REGIONAL WAGE DIFFERENTIALS AND RACE: 1973-1978*

ABSTRACT. The intertemporal structure of regional nominal-wage differentials by race is estimated using panel data from 1973 through 1978. This allows for a more complete analysis of the time pattern of changes in wage differentials, which is not possible from cross-sectional studies. The findings indicate that, in addition to the presence of substantial locational differentials, there was a systematic change in the differentials over time.     

INTERREGIONAL WAGE DIFFERENTIALS: AN EQUILIBRIUM PERSPECTIVE*

ABSTRACT This paper empirically analyzes two competing explanations for observed interregional wage differentials among full-time U.S. workers: (1) differences in the average levels of market valued labor characteristics, and (2) differences in rates of return to the characteristics. Hedonic wage equations are estimated for broad U.S. regions using detailed measures of human capital, work environment, and personal attributes collected by a national random sample mail survey. Statistical tests reveal little tendency for interregional structural shifts in the wage equations estimated, an outcome which rests on the inclusion of important, but seldom measured, wage determining variables.     

TECHNICAL CHANGE AND PROFITS IN CANADIAN MANUFACTURING: A REGIONAL ANALYSIS

Manufacturing profitability and growth declined sharply in Canada between 1955 and 1984. The spatial extent of this decline has not previously been documented. This article examines manufacturing performance in six regions of Canada. The analysis reveals significant interregional performance differences that appear to be increasing. Two different types of inter-firm competition are identified in the article: competition in production and competition in the market. Empirical investigation reveals that changes in production conditions had a greater impact on regional profitability in five of the six regions studied. In the remaining region, poor market performance was the primary cause of the reduction in profits after 1955.
Au Canada la rentabilité et la croissance industrielle ont profondément diminué entre les années 1955 et 1984. L'ampleur spatiale de cette baisse n'a jamais été docu-mentée. Cette étude examine le comportement et les performances de fabrication dans six régions canadien-nes. De considérables différences inter-régionales, qui semblent toujours s'accentuer sont mises en évidence. Dans cette recherche, deux genres de concurrence entre les societes son identifiés: la concurrence dans la production, et la concurrence dans le marché. L'analyse empi-rique montre que certains changements dans les conditions de production ont eu un effet considérable sur la rentabilité régionale pour cinq des six régions en question. En ce qui concerne la dernière région, la baisse des profits a partir de 1955 est dûe essentiellement à la mauvaise performance du marché.     

REGIONAL HETEROGENEITY IN WAGE DISTRIBUTIONS: EVIDENCE FROM SPAIN*

ABSTRACT Regional differences in real wages have been shown to be both large and persistent in the United States and the U.K., as well as in the economies of other countries. Empirical evidence suggests that wage differentials adjusted for the cost of living cannot only be explained by the unequal spatial distribution of characteristics determining earnings. Rather, average wage gap decomposition reveals the important contribution made by regional heterogeneity in the price assigned to these characteristics. This paper proposes a method for assessing regional disparities in the entire wage distribution and for decomposing the effect of differences across regions in the endowments and prices of the characteristics. The hypothesis forwarded is that the results from previous studies obtained by comparing average regional wages may be partial and nonrobust. Empirical evidence from a matched employer–employee dataset for Spain confirms marked differences in wage distributions between regions, which do not result from worker and firm characteristics but from the increasing role of regional differences in the return to human capital.     

EMPLOYMENT CYCLES AND PROCESS INNOVATION IN REGIONAL STRUCTURAL CHANGE*

Regional employment cycles, the demand for skilled and unskilled labor, and process innovations are analyzed in the context of an industry product cycle. Employment fluctuations caused by endogenous technological change lead to spatial decentralization of production facilities through capital relocation and spatial divisions of labor. A capital investment profile suggested by the product cycle scenario is related to employment cycles. A price system for output is outlined in terms of wages and profits over the product cycle.     

JOB CHAINS AND WAGE CURVES: WORKER MOBILITY AND MARSHALLIAN SURPLUSES IN EVALUATING REGIONAL EMPLOYMENT GROWTH*

ABSTRACT In theory, new regional jobs yield two distinct sources of welfare gains to workers: (1) mobility gains achieved by workers as they move up job chains and (2) traditional Marshallian surpluses enjoyed by all workers as labor markets tighten. In the past, we have argued that the second channel is likely to be small relative to the first. This paper integrates a chain model (using PSID job change data) with a modified‐Marshallian model based on “wage curves” (estimated from CPS data) to formalize and test that argument. High wage jobs with modest wage–unemployment elasticities show Marshallian effects only 10 percent to 20 percent the size of mobility effects. Low wage jobs with somewhat higher elasticities show Marshallian effects from 40 percent to 70 percent the size of mobility effects.