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Size, Skill and Sorting

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  • Dale Belman
  • David I. Levine

Abstract

. The rise in inequality between the 1970s and the 1990s and the persistent gap in pay between large and small employers are two of the most robust findings in the study of labor markets. Mainstream economists focus on differences in observable and unobservable skills to explain both the overall rising inequality and the size–wage gap. In this paper we model how increasing returns to skill can affect the size–wage gap both with constant sorting and with size‐biased, skill‐biased technological change (e.g. if large firms always had access to computers, but small firms gained access to computers with the rise of affordable personal computers). We analyze the Current Population Surveys from 1979 to 1993 to determine whether large and small employers are converging in terms of mean wages (the employer size–wage effect), wage structures by occupation and education, characteristics of employees, and wage structures by region. We find mixed evidence of convergence and no consistent support for any single version of human capital theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Dale Belman & David I. Levine, 2004. "Size, Skill and Sorting," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 18(4), pages 515-561, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:labour:v:18:y:2004:i:4:p:515-561
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1121-7081.2004.00277.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Walter Y. Oi & Todd L. Idson, 1999. "Workers Are More Productive in Large Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 104-108, May.
    2. Harry J. Holzer, 1998. "Why Do Small Establishments Hire Fewer Blacks Than Large Ones?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 33(4), pages 896-914.
    3. Juhn, Chinhui & Murphy, Kevin M & Pierce, Brooks, 1993. "Wage Inequality and the Rise in Returns to Skill," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(3), pages 410-442, June.
    4. Diebold, Francis X & Neumark, David & Polsky, Daniel, 1997. "Job Stability in the United States," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(2), pages 206-233, April.
    5. Dan A. Black & Brett J. Noel & Zheng Wang, 1999. "On-the-Job Training, Establishment Size, and Firm Size: Evidence for Economies of Scale in the Production of Human Capital," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 66(1), pages 82-100, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. William E. Even & David A. Macpherson, 2012. "Is Bigger Still Better? The Decline of the Wage Premium at Large Firms," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 78(4), pages 1181-1201, April.
    2. Lixin Cai & C. Jeffrey Waddoups, 2009. "The Role of Unobserved Heterogeneity and On-the-Job Training in the Employer Size-Wage Effect: Evidence from Australia," Working Papers 0915, University of Nevada, Las Vegas , Department of Economics.
    3. Neubäumer, Renate Ingrid & Müller, Steffen, 2015. "Size of Training Firms and Long-Run Unemployment The Role of Firms, Luck and Ability in Young Workers Careers," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 112923, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Cihan Bilginsoy, 2013. "Union Wage Gap in the U.S. Construction Sector: 1983–2007," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 677-701, July.
    5. H. Y. Sun, 2014. "Longitudinal Evidence of Firm Size Effect on Wage Premium and Wage Differential in Korean Labor Market," International Journal of Economic Sciences, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2014(3), pages 66-85.
    6. Kritkorn Nawakitphaitoon & Xuan Chen & Yuhao Ge, 2016. "State and Non-state Earnings Differentials over Time in China’s Urban Labor Market: Evidence from the Urban Household Survey (1994–2007)," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 287-316, September.
    7. Müller, Steffen & Neubäumer, Renate, 2016. "Size of Training Firms and Cumulated Long-run Unemployment Exposure – The Role of Firms, Luck, and Ability in Young Workers’ Careers," IWH Discussion Papers 5/2016, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    8. Thanos Fragkandreas, 2022. "Three Decades of Research on Innovation and Inequality: Causal Scenarios, Explanatory Factors, and Suggestions," Working Papers 60, Birkbeck Centre for Innovation Management Research, revised Feb 2022.

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