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Efficiency Wages and Employment Rents: The Employer-Size Wage Effect in the Job Market for Lawyers

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Author Info
Rebitzer, James B
Taylor, Lowell J

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Abstract

The 'efficiency wage hypothesis' offers an explanation for employment rents. According to this hypothesis, firms pay wages above the opportunity cost of labor to elicit productivity or quality-enhancing behaviors from employees. Firms pursue this strategy when alternative incentive schemes are unavailable or too costly. Thus, firms will not pay premium wages when employees post sufficiently large performance bonds. This article examines employment rents in a setting where employees post sizable performance bonds--large law firms. Contrary to the efficiency wage hypothesis, the authors find that associates in these large firms post substantial performance bonds while also receiving substantial, ex ante rents. Copyright 1995 by University of Chicago Press.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by University of Chicago Press in its journal Journal of Labor Economics.

Volume (Year): 13 (1995)
Issue (Month): 4 (October)
Pages: 678-708
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Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:v:13:y:1995:i:4:p:678-708

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  1. Alexander K. Koch & Eloïc Peyrache, 2005. "Tournaments, Individualized Contracts and Career Concerns," IZA Discussion Papers 1841, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  2. Joseph A. Ritter & Lowell J. Taylor, 1997. "Economic models of employee motivation," Working Papers 1997-006, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. [Downloadable!]
  3. James B. Rebitzer & Lowell J. Taylor, 2006. "When Knowledge Is an Asset: Explaining the Organizational Structure of Large Law Firms," IZA Discussion Papers 2353, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Clive R. Belfield & Xiangdong Wei, 2004. "Employer size-wage effects: evidence from matched employer-employee survey data in the UK," Applied Economics, Taylor and Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 185-193, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Alexander K. Koch & Eloïc Peyrache, 2008. "Aligning Ambition and Incentives," Economics Working Papers 2008-16, School of Economics and Management, University of Aarhus. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Joseph A. Ritter & Lowell J. Taylor, 1997. "Economic models of employee motivation," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Sep, pages 3-21. [Downloadable!]
  7. Nuno Garoupa & Fernando Gómez, 2002. "Cashing by the Hour: Why Large Law Firms Prefer Hourly Fees Over Contingent Fees," Economics Working Papers 639, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. [Downloadable!]
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