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Decreasing wage mobility in Germany

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  • Gernandt, Johannes

Abstract

Using data from the German Socio Economic Panel (SOEP) for the years 1984 to 2007, this paper analyses the amount, the development and the explanations of wage mobility, as well as volatility in West Germany, measured by ranks in the wage distribution. Individual wage mobility decreased between 1984/1987 and 2004/2007, while inequality increased steadily from the mid 1990s onwards. Mobility is highest in the middle section of the distribution. Better qualified persons, younger persons and employees of larger firms have higher chances of moving upwards. Wages are more volatile in the low-wage sector and for individuals moving downwards in the wage distribution.

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  • Gernandt, Johannes, 2009. "Decreasing wage mobility in Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 09-044, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:09044
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    Cited by:

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    2. Aysit Tansel & Başak Dalgıç & Aytekin Güven, 2019. "Wage Inequality and Wage Mobility in Turkey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 107-129, February.
    3. Coban, Mustafa, 2017. "Wage mobility, wage inequality, and tasks: Empirical evidence from Germany, 1984-2014," Discussion Paper Series 139, Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, Chair of Economic Order and Social Policy.
    4. Bachmann, Ronald & Bauer, Thomas K. & Kröger, Hanna & Schaffner, Sandra & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2012. "Tarifsystem stabilisieren: Drucksache 17/8148. Stellungnahme zur Anhörung des Ausschusses für Arbeit und Soziales des Deutschen Bundestages am 6. Februar 2012," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 72592.
    5. Aretz, Bodo, 2013. "Gender Differences in German Wage Mobility," VfS Annual Conference 2013 (Duesseldorf): Competition Policy and Regulation in a Global Economic Order 80003, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Riphahn, Regina T. & Schnitzlein, Daniel D., 2016. "Wage mobility in East and West Germany," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 11-34.
    7. Hyungna Oh & Yun Jeong Choi, 2018. "Limited Income Mobility: Empirical Evidence from Korea," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(2), pages 665-687, July.
    8. Stephani, Jens, 2013. "Does it matter where you work? : employer characteristics and the wage growth of low-wage workers and higher-wage workers," IAB-Discussion Paper 201304, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    9. Bachmann, Ronald & Bauer, Thomas K. & Kröger, Hanna & Schaffner, Sandra & Schmidt, Christoph M., 2012. "Tarifvertragssystem stärken - Allgemeinverbindliche Tariflöhne und branchenspezifische Mindestlöhne erleichtern. Stellungnahme zur Anhörung des Ausschusses für Arbeit und Soziales des Deutschen Bundes," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 72615.
    10. Bachmann, Ronald & Boockmann, Bernhard & Gonschor, Myrielle & Kalweit, René & Klauser, Roman & Laub, Natalie & Rulff, Christian & Vonnahme, Christina, 2022. "Auswirkungen des gesetzlichen Mindestlohns auf Löhne und Arbeitszeiten," RWI Projektberichte, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, number 264288.
    11. Aretz, Bodo & Gürtzgen, Nicole, 2012. "What Explains the Decline in Wage Mobility in the German Low-Wage Sector?," IZA Discussion Papers 7046, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Costanza Naguib, 2022. "Financial Turmoil and Earnings Mobility," Diskussionsschriften dp2208, Universitaet Bern, Departement Volkswirtschaft.
    13. Costanza Naguib, 2022. "Did earnings mobility change after minimum wage introduction? Evidence from parametric and semi‐nonparametric methods in Germany," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(7), pages 1379-1402, November.
    14. Aysit Tansel & Başak Dalgıç & Aytekin Güven, 2019. "Wage Inequality and Wage Mobility in Turkey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 142(1), pages 107-129, February.
    15. Aretz, Bodo & Gürtzgen, Nicole, 2012. "The Evolution of Wage Mobility in the German Low-Wage Sector - Is There Evidence for Increasing State Dependence?," VfS Annual Conference 2012 (Goettingen): New Approaches and Challenges for the Labor Market of the 21st Century 62049, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wage mobility; ranks; inequality; distribution; SOEP;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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