Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Kelly, Kimberly

Committee Member

Jones, James D.

Committee Member

Weiss, Harald E.

Committee Member

Brauner-Otto, Sarah

Date of Degree

5-12-2012

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Major

Sociology

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Sociology

Abstract

This study focuses on the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic work rewards among women and men in 12 post-industrial nations in the Global North. Guiding my analyses was Esping-Andersen’s theoretical framework and the following three main research questions: (1) how individual attributes and national policies influence the salience individuals assign to intrinsic and extrinsic rewards; (2) how individual attributes and national policies differ from each other in relative magnitude as predictors of the value individuals assign to intrinsic and extrinsic rewards; and (3) how individual attributes and national policies impact the importance individuals assign to intrinsic and extrinsic rewards differs by gender. For the micro level analysis, I used data from the 2005 International Social Survey Program Work Orientation Module. The twelve countries included in the analysis are Australia, Denmark, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States. Macro level policy data are drawn from the 2005 Social Expenditure Database and maternity leave data are from the 2005 International Network on Leave Policy and Research. Analysis was performed using Stata regression with the cluster command. While not all variables included in the model were statistically significant, the general hypotheses were supported with the following results: (1) micro level variables (education, income, and employment) and macro level variables (paid family leave and the percentage of GDP spent on childcare and pre-primary education) increased the importance individual’s assign to intrinsic rewards; (2) the lack of human capital increases an individual’s emphasis on extrinsic rewards; (3) while macro level variables have a far greater impact on the importance individuals assign to intrinsic work rewards, both micro and macro level factors are important for explaining the maximum possible variation in the importance individuals assign to intrinsic work rewards; and (4) gender does not change the value an individual assigns to intrinsic or extrinsic rewards. This study represents a new, more comprehensive approach to studying the relationships among micro-level factors, structural opportunities and constraints, intrinsic and extrinsic work rewards, and gender. A review of the literature shows no other studies of this scope.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19327

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