Regional Earnings Differences in Great Britain: Evidence from the New Earnings Survey

Abstract

HEMMINGS P. J. (1991) Regional earnings differences in Great Britain: evidence from the New Earnings Survey, Reg. Studies 25, 123–133. Previous analysis comparing earnings between regions of Great Britain has concentrated upon the earnings of male employees. Using a large micro data base, this paper takes a broader approach by examining earnings differences for female and part-time employees as well as male employees. Human capital models are used to explain the variation in earnings in terms of characteristic differences and reward effects. A restricted model, with no regional element is tested against more general models which allow for regional variation in the constant term only, and in both the constant and coefficients of the equations. The most general model indicates that equations for the earnings of males display greater regional heterogeneity than those for females, whilst the South East of England is the most distinctive region in terms of employee characteristics and in the returns to those e...