Volume 29, Number 2 (Spring) 1994
Schumann, Paul L., Dennis A. Ahlburg, and Christine Brown Mahoney. 1994. "The Effects of Human Capital and Job Characteristics on Pay." Journal of Human Resources 29(2):481-503.
This paper examines the influence of both the worker characteristics and job characteristics on pay. Data were collected specifically for this purpose. We find that both worker characteristics and job characteristics are important determinants of pay. In addition we find that females hold jobs that are of lower value to the firm. This explains part, but not all, of the gross male-female pay differential. It also has implications for the effect of comparable worth policies.
The authors made equal contributions to this research; the order of citation was determined by the flip of a coin. The authors are, respectively, Professor of Management, Mankato State University, Mankato, Minnesota, 56003; Professor of Industrial Relations, University of Minnesota (Twin Cities Campus), Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455; and Assistant Professor of Management, Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis, Minnesota. They would like to thank Alice Nakamura for her numerous comments on the paper, and Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Greg Hundley, Solomon W. Polachek, and the participants of the December 1991 Donner Foundation Conference on the Economic Well-Being of Women and Children for their comments on an earlier version of this paper. The authors are responsible for the research reported in this paper, including any errors. The data used in this article can be obtained beginning June 1, 1994 through May 31, 1997 from Dennis A. Ahlburg.
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