Impact of Prevailing Wages on the Cost among the Various Construction Trades

In 1997, the Ohio Senate passed Senate Bill 102 which established the Ohio School Facilities Commission as a separate agency to oversee the rebuilding projects of the public schools in Ohio. The bill also exempted the construction contractors from paying prevailing wages on these projects on the hypothesis that this exemption would lower the construction cost. The purpose of this study is to investigate this hypothesis through the statistical analysis of 8,093 bids received from the years 2000 through 2007 for the schools＇ construction. Union contractors who paid their workers union wages and non-union contractors who did not pay prevailing wages bid these projects. The hypothesis, that prevailing wage laws increased the construction cost, was tested by comparing the bids/SF （square foot） from both groups （union and nonunion） for the different construction trades. The study indicated that there was statistical significant difference between the bids/square foot for union contractors and the bids/square foot for non-union contractors for only the following trades： earthwork, existing conditions, plumbing, electrical and HVAC （heating, ventilation and air conditioning）. The averages of bids/SF from the union contractors were higher than those from the non-union contractors for earthwork, existing conditions and plumbing works, and the opposite for electrical and HVAC works. There was no statistical significant difference in the bids from the communications, concrete, conveying equipment, electronic safety and security, equipment, finishes, fire suppression, furnishings, masonry, openings, structural steel, thermal and moisture protection, plastics and composites and wood works.

Wages and Salaries of Czech Men and Women at the Beginning of the Third Millennium and the Impact of the Economical Recession on Their Development

This paper deals with the development of the wage distribution in the Czech Republic since 2003, according to gender. It is a development of descriptive characteristics of location, differentiation and shape of wage distribution, but also the development of concentration characteristic of wage distribution. Gross monthly wage of Czech employees represents the variable under research. Emphasis is placed on changes in the development of wage distribution since 2009 in connection with the onset of economic recession. The economic crisis has greatly influenced the development of the wage distribution in the Czech Republic, wage growth virtually stopped at this time. Differences in the development of wage distribution between men and women in the Czech Republic are also under this research. Development of wage distribution has been studied by modelling the distribution. Three-parametric lognormal curves are served as a theoretical probability distribution whose parameters were estimated using the L-moment method of point estimate of parameters. Dependence of gross monthly wage on gender has been the subject of research as well. This dependence was researched using one-way analysis of variance. Forecast of wage distribution of men and women in the Czech Republic for the years 2012 and 2013 is included in this research.

Determinants of Wages and Labour Supply in the UK

We explore characteristics of the UK labour market with special emphasis on explanation of the existing wage inequalities, determinants of participation, and variation in the magnitude of hours of labour supplied among individuals. We explain up to 92 percent of variance in the wage rates from the supply side. Accuracy of the model is accounted by a variety of factors relevant to the labour market such as gender gaps, marital status, on and off the job training, fluency in English, and regional characteristics. The study is quite distinct, since it not only incorporates variables pertinent from the economic point of view, but also some quantified qualitative regressors relating to individuals’ opinions and political preferences. Interestingly, we find that the psychological profile of an individual has a very big influence over his decision on whether to participate, but once he joined the labour force his personal beliefs and opinions have no further impact on the probability of finding a job. The chance of being employed once participating depends mainly on the local labour market conditions. We also report unbiased and reliable estimate of labour supply elasticity based on British Household Panel Survey （BHPS） sample.

Development of Wages and Salaries of Czech Employees During the Last Period by Educational Attainment and Forecasts for 2011 and 2012

This paper deals with the development of sample characteristics of wage distribution in recent years in the Czech Republic by the highest educational attainment. Gross monthly wage is the variable investigated. We distinguish the following scale of the highest educational attainment： primary and incomplete education, secondary education without GCSE, secondary education with GCSE, higher vocational and bachelor education and tertiary education. Forecasts of wage distribution have been developed for the next two years for all of these categories. Three-parametric lognormal curve formed the basis of the theoretical probability distribution. Parameter values of relevant three-parametric lognormal curves were then estimated using the method of L-moments of parameter estimation. Forecasts of sample values of L-moments were calculated using trend analysis of their past development and the parameters of three-parametric Iognormal curves for forecasts of wage distribution were calculated using the predicted values of the first three sample L-moments. We have obtained the forecasts of wage distribution by the highest educational attainment on the basis of these probability density functions.

Real Interest Rates,Real Wages and Economic Restructuring—Analysis Based on Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium(DSGE)

On the basis of research conducted by Long and Plosser(1983),this paper carries out an in-depth analysis on the relationship between real interest rates,real wage,and macro-economy and economic structure by simulating a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium(DSGE) model and comes to the following conclusions:(1) Increasing the level of real interest rates will expand the share of consumption in GDP,improve the macroeconomic structure,and promote steady economic development;(2) Increasing the level of real wages will enhance economic growth but will not change the economic structure of consumption and investments;(3) Increasing wages will enhance economic growth and expand its share in national income;(4) Increasing wages will not lower output level but will be favorable to the improvement of economic structure.Therefore,this paper argues for interest rates liberalization to achieve long-term,steady economic development in China.

Growing Wages and Changing Demand for Workers in Chinese Enterprises

Taking advantage of company survey data,this paper examines the responsiveness of enterprises in manufacturing sectors to the recent labor market changes characterized by surging wages and shrinking unskilled workers.The result shows that the labor demand elasticity with regard to output is substantial.In other words,growing manufacturing will keep creating jobs and intensify labor scarcity in China.The wage elasticity is-0.40 for unskilled workers and-0.53 for skilled workers,which indicates that Chinese companies are quite responsive to the recent labor market changes.There exists a kind of substitution effect between skilled and unskilled workers,however,the magnitude of elasticity remains small.To promote economic upgrading in China's labor market,institutional and industrial policies should encourage companies to be responsive to the warning signals from the market of production factor.

The Effects of Greenhouse Gases Regulation on Wages and Rents: Policy Issues and General Equilibrium Analysis

The stringency of environmental policy is likely to change the gains of economic agents. Using a general equilibrium model and an assumption that capital-intensive industries tend to be intensive emitters of greenhouse gases (GHG), we find that a stricter GHG emission scheme will reduce the rent for capital owners but increase the wage for workers. This effect could motivate capital owners or workers to oppose or support a stricter GHG policy. The paper also empirically assesses the model’s key assumption by using production input (capital stock and labor), output, and GHG emission data from U.S industrial sectors. The regression result supports a strong positive relationship between the capital-labor ratio and the pollution-output ratio. Therefore, the theoretical analysis is relevant to the actual economy.

Effects of Changing Relative Value of Mininimum Wages on Wage Distribution in China:Analysis Based on County-Level Data

On the basis of extending Lee's(1999) model, this paper resolves the problem of biased division in the specification of equation and employs Urban Household Survey(UHS) data,China Household Income Project(CHIP) data and county-level minimum wage data collected by authors to investigate the wage distribution effects of change in the effective minimum wages measured by relative value. The result shows that the effective minimum wage will exert a significant spillover effect on wage distribution at the40 th percentile and below, which is favorable to reducing wage gaps at the bottom. This conclusion holds true under various robustness tests. However, the shrinking effective minimum wage has created a downward drag on wages, thus widening wage gaps at the bottom. The shrinking effective minimum wage contributed 150%,53.8%,45.5% and16.7% to the wage gaps at the 10 th, 20 th, 30 th and 40 th percentiles compared with the 50 th percentile. Therefore, the key to ensuring the effectiveness of minimum wages lies in the implementation of an automatic adjustment mechanism correlated with macroeconomic indicators. Compliance with minimum wages must be guaranteed and change in minimum wages must be measured with relative value.

China's Labor Transition and the Future of China's Rural Wages and Employment

This paper contributes to the assessment of China＇s rural labor markets. According to our data, the increase in off-farm employment that China experienced during the 1980s and 1990s continued during the 2000s. Our analysis shows that migration has become the most prevalent off-farm activity, although the destination of migrants is shifting from outside of one＇s province to destinations closer to home. The present paperfinds that large shares of male and female individuals, especially those under 40 years, are working off the farm. These findings represent an important contribution to the labor economics field. First, the results of the present paper reveal that the labor transition from the agricultural sector to the non-agricultural sector for key segments of China＇s rural labor force is nearly complete. Second, although a large share of China ＂s rural labor force work in agriculture, most of these workers are older men and women （and likely would not be willing to take low-wage, labor-intensive jobs）. Third, the rising unskilled wage rate in China is partially a result of the tightening of the labor force in the young age cohorts. Finally, due to factors associated with the one child policy and other demographic transition forces, successive age cohorts will continue to fall in absolute number in the coming decade. Assuming China＇s growth continues, we expect to see further wage increases since it will take higher wages to coax more workers to work off the farm.

SPECIAL ISSUE： MIGRANT WORKERS IN THE COURSE OF URBANIZATON Wages for migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta： determining factors

This article attempts to examine the effect of the enterprise system and social environment under conditions of market transition on the wages of migrant workers using regression analysis of Pearl River Delta migrant worker survey data. The research found that among human capital variables, educational level and length of employment in their present firms have a significant positive effect on the wages of migrant workers, while age and gender also have a significant effect; among enterprise system variables, the type of work also significantly influences wages, demonstrating clear stratification. Industry, scale and firm type do not significantly influence wages, regardless of labor contract or labor supply status. Social capital variables and social environmental factors do not have a significant effect on peasant-worker wage levels. The article therefore concludes that migrant worker wages are highly marketized and are at one extreme of a segmented dual labor market. They lack intra-firm labor markets and promotion mechanisms, are little influenced by changes in labor market conditions, and show no regional variations. They represent low wages of an extreme rigidity.

Increasing Wages,Factor Substitution,and Cropping Pattern Changes in China

This article analyzed the influence of increasing wages on cropping patterns from theoretical and empirical perspectives.The results showed that the increasing labor cost provided a significant incentive to adjust the grain cropping pattern,which increased the production of the three major cereal grains but reduced the production of other grain crops.Increasing wages had a significant negative impact on cash crops.More laborintensive cash crops experienced a larger negative impact in the context of increasing wages.The increase in labor costs also had a negative impact on the proportion of vegetables produced,which was more evident in northern China.A further mechanism test indicated that factor substitution was a significant reason for cropping pattern changes;this illustrated the substitution of labor by machinery not only between grain crops and cash crops but also among different cash crops.

Corporate Endowment Insurance Fee Reduction and Employee Wages:Evidence from China

To stimulate economic growth,the Chinese government implemented three consecutive policies between 2016 and 2019 to reduce the corporate endowment insurance contribution ratio(CEICR),the highest payment item for Chinese companies.Using China's CEICR reduction policies as a quasi-natural experiment,this paper evaluates the impact of corporate payment burden reduction on employee wages.Generally,reducing CEICR appears to prompt companies to increase employee wages.Corporate cash flow is a possible channel of influence.Moreover,the positive effect is found to be more pronounced in companies that are more labor intensive,performing better in labor payment compliance,and located in regions with higher pressure for elderly care.This paper offers evidence in favor of implementing CEICR reduction policies from the perspective of improving the well-being of employees.

What Drives Chinese Firms'Export Sophistication?A Perspective from the Rise of Minimum Wages

This paper re-examines the driving factors behind the upgrading of China s export sophistication.Based on county-level minimum wages and firm-level export data for 2000-2013,this paper finds that the labor cost shocks caused by rising minimum wages have a significant positive impact on Chinese firms'export sophistication.Channel tests show that the positive effect of rising minimum wages on firms'export sophistication derives from the exit of less sophisticated products and the reallocation of the relative share of surviving products,rather than introducing new highly sophisticated products.Heterogeneity analysis reveals that rising minimum wages have a greater impact on export sophistication for low-wage firms,domestic firms,and labor-intensive firms.This paper has implications for developing countries regarding the transition from a low-cost labor trade model to a sophistication-driven trade model.

Minimum Wages,Cost-Price Pass-Through and Real Welfare Effect of Households

The minimum wage policy should take into account production costs of enterprises and welfare benefits of families.This paper describes the pass-through process of the minimum wage costs in the enterprise sector and the household sector by building a theoretical model,investigates the impact of the minimum wage adjustment on urban household consumption utility and its price pass-through mechanism from the perspective of living costs based on several sets of databases,such as household survey,supermarket prices and industrial enterprises for the first time,and further estimates the net welfare changes including income compensation and consumption utility loss.The findings of the study are as below:(1)The price transfer behavior of enterprises is the main cause of the loss of household consumption utility.The average wage level and labor costs of enterprises rise with the increase of minimum wages.Both the cost-price pass-through elasticity estimated based on the theoretical model and the minimum wage price elasticity coefficient obtained by empirical estimation show that the price transfer behavior of enterprises leads to the rise of final consumer prices;(2)With a 10% increase in minimum wages,the overall household living costs increase by 2.47%-6.76%,and the economic living costs increase by about 122-334 yuan per quarter,among which the living costs are most affected in terms of food,shoes and clothing;(3)Under the combined effect of income compensation and consumption utility loss,the bottom 20% of households and middle 60% of households will get 658 yuan and 469-556 yuan per quarter,respectively.The findings of this paper are conducive to improving the supporting minimum wage policy by taking a number of measures simultaneously,so as to provide a path reference for promoting the realization of Chinese modernization and expanding domestic demand for common prosperity for all.

Who Lost Most Wages and Household Income during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poor Rural China?

China managed to eliminate all extreme poverty in rural areas in 2020.Poor households,however,may risk falling back into poverty due to the COVID-19.This paper examines the impacts of the pandemic on wages and household incomes among different groups in poor areas of rural China.Using a unique dataset from five poverty-stricken counties,we found that the pandemic has had large negative effects on wage income for migrant workers and workers in manufacturing,the private sector,and small enterprises.Compared with households relying on wage income,households relying on small businesses have suffered much more from the pandemic,whereas households depending on farming or transfer payments have been less affected.Although poor and ethnic minority households lost significant amounts of wage income due to the pandemic,they did not lose more household income than nonpoor and nonminority households.We conclude that support from the government has kept vulnerable households from suffering more than other households from the effects of COVID-19.Our findings suggest that the government can play a strong role in alleviating the negative impacts of the COVID-19.

Indonesia’s Cheap Wages Regime:The Political Economy of Minimum Wages Policy under Jokowi Presidency

Indonesia’s new wage policy mechanism made a new history since Joko Widodo(Jokowi)became President.The first minimum wages policy in Indonesia was implemented in 1969 in which the determination comes from society^monthly necessities through a discussion involving labor,employer,and state,it is known that the determination is no longer using aforementioned variables but it is rather based on a market-standard formula.This paper exploring the logic political-economic of wage policies implementation based on neoliberalism in the first presidency of Jokowi,which has implications for affirming cheap wages policies.This research uses a qualitative method by comparing two regions with different economic bases,namely Bekasi as the largest industrial area in Southeast Asia and Yog-yakarta as the province with the highest national economy inequality and the cheapest national minimum wage representation.The findings of this research show that this new wage formulation is emerged from the ideology of corporatism that takes place in every power transfer process and has the implication of reinforcing wage inequality that occurs in the local context in Indonesia.Politically,this regulation eliminates the democratic mechanism in the form of tripartite through a survey of monthly necessities which is carried out by labor,government and employer every year and has divided the strength of trade unions in fighting for the determination of decent wages.

The Size of Individual Social Networks and Rural-Urban Migrants'Wages-Findings from a Survey of Migrants in China's 6 Provinces and 12 Cities

Based on a survey of migrants in 12 cities across four major urbanizing areas in China,this paper empirically studies the impact of the size of individual social networks on the migrants'wages.After controlling for potential endogeneity using an instrumental variable approach,our empirical results from 2SLS estimation provides no evidence for significant average causal effect of network size on wage.A further exploration of quantile regression analysis with endogeneity issue managed by using the control function approach shows that a significant positive network size effect can only be found in the low-income end.

Labour Markets in China： A Study of the Structure and Evolution of Wages

This paper examines the development of labour markets and the evolution of a structure of wages in China, using household surveys for 1988, 1995, 2002 and 2007. It finds evidence of both provincial and sectoral segmentation in labour markets, with eastern regions and the state-controlled sector enjoying high wage premiums in the early reform period. During the reform, China has progressed slowly towards an integrated labour market with convergence in incomes between the rural non-agriculture sector and the urban market-based sector by 1995, when industry flourished in the rural areas. The wage gap between the rural non-agriculture sector and other sectors increased and the urban state-controlled sector remained segmented with respect to all other sectors up to 2002. However, the data from 2007 show there has been increasing sectoral and spatial integration.

Offshoring,Wages,and Skill Premiums:Firm-level Evidence from China

Using detailed Chinese manufacturing firm production and trade data from 2000 to 2006,this study finds that offshoring significantly increases firms’average wages.First,using the quasi-natural experiment of China's accession to the World Trade Organization,we investigate how a reduction in offshoring costs affects the manufacturing firm's wages and find that a productivity effect and a job-relocation effect are two possible channels.Second,the dynamic decomposition of industry-level wages indicates that the within-firm effect is 0.547,accounting for 31.5 percent of the total variation.Finally,a Mincer-type regression shows that offshoring also increases within-firm skill premiums.Our findings have strong implications for the government related to framing appropriate industrial policies to raise wages and reduce income inequality.

Hourly Wage and the Likelihood of Stealing an Item

Researchers have extensively explored the impact of wages on individuals’ decisions to engage in property crimes. While most of these studies in the past have relied on macro-level data to investigate the relationship between crime rates and hourly wages, this paper takes a novel approach by utilizing micro-level data to examine the influence of hourly wages on the likelihood of stealing an item valued at least $50. The results obtained from the estimations reveal that an increase in hourly wage leads to a decrease in the probability of theft, all other factors being held constant. Further estimation by gender revealed that hourly wages given to both male and female have no bearing on the decision to steal. Additionally, the analysis of the differences in theft probabilities across gender and race demonstrates that males consistently exhibit a higher likelihood of engaging in theft when compared to females across various racial groups.