Wage Posting or Wage Bargaining? A Test Using Dual Jobholders
Upjohn Author ORCID Identifier
Series
National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 28409
Issue Date
January 2021, Revised December 2021
Abstract
We employ a revealed-preference test to distinguish between wage posting and wage bargaining in the labor market. Using a sample of dual jobholders in Washington State, we estimate the sensitivity of wages and separation rates to wage shocks in a secondary job. In lower parts of the wage distribution, improvements in the outside option lead to higher separations rates but not to higher wages, consistent with wage posting. In the highest wage quartile, improved outside options translate to higher wages, but not higher separation rates, consistent with bargaining. In the aggregate, bargaining appears to be a limited determinant of wage setting.
Publisher
National Bureau of Economic Research
DOI
10.3386/w28409
Published Version
In Journal of Labor Economics 40: S469–S493
Subject Areas
LABOR MARKET ISSUES; Employment relationships; Turnover; Wages, health insurance and other benefits
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Citation
Lachowska, Marta, Alexandre Mas, Raffaele Saggio, and Stephen A. Woodbury. 2021. "Wage Posting or Wage Bargaining? A Test Using Dual Jobholders." National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper 28409. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w28409