David A. Macpherson

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.

The Decline of Private-Sector Unionism and the Gender Wage Gap.

Between 1973 and 1988, private-sector unionism fell by 9.5 percentage points more for men than women, and the gender wage gap (one minus the ratio of female to male wages) decreased by.09. These trends support two findings: First, unionism fell more slowly for women primarily because the probability of unionism fell most rapidly in jobs dominated by males. Second, the greater decline in unionism among males is responsible for approximately one-seventh of the.09 decline in the gender wage gap.

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.

Plant size and the decline of unionism

Abstract Declining plant size is shown to explain a significant portion of the recent decline in unionism, particularly in manufacturing. The paper also shows how to use the probit model to decompose the change in unionism into explained and unexplained components.

Union Membership and Contract Coverage in the United States, 1983-1988.

This paper presents union membership and contract coverage density figures, based on calculations from Current Population Survey tapes for the years 1983–88, for employed civilian workers classified by demographic and labor market characteristics, industry, occupation, state, and metropolitan area. The estimates are calculated using new Census category codes and large sample sizes for the years 1986–88. In 1988, economy-wide union membership was 16.6%, and contract coverage 18.8%, of the employed labor force. In the same year, membership and contract coverage densities for private sector workers were 12.6% and 13.8%, respectively, compared to 36.5% and 43.4% for public sector workers. Membership and contract coverage densities decreased throughout the 1983–88 period in the private sector, but remained stable in the public sector. All estimates presented here are available from the authors in machine-readable form.

Union Membership and Coverage Files from the Current Population Surveys: Note

This note informs readers about the availability of disaggregated annual unionization data compiled from the Current Population Surveys (CPS). Union membership, membership density, and contract coverage density are calculated for employed civilian wage and salary workers from the monthly CPS for January 1983 through December 1991. Workers are classified by demographic and labor market characteristics, industry, occupation, state, metropolitan area, and state-by-industry. The union membership and coverage files described in the note are available from the authors, without charge, in machine-readable form.

Employer Size and Labor Turnover: The Role of Pensions:

The well-documented lower labor turnover in large firms than in smaller firms has been cited as evidence that large firms pay workers above their opportunity wage. This study investigates whether the relationship between firm size and turnover can instead be accounted for in part by size-related differences in the availability, portability, or generosity of pension plans. Analyzing extensive data for the years 1973–93, the authors find that pension coverage was associated with a greater reduction in worker turnover in large firms than in small firms. They also find that when appropriate controls for worker characteristics are employed, there is virtually no association between firm size and labor turnover for workers not covered by a pension.

Self-employment and married women

Abstract This paper examines the determinants of self-employment among married women. The study uses these results to assess the impact of selectivity bias, due to self-employment decisions, on the earnings of wage/salary and self-employed workers.

Earnings, Rents, and Competition in the Airline Labor Market

This article offers an explanation of the postinjury employment, wage, and accommodation patterns of permanently impaired workers. In particular, it argues that the observed tendency of time‐ofaccident employers to rehire at the preinjury wage, accommodate, and then, perhaps, quickly terminate the impaired worker, is a manifestation of the workers preferred contract. That contract is characterized by wage inflexibility. By removing the opportunity for the postinjury employer to underreport productivity, this contract creates an incentive for the worker to attempt to functionally adapt to the impairment, thereby increasing expected lifetime utility.