What Does the Minimum Wage Do?

This book attempts to make sense of the research on the minimum wage that began in the early 1990s. The authors look at who is affected by the minimum wage, both directly and indirectly; which observable, measurable variables (e.g., wages, employment, school enrollment) the minimum wage influences; how long it takes for the variables to respond to the minimum wage and the size and desirability of the effect; why the minimum wage has the results it does (and not others); and the workers most likely to be affected by changes to the minimum wage.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1245/thumbnail.jp

An Econometric Analysis of the Impact of Technology on the Work Lives of Truck Drivers

We investigate the relationship between technology and drivers’ work lives using data from the UMTIP Driver Survey. Focusing first on which types of drivers are more likely to use satellite technology, we find that drivers in private carriage, union drivers, and those paid by the hour or as percent of revenue are least likely to drive trucks equipped with SBS. The largest firms are most likely to equip their trucks with SBS, providing some evidence of scale effects of this technology. There is also evidence that SBS technology is used as a substitute for experience. Examining the impact of satellite technology on worker outcomes, we find that SBS does more than simply lower drivers’ pay. Consistent with the skill-bias hypothesis, drivers who use satellite systems may be paid less per mile. In contrast, drivers on satellite-equipped trucks realize 17.6% higher annual earnings. The higher earnings are due to the increased mileage of such drivers, about 22,000 additional miles per year. Part of this mileage gain is explained by efficiencies provided by these systems, but drivers with satellites also work 14% more hours weekly. The increased hours would account for approximately 60 percent of the increase in mileage; the remaining 40 percent is associated with improved productivity and is captured entirely by the firm. The overall finding, that technology improves productivity and earnings but intensifies and lengthens the workday, is consistent with sociological studies of technology (Graham, 1995)

How New Is the New Employment Contract ?: Evidence from North American Pay Practices

This book explores this apparent change in the employment contract. Whereas earlier studies in this area focused on the rigidities in the quantity side of the employment relationship, e.g., changes in job tenure and rates of displacement, the authors focus on the price side of the contract - whether wage structures have become more flexible.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1055/thumbnail.jp

The Effect of Project Labor Agreements on the Cost of School Construction

This paper investigates the impact of project labor agreements on school construction cost in New England. In contrast to prior research, which applied very leanly specified cost models to secondary data, this study explores more sophisticated models using a rich data set on school characteristics collected by the authors to control for the increased complexity inherent in PLA-built schools. The results indicate that while simple models exhibit large positive PLA effects, such effects are lacking in more complete models. We suggest that the PLA coefficients in simple models are capturing the increased complexity, and cost, of school projects built under PLAs

Industrial Relations Experiments in China: Balancing Equity and Efficiency the Chinese Way

China should build socialism by "crossing the river by feeling for stones" (Deng Xiaoping). Chinese industrial relations are changing accordingly. Local union experiments have implemented local-level changes experimenting with institutional reforms that address efficiency and equity imbalances. Local union leaders have exercised autonomy to develop multi-employer “community unions” in Changchun’s Chaoyang District to represent peasant migrant workers employed by small firms by targeting small geographic zones and hiring union presidents as organizers, aggregating union members into amalgamated units. While the union’s role still includes social harmonization, unions have undertaken an additional representative role. Similar efforts elsewhere have given the union representation experience. Unions have organized multi-employer federations across industries. Unions also have collaborated with local governments on innovative structures to ensure that companies in some industries, such as construction, post a “bond” to guarantee end-of-year compensation. Finally, this paper discusses the role of the new Labor Contract Law in institutionalizing these changes. The LCL defines more precisely employment relationships and workers’ legal rights and seems to increase unions’ legal authority to ensure that employers respect individual workers’ rights, supports the extension of collective contracts to more enterprises, and appears to give unions greater authority to represent workers within the employment relationship and before legal authorities. These changes may provide a material basis for balancing efficiency with equity. We think these experiments have political foundations, whether it is “harmonious society” or simply to extend the union’s organizing maintain political status. Further research will determine whether these experiments are successful