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Earnings Progression, Human Capital and Incentives: Theory and Evidence

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  • Frederiksen, Anders

    (Aarhus University)

Abstract

The career prospects of newly recruited employees differ substantially within an organization. The stars experience a considerable growth in earnings; others can hardly maintain their entry salaries. This article sheds light on the mechanisms generating the observed heterogeneity in earnings progression by investigating the effects of on-the-job human capital acquisition, explicit short-run incentives and career concern incentives on earnings progression. The model leads to predictions about the incentive structure and the progression in both cross-sectional and individual earnings which are supported by the empirical analysis based on personnel records from a large bank.

Suggested Citation

  • Frederiksen, Anders, 2010. "Earnings Progression, Human Capital and Incentives: Theory and Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 4863, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4863
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    Cited by:

    1. Frederiksen, Anders & Lange, Fabian & Kriechel, Ben, 2017. "Subjective performance evaluations and employee careers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 408-429.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    personnel economics; explicit incentives; career concern incentives; performance; earnings dynamics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • M50 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - General

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