Wage Dispersion and Productive Efficiency: Evidence for Sweden
利用瑞典工资压缩与随后解压的历史数据，通过回归分析检验工资离散度对生产效率的影响，发现行业内工资平等化未提升生产率，但行业间工资差异缩小促进了总产出和生产率增长。
The effects of wage dispersion on productive efficiency is a topic rich in theoretical conjecture, a common object of Scandinavian polemical debate and at the same time an issue almost barren of systematic econometric evidence. The Swedish record of enormous compression of relative wages under the institutional regime of centralized solidarity bargaining, followed by substantial de-compression of wages after central bargaining broke down, supplies observations well suited for empirical testing of theories and assertions about the response of productive efficiency to shifts in wage distribution. Results presented in this paper obtained from regression experiments based on distribution-augmented production and labor productivity functions yield no support of &#39fairness, morale and cohesiveness&#39 theories implying that wage leveling within workplaces and industries may enhance productivity. We do find substantial evidence, however, that reduction of inter-industry wage differentials contributed positively to aggregate output and productivity growth, most likely for the structural reasons first emphasized by leading Swedish trade union economists almost a half century ago.