The Occupational Wages around the World (OWW) Database : Update for 1983-2008

Abstract

This document describes the standardization procedure for the 1983–2008 International Labour Office (ILO) October Inquiry data. Earlier standardization procedures were those applied to the 1983–2003 data and the 1983–1998 data. The current standardization procedure for the 1983–2008 ILO October Inquiry data expands the earlier databases by including the most recent data available on the ILO website as well as data for 1983–1984 that are only available in hardcopy format. The wages are standardized on both an hourly and monthly basis unlike the two previous standardizations which relied on a monthly basis only. The ILO October Inquiry, the most far-ranging survey of wages by occupation around the world, was started initially in 1924 in 15 countries (or rather capital cities) for 18 occupations, and was conducted on an annual basis until 2008. Over time the number of occupations covered was increased from 30 in 1924, to 41 in 1951, 48 in 1953, and finally 161 in 1983. The electronic version of the ILO October Inquiry poses a number of challenges, including the coding of footnotes, the use multiple (TIME) variables, and the ambiguous use of the concepts ‘'Minimum” or “Maximum.”