Low-Wage Work in the Wealthy World

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The Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation, one of the oldest of America’s general purpose foundations , was established in 1907 by Mrs. Margaret Olivia Sage for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” The Foundation seeks to fulfill this mandate by fostering the development and dissemination of knowledge about the country’s political, social, and economic problems. While the Foundation endeavors to assure the accuracy and objectivity of each book it publishes, the conclusions and interpretations in Russell Sage Foundation publications are those of the authors and not of the Foundation, its Trustees, or its staff. Publication by Russell Sage, therefore, does not imply Foundation endorsement. BOARD OF TRUSTEES Mary C. Waters, Chair Kenneth D. Brody Kathleen Hall Jamieson Nancy Rosenblum W. Bowman Cutter, III Lawrence F . Katz Shelley E. Taylor Robert E. Denham, Esq. Melvin J. Konner Richard H. Thaler John A. Ferejohn Alan B. Krueger Eric Wanner Larry V. Hedges Sara S. McLanahan Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Low-wage work in the wealthy world / Jérôme Gautié and John Schmitt, editors. p. cm. — (The Russell Sage Foundation case studies of job quality in advanced economies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-87154-061-4 (alk. paper) 1. Wages. 2. Minimum wage. 3. Manpower policy. 4. Labor market. I. Gautié, Jérôme. II. Schmitt, John. HD4917.L69 2010 331.2’1—dc22 2009018701 Copyright © 2010 by Russell Sage Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Reproduction by the United States Government in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials. ANSI Z39.48-1992. Text design by Suzanne Nichols. RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION 112 East 64th Street, New York, New York 10065 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The Russell Sage Foundation’s Project on Low-Wage Work in Europe and the United States Denmark Niels Westergaard-Nielsen, National Research Team Coordinator Ann-Mette Sonne Andersen Nuka Buck Tor Eriksson Lars Esbjerg Jacob Eskildsen Klaus G. Grunert Jingkun Li Niels Moller Anna-Kristina Lokke Nielsen Ole Henning Sorensen France Ève Caroli and Jérôme Gautié, National Research Team Coordinators Anne Marie Arborio Philippe Askenazy Mathieu Beraud Jean-Baptiste Berry Jacques Bouteiller Lise Causse Thierry Colin Emilie Fériel Benoit Grasser Christine Guégnard Annie Lamanthe Philippe Méhaut Sylvie-Anne Meriot Philippe Mossé Sophie Prunier-Poulmaire Germany Gerhard Bosch and Claudia Weinkopf, National Research Team Coordinators Larz Czommer Karen Jaehrling Thorsten Kalina Achim Vanselow Dorothea Voss-Dahm Netherlands Wiemer Salverda and Maarten van Klaveren, National Research Team Coordinators Ria Hermanussen Wim Sprenger Kea Tijdens Marc van der Meer Arjen van Halem United Kingdom Geoff Mason and Ken Mayhew, National Research Team Coordinators Marilyn Carroll Johanna Commander Eli Dutton Damian Grimshaw Susan James Caroline Lloyd Dennis Nickson Matthew Osborne Jonathan Payne Philip Stevens Chris Warhurst Other Volumes in the Low-Wage Work Project Low-Wage America: How Employers Are Reshaping Opportunity in the Workplace , edited by Eileen Appelbaum, Annette Bernhardt, and Richard J. Murnane Low-Wage Work in Denmark, edited by Niels Westergaard-Nielsen Low-Wage Work in France, edited by Ève Caroli and Jérôme Gautié Low-Wage Work in Germany, edited by Gerhard Bosch and Claudia Weinkopf Low-Wage Work in the Netherlands, edited by Wiemer Salverda, Maarten van Klaveren, and Marc van der Meer Low-Wage Work in the United Kingdom, edited by Caroline Lloyd, Geoff Mason, and Ken Mayhew PROJECT ADVISORS Eileen Appelbaum Francine D. Blau Françoise Carré Rosemary Batt Anne Pitts Carter Thomas D. Cook Annette Bernhardt Sheldon Danziger Richard J. Murnane Robert M. Solow Chris Tilly ...