Inaugural CILN Conference

Labour Market Institutions and Labour Market Outcomes:
International Perspectives

Thursday, Sept. 5. (Plenary Sessions)

8:15 am - 8:45 am: Breakfast

8:45 am - 9:00 am: Opening Remarks

• Jim JOHNSON (Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, McMaster University)

• Paul LOVEJOY (Vice-President, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada)

9:00 am - 10:40 am: Labour Market Institutions and Distribution of Wages: An Overview

• Chair: Peter Kuhn (McMaster University)

• Richard FREEMAN, (Harvard University, NBER and LSE) Institutions and Wage Distributions: the International Evidence *

• Franz TRAXLER (University of Vienna) Collective Bargaining and Industrial Change: A Case of Disorganization? A Comparative Analysis of 18 OECD Countries

10:40 am -11:10 am: Coffee

11:10 am - 12:50 pm:Labour Market Institutions and Unemployment: An Overview

• Chair: Stephen Jones (McMaster University)

• Lars LJUNGQVIST (Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago) and Thomas Sargent (University of Chicago) The European Unemployment Dilemma

• John MARTIN (OECD, Paris) Unemployment and Related Welfare Benefits in OECD Countries and their Impacts on the Labour Market

12:50 pm - 2:10 pm: Lunch

2:10 pm -3:50 pm:Labour Market Institutions and the Family: An Overview

• Chair: John Burbidge (McMaster University)

• Martin BROWNING (McMaster University) Models of Intrahousehold Allocation: An Overview *

• Jonathan GRUBER (MIT) Social Insurance, Labor Supply, and Well-Being: Costs and Benefits of Government Interventions in the Labor Market *

6:00 pm - 9:00 pm: Conference Dinner

Friday, Sept. 6. (Concurrent Sessions)

9:00 am - 10:30 am:

Session 1 (Wages): Recent Trends in the Canadian Wage Structure

Nelson Room 1

• Chair: Alan Harrison (McMaster University)

• Charles BEACH (Queen's University), G. Slotsve (Vanderbilt University) and François Vaillancourt (Université de Montréal), Inequality and Polarization of Earnings in Canada, 1981-1992

• John BURBIDGE (McMaster University), L. Magee (McMaster University), and A. L. Robb (McMaster University), Canadian Wage Inequality over the last Two Decades

• Garnett PICOT (Statistics Canada), Working Time, Wages, and Earnings Inequality in Canada: 1981-1993

Session 2 (Unemployment): Unemployment Dynamics

Nelson Room 2

• Chair:Stephen Jones (McMaster University)

• Marc van AUDENRODE (Université Laval) and Jonathan Leonard (University of California at Berkeley)The Duration of Unemployment and the Persistence of Wages

• Thierry MAGNAC (DELTA, Paris) State Dependence and Heterogeneity in Youth Employment Histories

• Discussants: Audra Bowlus (University of Western Ontario) and Gerard van den Berg (Free University Amsterdam)

10:30 am - 11:00 am: Coffee

11:00 am - 12:30 pm:

Session 1 (Wages): Unions and the Wage Structure

Nelson Room 1

• Chair: A. Leslie Robb (McMaster University)

• Christoph SCHMIDT (University of Heidelberg) Relative Wage Effects of German Unions

• Richard B. FREEMAN (Harvard University, NBER and LSE), J. Hartog (Universiteit van Amsterdam) and C. Teulings (Universiteit van Amsterdam) An Analysis of the Role of Mandatory Extension in the Dutch System of Labour Relations

• Discussants: Chris Robinson (University of Western Ontario) and John Kennan (University of Wisconsin)

Session 2 (Unemployment): Effects of Unemployment Insurance Policies

Nelson Room 2

• Chair: David Green (University of British Columbia)

• Gerard VAN DEN BERG (Free University of Amsterdam), J. H. Abbring (University of Amsterdam) and J.C. van Ours (Tinbergen Institute), The Effect of Unemployment Insurance Sanctions on the Transition rate from Unemployment to Employment

• David SCOONES (University of Texas, Austin) and Daniel S. Hamermesh (University of Texas, Austin), Multilevel 'General Policy Equilibria': Evidence from the American UI Tax Ceiling.

• Discussants: Stephen Jones (McMaster University) and Miles Corak (Statistics Canada)

12:30 pm - 2:00 pm: Lunch

2:00 pm -3:30 pm:

Session 1 (Family): Intrahousehold Allocation

Nelson Room 1

• Chair: John Myles (Florida State University)

• Valérie LECHENE (INRA, Paris), Martin Browning (McMaster University) and Wasif Rasheed (McMaster University) Testing Between Cooperative and Non-cooperative Models of Intra-Household Allocation

• R. Pollak (Washington University), Shelly LUNDBERG (University of Washington), and T. Wales (University of British Columbia) Do Husbands and Wives Pool their Resources? Evidence from the U.K. Child Benefit

• Discussants: Bentley MacLeod (Boston College) and Francis Woolley (Carleton University)

Session 2 (Unemployment): Policy Effects and Unemployment

Nelson Room 2

• Chair: Craig Riddell (University of British Columbia)

• Thomas CROSSLEY (York University) and Martin Browning (McMaster University) Unemployment Insurance Benefit Levels and Consumption Changes

• Michael BAKER (University of Toronto) and Dwayne Benjamin (University of Toronto) How Do Retirement Tests Affect the Labour Supply Behaviour of Older Men?

• Discussant: Daniel Hamermesh (University of Texas, Austin) and Peter Kuhn (McMaster University)

3:30-4:00 pm:Coffee

4:00 pm - 5:30 pm:

Session 1 (Family):Poverty and Child Health

Nelson Room 1

• Chair: Martin Browning (McMaster University)

• David CHEAL (University of Winnipeg) The Role of the Welfare State in the Distribution of Poverty over the Life Course in Canada and the United States

• Martin DOOLEY (McMaster University), Lori Curtis (McMaster University), Ellen L. Lipman (McMaster University) and David H. Feeny (McMaster University) Child Health and Family Socioeconomic Status: Application of Health Utilities Index to the Ontario Child Health Study

• Discussants: Julia O'Connor (McMaster University) and Janet Currie (UCLA)

Session 2 (Unemployment): Reallocation Dynamics

Nelson Room 2

• Chair: Miles Corak (Statistics Canada)

• Giuseppe Bertola (Universita di Torino, NBER, CPER) and Richard ROGERSON (University of Minnesota) Institutions and Labor Reallocation

• Jaap H. ABBRING (University of Amsterdam), Gerard van den Berg (Free University of Amsterdam), and Jan van Ours (Tinbergen Institute) Trends, Cycles and Compositional Variation in US Unemployment: 1967-1995

• Discussants: Eric Smith (University of Essex) and Jeff Smith (University of Western Ontario)

5:30 pm: Bus departs for Optional Harbour Dinner Cruise

Saturday, Sept. 7.

9:00 am - 10:30 am:

Session 1 (Wages):Minimum Wages and the Wage Distribution

Nelson Room 1

• Chair: Garnett Picot (Statistics Canada)

• Nicole FORTIN (Université de Montréal) and Thomas Lemieux (Université de Montréal), Institutional Changes and Rising Wage Inequality: Is There a Link?

• David GREEN (University of British Columbia) and Harry Paarsch (University of Western Ontario), The Effect of the Minimum Wage on the Distribution of Teenage Wages in Canada

• Discussants: Wayne Lewchuk (McMaster University) and Lonnie Magee (McMaster University)

Session 2 (Family):Family Policy

Nelson Room 2

• Chair:Martin Dooley (McMaster University)

• Chris RUHM (University of North Carolina) The Economic Consequences of Parental Leave Mandates: Lessons from Europe

• John MYLES (Florida State University) and Jill Quadagno (Florida State University) Recent Trends in Public Pension Reform: A Comparative View

• Discussants: Stephen Machin (University College London) and John Burbidge (McMaster University)

10:30 am - 11:00 am: Coffee

11:00 am - 12:30 pm:

Session 1 (Wages):Technology, Skills and the Wage Distribution

Nelson Room 1

• Chair: Peter Kuhn (McMaster University)

• Kelly BEDARD (McMaster University) and Chris Ferrall (Queen's University), Test Scores and Wage Inequality: Some International Evidence

• Stephen MACHIN (University College, London and LSE), Annette Ryan (University College, London and the Institute for Fiscal Studies) and John van Reenen (University College, London and the Institute for Fiscal Studies) Technology and Changes in Skill Structure: Evidence from an International Panel of Industries

• Discussants: W. Craig Riddell (University of British Columbia) and Eli Berman (Boston University)

2:00 pm: Bus departs for Optional Niagara Falls and Tour/Tasting at 30 Bench Winery

Sunday Sept. 8

Boardrooms 121 and 123 available all day for working group meetings.