ABSTRACT
Institutional economists have frequently observed systematic differences among firms in their wage strategies (Dunlop, 1957; Doeringer and Piore, 1985; Hildebrand, 1963). Some firms deliberately adopt policies of paying high wages, others pay the "going or average" rate, and still others offer below-average compensation (Reynolds, 1951). More recent quantitative studies of inter-establishment wage structures confirm this finding and there is evidence that these pay differences persist over long periods of time (Groshen, 1988a, 1988b).
