LEVELS OF RESPONSIBILITY IN JOBS AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF EARNINGS AMONG US ENGINEERS, 1961-1986

This study, using data from the Professional, Administrative, Technica l, and Clerical Pay Survey and the Current Population Survey, examines how the assignment of responsibility within firms affected the struct ure of wages of U.S. engineers between 1961 and 1986. Patterns of wage dispersion in this sample mirrored patterns found in broader segments of the labor market during the same period. In engineering, wage disp ersion within levels of responsibility fell steadily between 1976 and 1986, while wage dispersion between levels rose. At the same time, eng ineering jobs began to migrate to lower levels within firms. The autho r explains the trends in wages and job assignments as responses to cha nges in the supply of and demand for engineers, within the framework o f hierarchy models of responsibility.