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A Simple Test of the Shirking Model

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Author Info
Alan Manning
J Thomas

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Abstract

Although popular in some circles, efficiency wage models of the labour market have proved surprisingly difficult to test and direct evidence for the central tenets of the theory is rare to non-existent. In this paper we propose a simple test of the Shapiro-Stiglitz shirking model which is based on the following idea. In the traditional search model the distribution of accepted wages should be truncated below by the reservation wage. But, if shirking is important then the employer will never want to employ a worker at their reservation wage and the distribution of accepted wages should be truncated below by the reservation wage plus something. That something is a measure of the importance of shirking. We test this prediction using data from the UK Survey of Incomes In and Out of Work. The results are not particularly supportive of the shirking model.

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Paper provided by Centre for Economic Performance, LSE in its series CEP Discussion Papers with number dp0374.

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Date of creation: Nov 1997
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Handle: RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp0374

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Levine, David I, 1992. "Can Wage Increases Pay for Themselves? Tests with a Production Function," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 102(414), pages 1102-15, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Shapiro, Carl & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1984. "Equilibrium Unemployment as a Worker Discipline Device," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(3), pages 433-44, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Blau, David M, 1991. "Search for Nonwage Job Characteristics: A Test of the Reservation Wage Hypothesis," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(2), pages 186-205, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Wadhwani, S. & Wall, M., 1988. "A Direct Test Of The Efficiency Wage Model Using Uk Micro- Data," Papers 313, London School of Economics - Centre for Labour Economics.
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  5. William T. Dickens & Lawrence F. Katz, 1987. "Interindustry Wage Differences and Industry Characteristics," NBER Working Papers 2014, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Christensen, Bent Jesper & Kiefer, Nicholas M, 1994. "Measurement Error in the Prototypal Job-Search Model," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(4), pages 618-39, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Lazear, Edward P, 1981. "Agency, Earnings Profiles, Productivity, and Hours Restrictions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(4), pages 606-20, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Vuong, Quang H, 1989. "Likelihood Ratio Tests for Model Selection and Non-nested Hypotheses," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 57(2), pages 307-33, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Christensen, Bent Jesper & Kiefer, Nicholas M., 1991. "The Exact Likelihood Function for an Empirical Job Search Model," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 7(04), pages 464-486, December. [Downloadable!]
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  10. Weiss, Andrew W, 1980. "Job Queues and Layoffs in Labor Markets with Flexible Wages," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(3), pages 526-38, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. 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. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Andreas P. Georgiadis, 2006. "Is there a Wage-Supervision Trade-Off? Efficiency Wages Evidence From the 1990 British Workplace Industrial Relations Survey," The Centre for Market and Public Organisation 06/152, Department of Economics, University of Bristol, UK. [Downloadable!]
  2. Barbara Petrongolo & Christopher A. Pissarides, 2003. "Scale Effects in Markets with Search," CEP Discussion Papers dp0571, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
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