Testing for Factor Price Equality in the Presence of Unobserved Factor Quality Diferences
August 2009
Working Paper Number:
CES-09-22
Abstract
We develop a method for identifying departures from relative factor price equality across regions that is valid under general assumptions about production, markets and factors. Application of this method to the United States reveals substantial and increasing deviations in relative skilled wages across labor markets in both 1972 and 1992. These deviations vary systematically with labor markets .industry structure both in the cross section and over time.
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econometric,
market,
macroeconomic,
industrial,
labor,
monopolistic,
price,
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factory,
heterogeneity,
pricing,
economically,
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wage variation,
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