This paper examines the extent of interindustry wage differences for nonunion workers and finds that even after controlling for a wide range of individual characteristics and geographic location a substantial amount of individual wage variation can be accounted for by industry differences.In the aggrergate industry effects explain at least 6.7% of inter-personal wage variation.At most they explain 30%.used to demonstrate this.High wage industries have lower quit rates, higher labor productivity, fewer women, more educated workers, longer work weeks, a higher ratio of nonwage to wage compensation, higher unionization rates, larger establishments and firms, higher concentration ratios and are more profitable.An analysis of a limited number of industry characteristics in 1939 yields a similar pattern.The implications of these results for alternative theories of wage determination are considered.
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