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Performance Pay and Within-Firm Wage Inequality

Author

Listed:
  • Erling Barth
  • Bernt Bratsberg
  • Torbjørn Hægeland
  • Oddbjørn Raaum

    (Statistics Norway)

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of performance-related pay on wage differentials within firms. Our theoretical framework predicts that, compared to a fixed pay system, pay schemes based on individual effort increase within-firm wage inequality, while group-based bonuses have minor effects on wage dispersion. Theory also predicts an interaction between performance-related pay and union bargaining, where union power reduces the impact of performance pay on wage dispersion. The empirical contribution utilizes two recent Norwegian employer surveys, linked to a full set of employee records. A longitudinal sub-sample allows for identification based on fixed establishment effects. Introduction of performance-related pay is shown to raise residual wage inequality in nonunion firms, but not in firms with high union density. Our findings suggest that even though performance-related pay appears to be on the rise, the overall impact on wage dispersion is likely to be small, particularly in European countries with strong unions.

Suggested Citation

  • Erling Barth & Bernt Bratsberg & Torbjørn Hægeland & Oddbjørn Raaum, 2008. "Performance Pay and Within-Firm Wage Inequality," Discussion Papers 535, Statistics Norway, Research Department.
    • Handle: RePEc:ssb:dispap:535
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Alex Bryson & Richard Freeman & Claudio Lucifora & Michele Pellizzari & Virginie Perotin, 2012. "Paying for Performance: Incentive Pay Schemes and Employees' Financial Participation," CEP Discussion Papers dp1112, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    2. Laffineur, Catherine & Gazaniol, Alexandre, 2019. "Foreign direct investment and wage dispersion: Evidence from French employer-employee data," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 203-226.
    3. K. Sommerfeld, 2013. "Higher and higher? Performance pay and wage inequality in Germany," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(30), pages 4236-4247, October.
    4. John S. Heywood & Daniel Parent, 2012. "Performance Pay and the White-Black Wage Gap," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 30(2), pages 249-290.
    5. Anders Akerman & Ingvil Gaarder & Magne Mogstad, 2015. "The Skill Complementarity of Broadband Internet," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(4), pages 1781-1824.
    6. Erling Barth & Bernt Bratsberg & Torbjørn Hægeland & Oddbjørn Raaum, 2008. "Who pays for performance?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(1), pages 8-29, March.
    7. Janice Fanning Madden & Alexander Vekker, 2017. "Output-Based Performance Pay, Performance-Support Bias, and the Racial Pay Gap within a Large Retail Stock Brokerage," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), pages 662-687, October.
    8. Alexandre Gazaniol & Catherine Laffineur, 2015. "Does Outward Foreign Direct Investment affect domestic real wages? An investigation using French micro-data," FIW Working Paper series 155, FIW.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Performance related pay; wage inequality; union bargaining;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods

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