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Chasing after good jobs. Do they exist and does it matter if they do?

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  • David A. Green

Abstract

Most people believe that there are such things as good jobs jobs that a worker would consider herself lucky to get. But for economists, the existence of good jobs is debatable. In this paper, I provide a definition of a good job based on various theories of the labour market: a job that involves a surplus captured partly by the worker. I use that definition to guide an empirical investigation of the existence and importance of good jobs . I conclude that good jobs do existthat the labour market does not just function according to a Roy model with wage differentials reflecting only skill differentials, compensating differentials or bond postingand that their impact on the overall wage structure is substantial. Finally, I discuss the implications of the existence of good jobs for policy setting and for assessments of the justice of a society.

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  • David A. Green, 2015. "Chasing after good jobs. Do they exist and does it matter if they do?," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 48(4), pages 1215-1265, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:cje:issued:v:48:y:2015:i:4:p:1215-1265
    DOI: 10.1111/caje.12188
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    2. Charles Beach, 2018. "Distributional Gains Of Near Higher Earners," Working Paper 1398, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    3. David A. Green & René Morissette & Ben M. Sand & Iain Snoddy, 2019. "Economy-Wide Spillovers from Booms: Long-Distance Commuting and the Spread of Wage Effects," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(S2), pages 643-687.
    4. María Alejandra González Arenas, 2019. "Diferencias en la calidad del empleo público en Colombia: una comparación entre empleados de planta y contratistas," Documentos de trabajo 17567, Escuela de Gobierno - Universidad de los Andes.
    5. Ben Sand & Chris Bidner, 2016. "Job Prospects and Pay Gaps: Theory and Evidence on the Gender Gap from U.S. Cities," Discussion Papers dp16-14, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    6. Yu Chen & Matthew Doyle & Francisco Gonzalez, 2019. "Bad Jobs," Working Papers 1902, University of Waterloo, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2019.
    7. Jasmin Thomas, 2016. "Trends in Low-Wage Employment in Canada: Incidence, Gap and Intensity, 1997-2014," CSLS Research Reports 2016-10, Centre for the Study of Living Standards.
    8. David A. Green, 2023. "Basic income and the labour market: Labour supply, precarious work and technological change," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(4), pages 1195-1220, November.
    9. Alonso Alfaro Urena & Isabela Manelici & Jose P. Vasquez, 2021. "The Effects of Multinationals on Workers: Evidence from Costa Rican Microdata," Working Papers 285, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    10. Charles M. Beach, 2016. "Changing income inequality: A distributional paradigm for Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(4), pages 1229-1292, November.

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    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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