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Salary history bans and healing scars from past recessions

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  • Mask, Joshua

Abstract

In a recession, increased competition forces inexperienced job market entrants to accept lower wages than those who start their careers during an economic boom. Despite years of improvement in labor market conditions following a recession, a wage disparity, known as scarring, persists between these cohorts. Recently implemented Salary History Ban laws (SHBs) are intended to reduce wage disparities between advantaged and disadvantaged groups. In this study, I test how these laws affect a unique and often less salient disadvantaged group – scarred workers. For scarred workers who began their careers during a moderate-to-severe recession, or a five percentage point higher state unemployment rate, I find SHBs increase job mobility by 0.6%, hourly wages by 2.65%, and weekly earnings by 5% relative to cohorts who graduated in baseline labor market conditions. These estimates represent a substantial reduction in the original scarring effect and provide a broader understanding of the mechanisms behind both scarring and SHB laws.

Suggested Citation

  • Mask, Joshua, 2023. "Salary history bans and healing scars from past recessions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:84:y:2023:i:c:s0927537123000830
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2023.102408
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wage scarring; Labor discrimination; Salary history bans;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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