Using industry level data for eight European countries, we present empirical evidence of poor wage performance in the two decades straddling the millennium. There was a real wage decline in many sectors and we examine its inequality-enhancing effect. A theoretical framework is proposed and assessed in order to understand this evolution of wages, identifying their main determinants. We investigate the role played by different types of innovation, increasing international openness, demand, norms limiting competition and employment change. The results are consistent with our thesis that technology and globalization shape the bargaining power of workers; increasing wages are found in industries characterized by product innovation, while process innovation and greater international openness are associated to a reduction of real wages.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Did you know? Each page is provided with a technical contact, in case something is not right with the supplied information. See under "publisher info".