Equivariant Alperin-Robinson's Conjecture reduces to almost-simple k*-groups

In a recent paper, Gabriel Navarro and Pham Huu Tiep show that the so-called Alperin Weight Conjecture can be verified via the Classification of the Finite Simple Groups, provided any simple group fulfills a very precise list of conditions. Our purpose here is to show that the equivariant refinement of the Alperin's Conjecture for blocks formulated by Geoffrey Robinson in the eighties can be reduced to checking the same statement on any central k*-extension of any finite almost-simple group, or of any finite simple group up to verifying an "almost necessary" condition. In an Appendix we develop some old arguments that we need in the proof

Human Resource Management Practices and Wage Dispersion in U.S. Establishments

This paper explores the relationship between the presence of employee involvement workplace practices and wage dispersion within firms. Using the representative sample of U.S. establishments from the National Employer Survey conducted in 1994 and 1997, the paper explores the links between employee involvement workplace practices adoption and intensity of use (measured by the percentage of a firm's workers who operate under a given practice) and wage inequality within companies using OLS as well as quantile regressions. The results suggest that adoption of employee involvement workplace practices is associated with greater wage dispersion. Compared to establishments not using any of the involvement practices, firms that adopt a partial system or full system of practices, including regular problem-solving meetings and/or self-managed team and/or job rotation, have significantly greater wage dispersion. On the other hand, firms that complement the practices with training for production workers (on teamwork or other problem-solving meetings) have lower dispersion than those who do not complement with training. The results based on employee involvement intensity of use show evidence of compression effects associated with self-managed teamwork in the manufacturing sector at the 25th percentile or for low wage dispersion firms. There is also evidence of wage compression effects associated with problem-solving meetings in the non-manufacturing sector for high wage dispersion firms.

The Role of Comparative Advantage and Learning in Wage Dynamics and Intrafirm Mobility: Evidence from Germany

This paper analyzes the dynamics of wages and workers' mobility within firms with a hierarchical structure of job levels. The theoretical model proposed by Gibbons and Waldman (1999), that combines the notions of human capital accumulation, job rank assignments based on comparative advantage and learning about workers' abilities, is implemented empirically to measure the importance of these elements in explaining the wage policy of firms. Survey data from the GSOEP (German Socio-Economic Panel) are used to draw conclusions on the common features characterizing the wage policy of firms from a large sample of firms. The GSOEP survey also provides information on the worker's rank within his firm which is usually not available in other surveys. The results are consistent with non-random selection of workers onto the rungs of a job ladder. There is no direct evidence of learning about workers' unobserved abilities but the analysis reveals that unmeasured ability is an important factor driving wage dynamics. Finally, job rank effects remain significant even after controlling for measured and unmeasured characteristics.Wage dynamics, intra-firm mobility, human capital accumulation, unobserved heterogeneity, learning