Wage inequality and welfare in developing countries: privatization and reforms in the short and long run

The impacts of privatization on wage inequality and welfare are considered for developing countries. In the short run, privatization can narrow wage inequality but reduce output of public firms. However, the favorable effect of privatization on lowering wage inequality vanishes in the long run due to the excessive entry of public firms. Thus, a policy recommendation for privatization would be: to avoid rising wage inequality, entry regulation of public firms should be imposed in the short run, and to mitigate the output contraction, complementary structural changes or policy reforms are needed in the transitional period of privatization.

Determinants of wage arrears and their implications for the socioeconomic wellbeing of China's migrant workers: Evidence from Guangdong province

The recent unprecedented scale of Chinese migration has had far-reaching consequences. Within China, many villages have been drained of their young and most able workers, cities have been swamped by the ‘floating population’, and many rural migrants have been unable to integrate into urban society. Internationally, the Chinese have become increasingly more mobile. This Handbook provides a unique collection of new and original research on internal and international Chinese migration and its effects on the sense of belonging of migrants.

Non-wage benefits, corporate ownership and firm performance in post-communist economies: evidence from Ukraine

The economic reforms in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe have fundamentally reshaped ownership and governance of economic production, notably through the privatization of former state-owned enterprises. These reforms were expected to transform management practices by displacing ‘cradle-to-grave’ welfare arrangements administered by state-owned enterprises. Using data drawn from two large samples of Ukrainian establishments, we investigate, in two different time points, the relationship between non-wage benefits and firm performance during the period of transition to a market economy (1994–2004). We found that non-wage benefits continued to be a critical feature of HRM practices in Ukraine during this period, and were positively associated with firm performance.

Endogenous wage compression and aggregation boundaries in a model of hierarchical human capital

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Occupational tasks and changes in the wage structure

This paper argues that changes in the returns to occupational tasks have contributed to changes in the wage distribution over the last three decades. Using Current Population Survey (CPS) data, we first show that the 1990s polarization of wages is explained by changes in wage setting between and within occupations, which are well captured by tasks measures linked to technological change and offshorability. Using a decomposition based on Firpo, Fortin, and Lemieux (2009), we find that technological change and deunionization played a central role in the 1980s and 1990s, while offshorability became an important factor from the 1990s onwards.

Trade Liberalization and Regional Impacts on Residual Wage Inequality: Evidence from Brazil

O objetivo deste trabalho é entender mais sobre o papel da liberalização sobre a desigualdade salarial, mais precisamente, sobre a desigualdade residual dos salários. Usando a abertura comercial brasileira, a extensa redução tarifária que ocorreu entre 1987 e 1995, é investigado empiricamente se os diferentes níveis de exposição ao comércio entre os estados contribuíram para os diferentes movimentos da desigualdade. Os resultados indicam que estados mais expostos à liberalização comercial experimentaram um aumento relativo da desigualdade residual dos salários ou, de forma equivalente, uma menor redução. Estes resultados enriquecem a discussão dos efeitos da abertura comercial sobre a desigualdade.

The role of profits in wage determination: evidence from US manufacturing

We estimate the effect of firms' profitability on wage determination for the American economy. Two standard bargaining models are used to illustrate the problems caused by the endogeneity of profits-per-worker in a real wage equation. The profit-sharing parameter can be identified with instruments which shift demando Using information from the input-output table, we create demand-shift variables for 63 4-digit sectors of the US manufacturing sector. The LV. estimates show that profit-sharing is a relevant and widespread phenomenon. The elasticity of wages with respect to profits-per-worker is seven times as large as OLS estimates here and in previous papers. Sensitivity analysis of the profit-sharing parameter controlling for the extent of unionization and product market concentration reinforces our results.