Barry T. Hirsch

Union Membership and Coverage Database from the Current Population Survey: Note

This note describes the construction and provision of an Internet database providing private and public sector union membership, coverage, and density estimates compiled from the Current Population Survey (CPS). Economy-wide estimates are provided beginning in 1973, estimates by state, detailed industry, and detailed occupation begin in 1983, and estimates by metropolitan area begin in 1986. The database will be updated annually and can be accessed at http://www.unionstats.com/.

Wages and Gender Composition: Why do Women's Jobs Pay Less?

Occupational sex segregation and its relationship with wages during 1973-93 are examined. Wage level and wage change models are estimated using Current Population Survey data matched with measures of occupational skills and job disamenities. Standard analysis confirms that wage levels are substantially lower in predominantly female occupations. Gender composition effects are reduced by about a quarter for women and by over one-half for men following control for skill-related occupational characteristics. Longitudinal analysis indicates that two-thirds or more of the standard gender composition effect is accounted for by occupational characteristics and unmeasured worker skill or taste differences.

Union Rent Seeking, Intangible Capital, and Market Value of the Firm

This study considers the effect of unions on intangible capital investment and profitability within t he context of market value rather than a more traditional accounting-based appro ach. Theory is provided suggesting unions are able to affect profitability by sh aring in the economic returns to firm-specific intangible capital. Insupport of this hypothesis, we find unionization reduces the returns to R&D and produces a corresponding limiting influence on R&D investment at the firm level. Copyright 1986 by MIT Press.

Match Bias in Wage Gap Estimates Due to Earnings Imputation

About 30% of workers in the Current Population Survey have earnings imputed. Wage gap estimates are biased toward zero when the attribute being studied (e.g., union status) is not a criterion used to match donors to nonrespondents. An expression for “match bias” is derived in which attenuation equals the sum of match error rates. Attenuation can be approximated by the proportion with imputed earnings. Union wage gap estimates with match bias removed are presented for 1973–2001. Estimates for recent years are biased downward 5 percentage points. Bias in gap estimates accompanying other non–match criteria (public sector, industry, etc.) is examined.

Union Effects on Productivity, Profits, and Growth: Has the Long Run Arrived?

This article interprets literature examining union effects on economic performance. Production function studies indicate small overall union impacts on productivity; positive effects, where they exist, appear to result from management response to decreased profit expectations and from a natural selection process. Lower profitability among unionized firms is well established; more interesting is the possibility that unions appropriate quasi rents deriving from long-lived tangible and intangible capital. The connection between unions, investment behavior, and productivity growth emerges as a particularly fruitful line of empirical inquiry, although it does not encourage a sanguine view of unionisms long-run impact.

Why Do Part-Time Workers Earn Less? The Role of Worker and Job Skills

Part-time workers receive considerably lower hourly earnings than do full-time workers. Using Current Population Survey earnings files for September 1995 through December 2002, the author finds that measurable worker and job characteristics, including occupational skill requirements, account for much of the part-time penalty. Longitudinal analysis of the data indicates that much of the remaining gap reflects worker heterogeneity, evidenced by small wage gains and losses among workers switching between part-time and full-time jobs. The lower skills of part-time than full-time workers result primarily from limited work experience and accumulation of human capital. Little evidence can be found of a large wage gap between part-time and full-time women. A part-time wage penalty is found for men, but men account for less than one-third of total part-time employment.

Occupational Age Structure and Access for Older Workers

This paper examines covariates of the occupational age structure and the openness of jobs to older workers. Using a large number of data sets, which together span the years 1983–98, the authors focus on the structure of compensation, job skill requirements, and working hours and conditions as the principal determinants of occupational access. Older male and female workers, they find, face substantial entry barriers in occupations with steep wage profiles, pension benefits, and computer usage. In addition, union coverage is associated with limited access for older men, while older female hires are concentrated in occupations where flex-time, part-time work, and daytime shifts are common. Segregation across occupations among older new hires exceeds that for younger workers, but there is no evidence that it has worsened over time.

Match Bias from Earnings Imputation in the Current Population Survey: The Case of Imperfect Matching

This article examines match bias arising from earnings imputation. Wage equation parameters are estimated from mixed samples of workers reporting and not reporting earnings, the latter assigned earnings of donors. Regressions including attributes not used as imputation match criteria (e.g., union) are severely biased. Match bias also arises with attributes used as match criteria but matched imperfectly. Imperfect matching on schooling (age) flattens earnings profiles within education (age) groups and creates jumps across groups. Assuming conditional missing at random, a general analytic expression correcting match bias is derived and compared to alternatives. Reweighting a respondent‐only sample proves an attractive approach.

Union Coverage and Profitability among U.S. Firms

This paper utilizes unique survey data on labor union coverage at the firm level to examine union effects on the profitability of 705 U.S. companies during the 1970s. Market value and earnings are estimated to be about 10 percent-15 percent lower in an average unionized company than in a nonunion company, following extensive control for firm and industry characteristics. Deleterious union effects on firm profitability are sizable throughout the 1972-80 period, but vary considerably across industries. The relatively poor profit performance of unionized companies may help explain the recent decline in U.S. union membership. Copyright 1991 by MIT Press.

Monopsony power and relative wages in the labor market for nurses

This paper examines the thesis that monopsony power is an important determinant of wages in nursing labor markets. Using data from the 1985-93 Current Population Surveys, measures of relative nurse/non-nurse wage rates for 252 labor markets are constructed. Contrary to predictions from the monopsony model, no positive relationship exists between relative nursing wages and hospital density or market size. Nor is support found for the presence of monopsony power based on evidence on union wage premiums, slopes of experience profiles, or the mix of RN to total hospital employment.