IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/glodps/45.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Firm Size and Union Threat Effects across Genders: Evidence from NLSY79

Author

Listed:
  • Wunnava, Phanindra V.

Abstract

It is evident that both male and female workers in medium/larger establishments receive not only higher wages but also have a higher probability of participating in benefit programs than those in smaller establishments. This reinforces the well-documented ‘size’ effect. Further, the firm size wage effects are much larger for men than women. The union wage effect decreases with establishment size for both genders. This supports the argument that large nonunion firms pay higher wages to discourage the entrance of unions (i.e., the ‘threat’ effect argument). In addition, the union wage premium is higher for males across firm sizes relative to females. This implies that unions in the large establishments may have a role to play in achieving a narrowing of the gender union wage gap. Further, given the presence of noticeable gender differences in estimated union effects on the different components of the compensation structure, unions should not treat both genders similarly with respect to wages and benefits.

Suggested Citation

  • Wunnava, Phanindra V., 2017. "Firm Size and Union Threat Effects across Genders: Evidence from NLSY79," GLO Discussion Paper Series 45, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:glodps:45
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/156390/1/GLO_DP_0045.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dunn, L F, 1986. "Work Disutility and Compensating Differentials: Estimation of Factors in the Link between Wages and Firm Size," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 68(1), pages 67-73, February.
    2. 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.
    3. Thierry Lallemand & Robert Plasman & François Rycx, 2005. "Why do large firms pay higher wages? evidence from matched worker-firm data," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/8743, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    4. William E. Even & David A. Macpherson, 1993. "The Decline of Private-Sector Unionism and the Gender Wage Gap," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 28(2), pages 279-296.
    5. Paula B. Voos, 1983. "Union Organizing: Costs and Benefits," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 36(4), pages 576-591, July.
    6. Ronald L. Oaxaca, 1975. "Estimation of Union/Nonunion Wage Differentials within Occupational/Regional Subgroups," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 10(4), pages 529-537.
    7. Brown, Charles & Medoff, James, 1989. "The Employer Size-Wage Effect," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(5), pages 1027-1059, October.
    8. 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.
    9. Kenneth R. Troske, 1999. "Evidence On The Employer Size-Wage Premium From Worker-Establishment Matched Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(1), pages 15-26, February.
    10. Masters, Stanley H, 1969. "An Interindustry Analysis of Wages and Plant Size," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 51(3), pages 341-345, August.
    11. 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.
    12. Campbell, Carl M, III, 1993. "Do Firms Pay Efficiency Wages? Evidence with Data at the Firm Level," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(3), pages 442-470, July.
    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. Parsley, C J, 1980. "Labor Union Effects on Wage Gains: A Survey of Recent Literature," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 18(1), pages 1-31, March.
    15. Robinson, Michael D. & Wunnava, Phanindra V., 1991. "Plant size, tenure, and discrimination in internal labor markets : Evidence on sex differentials," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 36(2), pages 197-202, June.
    16. Freeman, Richard B & Medoff, James L, 1982. "Substitution between Production Labor and Other Inputs in Unionized and Nonunionized Manufacturing," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 64(2), pages 220-233, May.
    17. Mellow, Wesley, 1982. "Employer Size and Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 64(3), pages 495-501, August.
    18. Magnus Allgulin & Tore Ellingsen, 2002. "Monitoring and Pay," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 20(2), pages 201-216, Part.
    19. Alan B. Krueger, 1991. "Ownership, Agency, and Wages: An Examination of Franchising in the Fast Food Industry," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 106(1), pages 75-101.
    20. Luis Garicano & Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2006. "Organization and Inequality in a Knowledge Economy," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 121(4), pages 1383-1435.
    21. Roberto Pedace, 2010. "Firm Size-Wage Premiums: Using Employer Data to Unravel the Mystery," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(1), pages 163-182.
    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. Binnur Balkan & Semih Tumen, 2016. "Firm-Size Wage Gaps along the Formal-Informal Divide: Theory and Evidence," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(2), pages 235-266, April.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Wunnava, Phanindra V., 2012. "Recent Longitudinal Evidence of Size and Union Threat Effects across Genders," IZA Discussion Papers 6779, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Majumdar, Sumit K., 2010. "Institutional changes, firm size and wages in the telecommunications sector," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 201-217, July.
    6. 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 wp-2017-25, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    7. Gizem Akar & Binnur Balkan & Semih Tümen, 2013. "Overview of Firm-Size and Gender Pay Gaps in Turkey: The Role of Informal Employment," Ekonomi-tek - International Economics Journal, Turkish Economic Association, vol. 2(3), pages 1-21, September.
    8. Vincenzo Scoppa, 2014. "Firm Size and Wages in Italy: Evidence from Exogenous Job Displacements," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 82(6), pages 677-700, December.
    9. Colin Green & John S. Heywood & Nikolaos Theodoropoulos, 2017. "Employer size and supervisor earnings: Evidence from Britain," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 04-2017, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
    10. Alexander Muravyev, 2009. "Employer Size, Wages And Unobserved Skills: Evidence From Moonlighters In The Uk," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 77(6), pages 651-674, December.
    11. Gilles Margirier, 2007. "Taille des entreprises et salaires," Économie et Prévision, Programme National Persée, vol. 180(4), pages 39-58.
    12. 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).
    13. 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.
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. Jeremy T. Fox, 2009. "Firm-Size Wage Gaps, Job Responsibility, and Hierarchical Matching," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(1), pages 83-126, January.
    17. Alejandro García-Pozo & Andrés J. Marchante-Mera & José Luis Sánchez-Ollero & José López-Rubio & Carlos G. Benavides-Chicón, 2012. "Employer size, productivity, labour quality, working conditions, internal labour markets and wages: an empirical analysis of the hotel industry in Andalusia," ERSA conference papers ersa12p285, European Regional Science Association.
    18. Hans Koster & Jos N. van Ommeren & Piet Rietveld, 2010. "Estimating Firms' Demand for Agglomeration," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 10-087/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    19. Kelly D. Edmiston, 2004. "The role of small business in economic development," Community Affairs Research Working Paper 2005-01, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
    20. repec:eee:labchp:v:3:y:1999:i:pb:p:2165-2214 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    size effect; threat effect; fringe benefits; compensation; gender; union-nonunion; random effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

    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:zbw:glodps:45. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: . General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/glabode.html .

    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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/glabode.html .

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

    IDEAS is a RePEc service hosted by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis . RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.