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Chasing after good jobs. Do they exist and does it matter if they do?

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  • David A. Green

Abstract

Most people believe that there are such things as good jobs jobs that a worker would consider herself lucky to get. But for economists, the existence of good jobs is debatable. In this paper, I provide a definition of a good job based on various theories of the labour market: a job that involves a surplus captured partly by the worker. I use that definition to guide an empirical investigation of the existence and importance of good jobs . I conclude that good jobs do existthat the labour market does not just function according to a Roy model with wage differentials reflecting only skill differentials, compensating differentials or bond postingand that their impact on the overall wage structure is substantial. Finally, I discuss the implications of the existence of good jobs for policy setting and for assessments of the justice of a society.

Suggested Citation

  • David A. Green, 2015. "Chasing after good jobs. Do they exist and does it matter if they do?," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 48(4), pages 1215-1265, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:cje:issued:v:48:y:2015:i:4:p:1215-1265
    DOI: 10.1111/caje.12188
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Alfaro-Urena, Alonso & Manelici, Isabela & Vasquez, Jose P, 2019. "The Effects of Multinationals on Workers: Evidence from Costa Rica," Institute for Research on Labor and Employment, Working Paper Series qt51r419w9, Institute of Industrial Relations, UC Berkeley.
    2. Beach, Charles M., 2018. "Distributional Gains of Near Higher Earners," Queen's Economics Department Working Papers 274724, Queen's University - Department of Economics.
    3. Charles Beach, 2018. "Distributional Gains Of Near Higher Earners," Working Paper 1398, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    4. David A. Green & René Morissette & Ben M. Sand & Iain Snoddy, 2019. "Economy-Wide Spillovers from Booms: Long-Distance Commuting and the Spread of Wage Effects," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 37(S2), pages 643-687.
    5. María Alejandra González Arenas, 2019. "Diferencias en la calidad del empleo público en Colombia: una comparación entre empleados de planta y contratistas," Documentos de trabajo 17567, Escuela de Gobierno - Universidad de los Andes.
    6. Ben Sand & Chris Bidner, 2016. "Job Prospects and Pay Gaps: Theory and Evidence on the Gender Gap from U.S. Cities," Discussion Papers dp16-14, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    7. Yu Chen & Matthew Doyle & Francisco Gonzalez, 2019. "Bad Jobs," Working Papers 1902, University of Waterloo, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2019.
    8. Jasmin Thomas, 2016. "Trends in Low-Wage Employment in Canada: Incidence, Gap and Intensity, 1997-2014," CSLS Research Reports 2016-10, Centre for the Study of Living Standards.
    9. David A. Green, 2023. "Basic income and the labour market: Labour supply, precarious work and technological change," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 56(4), pages 1195-1220, November.
    10. Alonso Alfaro Urena & Isabela Manelici & Jose P. Vasquez, 2021. "The Effects of Multinationals on Workers: Evidence from Costa Rican Microdata," Working Papers 285, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    11. Charles M. Beach, 2016. "Changing income inequality: A distributional paradigm for Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(4), pages 1229-1292, November.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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