It's Where You Work: Increases in the Dispersion of Earnings across Establishments and Individuals in the United States

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Barth, Erling; Bryson, Alex; Davis, James C.; Freeman, Richard
• 署名单位: National Bureau of Economic Research; University of London; University College London; National Bureau of Economic Research; Harvard University; University of London; London School Economics & Political Science
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/684045
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: S67-S97
• 关键词: wage dispersion; PRODUCTIVITY; profits; FIRMS

摘要

This paper analyzes the role of establishments in the upward trend in dispersion of earnings that has become a central topic in economic analysis and policy debate. It decomposes changes in the variance of log earnings among individuals into the part due to changes in earnings among establishments and the part due to changes in earnings within establishments. The main finding is that much of the 1970s-2010s increase in earnings inequality results from increased dispersion of the earnings among the establishments where individuals work. Our results direct attention to the role of establishment-level pay setting and economic adjustments in earnings inequality.