Prevailing wage laws, which require that construction workers employed by private contractors on public projects be paid wages and benefits at least equal to those 'prevailing' for similar work in or near the locality in which the project is located, have been the focus of an extensive policy...

Using a longitudinal survey of fast-food restaurants in Texas, the authors examine the impact of recent increases in the federal minimum wage on a low-wage labor market. Less than 5% of fast-food restaurants were using the new youth subminimum wage in July/August 1991, even though the vast...

This study analyzes the extent to which the state of the doctorate manpower market can be appraised by the proportion of new Ph.D.s seeking work but having no specific job prospects. A model is developed relating that market indicator to the supply and demand for graduates and relating...

Using data from a 1986 survey of employers and a 1982-83 survey of union organizers, the authors investigate the determinants and consequences of employer opposition to union organizing drives. They find that strong management opposition, as evidenced by, for example, the filing of formal...

This study investigates the impact of unionization on closures of firms, business lines, and establishments. Analyzing data from two major data sets-one (from the COMPUSTAT files) on the union status of solvent and insolvent enterprises and business lines, and one (obtained by matching files...

This study examines the effect of trade unionism on the dispersion of wages among male wage and salary workers in the private sector in the United States. It finds that the application of union wage policies designed to standardize rates within and across establishments significantly reduces...

This study analyzes the impact of unionism on fringes paid to production workers, using data on individual establishments. It compares fringe expenditures in establishments having the same level of compensation per hour and finds that unionism raises the share of compensation allotted to...

This study analyzes establishment-level data primarily to examine the effect of unionism on the wage structure within establishments. The major finding is that within-establishment dispersion of wages is significantly narrower in unionized than in nonunionized establishments, a pattern the...