The Value of Working Conditions in the United States and Implications for the Structure of Wages

Abstract

We document variation in working conditions in the United States, present estimates of how workers value these conditions, and assess the impact of working conditions on estimates of wage inequality. We conduct a series of stated-preference experiments to estimate workers’ willingness to pay for a broad set of working conditions, which we validate with actual job choices. We find that working conditions vary substantially, play a significant role in job choice, and are central components of the compensation received by workers. We find that accounting for differences in preferences for working conditions often exacerbates wage differentials and intensifies measures of wage inequality. (JEL J22, J28, J31, J81)

Miss-Allocation: The Value of Workplace Gender Composition and Occupational Segregation

“…One reason the survey presents choices between workplaces, rather than occupations, is that the choice over a specific job rather than an entire occupation is easier to simulate in an online survey setting. Conjoint designs for hypothetical job choices are used frequently in the labor literature, and choices in these surveys have been shown to be correlated with realized job choices (Wiswall and Zafar, 2018;Mas and Pallais, 2017;Maestas et al, 2023;Folke and Rickne, 2022). 9 A choice in an online survey between two specific job offers closely resembles a choice applicants make in real life when they, for instance, select which jobs to apply to on a website.…”

“…To measure the size and shape of gender composition valuations, I design a hypothetical job choice survey experiment to elicit the willingness-to-pay for workplace gender composition. In the vein of Wiswall and Zafar (2018), Mas and Pallais (2017), and Maestas et al (2023), in my survey respondents make several choices between pairs of hypothetical job offers that vary randomly in their pay and demographic composition at different workplaces within a fixed occupation and firm. For example, in one question respondents choose between two jobs as a sales associate at two different locations of the same retail store chain.…”

Searching for meaning in a post-scarcity society. Implications for creativity and job design

“…Many workers deeply care about the meaning of their job and other non-monetary job attributes ( Cassar and Meier, 2018 ). They are also willing to give up income for it ( Hu and Hirsh, 2017 ; Maestas et al, 2018 ). However, it appears that meaningful jobs are becoming an increasingly scarce resource as demand continues to grow ( Cotofan et al, 2023 ).…”

Measuring Job Risks When Hedonic Wage Models Do Not Do the Job

“…Hundreds of hedonic wage studies and dozens of metanalyses (including a metanalysis of metanalyses by Banzhaf 2022), report a positive correlation between on-the-job mortality risks and wages. The VSLs estimated in individual studies are however, heterogeneous, and despite a publication bias that makes small positive and negative VSL values less likely to be reported (Ashenfelter andGreenstone 2004, Doucouliagos et al 2012), there is mounting evidence that lower wage workers tend to experience worse workplace conditions and greater injury rates than would be expected if compensating differentials held (Dorman and Hägstrom 1998, Böckerman and Ilmakunnas 2006, Bonhomme and Jolivet 2009, Maestas et al 2018, Park et al 2021, Dorman and Boden 2021, Clark et al 2022.…”