Arbeitspapier

Wage divergence and unemployment: the impact of insider power and training costs

The US labour market is characterized by a high skill wage mark-up and low unemployment, while the German labour market has a low skill wage mark-up and a high, mainly unskilled unemployment rate. This paper adds an innovative labour supply explanation to the discussion how these distinct labour market equilibria could arise. Skill-biased technological change induces training needs for the employees willing to work in the skilled labour market and increases relative skill demand. In a simple general equilibrium model, this paper shows that skilled insiders in the USA enjoy higher rents and increase the skilled wage mark-up stronger than in Germany in the wake of skill-biased technological change. The reason is that the unskilled outsiders in the USA do not possess a powerful credible threat to improve their position. This is a consequence from higher training and education costs in the USA for unskilled employees and unemployed. In Germany, the lower skill wage mark-up leads to an increased relative skill demand which is not matched by the skill supply and therefore mis-match unemployment arises.

Sprache
Englisch

Erschienen in
Series: ZEW Discussion Papers ; No. 00-37

Klassifikation
Wirtschaft
Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
Thema
Mis-match unemployment
training costs
skill biased technological change
Labour supply
Arbeitslosigkeit
Qualifikation
Humankapital
Technischer Fortschritt
Hochqualifizierte Arbeitskräfte
Weiterbildung
Insider-Outsider-Modell
Ungelernte Arbeitskräfte
Bildungsfinanzierung
Potenzieller Wettbewerb
Theorie
Vergleich
USA

Ereignis
Geistige Schöpfung
(wer)
Muysken, Joan
Zwick, Thomas
Ereignis
Veröffentlichung
(wer)
Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW)
(wo)
Mannheim
(wann)
2000

Handle
Letzte Aktualisierung
10.03.2025, 11:44 MEZ

Datenpartner

Dieses Objekt wird bereitgestellt von:
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.

Objekttyp

  • Arbeitspapier

Beteiligte

  • Muysken, Joan
  • Zwick, Thomas
  • Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW)

Entstanden

  • 2000

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