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Labor Market Segmentation, Wage Dispersion and Unemployment

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Author Info
Kevin Lang
William T. Dickens

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Abstract

This paper briefly reviews the empirical evidence on labor market segmentation and presents some new results on the similarity of the pattern of segmentation across 66 different countries. The paper goes on to consider how unemployment might be understood in a labor market segmentation framework. Existing models of unemployment in a dual labor market suggest that unemployment should be concentrated among those who are ultimately employed in high wage jobs. In fact, unemployment seems to be concentrated among workers who are more likely to be found in low wage jobs. This happens even though at least some workers find low wage jobs easy to obtain, We develop a segmented labor market model capable of explaining these facts and then explore its implications for the aggregate unemployment rate. We find that it fits well with the facts.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 4073.

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Date of creation: May 1992
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:4073

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  1. John E. Roemer, 1979. "Divide and Conquer: Microfoundations of a Marxian Theory of Wage Discrimination," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 10(2), pages 695-705, Autumn. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Alan B. Krueger & Lawrence H. Summers, 1987. "Reflections on the Inter-Industry Wage Structure," NBER Working Papers 1968, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Dickens, William T & Lang, Kevin, 1985. "A Test of Dual Labor Market Theory," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(4), pages 792-805, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Blanchard, Olivier Jean & Diamond, Peter A, 1994. "Ranking, Unemployment Duration, and Wages," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 61(3), pages 417-34, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Krueger, Alan B & Summers, Lawrence H, 1988. "Efficiency Wages and the Inter-industry Wage Structure," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(2), pages 259-93, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Lang, Kevin, 1991. "Persistent Wage Dispersion and Involuntary Unemployment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 106(1), pages 181-202, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. William T. Dickens & Lawrence F. Katz, 1987. "Inter-Industry Wage Differences and Theories of Wage Determination," NBER Working Papers 2271, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Jeremy I. Bulow & Lawrence H. Summers, 1986. "A Theory of Dual Labor Markets with Application to Industrial Policy, Discrimination and Keynesian Unemployment," NBER Working Papers 1666, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Rebitzer, James B & Taylor, Lowell J, 1991. "A Model of Dual Labor Markets When Product Demand Is Uncertain," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 106(4), pages 1373-83, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. William T. Dickens & Kevin Lang, 1992. "Labor Market Segmentation Theory: Reconsidering the Evidence," NBER Working Papers 4087, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
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  1. Moen, Espen R, 2002. "Do Good Workers Hurt Bad Workers - or is it the Other Way Around?," CEPR Discussion Papers 3471, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Kevin Lang & William T. Dickens, 1993. "Bilateral Search as an Explanation for Labor Market Segmentation and Other Anomalies," NBER Working Papers 4461, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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