We examine how much of the observed wage dispersion among similar workers can be explained as a consequence of a lack of coordination among employers. To do this, we construct a directed search model with homogenous workers but where firms can create either good or bad jobs, aimed at either employed or unemployed workers. Workers in our model can also sell their labor to the highest bidder. The stationary equilibrium has both technology dispersion \226 different wages due to different job qualities, and contract dispersion \226 different wages due to different market experiences for workers. The equilibrium is also constrained- efficient \226 in stark contrast to undirected search models with technology dispersion. We then calibrate the model to the US economy and show that the implied dispersion measures are quite close to those in the data.
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Paper provided by EconWPA in its series Macroeconomics with number
0205003.
Length: 35 pages Date of creation: 27 Apr 2002 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:wpa:wuwpma:0205003
Note: Type of Document - pdf; prepared on IBM PC ; to print on Franciscan monk; pages: 35 ; figures: included. This paper was presented at the 2001 NBER summer workshop Contact details of provider: Web page: http://129.3.20.41
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References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
Benoit Julien & John Kennes & Ian King, 2000.
"Bidding for Labor,"
Review of Economic Dynamics,
Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 3(4), pages 619-649, October.
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Julien, B. & Kennes, J. & King, I., 1998.
"Bidding for Labour,"
Discussion Papers
dp98-03, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
Cited by: (explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)