Labor market competition and nurses' earnings: An economic analysis

Two hypotheses concerning the earnings of professional nurses were tested: () that increased competition among hospitals for the services of nurses will increase nurses' earnings; () that adoption of collective bargaining arrangements will lead to higher nursing salaries. Data for the study were obtained mainly from the 1‐in‐100 public use sample of the 1970 U.S. Census of Population and the 1970 American Hospital Association annual survey of hospitals. The sample consisted of 694 married registered nurses who worked full time in hospitals and resided in the 123 largest metropolitan areas of the United States in 1969. Multivariate regression analysis of these data yielded evidence supporting both hypotheses. Nursing salaries in one‐hospital metropolitan areas were found to be 10%–11% less than those in areas with many hospitals, other things being equal. In addition, the presence of collective bargaining agreements appeared to enhance nursing salaries.