THE EFFECTS OF ENTRY IN BILATERAL OLIGOPOLY

We show that a firm’s profits under Cournot oligopoly can be increasing in the number of firms in the industry if wages are determined by (decentralised) bargaining in unionized bilateral oligopoly. The intuition for the result is that increased product market competition following an increase in the number of firms is mirrored by increased labor market rivalry which induces (profit-enhancing) wage moderation. Whether the product or labor market effect dominates depends both on the extent of union bargaining power and on the nature of union preferences. A corollary of the results derived is that if the upstream agents are firms rather than labor unions, then profits are always decreasing in the number of firms, as in the standard Cournot model. We also show that if bargaining is centralized then there is no wage moderation effect and wages are the same independent of the number of firms, as in the standard model with exogenous factor costs.Unionized bilateral oligopoly ; wage bargaining ; firm profits

Schooling effects on subsequent university performance : evidence for the UK university population

From a unique data-set identifying the school attended prior to university for a full cohort of UK university students, we examine the determinants of final degree classification. We exploit the detailed school-level information and focus on the influence of school characteristics, such as school type, on subsequent performance of students at university. We estimate that, on average, a male (female) graduate who attended an Independent school is 6.5 (5.4) percentage points less likely to obtain a `good' degree than is a student who attended an LEA (that is, state-sector) school, ceteris paribus. We also find considerable variation around this average figure across different Independent schools. We find that, for males, the variation in the probability of attaining a `good' degree across schools can largely be explained by the level of school fees

SCHOOLING EFFECTS ON SUBSEQUENT UNIVERSITY PERFORMANCE : EVIDENCE FOR THE UK UNIVERSITY POPULATION

From a unique data-set identifying the school attended prior to university for a full cohort of UK university students, we examine the determinants of final degree classification. We exploit the detailed school-level information and focus on the influence of school characteristics, such as school type, on subsequent performance of students at university. We estimate that, on average, a male (female) graduate who attended an Independent school is 6.5 (5.4) percentage points less likely to obtain a `good' degree than is a student who attended an LEA (that is, state-sector) school, ceteris paribus. We also find considerable variation around this average figure across different Independent schools. We find that, for males, the variation in the probability of attaining a `good' degree across schools can largely be explained by the level of school fees.Independent schools ; Degree Performance ; School fees

Effects of in-class variation and student rank on the probability of withdrawal : cross-section and time-series analysis for UK university students

From individual-level data for nine entire cohorts of undergraduate students in UK universities, we estimate the probability that an individual will drop out of university during their first-year. We examine the 1984-85 to 1992-93 cohorts of students enrolling full-time for a three or four-year course, and focus on the sensitivity of the probability of withdrawal to the individual’s prior qualifications relative to those of the other students in their university course. We show not only that weaker students are more likely to withdraw but also that the extent of variation in prior qualifications within the student’s university degree course exerts an influence on the individual's probability of withdrawal in a way that varies with the individual’s own in-class rank

Dropping out of medical school in the UK : explaining changes over 10 years

For the 1990-92 and 1998-2000 cohorts we find the probability of dropping out of medical school is lower for students (i) with better prior qualifications, (ii) with a parent who is a doctor, (iii) living on campus

Ability Bias, Skewness and the College Wage Premium

Changes in educational participation rates across cohorts are likely to imply changes in the ability-education relationship and thereby to impact on estimated returns to education. We show that skewness in the underlying ability distribution is a key determinant of the impact of graduate expansion on the college wage premium. Calibrating the model against the increased proportion of university students in Britain, we find that changes in the average ability gap between university students and others are likely to have mitigated demand-side forces.Ability Bias ; College Wage Premium ; Graduate Returns ; Cohort Effects

Endogenous determination of trade regime and bargaining outcome

We show that whether trade is one-way or two-way depends on wage strategies adopted by trade unions. The union’s wage strategy choices themselves depend upon the conditions under which trade takes place, as well as upon the characteristics of both the labour and the product markets in the trading countries. The impact of economic integration on union choices and therefore upon both labour market and trade outcomes is shown to vary according to the nature of the prevailing trade regime. We generate testable hypotheses and discuss the implications for the development of econometric tests of these hypotheses

The effects of entry in bilateral oligopoly

We show that a firm’s profits under Cournot oligopoly can be increasing in the number of firms in the industry if wages are determined by (decentralised) bargaining in unionized bilateral oligopoly. The intuition for the result is that increased product market competition following an increase in the number of firms is mirrored by increased labor market rivalry which induces (profit-enhancing) wage moderation. Whether the product or labor market effect dominates depends both on the extent of union bargaining power and on the nature of union preferences. A corollary of the results derived is that if the upstream agents are firms rather than labor unions, then profits are always decreasing in the number of firms, as in the standard Cournot model. We also show that if bargaining is centralized then there is no wage moderation effect and wages are the same independent of the number of firms, as in the standard model with exogenous factor costs

Different returns to different degrees? Evidence from the British Cohort Study 1970

As in many other countries, government policy in the UK has the objective of raising the participation rate of young people in higher education, while also increasing the share of the costs of higher education borne by students themselves. A rationale for the latter element comes from evidence of a high private return to university undergraduate degrees. However, much of this evidence pre-dates the rapid expansion in the graduate population. In the current paper, we use evidence from a cohort of people born in 1970 to estimate hourly wage returns to a university degree. Among other results, we ?nd (i) that compared to an earlier 1958 birth cohort the average returns to a ?rst degree for men changed very little, while the return for women declined substantially and (ii) substantial evidence of differences in returns to a first degree according to subject area of study and class of degree awardeddegree ; return ; subject ; UK ; university

Factors affecting the probability of first-year medical student dropout in the UK : a logistic analysis for the entry cohorts of 1980-1992

Objectives: To assess the extent to which various factors influence the probability that anindividual medical student will drop out of medical school during their first year of study, focussing on the influence both of prior qualifications, such as A-level subjects taken and scores attained, and of type of school and family background. Design: Individual-level administrative data for entire cohorts of medical students from 1980/81 to 1992/93 (that is, the graduating cohorts of 1985/86 to 1997/98), yielding data on 51,810 students in 20 medical schools in the UK. The nature of the data permits two different approaches to the modelling of medical school dropout. First, by focussing on the determinants of first-year dropout we are able to exploit data for cohorts up to and including the entry cohort of 1992. Second, as an alternative, for any given cohort one can analyse the probability of a student dropping out in any one of the 5 years of their programme: but in this case one is restricted to data on cohorts no more recent than the 1986 entry cohort.1 In the current paper, we follow the first of these research strategies. Statistical analysis is by logistic regression. Main outcome measures First-year dropout from medical school versus continuation into second year of study. A (first-year) dropout is anyone who left their medical school programme before the end of their first year of study. Results The probability that a student will drop out of medical school during their first year of study is influenced significantly both by the subjects studied at A-level and by the scores achieved. Among students who took Biology, Chemistry and Physics at A-level, each extra grade achieved reduces the probability of dropping out by about one-third of a percentage point. There is an additional effect for students with the maximum A-level score of 30 points in their best 3 A-levels (that is, three grade As): such a student is almost one percentage point less likely to drop out of medical school, ceteris paribus, compared to a student with 28 points. Furthermore, this estimated effect of A-level performance on dropout behaviour is very similar for each of the 13 cohorts. In general, indicators of both the social class and the previous school background of the student are largely insignificant, with the exception that students with a parent who is a medical doctor are significantly less likely to drop out. There are significant differences by gender, with males more likely to drop out. There is also evidence of significant age effects, with a tendency for the dropout probability to fall with age. Conclusions: Policies aimed at increasing the size of the medical student intake in the UK and of widening access to students from non-traditional backgrounds should be informed by evidence that student dropout probabilities are sensitive to measures of A-level attainment such as subject studied and scores achieved. If traditional entry requirements or standards are relaxed, then this is likely to have detrimental effects on medical schools’ retention rates unless accompanied by appropriate measures such as targeted admissions and focussed student support