Digital Commons Network^™

Piece Rate Payment Schemes And The Employment Of Women : The Case Of Hong Kong, John S. Heywood, Xiangdong Wei

Centre for Public Policy Studies : CPPS Working Paper Series

Past studies unanimously confirm that establishments with high shares of women workers are much more likely to adopt piece rate schemes. This result follows the presumption that women are poorly motivated by deferred compensation because of their shorter expected tenure. An original survey of establishments provides the first test of the determinants of piece rates in Hong Kong. Unique survey questions identify the presence of deferred compensation for which the share of women was presumably a proxy. Despite these controls and their significance, the share of women fully retains its role. We suggest an alternatives to the received theory behind …