wage structure

Abstract

This short paper discusses some aspects of the recent increase in
the number of full-time non—tenure track faculty appointments. It considers alternative explanations for the growth and concludes that the
predominant cause seems to be that institutions have elected to offer
non—tenure track appointments, not that they are forced to by inadequate finances or projections of declines in student enrollment. This
tentative conclusion rests on some statistics which imply that tenure
track appointments tend to be offered more frequently in fields where
there is also more upward pressure on salaries and where new faculty
appointments may have a wider choice of alternatives.

Year of Publication
1986
Number
211
Date Published
08/1986
Publication Language
eng
Citation Key
7854
Kasper, H. (1986). On Understanding the Rise in Non-Tenure Track Appointments. Retrieved from http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp019880vq97s (Original work published August 1986)
Working Papers
Author
Abstract

Inequality in the unconditional distribution of observed wage rates in the U.S. rose substan-
tially during the 1980s, mostly in the lower tail of the distribution. The causes of this rising
wage inequality are obscured by the fact that concurrent decreases in the federal minimum wage
tend to increase observed wage inequality, regardless of its effect on employment. This study
uses regional variation in the relative level of the federal minimum wage to separately identify
the impact of the minimum wage from nation-wide growth in “latent” wage dispersion during
the 1980s. CPS wage data show a tight empirical relation between the relative level of the
federal minimum wage and dispersion in the lower tail of the wage distribution, across states
and over time. After accounting for the diminishing impact of the minimum wage during the
1980s, the evidence points to little or no increase in wage dispersion in the lower tail of the
wage distribution.

Year of Publication
1998
Number
399
Date Published
03/1998
Publication Language
eng
Citation Key
Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. 114, No3, August 1999
Lee, D. (1998). Wage Inequality in the U.S. during the 1980s: Rising Dispersion or Falling Minimum Wage?. Retrieved from http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01765371335 (Original work published March 1998)
Working Papers
Abstract

The wage structure in the U.S. public sector responded sluggishly to
substantial changes in private sector wages during the 1970s and 1980s.
Despite a large expansion in the college/high school wage differential during
the 1980s in the private sector, the public sector college wage premium
remained fairly stable. Although wage differentials by skill in the public
sector were fairly unresponsive to changes in the private sector, overall pay
levels for state and local government workers were quite sensitive to local
labor market conditions. But federal government regional pay levels appear
unaffected by local economic conditions. Several possible explanations are
considered to account for the rigidity of the government internal wage
structure, including employer size, unionization, and nonprofit status. None
of these factors adequately explains the pay rigidity we observe in the
government.

Year of Publication
1991
Number
282
Date Published
03/1991
Publication Language
eng
Citation Key
Research in Labor Economics, Vol. 12, 1991
Krueger, A., & Katz, L. (1991). Changes in the Structure of Wages in the Public and Private Sectors. Retrieved from http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01jh343s29g (Original work published March 1991)
Working Papers
Abstract

Past investigations of the income gaps between Jews and non-Jews in
Israel treat non-Jews as one group. In this paper we separate the non-Jewish group into
three main religious minorities: Muslims, Christians and Druze and focus on the northern
part of Israel, where most minorities live. Using the latest Israeli census, we find
significant explained and unexplained income gaps in favor of Jews. The unexplained
gaps tend to be larger the more educated the individual. Jews have much higher
representation in the more lucrative occupations, and earn significantly more in them. In
almost every dimension Muslims suffer from the largest income gaps. Druze, on the other
hand, enjoy the lowest income gaps across most of the income distribution, due in large
part to direct and indirect benefits they reap from serving in the army. Among minorities,
Christians are the most educated and most concentrated in the top occupations, which
explains why they enjoy the lowest gaps in the highest percentiles of the income
distribution.

Year of Publication
2003
Number
476
Date Published
07/2003
Publication Language
eng
Citation Key
7999
Levanon, G., & Raviv, Y. (2003). Decomposing Wage Gaps Between Ethnic Groups: The Case of Israel. Retrieved from http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01k0698749t (Original work published July 2003)
Working Papers
Abstract

According to standard economic models, adverse demand shocks will lead to bigger
employment losses if institutional factors like minimum wages and trade unions prevent real
wages from falling. Some economists have argued that this insight explains the contrast
between the United States, where real wages fell over the 1980s and aggregate employment
expanded vigorously, and Europe, where real wages held steady and employment was
stagnant. We test the hypothesis by comparing recent changes in wages and employment
rates for different age and education groups in the United States, Canada, and France. We
argue that the same forces that led to falling real wages for less-skilled workers in the U.S.
also affected Canada and France. Consistent with the view that labor market institutions in
Canada and France reduce wage flexibility, we find that the relative wages of less-skilled
workers fell more slowly in Canada than the U.S. during the 1980s, and did not fall at all in
France. Contrary to expectations, however, we find little evidence that wage inflexibilities
generated divergent patterns of relative employment growth across the three countries.

Year of Publication
1995
Number
355
Date Published
12/1995
Publication Language
eng
Citation Key
NBER Working Paper #5487, March 1996, Canadian Journal of Economics, Vol. 32, No. 4, August 1999
Kramarz, F., Card, D., & Lemieux, T. (1995). Changes in the Relative Structure of Wages and Employment: A Comparison of the United States, Canada, and France. Retrieved from http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01qf85nb29s (Original work published December 1995)
Working Papers