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SPRING 2006
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Monday, January 30, 2006
Biological Differences, Absenteeism, and the Earning
Gender Gap
ENRICO MORETTI
Professor of Economics, University of California, Berkeley
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Abstract:
In most Western countries, absenteeism is higher among female
workers. This is true even if we consider only illness-related
episodes. In this paper we find that part of this gender difference
in absenteeism may be attributed to a biological difference
between males and females. And that this biological difference
has non-trivial earning consequences for females.
Specifically, we use information on the exact date and duration
of absence episodes in the personnel dataset of a large Italian
bank. The probability of an absence due to illness increases
for females, relative to males, 28 days after the previous illness;
this difference disappears for workers age 45 or older. These
results suggest that menstrual cycles induce an increase in
the hazard of an absence episode.
We present a simple model where employers can not directly observe
workers' productivity, and use observable characteristics (including
absenteeism) to identify productive workers. In the model, men
are absent from work because of health and shirking shocks.
Women face an additional source of absenteeism: menstrual cramps.
Thus signal extraction based on absenteeism is more informative
about shirking for males than for females.
Consistent with the predictions of a simple model, we find that
(1) the relationship between measures of worker quality and
absenteeism is more negative for males
(2) The relationship between earnings and absenteeism is more
negative for males
(3) This difference in slope declines with tenure
Finally, we calculate the earning cost for women. Under some
assumptions, we find that higher absenteeism induced by 28-days
cycles may explain 13 percent of the earnings gender differential.
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Monday, February 6, 2006
Co-sponsored by The Center for Japanese Studies
Myths & Realities of Wage Reform: Evaluating
"Pay for Performance" in the Japanese Firm
TSUYOSHI TSURU
Freeman Visiting Professor of Economics, UC Berkeley
Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University
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Abstract:
Since the mid-1990s, many Japanese firms have implemented
various personnel reforms to cope with long-standing economic
stagnation and to induce greater work effort. It has been
recognized that one of the major problems with Japan’s
HR system is that it puts too much emphasis on potential job
ability and seniority. The solution proposed has been pay
for performance. However, what does pay for performance mean
in the context of the Japanese HR system? What effect does
pay for performance have on intra-firm wage structure and
on individuals’ work effort? This presentation examines
the processes and outcomes of the wage reforms in Japanese
firms, using unique sets of personnel data and questionnaire
survey results.
The empirical analysis reveals the following points. First,
the skill grade compensation system used by Japanese companies
has tended to attach increasing emphasis to seniority. Companies
have found it difficult to solve this problem within the framework
of the existing system. This is the driving force behind the
adoption of the new compensation systems labeled “pay
for performance” in the 1990s and in the New Millennium.
Second, the new systems have in fact altered the compensation
structures of the firms introducing them. Wage distributions
have flattened and wage gaps among employees have widened. Third,
despite reshaping pay structures, Japanese firms may not have
enhanced the overall work effort and individual performance
of their employees. Indeed, by fostering greater divisions and
competition among employees, pay-for-performance systems may
even be counterproductive.
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Monday, March 6, 2006
Offshoring in the Semiconductor Industry
CLAIR BROWN
Professor, Department of Economics
Director, Center for Work, Technology, and Society, IRLE
University of California, Berkeley
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Abtract:
Semiconductor design is one of the many white-collar job categories considered to be at risk from offshoring by U.S. companies via investments and outsourcing. Data about this activity are scarce and hard to interpret, but there is much to be learned from looking at earlier periods in the industry's history when other phases of the semiconductor value chain assembly and fabrication experienced rapid offshore expansion.
Clair Brown will review the lessons from these earlier offshore movements of semiconductor industry jobs, and then discuss the current experience of the offshoring of semiconductor design based on her ongoing field research.
The experience of earlier periods supports the claim by some that offshoring is a reasonable response to the competitive challenges and opportunities facing the semiconductor industry, and that the industry will adapt in ways that aren't necessarily clear from the outset. Nevertheless, there is evidence that some U.S. chip design engineers face at least short-term displacement and hardship as a result of the industry's current round of globalization.
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Monday, March 13, 2006
Globalization or Europeanization?: Changes in European firms and the European Economy since 1980
NEIL FLIGSTEIN
Professor of Sociology, UC Berkeley
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Monday, March 20, 2006
Off Center: The Republican Revolution and the Erosion of American Democracy
PAUL PIERSON
Professor of Political Science, UC Berkeley
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Monday, April 17, 2006
Labor Struggles in the Global South: Current Patterns and the Potential for North-South Solidarity
PETER EVANS
Professor of Sociology, UC Berkeley
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Friday, April 21, 2006
Immigration Conference:
Spotlight on Immigration: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Immigrants and Their Children
Conference Agenda
Interdisciplinary Immigration Workshop
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Monday, April 24, 2006
Reassessing the Efficacy of Workplace Safety Regulations: Evidence from Random OSHA Inspections
MICHAEL GREENSTONE
Visiting Scholar, Economics, M.I.T.
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Monday, May 1, 2006
12:00 - 1:00pm, Director's Room
Do Immigrant Politicians Care More About Immigrants?
The Role of Biography, Economics and Politics on Congressional
Voting
IRENE BLOEMRAAD and NAOMI HSU
Professor of Sociology and Graduate Student, Dept. of Sociology,
UC Berkeley
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