Lohnstarrheit / Wage Rigidity
In Krisenzeiten greifen Arbeitgeberinnen und Arbeitgeber eher auf Entlassungen als auf das Mittel der Nominallohnsenkung zurück. Dies kann am Einfluss der Gewerkschaften, an unflexiblen Lohnsystemen der Firmen oder auch an Fairnessnormen liegen. Welche Auswirkungen haben nach unten starre Löhne auf dem Arbeitsmarkt? Führen sie in Verbindung mit einer niedrigen Inflationsrate zu höherer Arbeitslosigkeit? Diese IAB-Infoplattform präsentiert wissenschaftliche Literatur zum Thema Abwärtslohnrigidität.
In times of crisis, employers tend to resort to dismissals instead of the medium of reduction in nominal wages. This may be due to the influence of the trade unions, the inflexibility of company wage systems, or possibly also norms of fairness. What effect do downwardly rigid wages have on the labour market? Do they lead - in conjunction with a lower inflation rate - to higher unemployment? This IAB info platform presents scientific literature on the topic of downward wage rigidity.
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Literaturhinweis
Health capital and human capital as explanations for health-related wage disparities (2014)
Gilleskie, Donna; Hoffman, Denise;Zitatform
Gilleskie, Donna & Denise Hoffman (2014): Health capital and human capital as explanations for health-related wage disparities. In: Journal of Human Capital, Jg. 8, H. 3, S. 235-279. DOI:10.1086/677855
Abstract
"We use a dynamic modeling strategy to evaluate two potential avenues through which health differences generate a wage gap: directly through reductions in health capital and indirectly through employment transitions that reduce human capital (specifically, occupation and employer tenure). Our results suggest that male workers with a moderate disability are 23 percent more likely to change occupations or employers than nondisabled men. Compared to those who do not make a transition, workers with a moderate disability who change occupations and employers experience an immediate $0.30 decline in hourly wages on top of a $0.57 decline associated with the disability onset." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Real wages and unemployment in the big squeeze (2014)
Gregg, Paul; Machin, Stephen; Fernandez-Salgado, Marina;Zitatform
Gregg, Paul, Stephen Machin & Marina Fernandez-Salgado (2014): Real wages and unemployment in the big squeeze. In: The economic journal, Jg. 124, H. 576, S. 408-432. DOI:10.1111/ecoj.12139
Abstract
"UK real wage growth has slowed down, stagnated and recently turned sharply negative. We document the nature of real wage changes across the wage distribution over the last three decades, showing that recent patterns represent a distinct break of trend that pre-dates the onset of recession. We explore whether unemployment has become a stronger moderating influence on real wage growth and report, using aggregate economy-wide and regional panel data, that real wage - unemployment sensitivities have become stronger in the period from 2003 onwards. Finally, we offer some assessment of possible drivers of this increased sensitivity of real wages to unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Wage rigidity, inflation, and institutions (2014)
Zitatform
Holden, Steinar & Fredrik Wulfsberg (2014): Wage rigidity, inflation, and institutions. In: The Scandinavian journal of economics, Jg. 116, H. 2, S. 539-569. DOI:10.1111/sjoe.12052
Abstract
"We study the possible existence of downward nominal wage rigidity (DNWR) at wage growth rates different from zero in aggregate data. Even if DNWR prevails at zero for individual workers, compositional effects might lead to falling aggregate wages, while changes in relative wages combined with DNWR might lead to positive aggregate wage growth. We explore industry data for 19 OECD countries, over the 1971 - 2006 period. We find evidence for a floor on nominal wage growth at 6 percent in the 1970s and 1980s, at 1 percent in the 1990s, and at 0.5 percent in the 2000s. Furthermore, we find that DNWR is stronger in country-years with strict employment protection legislation, high union density, centralized wage setting, and high inflation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Wage rigidity and disinflation in emerging countries (2014)
Zitatform
Messina, Julián & Anna Sanz-de-Galdeano (2014): Wage rigidity and disinflation in emerging countries. In: American Economic Journal. Macroeconomics, Jg. 6, H. 1, S. 102-133. DOI:10.1257/mac.6.1.102
Abstract
"This paper examines the consequences of rapid disinflation for downward wage rigidities in two emerging countries, Brazil and Uruguay. Although wage rigidities are altered by disinflation, in neither of the two countries does price stability eliminate frictions in wage-setting mechanisms. In a context of individual wage negotiations and weak unions, disinflation in Uruguay puts an end to its history of indexation, but strong resistance to nominal wage cuts emerges. In strongly unionized Brazil, wage indexation is highly persistent, but the introduction of inflation targeting by the Central Bank in 1999 moves the focal point of wage negotiations to expected inflation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Growth, unemployment and wage inertia (2014)
Zitatform
Raurich, Xavier & Valeri Sorolla (2014): Growth, unemployment and wage inertia. In: Journal of macroeconomics, Jg. 40, H. June, S. 42-59. DOI:10.1016/j.jmacro.2014.02.007
Abstract
"We introduce wage setting via efficiency wages in the neoclassical one-sector growth model to study the growth effects of wage inertia. We compare the dynamic equilibrium of an economy with wage inertia with the equilibrium of an economy without it. We show that wage inertia affects the long run employment rate and that the transitional dynamics of the main economic variables will be different because wages are a state variable when wage inertia is introduced. In particular, we show that the model with wage inertia can explain some growth patterns that cannot be explained when wages are flexible. We also study the growth effects of permanent technological and fiscal policy shocks in these two economies. During the transition, the growth effects of technological shocks obtained when wages exhibit inertia may be the opposite of those obtained when wages are flexible. These technological shocks may have long run effects if there is wage inertia." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Wage rigidity, collective bargaining and the minimum wage: evidence from French agreement data (2013)
Zitatform
Avouyi-Dovi, Sanvi, Denis Fougère & Erwan Gautier (2013): Wage rigidity, collective bargaining and the minimum wage. Evidence from French agreement data. In: The Review of Economics and Statistics, Jg. 95, H. 4, S. 1337-1351. DOI:10.1162/REST_a_00329
Abstract
"Using data sets on wage agreements at both industry and firm levels in France, we document stylized facts on wage stickiness. The average duration of wages is a little less than one year, and 10% of wages are modified each month by a wage agreement. The frequency of wage change agreements is staggered over the year, but the frequency of effective wage changes is seasonal. The national minimum wage has a significant impact on the probability and the seasonality of wage changes. Negotiated wage increases are correlated with inflation, minimum wage increases, and firm profitability." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Shocks and rigidities as determinants of CEE labour markets' performance: a panel SVECM approach (2013)
Zitatform
Bukowski, Maciej, Grzegorz Koloch & Piotr Lewandowski (2013): Shocks and rigidities as determinants of CEE labour markets' performance. A panel SVECM approach. In: Economics of Transition, Jg. 21, H. 3, S. 553-581. DOI:10.1111/ecot.12017
Abstract
"In this article, the impact of real wage, productivity, labour demand and supply shocks on eight Central and Eastern European (CEE) economies from 1996-2007 is analysed with a panel structural vector error correction model. A set of long-run restrictions derived from the dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model is used to identify structural shocks, and fluctuations in foreign demand are controlled for. We find that the propagation of shocks on CEE labour markets resembles that found for OECD countries. Labour demand shocks emerge as the main determinant of employment and unemployment variability in the short-to-medium run, but wage rigidities were equally important for observed labour market performance, especially in Poland, Czech Republic and Lithuania. We associate these rigidities with collective bargaining, minimum wage, active labour market policies and employment protection legislation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Wage rigidity and employment adjustment at the firm level: evidence from survey data (2013)
Zitatform
Dias, Daniel A., Carlos Robalo Marques & Fernando Martins (2013): Wage rigidity and employment adjustment at the firm level. Evidence from survey data. In: Labour economics, Jg. 23, H. August, S. 40-49. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2013.02.001
Abstract
"This paper uses firm level survey data from Portugal to investigate how firms adjust their labour costs in the presence of wage rigidities. We document that Portuguese firms, besides reducing employment or freezing nominal base wages, also make frequent use of other cost-cutting strategies, like freezing or cutting bonuses and other monetary or non-monetary benefits, slowing down or freezing the rate at which promotions are filled, or recruiting new employees at wages lower than those received by the employees that have left the firm. We show that the utilization of these different adjustment strategies is affected by workers' and firms' attributes, as well as by some indicators of the economic environment in which firmsoperate. More importantly, we provide evidence that firms with more flexible base wages are less likely to reduce employment, and that such effect may be significantly strengthened by the availability of alternative labour-cost adjustment margins that firms can use in bad times." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Wage rigidity and job creation (2013)
Zitatform
Haefke, Christian, Marcus Sonntag & Thijs van Rens (2013): Wage rigidity and job creation. In: Journal of monetary economics, Jg. 60, H. 8, S. 887-899. DOI:10.1016/j.jmoneco.2013.09.003
Abstract
"Recent research in macroeconomics emphasizes the role of wage rigidity in accounting for the volatility of unemployment fluctuations. We use worker-level data from the CPS to measure the sensitivity of wages of newly hired workers to changes in aggregate labor market conditions. The wage of new hires, unlike the aggregate wage, is volatile and responds almost one-to-one to changes in labor productivity. We conclude that there is little evidence for wage stickiness in the data. We also show, however, that a little wage rigidity goes a long way in amplifying the response of job creation to productivity shocks." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Nominal and real wage rigidities: in theory and in Europe (2013)
Zitatform
Knell, Markus (2013): Nominal and real wage rigidities. In theory and in Europe. In: Journal of macroeconomics, Jg. 36, H. June, S. 89-105. DOI:10.1016/j.jmacro.2013.01.006
Abstract
"In this paper I study the relation between real wage rigidity (RWR) and nominal price and wage rigidity. I show that in a standard DSGE model RWR is mainly affected by the interaction of the two nominal rigidities and not by other structural parameters. The degree of RWR is, however, considerably influenced by the modelling assumption about the structure of wage contracts (Calvo vs. Taylor) and about other institutional characteristics of wage-setting (clustering of contracts, heterogeneous contract length, indexation). I use survey evidence on price- and wage-setting for 15 European countries to calculate the degrees of RWR implied by the theoretical model. The average level of RWR is broadly in line with empirical estimates based on macroeconomic data. In order to be able to also match the observed cross-country variation in RWR it is, however, essential to move beyond the country-specific durations of price and wages and to take more institutional details into account." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Real wage rigidities and optimal monetary policy in a small open economy (2013)
Zitatform
Rhee, Hyuk Jae & Jeongseok Song (2013): Real wage rigidities and optimal monetary policy in a small open economy. In: Journal of macroeconomics, Jg. 37, H. September, S. 110-127. DOI:10.1016/j.jmacro.2013.04.004
Abstract
"The main objective of the study is to provide a theoretical analysis of optimal monetary policy in a small open economy where households set real wage in a staggered fashion. The introduction of real wage rigidities plays a important role to resolve main shortcomings of the standard new Keynesian small open economy model. The main findings regarding the issue of monetary policy design can be summarized as three fold. First, the optimal policy is to seek to minimize variance of domestic price inflation, real wage inflation, and the output gap if both domestic price and real wage are sticky. Second, controlling CPI inflation directly or indirectly induces relatively large volatility in output gap and other inflations. Therefore, both CPI inflation-based Taylor rule and nominal wage-inflation based Taylor rule are suboptimal. Last, a policy that responds to a real wage inflation is most desirable." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Real wage cyclicality of newly hired workers (2013)
Zitatform
Stüber, Heiko (2013): Real wage cyclicality of newly hired workers. (FZID discussion papers 2013/62), Hohenheim, 33 S.
Abstract
"Several recent macroeconomic models rely on rigid wages. Especially wage rigidity of newly hired workers seems to play a crucial rote, since the decision of opening a vacancy or not is mainly influenced by their real wages. However, so far little empirical evidence exists on how real wages of newly hired workers react to business cycle conditions. This paper aims at filling this gap for a large economy, namely Germany, by analyzing the cyclical behavior of real wages of newly hired workers while controlling for 'cyclical up- and downgrading' in employer/employee matches. For the analysis two endogenous variables are used: either the 'typical' (e.g. modal) real wages paid to entrants into particular jobs of particular firms or entrants' individual real wages. The results show that entry-wages are not rigid, but considerably respond to business cycle conditions. This finding strengthens Pissarides' (2009) dismissal of theories based on cyclically rigid hiring wages. Furthermore, I show that the procyclicality of the employment/population ratio is (nearly) identical to the procyclicality of real entry-wages." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Wage rigidity in Germany (2013)
Zitatform
Stüber, Heiko (2013): Wage rigidity in Germany. (IAB-Bibliothek 340), Bielefeld: Bertelsmann, 149 S. DOI:10.3278/300806w
Abstract
"Die Interaktion zwischen Inflation und Arbeitslosigkeit beschäftigt Forscher und Politiker bereits eine längere Zeit. Doch existiert tatsächlich ein Zielkonflikt zwischen Inflation und Arbeitslosigkeit? Der Autor geht dieser und anderen Fragen, die sich mit Lohnstarrheit beschäftigen, nach. Der erste und gewichtigste Teil des Buches beschäftigt sich mit Abwärtsnominallohnstarrheit. Er bietet einen Überblick über Ursachen, Ausmaß und Implikationen dieser Starrheit, betrachtet ihre makroökonomischen Konsequenzen und untersucht, inwiefern die Starrheit Arbeitnehmer unterschiedlich betrifft. Der zweite Teil des Buches beschäftigt sich mit der Reallohnrigidität neu eingestellter Arbeitnehmer über den Konjunkturzyklus. Der Buchteil bietet einen kurzen Überblick bisheriger empirischer Untersuchungen und neuester Entwicklungen und stellt empirische Evidenz zur Zyklizität von Einstiegslöhnen in Deutschland bereit." (Autorenreferat, IAB-Doku)
Weiterführende Informationen
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Literaturhinweis
Wage stagnation, rising inequality and the financial crisis of 2008 (2013)
Zitatform
Wisman, Jon D. (2013): Wage stagnation, rising inequality and the financial crisis of 2008. In: Cambridge Journal of Economics, Jg. 37, H. 4, S. 921-945. DOI:10.1093/cje/bes085
Abstract
"Explanations of the financial crisis of 2008 have centred upon inadequate regulation stemming from laissez-faire ideology and low interest rates. Although true, the deeper determining forces of wage stagnation and dramatically increasing inequality in the USA over the preceding 35 years have received less notice. Wage stagnation and heightened inequality generated three dynamics that made the economy vulnerable to systemic dysfunction. First, consumption was constrained, reducing profitable investment potential in the real economy and encouraging an ever-wealthier elite to flood financial markets with credit, helping keep interest rates low, stimulating the creation of new credit instruments, greater indebtedness and speculation. The second dynamic is that consumption externalities were generated, forcing households to struggle harder to maintain the welfare of their families and their relative social status, resulting in plummeting household saving, ever-greater indebtedness and longer work hours. The third dynamic is that as the rich took larger shares of income and wealth, they gained more command over ideology and hence politics, resulting in tax cuts for the rich, reduced welfare for the poor and deregulation." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Benchmarks for the assessment of wage developments (2013)
Zitatform
(2013): Benchmarks for the assessment of wage developments. (European economy. Occasional papers 146), Brüssel, 30 S. DOI:10.2765/47648
Abstract
"As the uncertainty relating to the sovereign debt crisis in some Euro Area Member States continued over the last two years, the extent and potential consequences of the spillovers between euro area Member States' economic, financial and budgetary situations has become increasingly evident.
Assessing the implications of wage developments for the build-up and correction of macroeconomic imbalances is a key analytical foundation of In Depth Reviews (IDRs). Such an assessment has to determine whether growth in labour costs is compatible with orderly developments in price competitiveness or with standard responses to economic fundamentals. This paper presents two benchmarks to this end: the first is based on wage growth consistent with constant price competitiveness; the second assumes that wage growth is consistent with changes in economic fundamentals (changes in labour productivity, unemployment and inflation)." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))Weiterführende Informationen
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Literaturhinweis
How do European firms adjust their labour costs when nominal wages are rigid? (2012)
Zitatform
Babecký, Jan, Philip Du Caju, Theodora Kosma, Martina Lawless, Julián Messina & Tairi Rõõm (2012): How do European firms adjust their labour costs when nominal wages are rigid? In: Labour economics, Jg. 19, H. 5, S. 792-801. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2012.03.010
Abstract
"Although workers' nominal wages are seldom cut, firms have multiple options available if they require adjustments in their wage bills. We broaden the analysis of relative (in)flexibility in labour costs by investigating the use of other margins of labour cost adjustment at the firm level beyond base wages. Using data from a unique survey, we find that European firms make extensive use of other components of compensation to adjust the cost of labour. Interestingly, firms facing base wage rigidity are more likely to use alternative margins of labour cost adjustment; therefore there appears to be some degree of substitutability between wage flexibility and the flexibility of other cost components. Changes in bonuses and non-pay benefits are some of the potentialmargins firms use to reduce costs. We also show howthe margins of adjustment chosen are affected by unionisation and firm and worker characteristics." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Business cycles and wage rigidity (2012)
Zitatform
Bartolucci, Cristian (2012): Business cycles and wage rigidity. In: Labour economics, Jg. 19, H. 4, S. 568-583. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2012.05.004
Abstract
"In this paper, we analyze the impact of downward wage rigidity on the labor market dynamics. We shows that imposing downward wage rigidity in a matching model with cyclical fluctuations in productivity, endogenous match-destruction, and on-the-job search, quits are procyclical and layoffs countercyclical. Using the European Community Household Panel (ECHP), we provide evidence that downward wage rigidity is empirically relevant in ten European countries. Finally, we show that layoffs are countercyclical and quits are procyclical, as predicted by the model." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Wages, implicit contracts, and the business cycle: evidence from a European panel (2012)
Zitatform
Bellou, Andriana & Baris Kaymak (2012): Wages, implicit contracts, and the business cycle. Evidence from a European panel. In: Labour economics, Jg. 19, H. 6, S. 898-907. DOI:10.1016/j.labeco.2012.08.003
Abstract
"We study the joint behavior of hours and wages over the business cycle in a unique panel of 13 European countries, and document significant history dependence in wages. Workers who experience favorable market conditions during their tenure on the job have higher wages, and work fewer labor hours. Unobserved differences in productivity, such as varying job quality, or match-specific productivity are not likely to explain this variation. The results instead point to the importance of contractual arrangements in wage determination. In economies with decentralized bargaining practices, such arrangements resemble self-enforcing insurance contracts with one-sided commitment (by the employer). On the other hand, in countries with strong unions and centralized wage bargaining, wage behavior is better approximated by full-commitment insurance contracts. The co-movement of hours and wages further confirms a contractual framework with variable worker hours. Despite the strong prevalence of contracts in Europe, however, the elasticity of labor supply is considerably smaller compared to the U.S. labor market." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Sticky wages: evidence from quarterly microeconomic data (2012)
Bihan, Hervé Le; Montornès, Jérémi; Heckel, Thomas;Zitatform
Bihan, Hervé Le, Jérémi Montornès & Thomas Heckel (2012): Sticky wages: evidence from quarterly microeconomic data. In: American Economic Journal. Macroeconomics, Jg. 4, H. 3, S. 1-32. DOI:10.1257/mac.4.3.1
Abstract
"Using an original micro-dataset from France, we investigate nominal wage stickiness. Nominal wage changes are found to occur at a quarterly frequency of around 38 percent over our sample period, and to be to a large extent staggered across establishments, and very synchronized within establishments. We carry out an econometric analysis of wage changes based on a two-threshold sample selection model. Our results are that the timing of wage adjustments is time-dependent as opposed to state-dependent, there is evidence of predetermination in wage changes, and both backward and forward-looking behavior is relevant in wage setting." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))
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Literaturhinweis
Wage rigidity or fiscal redistribution: the credibility issue (2012)
Domingues dos santos, Manon; Lehmann, Étienne;Zitatform
Domingues dos santos, Manon & Étienne Lehmann (2012): Wage rigidity or fiscal redistribution. The credibility issue. In: Economics Bulletin, Jg. 32, H. 4, S. 2801-2807.
Abstract
"We show that lack of commitment in the policymaking process may explain the prevalence of the minimum wage to redistribute income, despite its negative impact on unemployment. In the absence of commitment, firms anticipate the government's willingness to use a minimum wage policy to reduce the tax collecting costs implied by fiscal transfers. This expectation leads to a reduction in the labor demand that generates unemployment." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))