IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/ilrrev/v56y2002i1p65-83.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Changes in the Union Wage Premium by Industry

Author

Listed:
  • Bernt Bratsberg
  • James F. Ragan Jr.

Abstract

Relying on CPS data, the authors estimate the union wage premium—the amount by which wages of union workers exceeded those of nonunion workers in the same industry conditional on worker characteristics—for 32 industries over the period 1971–99. The dispersion of union premiums across industries narrowed over time as high premiums tended to fall and low premiums to rise. At the aggregate level, the premium drifted lower. When the authors model the union premium as a function of cyclical and structural variables and unmeasured industry characteristics, they find that Cost-of-Living-Adjustment (COLA) clauses reduced the responsiveness of the union premium to economic conditions and that increases in import penetration were strongly associated with rising union premiums. The effect of deregulation was mixed.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernt Bratsberg & James F. Ragan Jr., 2002. "Changes in the Union Wage Premium by Industry," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(1), pages 65-83, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:56:y:2002:i:1:p:65-83
    DOI: 10.1177/001979390205600104
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/001979390205600104
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/001979390205600104?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Borjas, George J & Ramey, Valerie A, 1994. "Time-Series Evidence on the," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 10-16, May.
    2. Gary Solon & Robert Barsky & Jonathan A. Parker, 1994. "Measuring the Cyclicality of Real Wages: How Important is Composition Bias?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 109(1), pages 1-25.
    3. Darren Grant, 2001. "A Comparison of the Cyclical Behavior of Union and Nonunion Wages in the United States," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(1), pages 31-57.
    4. Prescott, David & Wilton, David, 1992. "The Determinants of Wage Changes in Indexed.and Nonindexed Contracts: A Switching Model," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 10(3), pages 331-355, July.
    5. George J. Borjas & Richard B. Freeman & Lawrence F. Katz, 1992. "On the Labor Market Effects of Immigration and Trade," NBER Chapters, in: Immigration and the Work Force: Economic Consequences for the United States and Source Areas, pages 213-244, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Barry T. Hirsch & Edward J. Schumacher, 2001. "Private Sector Union Density and the Wage Premium: Past, Present, and Future ," Journal of Labor Research, Transaction Publishers, vol. 22(3), pages 487-518, July.
    7. Hirsch, Barry T, 1993. "Trucking Deregulation and Labor Earnings: Is the Union Premium a Compensating Differential?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(2), pages 279-301, April.
    8. David Neumark & Michael L. Wachter, 1995. "Union Effects on Nonunion Wages: Evidence from Panel Data on Industries and Cities," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 49(1), pages 20-38, October.
    9. Naylor, Robin, 1998. "International trade and economic integration when labour markets are generally unionised," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(7), pages 1251-1267, July.
    10. Abowd, John M. & Freeman, Richard B. (ed.), 1991. "Immigration, Trade, and the Labor Market," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 1, number 9780226000954, October.
    11. repec:eee:labchp:v:2:y:1986:i:c:p:1139-1181 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Marianne Bertrand, 2004. "From the Invisible Handshake to the Invisible Hand? How Import Competition Changes the Employment Relationship," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(4), pages 723-766, October.
    13. John H. Pencavel & Catherine E. Hartsog, 1984. "A Reconsideration of the Effects of Unionism on Relative Wages and Employment in the United States, 1920-80," NBER Working Papers 1316, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Pencavel, John & Hartsog, Catherine E, 1984. "A Reconsideration of the Effects of Unionism on Relative Wages and Employment in the United States, 1920-1980," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(2), pages 193-232, April.
    15. Bils, Mark J, 1985. "Real Wages over the Business Cycle: Evidence from Panel Data," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(4), pages 666-689, August.
    16. Richard B. Freeman, 1995. "Are Your Wages Set in Beijing?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 15-32, Summer.
    17. Marianne Bertrand, 1998. "From the Invisible Handshake to the Invisible Hand? How Import Competition Changes the Employment Relationship," Working Papers 789, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    18. Rose, Nancy L, 1987. "Labor Rent Sharing and Regulation: Evidence from the Trucking Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 95(6), pages 1146-1178, December.
    19. James F. Ragan, Jr. & Bernt Bratsberg, 2000. "Un-COLA: Why Have Cost-of-Living Clauses Disappeared from Union Contracts and Will They Return?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 67(2), pages 304-324, July.
    20. Moulton, Brent R, 1990. "An Illustration of a Pitfall in Estimating the Effects of Aggregate Variables on Micro Unit," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(2), pages 334-338, May.
    21. John M. Abowd & Richard B. Freeman, 1991. "Immigration, Trade, and the Labor Market," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number abow91-1, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Philip Du Caju & François Rycx & Ilan Tojerow, 2012. "Wage structure effects of international trade in a small open economy: the case of Belgium," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 148(2), pages 297-331, June.
    2. Kristen Monaco & Taggert J. Brooks & John Bitzan, 2006. "A time series analysis of wages in deregulated industries: A study of motor carriage and rail," Journal of Applied Economics, Universidad del CEMA, vol. 9, pages 105-118, May.
    3. Yiping Zhu, 2008. "Globalisation, Employment, and Wage Rate: What Does Literature Tell Us?," IMK Working Paper 07-2008, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    4. Ted Nabil ARANKI, 2001. "The Effect of Israeli Closure Policy on Wage Earnings in the West Bank and Gaza Strip," Middle East and North Africa 330400006, EcoMod.
    5. Magnani, Elisabetta & Prentice, David, 2003. "Did globalization reduce unionization? Evidence from US manufacturing," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(6), pages 705-726, December.
    6. Jorge Saba Arbache, 2001. "Trade Liberalisation and Labor Markets in Developing Countries: Theory and Evidence," Studies in Economics 0112, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    7. Philip Du Caju & François Rycx & Ilan Tojerow, 2011. "Wage Structure Effects of International Trade: Evidence from a Small Open Economy," Working Papers CEB 11-011, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    8. John T. Addison & Douglas A. Fox & Christopher J. Ruhm, 1996. "Trade Sensitivity, Technology, and Labor Displacement," NBER Working Papers 5621, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Catherine L. Mann, 1997. "Globalization and Productivity in the United States and Germany," Working Paper Series Working Paper Special (1), Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    10. Olivier Cortès & Sébastien Jean, 1997. "Quel est l'impact du commerce extérieur sur la productivité et l'emploi ?," Working Papers 1997-08, CEPII research center.
    11. Dube Arindrajit & Reddy Sanjay G., 2014. "Threat Effects and Trade: Wage Discipline through Product Market Competition," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 4(2), pages 213-252, March.
    12. John T. Addison & Douglas A. Fox & Christopher J. Ruhm, 2000. "Technology, Trade Sensitivity, and Labor Displacement," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 66(3), pages 682-699, January.
    13. George J. Borjas & Valerie A. Ramey, 1993. "Foreign Competition, Market Power and Wage Inequality: Theory and Evidence," NBER Working Papers 4556, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Tschopp, Jeanne, 2015. "The Wage Response to Shocks: The Role of Inter-Occupational Labour Adjustment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 28-37.
    15. Kristiina Huttunen & Jarle Møen & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2018. "Job Loss and Regional Mobility," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(2), pages 479-509.
    16. Michael A. Clemens & Claudio Montenegro & Lant Pritchett, 2016. "Bounding the Price Equivalent of Migration Barriers," Growth Lab Working Papers 67, Harvard's Growth Lab.
    17. Steinhardt Max Friedrich, 2011. "The Wage Impact of Immigration in Germany - New Evidence for Skill Groups and Occupations," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-35, June.
    18. George J. Borjas, 1995. "The internationalization of the U.S. labor market and the wage structure," Economic Policy Review, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, issue Jan, pages 3-8.
    19. Didier Blanchet, 1995. "Inégalité, spécialisation, progrès technique et développement de services non qualifiés locaux," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 120(4), pages 1-13.
    20. Monte, Ferdinando, 2011. "Skill bias, trade, and wage dispersion," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 202-218, March.

    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:sae:ilrrev:v:56:y:2002:i:1:p:65-83. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.ilr.cornell.edu .

    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.