Labour economics

Path analysis (statistics)

Statistics

Social psychology

Wage

Variable (mathematics)

Economics

Occupational mobility

Psychology

Seniority

Mathematics

Political science

Demographic economics

Mathematical analysis

Hourly wage

Antecedent (behavioral psychology)

Journal of Vocational Behavior

Data taken in 1970–1971 from three university-trained occupational groups (2796 engineers, 1430 economists/business-administrators, and 162 basic scientists) in São Paulo's manufacturing industries are used in a path analysis to draw interoccupational comparisons concerning the antecedents of occupational wage differentials. The worker's total hourly wage is the dependent variable. A new variable, occupational influence level, is employed as immediately antecedent to wage, as in job experience (years in the present job). Years of advanced education, age, and seniority in the firm are treated as exogenous variables. Similarities and differences among occupations are discussed. As a whole the analysis illustrates a strategy of comparative occupational analysis.

Occupational wage differentials among university educated technical personnel in a developing economy