By Amanda J. Huffman
Abstract
Over the last three decades, wages have stagnated for most American workers, especially men. While demographic characteristics, education, and structural changes are common foci of wage analyses, more subtle factors may also play a role. One potential wage determinant is job mobility: the movement of an individual from job to job over the course of his or her career. The existing literature suggests that job mobility is associated with positive wage returns for workers early in their careers, but that the effect diminishes as workers gain experience and positive wage returns associated with job tenure grow stronger. Thus, the relationships between job mobility, tenure, and wages may depend upon work experience. This study uses a fixed-effects regression model and finds evidence of positive wage returns associated with high voluntary job mobility, which appear to diminish as workers gain experience. The study also finds that tenure is positively associated with higher wages for both low- and high-experience workers, not just for those workers with high work experience. These findings broadly indicate that some work patterns could result in higher average wages than others. A diverse portfolio of labor policies may therefore benefit workers who are just beginning their careers, whereas policies that foster longer tenure may create the greatest opportunity for wage growth among workers later in their careers.
Amanda Huffman completed her Master of Public Policy at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute in 2012. Adam Thomas, PhD, served as her advisor. Currently, she works as a Policy Analyst for Education First, a national, mission-driven strategy and policy consulting firm. Huffman also holds a BA in Religious Studies and Psychology from the University of Virginia.