Human Capital and Information: The Employer Size-Wage Effect

Abstract

This paper examines the issue of the establishment size-wage effect. It analyzes a cross-section for the year 1979, with information on 607 individuals and the 60 private sector establishments where they work. It discusses four theories of the establishment size-wage effect and uses empirical proxies to test them. It shows that when a dummy variable on computer access in the establishment is introduced as a regressor, the establishment size variable is an insignificant regressor. This result and other evidence supports the contention that the establishment size coefficient captures the effect of unobserved human capital accumulation.