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The Determination of Wages of Newly Hired Employees: Survey Evidence on Internal versus External Factors

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Author Info

  • Keeney, Mary

    (Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland)

  • Galusc´ak, Kamil

    (Czech National Bank)

  • Smets, Frank

    (European Central Ban)

  • Nicolitsas, Daphne

    (Bank of Greece)

  • Strzelecki, Pawel

    (National Bank of Poland)

  • Vodopivec, Matija

    (Bank of Slovenia)

Abstract

This paper uses information from a rich firm-level survey on wage and price-setting procedures, in around 15,000 firms in 15 European Union countries, to investigate the relative importance of internal versus external factors in the setting of wages of newly hired workers. The evidence suggests that external labour market conditions are less important than internal pay structures in determining hiring pay, with internal pay structures binding even more often when there is labour market slack. When explaining their choice firms allude to fairness considerations and the need to prevent a potential negative impact on effort. Despite the lower importance of external factors in all countries there is significant cross-country variation in this respect. Cross-country differences are found to depend on institutional factors (bargaining structures); countries in which collective agreements are more prevalent and collective agreement coverage is higher report to a greater extent internal pay structures as the main determinant of hiring pay. Within-country differences are found to depend on firm and workforce characteristics; there is a strong association between the use of external factors in hiring pay, on the one hand, and skills (positive) and tenure (negative) on the other.

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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Central Bank of Ireland in its series Research Technical Papers with number 4/RT/10.

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Length: 24 pages
Date of creation: Mar 2010
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:cbi:wpaper:4/rt/10

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  1. Jan Babecky & Philip Du Caju & Theodora Kosma & Martina Lawless & Julian Messina & Tairi Room, 2009. "Downward Nominal and Real Wage Rigidity: Survey Evidence from European Firms," Working Papers 2009/4, Czech National Bank, Research Department.
  2. Martine Druant & Silvia Fabiani & Gabor Kezdig & Ana Lamo & Fernando Martins & Roberto Sabbatini, 2009. "How are firms' wages and prices linked: survey evidence in Europe," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 725, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
  3. Agell, Jonas & Lundborg, Per, 1999. "Survey Evidence on Wage Rigidity and Unemployment: Sweden in the 1990s," Working Paper Series 1999:12, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
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  11. Hall, Robert & Krueger, Alan B., 2008. "Wage Formation between Newly Hired Workers and Employers: Survey Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 3775, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  12. C.J. Krizan & John Haltiwanger & Lucia Foster, 2002. "The Link Between Aggregate and Micro Productivity Growth: Evidence from Retail Trade," Working Papers 02-18, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
  13. Jan Babecky & Kamil Dybczak & Kamil Galuscak, 2008. "Survey on Wage and Price Formation of Czech Firms," Working Papers 2008/12, Czech National Bank, Research Department.
  14. Bils, Mark J, 1985. "Real Wages over the Business Cycle: Evidence from Panel Data," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(4), pages 666-89, August.
  15. Barlevy, Gadi, 2001. "Why Are the Wages of Job Changers So Procyclical?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(4), pages 837-78, October.
  16. Alan S. Blinder, 1990. "Learning by Asking Those Who Are Doing," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 16(4), pages 297-306, Oct-Dec.
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