Compensating Differentials for Shift Work

A model analyzing the choice of shift is developed and estimated using data from two supplements to the Current Population Survey. The findings show a positive wage premium for shift work that varies with personal characteristics, and there is strong evidence showing the importance of self-selection, as workers with low potential daytime earnings are more likely to choose night work and supplement their earnings. The findings demonstrate that cross-section estimates of wage premiums for union membership and firm size are biased upward because they pick up some of the compensation differentials for shift work. Copyright 1990 by University of Chicago Press.