Pharmacists' earnings: their level and distribution

From a methodological perspective, the central tendency and the spread of an earnings distribution are independent outcomes. Theoretically, they may be related to each other.

Explore the direction and magnitude of the effect of changes in the mean of pharmacists' wage-and-salary earnings on earnings inequality. Specifically, the probe focused on whether an increase in the central tendency led to a wider or a narrower spread.

The original data were collected using a survey questionnaire mailed to pharmacists in South Florida, USA. Earnings means and inequality indicators were calculated in a previous study for 41 groupings of pharmacists in 16 categories. Using ordinary least squares, a model was tested depicting five indicators of wage-and-salary earnings inequality (log earnings variance, coefficient of variation, lower median share, 90-10 decile ratio, and Gini coefficient) as a function of the earnings mean. Separate sets of equations were developed for all pharmacists in the data set and for only full-time pharmacists.

A relationship was found between the central tendency and the dispersion of pharmacists' earnings, and this relationship was mediated by whether or not part-time pharmacists were included in the analysis. Higher levels of earnings led to less inequality for all pharmacists, but the opposite effect was observed for full-time pharmacists: higher earnings levels led to greater inequality in the distribution.

The mechanics of the earnings generation process of full-time pharmacists are different from those of part-time pharmacists. The opportunity cost of leisure, which is a determinant of practitioners' number of hours worked, affects patterns of earnings and also may affect other labor outcomes.