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Skilled and Unskilled Wage Dynamics in Italy in the ‘90s: Changes in the individual characteristics, institutions, trade and technology

Author

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  • Anna M. Falzoni
  • Alessandra Venturini
  • Claudia Villosio

Abstract

In this paper we use individual micro data on workers combined with industry and regional data to study the wage dynamics of skilled and unskilled workers in Italy in the period 1991-1998. Being different to previous empirical studies, our data allow us to explore in a unique framework the role of many of the factors indicated in the literature as possible causes of the widening of the wage gap between skilled and unskilled workers: changes in the individual characteristics of workers, changes in the institutions of the labour market, increasing international integration and skill-biased technological progress. Our results show that international integration, both in terms of trade in goods and in terms of international labour mobility, plays a role in determining the wage dynamics of skilled (white collar) and of unskilled (blue collar) workers. In addition, in line with the research in labour economics, our findings show that the individual characteristics of workers, and the institutional variables matter more in explaining skilled and unskilled wage dynamics than differential wage one.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna M. Falzoni & Alessandra Venturini & Claudia Villosio, 2007. "Skilled and Unskilled Wage Dynamics in Italy in the ‘90s: Changes in the individual characteristics, institutions, trade and technology," LABORatorio R. Revelli Working Papers Series 61, LABORatorio R. Revelli, Centre for Employment Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:cca:wplabo:61
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Stefano STAFFOLANI & Enzo VALENTINI, 2009. "Does Immigration Raise Blue and White Collar Wages of Natives?," Working Papers 330, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    4. William Betz & Nicole Simpson, 2013. "The effects of international migration on the well-being of native populations in Europe," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-21, December.
    5. Stefano Staffolani & Enzo Valentini, 2010. "Does Immigration Raise Blue and White Collar Wages of Natives? The Case of Italy," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 24(3), pages 295-310, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Skilled and unskilled wages; individual characteristics; labour market institutions; international trade.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions

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