- A job may entail disagreeable conditions, and thus few accept employment unless wages compensate them ("compensating differentials"). A window washer at the top of the Empire State Building receives more than a woman who washes a Formica lunch counter. Of course, the window washer also gets a better view.
- Some jobs require special training. Courtroom stenographers(속기사) earn more than bailiffs(집행관).
;
- An irregular or insecure job may pay more. Construction workers receive more per hour than other similarly trained laborers, because weather conditions prevent them from working as many hours.
- When high degrees of trust are required, wages rise. Because lay persons cannot assess the value of a diamond, many people feel more comfortable buying from a pricey but trustworthy store like Tiffany's than from a discounter.
- When the probability of success is low, the payoff for success will be high. Lawyers in civil suits often accept cases on a contingency; that is, they get paid only if they win. But if they do win, they can earn even more than stenographers. Smith did not believe that all economic actors displayed perfect rationality. He suspected that people in risky professions overestimate their chance of success and, therefore, end up with lower incomes than they expect.
|