adequate minimum wage set by national laws or collective agreements. A recommended benchmark for minimum wage calculation is 60% of the gross median wage or 50% of the mean wage. However, the Kaitz index, a ratio indicator, shows lower values in most EU countries, raising concerns about potential negative impact on the labour market. This study aims to identify the impact of the Kaitz index and several other selected variables on unemployment in the V4 countries. Using multiple linear regression, we concluded that the Kaitz index's growth does not uniformly impact unemployment in the V4 countries. Specifically, in Slovakia and the Czechia, the Kaitz index growth appeared to increase unemployment, in line with neoclassical economic theory. In contrast, Hungary and Poland did not register significant effects. Gender differences were also noted, with the Kaitz index affecting female unemployment in the Czechia and Hungary, and male unemployment in Slovakia. The research results suggest that increasing the minimum wage in the V4 countries is feasible if its growth rate is higher than that of unemployment benefits and the living minimum, but lower than the average wage growth, and if it is supported by economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We identify the labor market returns to university grade point average (GPA) by leveraging a nationwide change in the scaling of grades in Danish universities. Our results show that a reform-induced increase in GPA that is unrelated to ability causes higher earnings immediately after graduation, but the effect fades in subsequent years. The effect at labor market entry is largest for individuals with fewer alternative signals. Although employers initially screen candidates on the basis of skill signals, our findings are consistent with a model in which employers rapidly learn about worker productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the 1979 and 1997 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, this paper shows that the growing return to social skills documented by Deming (2017. "The Growing Importance of Social Skills in the Labor Market." Quarterly Journal of Economics 132 (4): 1593–640) has been largely concentrated on college-educated workers, rather than on high school-educated workers. These findings are corroborated by the pronounced occupational sorting of college-educated workers into occupations requiring high levels of social skills. Moreover, the wage premium for college-educated workers employed in these occupations has increased markedly. Our empirical evidence provides one possible source of rising wage inequality within and between education levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the effects of a voluntary microcredentialing scheme on an online freelancing labor market. Drawing on transaction-level data, we show that obtaining a microcredential increases workers' earnings. This effect is not driven by increased worker productivity but by decreased employer uncertainty. The increase in worker earnings is realized through an increase in the value of the projects won rather than an increase in the number of projects. We also find that the effect of microcredentials is lower for more experienced workers, which suggests that signaling by microcredentials and other forms of verified information are partial substitutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human capital acquired through employer-provided training is pervasive in labour markets and an important determinant of post-schooling wage growth. The literature has focused on understanding under what conditions this training will lead to higher wages. Here I offer another aspect for consideration: Does the proximity of the current job to past jobs affect the return to training? In particular, I look at whether the wage return to training acquired at a previous employer depends upon the relative 'proximity' of the worker's past employer to their current one, where proximity is measured by whether the worker received the training in the same industry or occupation as the current job. I investigate this using data from the British Household Panel Survey, with both fixed effects and instrumental variable estimation. The results suggest that both current and previous employer training spells are important determinants of wages, and both need to be included in wage regressions. Evidence further suggests that the return to formal training is highest if the training was received in a previous job that was in the same industry and occupation as the current one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows that more highly concentrated labour markets experience more positive employment effects of the minimum wage. In the most concentrated labour markets, employment rises following a minimum wage increase. The paper establishes its main findings by studying the effects of local minimum wage increases on a key low-wage retail sector, and using data on labour market concentration that covers the entirety of the U.S. with fine spatial variation at the occupation level. The results carry over to the fast-food sector and the entire low-wage labour market and are robust to using proxies of labour market concentration available for a broader range of industries, such as the number of establishments and population density. A model of oligopsonistic competition can explain these effects: there is more room to increase wages in high-concentration areas where wages tend to be further below marginal productivity. These findings provide evidence supporting monopsonistic wage setting as an explanation for the near-zero minimum wage employment effect documented in prior work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine two key channels through which commodity price super-cycles affect the economy: a wealth channel, through which higher commodity prices increase domestic demand, and a cost channel, through which they induce wage increases. By exploiting regional variation in exposure to commodity price shocks and administrative firm-level data from Brazil, we empirically disentangle these transmission channels. We introduce a dynamic model with heterogeneous firms and workers to further quantify the mechanisms and evaluate welfare. A counterfactual economy in which commodity booms are purely endowment shocks experiences only 30% of the intersectoral labour reallocation between tradables and nontradables, and 40% of the within-tradable labour reallocation between domestic and exported production. Finally, the consumption-equivalent welfare gain of a commodity super-cycle is twice as large in the counterfactual economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Japan's economic outlook, forecasting a 0.2% GDP growth for 2024 and a 1.1% growth for 2025. Real income gains are expected to drive consumption-led recovery, while exports may remain stagnant due to weak demand from the EU. The Bank of Japan is anticipated to deliver an additional rate hike in December, influenced by political and currency factors. Former defense minister Shigeru Ishiba's election as the Liberal Democratic Party leader is expected to focus on economic growth in the near term, with plans for a national election in late October. [Extracted from the article]

This study explores regional differences in wage inequality in India and examine various contributory factors for increasing disparities in wages across different regions in India. Using data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS) 2011–12 and employing RIF regression methodology, the study investigates the influence of the level of education, experience, English and computer skills, gender, age, religion, and other background characteristics on wage inequality. The findings reveal that higher education levels, experience, English, and computer skills significantly contribute to wage disparities across regions. The study highlights the importance of addressing these factors to promote greater equity and inclusivity in the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By exploiting the opening of the Öresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden, we examine the impact of access to larger labor markets on wages and employment. We show that the bridge generated a substantial increase in the cross-country commuting behavior of Swedes and a 13.5% increase in the average wage of workers in the region. We further show that the wage gains are unevenly distributed: the effect is largest for high-educated men and smallest for low-educated women. Thus, the wage gains come at the cost of increased income inequality and a widening of the gender wage gap, both within and across households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the short and long-run effects of an increase in the skill supply on skill-specific wages and unemployment in a model with endogenous, nonlinear diffusion of a general purpose technology (GPT) and labour market frictions. We calibrate and simulate the model using the trend rise in relative skill supply in the U.S. over two decades starting in the early 1970s. The transitional dynamics of the model show (i) an initial slump and long-run rise in the relative wage of high-skill labour and (ii) a long-run rise in the relative level of unemployment of low-skill versus high-skill labour. An increase in the number of skilled individuals reduces hiring costs and increases the incentive for firms to engage in the costly adoption of a new GPT. Stronger labour market rigidity and higher worker bargaining power are shown to have similar effects on relative wages and unemployment: changes in relative wages are more pronounced, whereas the response of relative unemployment is muted. The exact opposite effects are found in the case of a higher degree of substitution between products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do firms adjust wages in response to changes in their own demand level or to changes in competitive pressure from rival employers? We study how exporters adjust wages in response to unexpected product demand shocks during the 2008–9 Great Recession. Using rich data on Portuguese firms' pre-recession export shipments, we measure firm-level shocks to export demand during the Recession. We show that shocks constructed at the firm level are not necessarily firm-specific and can be decomposed into a common component affecting all producers in a product market and an idiosyncratic component affecting individual firms within markets based on the locations of their pre-recession customers. We demonstrate that while both components impact firms' output and their workers' wages, the common component spills over from firms to their labour market rivals, whereas the idiosyncratic component does not. We find that 10–15% of firms' idiosyncratic demand passes through to their employees' wage growth with no effect on retention rates, implying significant dependence of wages on noncompetitive quasi-rents. Moreover, we find that wages respond primarily to shifts in internal labour demand when labour markets are thin, but they respond more to competition from other employers when labour markets are fluid. These results indicate that employers' ability to set wages hinges on the underlying competitiveness of the labour market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the causal impact of export growth on Chilean local economic development during 2000-2006 by exploiting spatial and temporal variations in local exposure stemming from the interaction of past differences in industry specialization across local labor markets and the evolution of tariffs cuts and exports across industries. We find that growing exports implied a significant reduction in labor informality and labor income gains in more exposed local markets, driven by job creation and wage growth in the formal sector. These effects concentrate on senior skilled workers. Exposed locations also exhibit a greater relative decline in the poverty rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an inverted u‐shaped relationship between age and wages in most labor markets, but the effects of age on productivity are often unclear. We use panel data in a market of high earners, professional footballers (soccer players) in North America, to estimate age‐productivity and age‐wage profiles. We find stark differences; wages increase for several years after productivity has peaked, before dropping sharply at the end of a career. This poses the question: why are middle‐aged workers seemingly overpaid? We investigate a range of possible mechanisms that could be responsible, only finding evidence that tentatively supports a talent discovery theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the concept of "immaculate disinflation," where inflation returns to target without a significant increase in unemployment. While the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank believe this is possible, the Bank of England predicts a rise in unemployment alongside inflation. However, the article argues that the Bank of England's view is overly pessimistic and that UK inflation will likely return to target without a major increase in unemployment. Factors influencing pay growth and inflation expectations in the UK, US, and eurozone are also discussed. The article concludes that disinflation in the UK is likely to be less severe than predicted by the Bank of England, unless there are adverse supply shocks. The decline in the labor share of GDP and the rise in profit share in the US and eurozone since 2019 is also examined, suggesting that a similar situation could occur in the UK. The article suggests that a sustained return of inflation to target and consistent pay growth is possible in the UK without a significant rise in unemployment. [Extracted from the article]

Organizational research has revealed considerable variation in immigrant–native pay inequalities across workplace contexts. However, less is known about how broader labor market institutions intersect in the local dynamics of wage setting between employees of immigrant and native backgrounds. We argue that union density and higher shares of employees in licensed occupations in workplaces constrain organizational opportunity structures for unequal pay according to immigrant backgrounds. Our analysis of longitudinal linked employer–employee administrative data for the Norwegian labor market shows that the wage gap between immigrants and natives decreases with increasing workplace unionization, but almost exclusively for immigrants who are union members. Next, licensure raises pay at the individual and workplace levels, although any reduction in immigrant–native pay gaps is contingent on immigrants' access to licensed jobs. Our findings support the claim that institutional regulation in the workplace reduces the organizational scope of unequal pay based on immigrant status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the efficiency of non‐compete agreements (NCAs) in an equilibrium model of labour turnover. The model is consistent with empirical studies showing that NCAs reduce turnover and average wages for low‐wage workers. The model also predicts that, by reducing turnover, NCAs raise recruitment and employment. We show that optimal NCA policy: (i) is characterized by a Hosios‐like condition that balances the benefits of higher employment against the costs of inefficient congestion and poaching; (ii) depends critically on the minimum wage; and (iii) alone cannot always achieve the constrained‐efficient allocation—a result that also holds for optimal minimum wage policy—yet with both policies, efficiency is always attainable. To guide policymakers, we derive a sufficient statistic in the form of an easily computed employment threshold above which NCAs are necessarily inefficiently restrictive, and show that employment levels in current low‐wage US labour markets typically exceed this threshold. Finally, we calibrate the model and show that Oregon's 2008 NCA ban for low‐wage workers increased welfare modestly (by roughly 0.1%), and that if policymakers had also raised the minimum wage to its optimal level conditional on the enacted NCA ban (a 30% increase), then welfare would have increased more substantially—by over 1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the changes in workplace-level industrial relations resulting from the recent and unprecedented labour shortages in Québec, a province of Canada. Findings are based on preliminary results of an ongoing study of private-sector industries that have been struggling with this phenomenon. Based on a keynote presentation delivered at the 2023 AIRAANZ conference held at Magnetic Island, Australia, the article provides an overview and initial discussion of the impact of labour shortages on industrial relations. The study revealed changes in the negotiation dynamics, outcomes, and actors' behaviour in the industries affected by the shortages. The balance of bargaining power shifted in favour of workers and unions, helping them to secure significant gains in collective agreements, principally – but not entirely – related to wage increases. While a tight labour market puts employers at a disadvantage, it is not all 'win-win' for workers who may, in some cases, see their working conditions deteriorate. The same is true for unions, for whom shortages can pose problems related to succession, management of members' expectations, solidarity among members, and relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the turn of the millennium, the UK has relied almost exclusively on two policies to address the adverse consequences of low pay and labour market inequality: in‐work tax credits and the minimum wage. Successful as these policies have been at supporting family incomes and propping up hourly wages at the bottom, increasing numbers of less‐educated workers find themselves in low‐quality jobs with negligible wage growth, little training and poor career prospects. Work by itself is rarely a route to earnings progression. This paper looks at the motivation behind the expansion of in‐work tax credits in the face of growing wage inequality and in‐work poverty. It focuses on the impact on longer‐term outcomes through human capital and skills. It argues for a balance of policies that goes beyond tax credits and the minimum wage to foster individual wage growth and improve opportunities for career progression for less‐educated workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to a report from Oxford Economics, Japan's GDP growth forecast for 2024 has been lowered to 0.2% due to a weak start to the year and a downward revision to Q1 data. However, the report predicts that the weakness will be short-lived and has upgraded the GDP growth projection for 2025 to 1.2%. The report also mentions that the Bank of Japan is expected to raise the policy rate in September after confirming recoveries in households' real incomes and consumption. Additionally, the report states that the yen is likely to remain weak despite the rate hikes, as US dollar strength is expected to persist. [Extracted from the article]

Income inequality in the United States has been lower in periods when trade unionism has been strong. Using observations on wages by occupation, by geography, and by gender in collective bargaining contracts from the 1940s to the 1970s, patterns in movements of wage differentials are revealed. As wages increased, some contracts maintained relative wage differentials constant, some maintained absolute differences in wages constant, others combined these two patterns, and some did not reveal an obvious pattern. The patterns persisted even as price inflation increased in the 1970s. The dominant pattern implies a reduction in inequality as usually measured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A legislative dispute between the city of St. Louis and the Missouri state government presents a unique opportunity to measure downward wage rigidity in the low-skill labor market. The dispute caused the minimum wage in St. Louis to fall in August 2017 after having risen by 30 percent four months earlier. In this first study of a nominal minimum wage decrease, I evaluate whether firms have a tendency to maintain existing pay levels even when they likely exceed the competitive rate. Analyzing wage trajectories in St. Louis after the minimum wage cut using synthetic controls and a regression analysis, I find that about 3.6 percentage points more workers in the area than we would otherwise expect earn above the statewide minimum wage a year later, and the 5th percentile of wages is about 80 cents higher. Anecdotal evidence is consistent with the interpretation that norms regarding fairness motivated firms to avoid wage cuts. Although I do not observe a decline in hours worked for teenagers or individuals with less than a high school degree, there is some evidence that teenage employment declines. Firms with dynamic expectations regarding a future minimum wage increase may have been particularly willing to maintain higher wages in the near term to avoid paying the costs of taking away a raise they might eventually have to grant anyway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the processes and methods involved in appropriating wages through strict-compliance and non-compliance of different laws, leading to various economic and social rights violations in tea plantation which is one of the oldest industries in India. It addresses the various ways that are cited as the apparent grounds of wage appropriation, namely, self-made rules, management control, and workers' non-compliance with certain norms at the workplace. The study, conducted in 2019, is based on 510 workers across 50 tea estates from 9 major tea-producing districts of Assam, India. In tea industry, wage theft through direct and indirect methods leads to labor rights violations that result from the exploitative 'control and command' system, uneven power relations, various information asymmetry on value share, and ineffective existing labor market institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of economic growth patterns on employment structure, highlighting the effects of the main final demand components' variations. Brazil is an interesting case study, as it has experienced a combination of sustained economic growth, an improvement in income distribution, and a notable increase in job formalization in the 2004-2013 period. We explore how the Brazilian growth pattern contributed to the employment growth and changes in the occupational structure (informal and formal jobs, and wage-level) and provide original insights into the Brazilian labor market in the long 2000s. We find no signs of typical job polarization, as changes in job structure relate to reductions in wage inequality. We develop a structural decomposition analysis to measure the demand components' role in explaining the Brazilian labor market's transformations based on an effective demand input-output model. Drawing on an analysis of cumulative causation between income distribution, household consumption, and occupational structure, we find that induced consumption significantly impacted service and trade industries, increasing the low-wage jobs growth rate. Our analysis suggests that the combination of cumulative causation with government consumption and investment growth is crucial to explain distributive gains and the absence of job polarization in the Brazilian labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper works out a classical-Marxian growth model with an endogenous direction of technical change and a heterogeneous labour force, made up of high-skilled and low-skilled workers. It draws on the Kaleckian mark-up pricing to link wage inequality to the relative unit labour cost at the firm level; on growth cycle models à la Goodwin to formalize the dynamic interaction between labour market and distributive shares of income; on the induced innovation literature to link the bias of technical change to the firm's choice of the optimal combination of factor-augmenting technologies. We find that, in contrast to the neoclassical literature on skill-biased technical change, the institutional framework that governs the distributional conflict is the ultimate determinant of both wage inequality and the direction of technical change. A decline in low-skilled workers' bargaining strength or a rise in product market concentration led to both an increase in wage inequality and a bias of technical change favouring high-skilled over low-skilled labour productivity growth. As opposed to the Goodwin model with induced technical change and homogeneous labour force, labour market institutions thus affect steady-state income distribution, capital accumulation and labour productivity growth, and no necessary trade-off arises between labour market regulation and employment. Finally, if the steady-state value of wage inequality exceeds a critical value, an exogenous increase in the mark-up or in the high-skilled workers' bargaining power allow both capitalists and high-skilled workers to increase their income shares at the expense of the low-skilled workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1970 to 2000, worker participation in strikes decreased by 90%. We show that strikers also experienced worse outcomes after 1981. Evidence from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics suggests that strikers enjoyed 5%–10% wage gains before the 1980s but null wage changes thereafter. Additional analyses of other survey data and collective bargaining agreements reinforce the finding that strikes since the 1980s have not been associated with increases in wages, hours, or benefits. We attribute these findings to structural labor market shifts and to a narrower deterioration in labor relations signaled by the 1981 air traffic controllers strike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the concept of monopsony power in labor markets and its impact on the gap between workers' marginal product and their wage. The paper introduces several deviations from a perfectly competitive labor market, including search frictions, differences in amenity values, bilateral monopoly in wage setting, a small number of firms, and no worker and firm mobility across markets. The authors propose a model that incorporates firm granularity and partially directed search, which affects workers' mobility and wage distribution. The empirical analysis examines the relationship between labor-market concentration and various labor-market statistics, but acknowledges the potential influence of spatial sorting on the results. The paper concludes by suggesting the need for additional data sources to better understand the impact of market structure on wages and career profiles. [Extracted from the article]

This chapter explores the origins of income inequality and the role of labor market power in contributing to this inequality. The authors use Norwegian data to define a labor market and examine the correlation between employment concentration and various labor market indicators. They also analyze the relationship between worker turnover rates and employment concentration, emphasizing the importance of search frictions. The chapter contributes to the ongoing debate on income inequality and offers insights into potential policy interventions. Additionally, the text discusses the impact of frictions on employment and concentration in the labor market, highlighting the relationship between various parameters. It concludes that concentration is eventually decreasing in frictions and market power. The text also discusses the relationship between labor market frictions and employment concentration, noting that higher job stability and less fluidity can lead to more concentration and monopsonistic behavior. Conversely, higher on-the-job search frictions can result in nonmonotonic concentration and more monopsonistic markets. The text also mentions other labor market indicators such as job-finding rates, unemployment rates, and wages, which provide additional evidence of frictions and monopsony power. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Revista Ciencia Administrativa is the property of Universidad Veracruzana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A mandated minimum wage supports low-wage workers at the expense of domestic employment and overall welfare in a closed economy. This, however, does not occur in an economy with open labor markets like the Philippines. Our general equilibrium simulations demonstrate that a minimum wage increase would be welfare-improving thanks to remittances earned by, especially, unskilled workers who lose jobs and migrate abroad. Migration would cause currency appreciation and less domestic labor supply which make exports and domestic production weaker, especially in manufacturing, like the Dutch disease. Among four household groups, welfare gains would accrue largely to both the richest and poorest household groups; middle-income groups would gain smaller. Our neutral inequality finding does not imply equal gains by all household groups but is brought by the poorest household group being able to keep up with the second and third-richest household groups, while trailing behind the richest household group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to present an overview of the impact of the minimum wage (MW) on the labour market in Ecuador. This Andean country is taken as a sample of all the countries in the region, with similar structural limitations in their labour markets. In Ecuador, the MW is positioned in the intermediate deciles. In the lower deciles, most of the workforce is informal or self-employed. The 'lighthouse effect' of the MW on the rest of the employed and self-employed workers is presumed to be the main force in reducing poverty and inequality. The lack of compliance with the labour regulation is, in part, explained by low levels of demand and productivity. These factors would limit firms' ability to hold a wage increase and unemployment would rise. As savings are low and the welfare state does not offer a safety net to guarantee subsistence without a job, unemployed workers quickly transition into informality and self-employment. We use a two-way fixed effects regression to test this hypothesis. Results show that they cannot be rejected, suggesting the need for new labour policies to reduce poverty and inequality, according to the economic reality of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic & Regional Studies/Studia Ekonomiczne i Regionalne is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This document is an index to Volume 131 of the Journal of Political Economy, providing a list of articles and notes published in the journal. It covers a wide range of topics in political economy, including wage growth, labor market conflict, business dynamism, public debt, competition, and voting rights. The index is a valuable resource for library patrons conducting research in these areas, as it offers a comprehensive overview of the research articles published in this volume. The document appears to be a list of names and affiliations, possibly of authors or contributors to the research papers, organized alphabetically. However, it does not provide any information about the content or topics of the papers. [Extracted from the article]

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This article investigates how the evolution of local labour market structure enables or constrains workers as regards escaping low-wage jobs. Drawing on the network-based approach of evolutionary economic geography, we employ a detailed individual-level panel dataset to construct skill-relatedness networks for 72 functional labour market regions in Sweden. Subsequent fixed-effect panel regressions indicate that increasing density of skill-related high-income jobs within a region is conducive to low-wage workers moving to better-paid jobs, hence facilitating labour market upgrading through diversification. While metropolitan regions offer a premium for this relationship, it also holds for smaller regions, and across various worker characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the 100% increase in the minimum wage in the northern border area of Mexico in 2019 and its total, gender, and sector effects on employment and wages. Based on data from the National Occupation and Employment Survey, differences-in-differences and event study design models are estimated to calculate the average and dynamic effects of the policy. The results show that the increase in the minimum wage did not statistically affect the probability of participating in the labor market or of being employed; however, among salaried workers, it did increase the probability of working in the formal sector by 1.38 percentage points, where this effect rises to 2.34 percentage points among women and was non-significant among men. Concerning the mean hourly wage, an increase of 3.27% was observed in formal salaried workers and of 3.56% among women, while no signifi- cant effects were found within informal salaried workers and men. Along the wage distribution, positive average effects were observed for formal wage earners up to the 50th quantile and among informal wage earners up to the 25th quantile. The increase in the minimum wage affected positively and to a greater extent women and low-wage workers. Moreover, since the wage increase was accompanied by other economic policies that appear to have reduced inflation, the results can be interpreted as an upper bound of the positive effects of the minimum wage in crease and in the absence of the other policies, or contexts where only the wage increase occurred, its effects on wages could have been smaller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]