Wage Inequalities in East and West

by Dominique Redor

Overview

This book analyzes wage hierarchy in market and planning theory, and how these theories can be used as a basis for the comparison of wage structures in Western and Soviet-type systems. The author analyzes statistical data from ten countries in both systems at the beginning of the eighties, and attempts to account for wage dispersion by examining such factors as education and training, discrimination against women, and market structure, as well as the influence of systemic factors. Professor Redor asserts that systemic differences are not the most significant determinants of wage inequality (the Soviet Union is found to be on a par with the United Kingdom for example), and argues that similarities between the two systems in the dispersion of wages are due to similar patterns of work organization and wage policies within firms, and that many determinants of wage inequality are in fact common to both systems.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521395311
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	12/10/1992
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.67(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; Introduction; Part I. The Analysis of Wage Structures in the Western System and in the Soviet-type System: 1. The wage hierarchy in the market and planning theories; 2. Constructing a comparative model of wage structures; 3. A statistical analysis of the wage dispersion; 4. Analyzing intersector earning differences; 5. Stability and adaptation of wage structures; Part II. Why are the Wage Structures in both Systems so Similar: 6. Two different types of wage regulation; 7. The structuring role of sectors and large firms in the two systems; 8. Pay and the division of labour between manual and non-manual workers; 9. The dispersion of disposable incomes of households in the two systems; 10. A tentative synthesis; Conclusion; Appendix; Glossary; Statistical sources and bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...an important book....well argued and useful....I would highly recommend the empirical part of the book. Despite the disappearance of socialism, the empirical part has not lost its relevance simply because wage structure is a sluggish series that changes slowly. Redor's results will therefore remain useful for a number of years to come." Branko Milanovic, Journal of Comparative Economics

From the Publisher