US earnings inequality has increased dramatically since the 1970s, and the prospect of a reversal depends on what caused the trend. The standard explanation emphasizes skill-biased technical change. This paper briefly considers some aggregation issues and then proceeds to outline two alternative...

The massive downsizing of the state-owned sector and the concomitant impressive growth of the private sector at the end of the 1990s have altered the nature of the Chinese labor market. By bringing in more competition and market mechanisms, they have contributed to increasing labor turnover and...

Two strictly comparable cross-section household datasets, relating to 1988 and 1995, are used to analyse the increase in wage inequality from an initially low level in urban China over this period of labour market reform. The institutional background and the evolution of policy are described....

This paper examines the wage differentials between local and migrant workers in the local labor markets of urban China by using unique data that survey both migrants and local residents from the same community. The results suggest that the wage differentials between the two groups can be...

"This empirical research note uses linked employer-employee data from the German Federal Statistical Office to estimate wage differentials between workers with fixed-term contracts and permanent contracts. The data set allows to analyze wage differentials within firms and across the wage...

"Since the early 90's the West German firms have to deal with sharp changes of economic environment: the German Unification, the emerging competitors in the east European countries and the deregulation of several labour market institutions. We analyse the wage structure, the wage changes and the...

"This empirical research note uses linked employer-employee data from the German Federal Statistical Office to estimate wage differentials between workers with fixed-term contracts and permanent contracts. The data set allows to analyze wage differentials within firms and across the wage...

This paper uses information from a rich firm-level survey on wage and price-setting procedures, in around 15,000 firms in 15 European Union countries, to investigate the relative importance of internal versus external factors in the setting of wages of newly hired workers. The evidence suggests...

This Paper provides an overview of the magnitude of sectoral wage differentials in the euro area as a whole. Even when adjusting for structural sectoral features such as the skill structure or the proportion of part-timers, average wage levels in services are substantially lower than in...

This empirical research note uses linked employer-employee data from the German Federal Statistical Office to estimate wage differentials between workers with fixed-term contracts and permanent contracts. The data set allows to analyze wage differentials within firms and across the wage...