Francine D. Blau

Francine D. Blau, professor of industrial and labor relations, and Lawrence M. Kahn, professor of labor economics and collective bargaining, both at Cornell University, will prepare an international study of labor market institutions (such as collective bargaining, unemployment insurance, and family leave) and their impact on labor market outcomes, including unemployment, wage trends, inequality, and women's pay. Contrasting the labor market performance of the United States with that of other OECD and East European nations, Blau and Kahn will combine international data with in-depth studies of individual nations to assess the costs and benefits of labor market interventions. Can labor market institutions, or the lack of them, explain the enviable U.S. unemployment record of recent years? Is the institutional makeup of the U.S. labor market also responsible for more worrying trends, such as the growth in inequality, wage stagnation, and a gap between the pay of men and women that still compares unfavorably with other OECD nations?

Working Papers:

• Do Cognitive Test Scores Explain Higher U.S. Wage Inequality?
• Gender Differences in Pay
• Understanding Young Women's Marriage Decisions: The Role of Labor and Marriage Market Conditions