Three essays on fringe benefit compensation
Abstract
Three essays explore the relationship between the composition of the work force and the provision of fringe benefits. In the first essay, a one-period model is developed which shows that a firm will offer non-wage compensation and that a firm adjusts the amount of benefits offered in response to the composition of its work force. The model is tested using data from the May 1988 Current Population Survey on employer-sponsored health insurance plans. Worker characteristics such as gender, education, and tenure at the firm are found to affect the probability that an employee is covered by an employer-sponsored health insurance plan. In the second essay, employer-provided retiree health insurance is used to develop a two period model in which heterogeneous workers need to be vested to receive health insurance after retirement. It is shown that firms will offer benefits to its workers and that the firms will adjust the amount of benefits given based on the composition of the work force. This model is tested with data from the 1988 Bureau of Labor Statistic's Employee Benefits Survey and from the May 1988 Current Population Survey. Tests show that the probability a firm offers retiree health insurance is determined in part by the characteristics of the firm's work force. The third essay uses a three-period model to explore the reduction of "permanent" turnover with a parental leave plan. In this steady-state model, a proportion of the workers hired and trained in the first period quit in the second period and return to the labor force in the third. It is shown that the firm has incentives to offer leave. The model is tested using 1988 BLS Employee Benefits Survey data and 1988 May Current Population Survey and Supplemental Survey on Employee Benefits data. It is found that large firms and firms with a high average education level are more likely to offer parental leave programs. High levels of per capita taxes and unionism decrease the probability a firm offered parental leave.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Barron, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Labor economics
Off-Campus Purdue Users:
To access this dissertation, please log in to our
proxy server.