Abstract:
We examine the effects of firm and co-worker characteristics on wages using matched worker-firm data from Swedish cigar workers in 1902/03. While in more recent data sets firm size and profitability both increase wages, we find limited firm effects, with profitability increasing earnings for men only. We measure peer quality using the average experience level of co-workers and find that low-experience women earn more when working with more experienced female co-workers, while co-workers had no effect on the earnings of high-experience women. This pattern is consistent with knowledge spillover among women workers. Men did not gain from co-worker experience, and high-experience men may have earned less when working with more experienced male co-workers.