IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/labour/v38y2024i3p350-364.html

Firm‐size wage‐gaps and hierarchy: Evidence from Canada

Author

Listed:
  • Ibrahim Bousmah

Abstract

I investigate the role of hierarchy in explaining wage differential between Canadian large and small firms. I use the confidential‐use files of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) from 2016 to 2022 and exploit the mini‐panels form to control for time‐invariant unobserved heterogeneity. The results show that the Canadian employer size wage effects for managers are approximately twice those for non‐managers which is consistent with the results of prior studies for other countries. Managers who move from a small to a large firm have earnings increase of 20%, twice the estimated size‐wage differential of non‐managers (11%). The results also demonstrate that low‐skill workers moving from a small to a large firm have earnings increase of 5.3% which is significantly lower than high‐skill workers (14.1%). Those results support the role of the hierarchy in explaining an important part of the size‐wage effect for Canadian workers.

Suggested Citation

  • Ibrahim Bousmah, 2024. "Firm‐size wage‐gaps and hierarchy: Evidence from Canada," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 38(3), pages 350-364, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:labour:v:38:y:2024:i:3:p:350-364
    DOI: 10.1111/labr.12269
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/labr.12269
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/labr.12269?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brahim Boudarbat & Thomas Lemieux & W. Craig Riddell, 2010. "The Evolution of the Returns to Human Capital in Canada, 1980-2005," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 36(1), pages 63-89, March.
    2. Stéphanie Lluis, 2009. "The Structure of Wages by Firm Size: A Comparison of Canada and the USA," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 23(2), pages 283-317, June.
    3. Rene Morissette, 1993. "Canadian Jobs and Firm Size: Do Smaller Firms Pay Less?," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 26(1), pages 159-174, February.
    4. David Card & Thomas Lemieux & W. Craig Riddell, 2020. "Unions and wage inequality: The roles of gender, skill and public sector employment," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 53(1), pages 140-173, February.
    5. David S. Evans & Linda S. Leighton, 1989. "Why Do Smaller Firms Pay Less?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 24(2), pages 299-318.
    6. Giuseppe Berlingieri & Sara Calligaris & Chiara Criscuolo, 2018. "The Productivity-Wage Premium: Does Size Still Matter in a Service Economy?," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 328-333, May.
    7. Meagher, Kieron J. & Wilson, Hugh, 2004. "Different firm size effects on wages for supervisors and workers," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 225-230, August.
    8. Pierre Brochu, 2021. "A Researcher’s Guide to the Labour Force Survey: Its Evolution and the Choice of Public Use versus Master Files," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 47(3), pages 335-357, September.
    9. Oi, Walter Y. & Idson, Todd L., 1999. "Firm size and wages," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 33, pages 2165-2214, Elsevier.
    10. 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.
    11. Audra Bowlus & Émilien Gouin‐Bonenfant & Huju Liu & Lance Lochner & Youngmin Park, 2022. "Four decades of Canadian earnings inequality and dynamics across workers and firms," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 13(4), pages 1447-1491, November.
    12. John M. Abowd & Francis Kramarz & David N. Margolis, 1999. "High Wage Workers and High Wage Firms," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(2), pages 251-334, March.
    13. Thierry Lallemand & Robert Plasman & François Rycx, 2007. "The establishment-size wage premium: evidence from European countries," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 34(5), pages 427-451, December.
    14. William E. Even & David A. Macpherson, 2012. "Is Bigger Still Better? The Decline of the Wage Premium at Large Firms," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 78(4), pages 1181-1201, April.
    15. Marie Drolet & Karen Mumford, 2012. "The Gender Pay Gap for Private-Sector Employees in Canada and Britain," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 50(3), pages 529-553, September.
    16. Fortin, Nicole M. & Bell, Brian & Böhm, Michael, 2017. "Top earnings inequality and the gender pay gap: Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 107-123.
    17. Tammy Schirle, 2015. "The Gender Wage Gap in the Canadian Provinces, 1997-2014," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 41(4), pages 309-319, December.
    18. Thomas Lemieux, 2014. "Occupations, fields of study and returns to education," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 47(4), pages 1047-1077, November.
    19. Emanuele Colonnelli & Joacim Tåg & Michael Webb & Stefanie Wolter, 2018. "A Cross-Country Comparison of Dynamics in the Large Firm Wage Premium," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 323-327, May.
    20. Walter Oi, 1983. "The Fixed Employment Costs of Specialized Labor," NBER Chapters, in: The Measurement of Labor Cost, pages 63-122, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    21. Card, David, 1996. "The Effect of Unions on the Structure of Wages: A Longitudinal Analysis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(4), pages 957-979, July.
    22. Ana Ferrer & Stéphanie Lluis, 2008. "Should Workers Care about Firm Size?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 62(1), pages 104-125, October.
    23. Colin P. Green & John S. Heywood & Nikolaos Theodoropoulos, 2021. "Hierarchy and the Employer Size Effect on Wages: Evidence from Britain," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 88(351), pages 671-696, July.
    24. John Gibson & Steven Stillman, 2009. "Why Do Big Firms Pay Higher Wages? Evidence from an International Database," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 213-218, February.
    25. Holger M. Mueller & Paige P. Ouimet & Elena Simintzi, 2017. "Wage Inequality and Firm Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 379-383, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Colin P. Green & John S. Heywood & Nikolaos Theodoropoulos, 2021. "Hierarchy and the Employer Size Effect on Wages: Evidence from Britain," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 88(351), pages 671-696, July.
    2. Alexander Muravyev, 2007. "Firm Size, Wages and Unobserved Skills: Evidence from Dual Job Holdings in the UK," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 681, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Thierry Lallemand & Robert Plasman & François Rycx, 2007. "The establishment-size wage premium: evidence from European countries," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 34(5), pages 427-451, December.
    4. Green, Colin & Heywood, John S. & Theodoropoulos, Nikolaos, 2017. "Employer Size and Supervisor Earnings: Evidence from Britain," GLO Discussion Paper Series 136, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    5. Thierry Lallemand & François Rycx, 2007. "Employer Size and the Structure of Wages: A Critical Survey," Reflets et perspectives de la vie économique, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(2), pages 75-87.
    6. Steven B. Caudill & Charles O. Kroncke & Franklin G. Mixon, 2021. "Is there a firm size‐wage gap after economic transition? – An examination of for‐profit and not‐for‐profit firms in Estonia," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 35(4), pages 435-449, December.
    7. 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.
    8. Haroon Bhorat & Morné Oosthuizen & Kezia Lilenstein & François Steenkamp, 2017. "Firm-level determinants of earnings in the formal sector of the South African labour market," WIDER Working Paper Series 025, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    9. Melanie Jones & Ezgi Kaya, 2023. "The UK gender pay gap: Does firm size matter?," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 90(359), pages 937-952, July.
    10. Daniel Millimet, 2005. "Job search skills, employer size and wages," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 95-100.
    11. Sebastien Valeyre & Denis Grebenkov & Sofiane Aboura & Francois Bonnin, 2016. "Should employers pay their employees better? An asset pricing approach," Papers 1602.00931, arXiv.org, revised Oct 2016.
    12. Maritza López-Novella & Salimata Sissoko, 2009. "Working Paper 12-09 - Salaires et négociation collective en Belgique : une analyse microéconomique en panel," Working Papers 0912, Federal Planning Bureau, Belgium.
    13. Kostøl, Fredrik B. & Svarstad, Elin, 2025. "From bargaining to balance: How unions shape gender wage outcomes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 236(C).
    14. Nicole Gürtzgen, 2006. "The Effect of Firm- ans Industry-Level Contracts on Wages: Evidence from Longitudinal Linked Employer-Employee Data," ZEW Discussion Papers 06-082, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    15. Magda, Iga & Rycx, François & Tojerow, Ilan & Valsamis, Daphné, 2008. "Wage Differentials across Sectors in Europe: An East-West Comparison," IZA Discussion Papers 3830, IZA Network @ LISER.
    16. Giulio Bottazzi & Marco Grazzi, 2014. "Dynamics Of Productivity And Cost Of Labour In Italian Manufacturing Firms," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 66(S1), pages 55-73, December.
    17. Cortes, Guido Matias & Dabed, Diego & Oliveira, Ana & Salomons, Anna, 2024. "Fissured firms and worker outcomes," CLEF Working Paper Series 80, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    18. John S. Heywood & Nikolaos Theodoropoulos, 2016. "Employer Size Effects for Workers vs. Supervisors: British Survey Data," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 07-2016, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    19. Jiang Beryl Li & Benoit Dostie & Gäelle Simard-Duplain, 2020. "What is the Role of Firm-Specific Pay Policies on the Gender Earnings Gap in Canada?," CIRANO Working Papers 2020s-67, CIRANO.
    20. S. Dobbelaere, 2003. "Ownership, Firm Size and Rent Sharing in a Transition Country," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 03/170, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:labour:v:38:y:2024:i:3:p:350-364. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/csrotit.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.