Helen Robinson

Wrong Side of the Track? The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Gender Pay Gaps in Britain

We study the impact of the introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in Britain on various gender wage gaps. Other things equal, if women are over-represented amongst the low paid, we might expect to see the introduction of the NMW narrowing the overall gender pay gap. Using six years of Labour Force Survey data we assess the evidence before and after the introduction of the NMW at various quantiles in the aggregate wage distribution. We go on to document how the proportion of females in various occupations affects male and female pay before and after the advent of the minimum wage. We conclude that there is only moderate evidence of any change in the rate of decline in the average gender pay gap around the period the NMW was introduced. Copyright 2002 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Regional evidence on the effect of the national minimum wage on the gender pay gap

Robinson H. (2005) Regional evidence on the effect of the National Minimum Wage on the gender pay gap, Regional Studies 39 , 855–872. This paper provides evidence on employment rates and the extent of the change in the gender wage gap across regions around the introduction of the National Minimum Wage (NMW). The variation in the proportions of low‐paid workers across Britain provides a ‘quasi’ natural experiment with which to try and measure the effect of the introduction of the NMW. All things being equal, if women are over‐represented amongst the low paid, and the proportion of low‐paid workers varies across regions, one might expect to see the introduction of the NMW narrowing the overall gender pay gap by varying degrees across the country. Using difference‐in‐differences‐type estimation on Labour Force Survey data, it is concluded that there is variation in the limited narrowing of the overall gender pay gap across regions, consistent with regional differences in the incidence and magnitude of low pay.

Are you experienced? British evidence on age-earnings profiles

Using UK data, evidence is provided that the widely used quadratic earnings function may fare badly as indicated by recent work in the USA. Using data from pooled time series of cross-sections from the General Household Survey the suitability of the quadratic specification alongside higher order polynomials is investigated on samples of men and, for the first time in work of this type, women working full-time. It is found that the quadratic specification understates earnings growth at low levels of experience, especially for those workers with few formal qualifications. The usage of higher order polynomials provides a better fit.

Impact of the Minimum Wage on the Incidence of Second Job Holding in Britain

The advent of any earnings boost, such as provided by the introduction of a minimum wage, might be expected to reduce the supply of low paid individuals wanting to hold a second job. This paper uses difference-in-differences estimation on a panel of individuals matched across successive Labour Force Surveys around the time of the introduction of the national minimum wage in the United Kingdom in order to estimate the impact of the minimum wage and its subsequent upratings on second job working. There is little evidence to suggest that the extra pay provided by the introduction of the minimum wage was sufficient to affect the incidence of second job holding significantly. However, hours worked in the main job by second job holders may have risen relative to those not covered by the minimum wage; and hours worked in second jobs may have fallen for those whose second job was initially below the minimum.

Court Awards of Damages for Loss of Future Earnings: An Empirical Study and an Alternative Method of Calculation

This article examines the effect upon damages for personal injury of methods used in the United States of America to calculate loss of future earnings. The work of lawyers is examined from the perspective of labour economists. The damages calculated by using these alternative methods are compared with those actually awarded in over a hundred cases determined by courts in England and Wales. This interdisciplinary and comparative study reveals that the tort system fails to satisfy one of its main objectives in that it does not provide recipients of damages with ‘full’ compensation.

Use it or Lose it? The Impact of Computers on Earnings

The extent to which the impact of computer skills depends on how computers are used is investigated using British data from an establishment survey, cohort studies and the European E-Living survey. We examine the importance of activity and frequency of use in these various data sources. We find that the impact on earnings depends on which cohort of workers is examined and that there are differences over time. The regression results show that the use of computers for internet access and for email is positively significant across all of our datasets, although there are differences in the size of the effects between men and women.