Title: Inter-Industry Wage Differentials and Allocative Inefficiency
Author: Sorensen, Anders
Author Affiliation: Copenhagen Business School and CEBR, Frederiksberg, Denmark
Source: International Economic Journal, March 2007, v. 21, no. 1, pp. 1-26
Publication Date: March 2007
Abstract: Do inter-industry wage differentials reveal information on allocative inefficiency, implying that reallocation of labor input from low to high-wage sectors improves aggregate productivity? This question is addressed by introducing wage-weighted averages of sector employment growth in growth regressions using panel data for selected OECD countries over the period 1971-93. For the 1970s, it is found that reallocation of labor between sectors with different wages did not contribute to explaining economic growth, whereas it did for the 1980s. Hence, observable wage differentials only reflect allocative inefficiency after 1980.

© 2005 International Economic Journal
Last updated on 12-Januaryl-2005. Please send inquiries and suggestions to iejournal@uwm.edu.