Volume 11, Number 4 (Fall) 1976
Kalachek, Edward, and Fredric Raines. 1976. "The Structure of Wage Differences Among Mature Male Workers." Journal of Human Resources 11(4):484-506.
This paper develops and tests a number of hypotheses concerning the determinants of interpersonal differences in wages. The role of personality structure and of knowledge acquired costlessly from the environment in the overall formation of human capital is examined and found to be of considerable importance. The hypothesis that labor market segmentation and disequilibrium account for a substantial portion of the variance in wages is then tested. The central finding is that human capital differences appear to be the prime determinant of interpersonal differences in wages among mature males, but that workers with the same level of human capital can earn substantially different wages depending on union membership, industry, and occupation affiliation.
The authors are, respectively, Professor and Associate Professor of Economics, Washington University, St. Louis. This paper was prepared under Grant No. 21-29-73-49 from the Manpower Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, but points of view expressed do not necessarily represent the official position or policy of the Department of Labor. The authors are indebted to Lee Benham, Joseph Epstein, Daniel Hamermesh, Robert Flanagan, Edward Greenberg, Andrew Kohen, James Jonish, and Wesley Mellow for useful criticisms and suggestions, to Jean Fletcher for skillful creation of variables, and to Frank Hummel for expert programming services.
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