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Wage divergence and unemployment: the impact of insider power and training costs

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  • Muysken, Joan
  • Zwick, Thomas

Abstract

The US labour market is characterized by a high skill wage mark-up and low unemployment, while the German labour market has a low skill wage mark-up and a high, mainly unskilled unemployment rate. This paper adds an innovative labour supply explanation to the discussion how these distinct labour market equilibria could arise. Skill-biased technological change induces training needs for the employees willing to work in the skilled labour market and increases relative skill demand. In a simple general equilibrium model, this paper shows that skilled insiders in the USA enjoy higher rents and increase the skilled wage mark-up stronger than in Germany in the wake of skill-biased technological change. The reason is that the unskilled outsiders in the USA do not possess a powerful credible threat to improve their position. This is a consequence from higher training and education costs in the USA for unskilled employees and unemployed. In Germany, the lower skill wage mark-up leads to an increased relative skill demand which is not matched by the skill supply and therefore mis-match unemployment arises.

Suggested Citation

  • Muysken, Joan & Zwick, Thomas, 2000. "Wage divergence and unemployment: the impact of insider power and training costs," ZEW Discussion Papers 00-37, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:5320
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Klaus Rennings & Andreas Ziegler & Thomas Zwick, 2004. "The effect of environmental innovations on employment changes: an econometric analysis," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(6), pages 374-387, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mis-match unemployment; training costs; skill biased technological change; Labour supply;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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