IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/oxecpp/v64y2012i4p635-654.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Efficiency wages and bargaining

Author

Listed:
  • Frank Walsh

Abstract

In contrast to results found in the literature to date this paper shows that the efficiency wage and the wage that solves a bargaining problem will often be independent. If worker bargaining power is weak an efficiency wage equilibrium where bargaining has no affect on the contract emerges. If worker bargaining power is strong we have a bargaining contract that is unaffected by the efficiency wage constraint. Empirical evidence shows that efficiency wage effects matter only for non-union workers. That is workers with weak bargaining power. For workers with stronger bargaining power (unionized workers) there is a significant union wage premium but supervision wage affects are unimportant. Copyright 2012 Oxford University Press 2012 All rights reserved, Oxford University Press.

Suggested Citation

  • Frank Walsh, 2012. "Efficiency wages and bargaining," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 64(4), pages 635-654, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:oxecpp:v:64:y:2012:i:4:p:635-654
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/oep/gpr060
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ken Binmore & Ariel Rubinstein & Asher Wolinsky, 1986. "The Nash Bargaining Solution in Economic Modelling," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 17(2), pages 176-188, Summer.
    2. Machin, Stephen & Manning, Alan, 1992. "Testing Dynamic Models of Worker Effort," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(3), pages 288-305, July.
    3. Oswald, A. J., 1995. "Efficient contracts are on the labour demand curve: Theory and facts," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 102-102, March.
    4. Salop, Steven C, 1979. "A Model of the Natural Rate of Unemployment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 69(1), pages 117-125, March.
    5. George A. Akerlof & Lawrence F. Katz, 1989. "Workers' Trust Funds and the Logic of Wage Profiles," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 104(3), pages 525-536.
    6. Summers, Lawrence H, 1988. "Relative Wages, Efficiency Wages, and Keynesian Unemployment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(2), pages 383-388, May.
    7. Lindbeck, Assar & Snower, Dennis J., 1991. "Interactions between the efficiency wage and insider-outsider theories," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 193-196, October.
    8. Sanfey, Peter J., 1993. "On the interaction between efficiency wages and union-firm bargaining models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 319-324.
    9. Lawrence F. Katz, 1986. "Efficiency Wage Theories: A Partial Evaluation," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 1986, Volume 1, pages 235-290, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Hoel, Michael, 1989. "Efficiency wages and local versus central wage bargaining," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 175-179, August.
    11. Unknown, 1986. "Letters," Choices: The Magazine of Food, Farm, and Resource Issues, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 1(4), pages 1-9.
    12. Konings, Jozef & Walsh, Patrick P, 1994. "Evidence of Efficiency Wage Payments in UK Firm Level Panel Data," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 104(424), pages 542-555, May.
    13. Shapiro, Carl & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1984. "Equilibrium Unemployment as a Worker Discipline Device," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(3), pages 433-444, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Claus-Jochen Haake & Thorsten Upmann & Papatya Duman, 2020. "Wage Bargaining and Employment Revisited: Separability and Efficiency in Collective Bargaining," CESifo Working Paper Series 8422, CESifo.
    2. Claus-Jochen Haake & Thorsten Upmann & Papatya Duman, 2019. "The Decomposability of the Nash Bargaining Solution in Labor Markets," Working Papers CIE 128, Paderborn University, CIE Center for International Economics.
    3. Jan Morten Dyrstad, 2015. "Resource curse avoidance: Governmental intervention and wage formation in the Norwegian petroleum sector," Working Paper Series 16715, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
    4. Claus‐Jochen Haake & Thorsten Upmann & Papatya Duman, 2023. "Wage bargaining and employment revisited: separability and efficiency in collective bargaining," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 125(2), pages 403-440, April.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2373-2437 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Eric Toulemonde, 2003. "The Interaction Between Efficiency Wage Theories and Labour Turnover Costs," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 203-208, April.
    3. Koskela, Erkki & Stenbacka, Rune, 2003. "Equilibrium Unemployment Under Negotiated Profit Sharing," IZA Discussion Papers 840, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Nickell, Stephen, 1999. "Product markets and labour markets1," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 1-20, March.
    5. Frank Scharr, 2005. "Tarifbindung, Rententeilung und Konzessionsverträge als Einflussgrößen der Lohnhöhe in Unternehmen : eine Untersuchung mit Mikrodaten für thüringische Firmen," ifo Dresden Studien, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 39, May.
    6. Altenburg, Lutz & Straub, Martin, 2001. "Taxes on labour and unemployment in a shirking model with union bargaining," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(6), pages 721-744, December.
    7. Cahill, Miles B., 2000. "Exploring the interaction between efficiency wages and labor market frictions," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 121-137.
    8. Garino, Gaia & Martin, Christopher, 2000. "Efficiency wages and union-firm bargaining," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 181-185, November.
    9. John G. Sessions & Nikolaos Theodoropoulos, 2014. "Tenure, Wage Profiles and Monitoring," Research in Labor Economics, in: New Analyses of Worker Well-Being, volume 38, pages 105-162, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    10. Koskela, Erkki & Stenbacka, Rune, 2003. "Equilibrium Unemployment Under Negotiated Profit Sharing," IZA Discussion Papers 840, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2291-2372 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Yiqing Xing & Anqi Li, 2014. "Simple Labor Income Tax Systems with Endogenous Employment Contracts," 2014 Meeting Papers 866, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    13. Ourania Karakosta & Nikos Tsakiris, 2009. "Indirect Tax Reforms and Public Goods under Imperfect Competition," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 5-2009, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    14. Seref Saygili, 1998. "Is the Efficiency Wage Hypothesis Valid for Developing Countries? Evidence from the Turkish Cement Industry," Studies in Economics 9810, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    15. Hélène Zajdela, 1990. "Le dualisme du marché du travail : enjeux et fondements théoriques," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 92(1), pages 31-42.
    16. Millea, Meghan & Fuess, Scott Jr., 2005. "Does pay affect productivity or react to it?: Examination of U.S. manufacturing," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(4-5), pages 796-807, September.
    17. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2003_019 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Carlsson, Mikael & Eriksson, Stefan & Gottfries, Nils, 2006. "Testing Theories of Job Creation: Does Supply Create Its Own Demand?," Working Paper Series 194, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
    19. Erkki Koskela & Ronnie Schöb, 2012. "Tax Progression under Collective Wage Bargaining and Individual Effort Determination," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 749-771, July.
    20. Bai, Peiwen & Cheng, Wenli, 2020. "Relative earnings and firm performance: Evidence from publicly-listed firms in China, 2005–2012," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 279-290.
    21. José Ramón García & José Vicente Ríos, 2004. "Effects Of Tax Reforms In A Shirking Model With Union Bargaining," Working Papers. Serie AD 2004-42, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
    22. Simon Jäger & Benjamin Schoefer & Samuel Young & Josef Zweimüller, 2020. "Wages and the Value of Nonemployment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(4), pages 1905-1963.
    23. Jan Morten Dyrstad, 2015. "Resource curse avoidance: Governmental intervention and wage formation in the Norwegian petroleum sector," Working Paper Series 16715, Department of Economics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:oxecpp:v:64:y:2012:i:4:p:635-654. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/oep .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.