IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/irvfin/v26y2026i2ne70074.html

Wage Differentials, Firm Investment, and Stock Returns

Author

Listed:
  • Yongjun Kim

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of labor costs on firms' capital investments and stock returns. I estimate wage premia across US industries and show that the negative investment‐return relation implied by q$$ q $$‐theory is steeper for firms paying high wage premia than for firms paying low wage premia. An extended investment‐based model predicts the interaction effect, showing the labor adjustment costs as the key channel driving investment‐return sensitivity. The inflexibility induced by labor costs offers new insights into asset prices and corporate investments.

Suggested Citation

  • Yongjun Kim, 2026. "Wage Differentials, Firm Investment, and Stock Returns," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 26(2), June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:irvfin:v:26:y:2026:i:2:n:e70074
    DOI: 10.1111/irfi.70074
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/irfi.70074
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/irfi.70074?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leonid Kogan & Dimitris Papanikolaou, 2013. "Firm Characteristics and Stock Returns: The Role of Investment-Specific Shocks," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 26(11), pages 2718-2759.
    2. Lu Zhang, 2005. "The Value Premium," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 60(1), pages 67-103, February.
    3. Kewei Hou & Chen Xue & Lu Zhang, 2015. "Editor's Choice Digesting Anomalies: An Investment Approach," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(3), pages 650-705.
    4. Philip Du Caju & Gábor Kátay & Ana Lamo & Daphne Nicolitsas & Steven Poelhekke, 2010. "Inter-Industry Wage Differentials In EU Countries: What Do Cross-Country Time Varying Data Add to the Picture?," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 8(2-3), pages 478-486, 04-05.
    5. Andrés Donangelo, 2014. "Labor Mobility: Implications for Asset Pricing," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 69(3), pages 1321-1346, June.
    6. David H. Autor & Frank Levy & Richard J. Murnane, 2003. "The Skill Content of Recent Technological Change: An Empirical Exploration," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 118(4), pages 1279-1333.
    7. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    8. Neumuller, Seth, 2015. "Inter-industry wage differentials revisited: Wage volatility and the option value of mobility," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 38-54.
    9. Laura Xiaolei Liu & Toni M. Whited & Lu Zhang, 2009. "Investment-Based Expected Stock Returns," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 117(6), pages 1105-1139, December.
    10. Barry T. Hirsch & David A. MacPherson, 2003. "Union Membership and Coverage Database from the Current Population Survey: Note," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(2), pages 349-354, January.
    11. Jack Favilukis & Xiaoji Lin, 2016. "Wage Rigidity: A Quantitative Solution to Several Asset Pricing Puzzles," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(1), pages 148-192.
    12. Miguel A. Ferreira & Paul A. Laux, 2007. "Corporate Governance, Idiosyncratic Risk, and Information Flow," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(2), pages 951-989, April.
    13. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1974. "Alternative Theories of Wage Determination and Unemployment in LDC's: The Labor Turnover Model," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 88(2), pages 194-227.
    14. Dimitris Papanikolaou, 2011. "Investment Shocks and Asset Prices," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 119(4), pages 639-685.
    15. Alvarez-Cuadrado, Francisco & Long, Ngo Van & Poschke, Markus, 2018. "Capital-labor substitution, structural change and the labor income share," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 206-231.
    16. Qing Li & Maria Vassalou & Yuhang Xing, 2006. "Sector Investment Growth Rates and the Cross Section of Equity Returns," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(3), pages 1637-1665, May.
    17. Chen, Huafeng Jason & Kacperczyk, Marcin & Ortiz-Molina, Hernán, 2011. "Labor Unions, Operating Flexibility, and the Cost of Equity," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(1), pages 25-58, February.
    18. Shim, Myungkyu & Yang, Hee-Seung, 2018. "Interindustry wage differentials, technology adoption, and job polarization," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 141-160.
    19. Cochrane, John H, 1991. "Production-Based Asset Pricing and the Link between Stock Returns and Economic Fluctuations," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 209-237, March.
    20. Ron Giammarino & Murray Carlson & Adlai Fisher, 2004. "Corporate Investment and Asset Price Dynamics: Implications for Post-SEO Performance," 2004 Meeting Papers 812, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    21. George J. Borjas & Valerie A. Ramey, 2000. "Market Responses to Interindustry Wage Differentials," NBER Working Papers 7799, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    22. Hyunseob Kim & Howard Kung, 2017. "The Asset Redeployability Channel: How Uncertainty Affects Corporate Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(1), pages 245-280.
    23. James D. Montgomery, 1991. "Equilibrium Wage Dispersion and Interindustry Wage Differentials," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(1), pages 163-179.
    24. repec:bla:jfinan:v:59:y:2004:i:6:p:2577-2603 is not listed on IDEAS
    25. David H. Autor & Frank Levy & Richard J. Murnane, 2003. "The skill content of recent technological change: an empirical exploration," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, issue nov.
    26. Jermann, Urban J., 1998. "Asset pricing in production economies," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 257-275, April.
    27. Ilan Cooper, 2006. "Asset Pricing Implications of Nonconvex Adjustment Costs and Irreversibility of Investment," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 139-170, February.
    28. Kevin Lang, 1991. "Persistent Wage Dispersion and Involuntary Unemployment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(1), pages 181-202.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jun Li, 2019. "Explaining Momentum and Value Simultaneously," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(9), pages 4239-4260, September.
    2. Po‐Hsuan Hsu & Huijun Wang & Wei Yang, 2022. "General Purpose Technologies as Systematic Risk in Global Stock Markets," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 54(5), pages 1141-1173, August.
    3. Ronald J. Balvers & Li Gu & Dayong Huang, 2017. "Profitability, Value, and Stock Returns in Production‐Based Asset Pricing without Frictions," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(7), pages 1621-1651, October.
    4. Frederico Belo & Jun Li & Xiaoji Lin & Xiaofei Zhao, 2017. "Labor-Force Heterogeneity and Asset Prices: The Importance of Skilled Labor," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(10), pages 3669-3709.
    5. Rong, Yuen & Tian, Cunzhi & Li, Lifang & Zheng, Xinwei, 2020. "Labor hiring and stock return: A model and new evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    6. Erica X. N. Li & Guoliang Ma & Shujing Wang & Cindy Yu, 2026. "Fundamental Anomalies," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 72(2), pages 1636-1657, February.
    7. Calvet, Laurent E. & Betermier, Sebastien & Jo, Evan, 2019. "A Supply and Demand Approach to Equity Pricing," CEPR Discussion Papers 13974, Centre for Economic Policy Research.
    8. Thomas W. Bates & Fangfang Du & Jessie Jiaxu Wang, 2025. "Workplace Automation and Corporate Liquidity Policy," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 71(2), pages 1287-1314, February.
    9. Jegadeesh, Narasimhan & Noh, Joonki & Pukthuanthong, Kuntara & Roll, Richard & Wang, Junbo, 2019. "Empirical tests of asset pricing models with individual assets: Resolving the errors-in-variables bias in risk premium estimation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(2), pages 273-298.
    10. Garlappi, Lorenzo & Song, Zhongzhi, 2017. "Capital utilization, market power, and the pricing of investment shocks," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(3), pages 447-470.
    11. Segal, Gill, 2019. "A tale of two volatilities: Sectoral uncertainty, growth, and asset prices," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(1), pages 110-140.
    12. Mikhail Simutin & JessieJiaxu Wang & Lars Kuehn, 2014. "A Labor Capital Asset Pricing Model," 2014 Meeting Papers 695, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    13. Jessie Jiaxu Wang, 2023. "Workplace Automation and Corporate Liquidity Policy," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2023-023, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    14. Adam Zaremba & Jacob Koby Shemer, 2018. "Price-Based Investment Strategies," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-319-91530-2, January.
    15. Stefan Nagel, 2013. "Empirical Cross-Sectional Asset Pricing," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 5(1), pages 167-199, November.
    16. Lu Zhang, 2017. "The Investment CAPM," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 23(4), pages 545-603, September.
    17. Lu Zhang, 2019. "Q-factors and Investment CAPM," NBER Working Papers 26538, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Xiaoji Lin & Fan Yang & Frederico Belo, 2014. "External Equity Financing Costs, Financial Flows, and Asset Prices," 2014 Meeting Papers 863, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    19. Yang, Fan, 2013. "Investment shocks and the commodity basis spread," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(1), pages 164-184.
    20. Xiaoji Lin & Ding Luo & Andres Donangelo & Frederico Belo, 2017. "Labor Hiring, Aggregate Dividends, and Return Predictability in the Time Series," 2017 Meeting Papers 885, Society for Economic Dynamics.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:irvfin:v:26:y:2026:i:2:n:e70074. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1369-412X .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.