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The Employment Consequences of Seniority Wages

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  • Zwick, Thomas

Abstract

This paper combines two strains of the literature on the employment effects of deferred compensation. The first strain separates seniority and job matching wage effects on the basis of individual data, but cannot look at employment consequences. The second strain explains the employment structure on the basis of establishment data, but cannot properly calculate seniority wages. This paper uses linked employeremployee data, aggregates individual seniority wages to the establishment level, and correlates them with the establishment employment structure. According to the deferred compensation hypothesis this paper finds that establishments with stronger seniority wages have a higher tenure but hire less older employees.

Suggested Citation

  • Zwick, Thomas, 2008. "The Employment Consequences of Seniority Wages," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-039, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:7311
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    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/24734/1/dp08039.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Lorne Carmichael, 1983. "Firm-Specific Human Capital and Promotion Ladders," Bell Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 14(1), pages 251-258, Spring.
    2. Abraham, Katharine G & Farber, Henry S, 1987. "Job Duration, Seniority, and Earnings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(3), pages 278-297, June.
    3. Edward P. Lazear, 1999. "Personnel Economics: Past Lessons and Future Directions," NBER Working Papers 6957, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Hutchens, Robert M, 1987. "A Test of Lazear's Theory of Delayed Payment Contracts," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(4), pages 153-170, October.
    5. Hutchens, Robert M, 1989. "Seniority, Wages and Productivity: A Turbulent Decade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 49-64, Fall.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Göbel, Christian & Zwick, Thomas, 2010. "Which personnel measures are effective in increasing productivity of old workers?," ZEW Discussion Papers 10-069, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    2. Thomas Zwick, 2012. "Earnings Losses after Non-Employment Increase with Age," Schmalenbach Business Review (sbr), LMU Munich School of Management, vol. 64(1), pages 2-19, January.
    3. Anja Deelen, 2011. "Wage-Tenure Profiles and Mobility," CPB Discussion Paper 198, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    4. Christian Pfeifer, 2009. "Adjustment of Deferred Compensation Schemes, Fairness Concerns, and Hiring of Older Workers," Working Paper Series in Economics 151, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    5. Zwick, Thomas, 2011. "Seniority wages and establishment characteristics," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(6), pages 853-861.
    6. Holger Bonin, 2009. "15 Years of Pension Reform in Germany: Old Successes and New Threats," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 34(4), pages 548-560, October.
    7. Anja Deelen, 2012. "Wage-Tenure Profiles and Mobility," De Economist, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 141-155, June.
    8. Zwick, Thomas, 2009. "Why Pay Seniority Wages?," ZEW Discussion Papers 09-005, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    9. Christian Göbel & Thomas Zwick, 2012. "Age and Productivity: Sector Differences," De Economist, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 35-57, March.
    10. Dietz, Martin & Walwei, Ulrich, 2011. "Germany - no country for old workers?," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 44(4), pages 363-376.
    11. Göbel, Christian & Zwick, Thomas, 2009. "Age and productivity: evidence from linked employer employee data," ZEW Discussion Papers 09-020, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Seniority Wages; Employment Structure; Linked Employer-Employee Data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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