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Micro-level evidence on wage rigidities in Finland

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Author Info
Böckerman, Petri
Laaksonen, Seppo
Vainiomäki, Jari

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Abstract

This paper analyses the flexibility of the Finnish labour markets from the microeconomic perspective by focusing on individual-level wage changes for job stayers. The study covers the private sector workers by using three separate data sets obtained from payroll records of employers’ associations. Two main conclusions from wage formation emerge. First, there has been macroeconomic flexibility in the labour market. Real wage rigidity declined during the early 1990’s recession and a large proportion of workers experienced real wage cuts. We also find that average wage changes respond negatively to an increase in unemployment. Second, the evidence based on individual-level wage change distributions show that especially real wages are definitely rigid in Finland in international comparison. In addition, the evidence points out that individual-level wage changes have regained the high levels of real rigidity during the late 1990s that prevailed in the 1980s, despite the continued high (but declining) level of unemployment.

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Paper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number 1811.

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Date of creation: 15 Dec 2006
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Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:1811

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Related research
Keywords: Wage flexibility; wage rigidity; wage formation; wage cuts;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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  2. Louis N. Christofides & Thanasis Stengos, 2003. "Wage rigidity in Canadian collective bargaining agreements," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, ILR School, Cornell University, vol. 56(3), pages 429-448, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. Steinar Holden, 2004. "Wage Formation under Low Inflation," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  4. David Card & Dean Hyslop, 1996. "Does Inflation "Grease the Wheels of the Labor Market"?," NBER Working Papers 5538, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. David G. Blanchflower & Andrew J. Oswald, 2005. "The Wage Curve Reloaded," NBER Working Papers 11338, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Ernst Fehr & Lorenz Goette, 2000. "Robustness and Real Consequences of Nominal Wage Rigidity," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  7. Tuomas Pekkarinen, 2001. "The wage curve : evidence from the Finnish metal industry panel data," Finnish Economic Papers, Finnish Economic Association, vol. 14(1), pages 51-60, Spring. [Downloadable!]
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  20. Fehr, Ernst, 2000. "The Robustness and Real Consequences of Nominal Wage Rigidity," CEPR Discussion Papers 2516, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  21. Steinar Holden, 2002. "The Costs of Price Stability - Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity in Europe," NBER Working Papers 8865, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  22. Jaakko Pehkonen & Hannu Tanninen, 1997. "Institutions, Incentives and Trade Union Membership," LABOUR, CEIS, Fondazione Giacomo Brodolini and Blackwell Publishing Ltd, vol. 11(3), pages 579-598, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Böckerman, Petri & Laaksonen, Seppo & Vainiomäki, Jari, 2009. "Micro-level Rigidity vs. Macro-level Flexibility: Lessons from Finland," MPRA Paper 15061, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  2. Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Mendoza, Enrique G. & Tesar, Linda L., 2009. "The Finnish Great Depression: From Russia with Love," IZA Discussion Papers 4113, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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