Wage growth slowed significantly in OECD countries in the 1980s and 1990s.
Market explanations trace the wage slowdown to a recession characterized by
inflationary shocks, high unemployment, and slow productivity growth. Inst
itutional accounts focus on the effects of union density, collective bargai
ning centralization, and labour government. Analysis of time series from 18
countries for 1966 to 1992 yields some evidence for both theories between
1966 and 1974. Bayesian methods indicate a structural break in the wage gro
wth process, linking the wage slowdown of the 1980s to the declining power
of labour movements.