Rents and Quasi Rents in the Wage Structure: Evidence from Hostile Takeovers
David Neumark; Steven, A. Sharpe
Industrial Relations A Journal of Economy and Society 35(2): 145-179
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-8676 DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-232x.1996.tb00400.xDocument Number: 343021
We test whether industry-related variation in wage premium and slopes of wage profiles reflects payments of rents or quasi rents, taking our cue from the wealth-transfer hypothesis, which argues that hostile takeovers target such rents. If these wage structure characteristics reflect extramarginal payments, then hostile takeover attempts that sought to transfer wealth from workers to shareholders should have targeted firms with the highest wage premia or the steepest wage profiles. We find that the likelihood of being a hostile takeover target between 1979 and 1989 was generally unrelated to these industry-related characteristics of the wage structure.