Documents Kaestner, Robert 4 results

"The authors investigate whether foreign- and U.S.-trained nurses are substitutes by studying the differences in their wages and whether wage differentials respond to relative supplies of foreign- and U.S.-trained nurses. Regression estimates suggest that foreign-trained nurses without a bachelor's degree enjoy a wage premium of 1 to 3% over similar U.S.-trained nurses after adjusting for demographic, workplace, work type, and geographic differences, but no wage difference remains among those with a bachelor's degree. For all nurses combined, the wage difference is modest and statistically insignificant. This result suggests that foreign- and U.S.-trained nurses are equally productive and close substitutes. The authors also test explicitly for whether foreign- and U.S.-trained nurses are substitutes and cannot reject the hypothesis that they are."

"Drawing on a single large U.S. corporation's personnel records for the years 1989-93, the authors analyze an example of the kind of formal salary system used by most large firms. The system was highly centralized, covering salary levels, salary ranges, raises, and bonuses. Supervisors had little discretion over pay other than through subjective performance ratings. The firm held fairly strictly to the salary rules, leading to observable constraints on pay for employees near the top of the salary range. These constraints, however, apparently did not impose important costs on the firm. The authors find that this firm's practices were consistent with most of the important conclusions of prior empirical research on internal labor markets. For example, the evidence suggests that promotions were more common at the bottom of the salary range than at other levels, there was a "fast promotion track," and nominal salary cuts were rare."

"Although many studies have tested neoclassical labor market theory's prediction that employers will react to binding minimum wages by changing employment levels, much less empirical research has explored the possibility that employers also respond to minimum wages by adjusting non-wage components of the job, such as fringe benefits, job safety, and access to training. Using Current Population Survey data for 1979-2000, this study investigates the effect of minimum wage legislation on the provision of employer health insurance and employer pension coverage. The authors examine effects of state and federal variation in minimum wages on groups likely to be affected by the minimum wage, and compare these effects to estimates found for groups unlikely to be affected. Whether the analysis uses only state-level variation or federal and state variation in minimum wages, the results indicate no discernible effect of the minimum wage on fringe benefit generosity for low-skill workers."