A COUNTER EVIDENCE FOR THE LAZEAR-MOORE FINDINGS - AN EMPIRICAL-STUDYOF INCENTIVE PART IN THE WAGE STRUCTURE IN JAPAN

This paper examines whether there is an incentive in the wage structur e of employees compared with the wage structure of self-employed worke rs using the most comprehensive survey of workers in Japan. While the estimation results of the whole sample of 35 092 indicate that there i s an incentive, albeit insignificant, when the analysis is concentrate d on petty and small-sized firms, which include most self-employed wor kers, no significant incentive is found. Therefore, the Lazear-Moore f indings may be contaminated by the effect of firm scale.