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Your money or your life: Changing job quality in OECD countries

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  • Andrew E. Clark

Abstract

This paper uses both cross-section and panel information on employees in OECD countries to examine job values and outcomes over the 1990s. Job values have been stable over the 1990s, and are not noticeably cyclical. Despite rising wages and falling hours, overall job satisfaction is either stagnant or falling. These movements are not due to changes in the type of workers. A number of pieces of evidence point to stress and hard work as being at least an important part of what has gone wrong with employees' jobs. Last, we find increasing inequality in a number of job outcomes. We also find that the young and the higher-educated have been insulated against downward movements in job quality. There is some tentative evidence that trade unions may have protected their members against adverse job outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrew E. Clark, 2004. "Your money or your life: Changing job quality in OECD countries," DELTA Working Papers 2004-31, DELTA (Ecole normale supérieure).
    • Handle: RePEc:del:abcdef:2004-31
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J28 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J81 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Working Conditions

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