This paper explains shifts in the level of economic activity in Britain in the interwar period, particularly from 1928 to 1937, and relates these to movements in the real wage. The authors' general thesis is that the real wage follows a path that is perfectly consistent with the recession of the...

This paper investigates the relative importance of firm-specific factors (i.e., insider forces) in wage determination. Using firm-level data on 219 U.K. companies over 1974-82, it finds that a 1 percent rise in a firm's prices or productivity relative to the aggregate economy leads to a rise in...

This paper presents an empirical analysis of investment in British industry using data at the industry level and focusing on union effects. The authors find that the rate of investment is around 28 percent lower in firms that recognize unions and have an average union density relative to those...

This paper presents a survey of the economics of unemployment. It covers competitive and imperfect competition models, the role of different methods of wage determination, and explanation of postwar unemployment patterns in the OECD countries. Copyright 1990 by Royal Economic Society.

In the UK the gender pay gap on entry to the labour market is approximately zero but ten years after labour market entry, there is a gender wage gap of almost 25 log points. This article explores the reason for this gender gap in early-career wage growth, considering three main hypotheses -...

This paper investigates the relationship between investments in human capital and R&D in a model of endogenous growth. Both forms of investment exhibit pecuniary externalities and are, as a result, strategic complements. Multiple equilibria may occur for intermediate parameter values and the...