Abstract
The empirical results of this paper are indicative of overall labor market integration. Segmentation theories are not supported by the high covariability of wage rates supported by this test. If segmentation theories are to mean more than that relative wages differ among industries, proponents of such theories must argue that segmented markets are cut off from other markets and able to resist the forces of supply and demand. Indeed if labor unions are to be able to insulate workers from market forces they must also segment their markets. The results of this paper indicate that unions are not able to insulate their workers from market forces.
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We are grateful to William Boyes, Dennis Logue, John Bishop, Stephen E. Baldwin, William McEachern, Roger Sherman, and Robert Tollison for comments on earlier versions and to James Bennett and an unidentified referee for comments on this final version.
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Amacher, R.C., Sweeney, R.J. On the integration of labor markets: A definition and test of the radical — Segmentation hypothesis. Journal of Labor Research 2, 25–37 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02685120
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02685120