Eleventh Edition Contemporary Labor Economics Campbell R McConnell Stanley L Brue David A Macpherson Contemporary Labor Economics Eleventh Edition Campbell R McConnell University of Nebraska Stanley L Brue Pacific Lutheran University David A Macpherson Trinity University CONTEMPORARY LABOR ECONOMICS, ELEVENTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill Education, Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121 Copyright © 2017 by McGrawHill Education All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Previous editions © 2013, 2010, and 2008 No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States This book is printed on acid-free paper DOC/DOC ISBN 978-1-259-29060-2 MHID 1-259-29060-3 Senior Vice President, Products & Markets: Kurt L Strand Vice President, General Manager, Products & Markets: Marty Lange Vice President, Content Design & Delivery: Kimberly Meriwether David Managing Director: James Heine Brand Manager: Katie Hoenicke Director, Product Development: Rose Koos Product Developer: Sarah Otterness Marketing Manager: Virgil Lloyd Director of Digital Content: Douglas Ruby Digital Product Analyst: Kevin Shanahan Director, Content Design & Delivery: Linda Avenarius Program Manager: Faye M Herrig Content Project Managers: Jane Mohr, Bruce Gin, and Karen Jozefowicz Buyer: Jennifer Pickel Design: Studio Montage, St Louis, MO Content Licensing Specialist: Beth Thole Cover Image: Ingram Publishing/SuperStock ® Compositor: Aptara , Inc Printer: R R Donnelley All credits appearing on page or at the end of the book are considered to be an extension of the copyright page Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McConnell, Campbell R. Brue, Stanley L., 1945 Macpherson, David A., 1960 Contemporary labor economics/Campbell R McConnell, University of Nebraska, Stanley L Brue, Pacific Lutheran University, David A Macpherson, Trinity University Eleventh Edition. Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill Education, 2015. The McGraw-Hill series economics Revised edition of Contemporary labor economics, 2013 LCCN 2015037756 ISBN 13: 978-1-259-29060-2 (alk paper) ISBN 10: 1-259-29060-3 (alk paper) LCSH: Labor economics LCC HD4901 M15 2015 DDC 331—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015037756 The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication The inclusion of a website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGrawHill Education does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites mheducation.com/highered About the Authors Campbell R McConnell earned his PhD from the University of Iowa after receiving degrees from Cornell College and the University of Illinois He taught at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln from 1953 until his retirement in 1990 He is also the coauthor of the leading introductory economics textbook Economics, 20/e (McGraw-Hill/Irwin), as well as Essentials of Economics, 3/e, and the brief editions of Macroeconomics and Microeconomics (all McGraw-Hill/ Irwin) He has also edited readers for the principles and labor economics courses He is a recipient of both the University of Nebraska Distinguished Teaching Award and the James A Lake Academic Freedom Award and is past president of the Midwest Economics Association His primary areas of interest are labor economics and economic education He has an impressive collection of jazz recordings and enjoys reading jazz history Stanley L Brue did his undergraduate work at Augustana College (SD) and received its Distinguished Achievement Award in 1991 He received his PhD from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln He was a professor at Pacific Lutheran University, where he has been honored as recipient of the Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Award He has also received the national Leavey Award for excellence in economic education Professor Brue has served as national president and chair of the Board of Trustees of Omicron Delta Epsilon International Economics Honorary He is coauthor of Economic Scenes, 5/e (Prentice-Hall); Economics, 20/e (McGraw-Hill/ Irwin); The Evolution of Economic Thought, 7/e (South-Western); Essentials of Economics, 3/e (McGraw-Hill/Irwin); and the brief editions of Macroeconomics and Microeconomics (McGraw-Hill/Irwin) For relaxation, he enjoys international travel, attending sporting events, and skiing with family and friends David A Macpherson received his undergraduate degree and PhD from The Pennsylvania State University He is the E M Stevens Professor of Economics at Trinity University Professor Macpherson is the author of many articles in leading labor economics and industrial relations journals, including the Journal of Labor Economics, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, and the Journal of Human Resources He is coauthor of the annual Union Membership and Earnings Data Book: Compilations from the Current Population Survey, published by the Bureau of National Affairs He is also coauthor of Pensions and Productivity and Economics: Private and Public Choice, 15/e His specialty is applied labor economics Professor Macpherson has served as vice-president of the Southern Economic Association His current research interests include pensions, discrimination, industry deregulation, labor unions, and the minimum wage He enjoys listening to classic rock, seeing movies and plays, seeing the world, and going to the seashore with his family iii Preface THE ELEVENTH EDITION One benefit of authoring a text that has met the test of the market is the opportunity to revise Revision provides for improvement—to delete the archaic and install the novel, to rectify errors of omission or commission, to rewrite misleading or obscure statements, to introduce more relevant illustrations, to bring more recent data to bear, to upgrade organizational structure, and to enhance pedagogical aids—in short, to build on an accepted framework of ideas We feel that those who examine this new eleventh edition of Contemporary Labor Economics will agree that we have fully exploited this opportunity This new edition incorporates many significant changes, several of which were motivated by the comments of colleagues and students We are especially grateful to the scholars cited in the acknowledgments who provided reviews of the various editions or commented on drafts of the new edition New Topics and Expanded Discussions New, revised, and expanded discussions permeate the eleventh edition Some of the more important changes are: • Economic Trends: This edition includes a number of discussions related to recent economic trends For example, this edition includes new World of Work boxes on the decline in labor force participation (Chapter 3), decline in the gender wage gap among young adults (Chapter 14), and growing gap between productivity and compensation (Chapter 17) The text also includes new discussions of changes in labor supply (Chapter 2) and the slowdown in productivity growth (Chapter 17) This edition also has updated data throughout the text • Public policy issues This edition includes a number of new discussions of public policy issues, including health care reform, unions, occupational licensing, pollution, teacher tenure, public sector pay, minimum wages, and discrimination New World of Work Sections Fifteen of the World of Work boxes are new to this edition The new titles to this edition are: Work Hours Linked to Pollution; Labor Supply of Florida Lobster Fishermen; Why Has the Labor Force Participation Rate Fallen?; What You Did in High School Matters; Has Health Care Reform Caused a Shift to Part-time Work?; End of Teacher Tenure?; Who Cares and Does It Matter?; Will College Athletes Join Unions?; The Cost of a Union Member; Beaches, Sunshine, and Public Sector Pay; Does the Minimum Wage Increase Drunk Driving? Who Can Whiten Teeth?; iv Preface v The Gender Wage Gap Among Millennials; Thinking of Quitting? The Boss Knows; and Growing Gap Between Productivity and Compensation Learning Objectives At the beginning of every chapter, a learning objective is provided for each heading within the chapter DISTINGUISHING FEATURES At the hazard of immodesty, we feel that this volume embodies a number of features that distinguish it from other books in the field Content In the area of subject matter, the emphasis in Chapter and elsewhere on allocative efficiency is both unique and desirable The efficiency emphasis makes students realize that society has an interest in how labor markets function Chapter brings together the literature on the principal–agent problem and the “new economics of personnel” in a single, focused chapter Chapter on the wage structure has been consistently praised by instructors for providing a thorough, systematic treatment of wage differentials and a simplified presentation of the hedonic wage theory The comprehensive analyses of the impacts of unions and government on labor markets found in Chapters 10–13 also set this book apart Chapter 14 provides extensive analysis of labor market discrimination and antidiscrimination policies Chapter 15 discusses job search within and outside the firm Chapter 16 confines its focus almost entirely to the distribution of personal earnings, rather than the usual discussion of the distribution of income and the poverty problem We believe this approach is more relevant for a textbook on labor economics The critical topic of labor productivity has been largely ignored or treated in a piecemeal fashion in other books We have upgraded this topic by according it extensive treatment in Chapter 17 Chapter 18 looks at employment and unemployment through a stock–flow perspective and uses the aggregate demand– aggregate supply model to examine natural versus cyclic unemployment Finally, the appendix provides a comprehensive discussion of information sources that can be used to widen and deepen the reader’s understanding of the field Organization and Presentation We have put great stress on the logical organization of subject matter, not only chapter by chapter but within each chapter We have sought to develop the subject matter logically from micro to macro, from simple theory to real-world complications, and from analysis to policy Similarly, considerable time has been spent in seeking the optimal arrangement of topics within each chapter Chapter subheadings have been used liberally; our feeling is that the student should always be aware of the organizational structure and directional flow of the subject matter v vi Preface Many key topics of labor economics will be intellectually challenging for most students We have tried not to impair student understanding with clumsy or oblique exposition Our purpose is to communicate effectively with students To this end, we have taken great care that our writing be clear, direct, and uncluttered It is our goal that the material contained herein be highly accessible to the typical college undergraduate who has limited training in economics Pedagogical Features We have included a variety of pedagogical devices that instructors tell us significantly contribute to student understanding First, the introduction of each chapter states the goals of the chapter and, in many cases, relates the chapter to prior or future chapters In addition, the learning objectives for each major head in the chapter are provided Second, end-of-chapter summaries provide a concise, point-by-point recapitulation of each chapter Third, key terms and concepts are highlighted at the end of each chapter, and a comprehensive glossary of these and other terms is located at the end of the book Fourth, ample lists of questions are provided at the end of each chapter These range from open-ended discussion questions to numerical problems that let students test their understanding of basic analytical concepts Fifth, each chapter includes one or two Internet exercises and links that help students increase their understanding of the material as well as obtain the most current data available Sixth, relevant historical statistics that are valuable to both students and instructors are included at the end of the text Seventh, the within-chapter “Quick Review” summaries and “Your Turn” questions should help students identify key points and study for exams Furthermore, as indicated previously, the appendix of the book lists and discusses ways the interested reader can update statistical materials found in the book and continue the learning process beyond the course Finally, we have included 66 short “World of Work” minireadings in this edition Supplements The following ancillaries are available for quick download and convenient access via the Instructor Resource material available through McGraw-Hill Connect® Instructor’s Manual Contemporary Labor Economics is accompanied by a comprehensive Instructor’s Manual by author David Macpherson Among other features, it contains chapter outlines and learning objectives, and answers to end-of-chapter text questions PowerPoint Slides An extensive set of PowerPoint slides is available for each chapter These slides, which highlight the main points of each chapter using animation, are available via the instructor resource material available through McGraw-Hill Connect® Preface vii Test Bank Authored by David Macpherson, the Test Bank offers multiple-choice and fill-inthe-blank questions categorized by level of difficulty, AACSB learning categories, Bloom’s taxonomy, and topic Computerized Test Bank McGraw-Hill’s EZ Test is a flexible and easy-to-use electronic resting program that allows you to create tests from book-specific items It accommodates a wide range of question types, and you can add your own questions Multiple versions of the test can be created, and any test can be exported for use with course management systems EZ Test Online gives you a place to administer your EZ Test-created exams and quizzes online In addition, you can access the test bank through McGraw-Hill Connect Plus ® Required=Results McGraw-Hill Connect® Learn Without Limits Connect is a teaching and learning platform that is proven to deliver better results for students and instructors Connect empowers students by continually adapting to deliver precisely what they need, when they need it, and how they need it, so your class time is more engaging and effective 88% of instructors who use Connect require it; instructor satisfaction increases by 38% when Connect is required Using Connect improves passing rates by 10.8% and retention by 16.4% Analytics Connect Insight® Connect Insight is Connect’s new one-of-a-kind visual analytics dashboard—now available for both instructors and students—that provides at-a-glance information regarding student performance, which is immediately actionable By presenting assignment, assessment, and topical performance results together with a time metric that is easily visible for aggregate or individual results, Connect Insight gives the user the ability to take a just-in-time approach to teaching and learning, which was never before available Connect Insight presents data that empowers students and helps instructors improve class performance in a way that is efficient and effective Mobile Connect’s new, intuitive mobile interface gives students and instructors flexible and convenient, anytime–anywhere access to all components of the Connect platform Students can view their results for any Connect course Adaptive More students earn A’s and B’s when they use McGraw-Hill Education Adaptive products SmartBook® Proven to help students improve grades and study more efficiently, SmartBook contains the same content within the print book, but actively tailors that content to the needs of the individual SmartBook’s adaptive technology provides precise, personalized instruction on what the student should next, guiding the student to master and remember key concepts, targeting gaps in knowledge and offering customized feedback, and driving the student toward comprehension and retention of the subject matter Available on smartphones and tablets, SmartBook puts learning at the student’s fingertips—anywhere, anytime Over billion questions have been answered, making McGraw-Hill Education products more intelligent, reliable, and precise www.learnsmartadvantage.com THE FIRST AND ONLY ADAPTIVE READING EXPERIENCE DESIGNED TO TRANSFORM THE WAY STUDENTS READ .. .Contemporary Labor Economics Eleventh Edition Campbell R McConnell University of Nebraska Stanley L Brue Pacific Lutheran University David A Macpherson Trinity University CONTEMPORARY LABOR ECONOMICS, ... 608 Data Tables 618 Contemporary Labor Economics Chapter Labor Economics: Introduction and Overview After reading this chapter, you should be able to: Explain why labor economics is justified... field of economics devoted to labor Yet the focal point of our approach is the application of economic reasoning to labor markets and labor issues ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE Contemporary labor economics