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New Evidence on Implicit Contracts from Linked Employer–Employee Data

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  • Juha Kilponen
  • Torsten Santavirta

Abstract

We improve the precision of the implicit contract model test proposed by Beaudry and DiNardo (1991). Our dataset allows us to define the exact industry and plant of a particular employment relationship, link local labor market characteristics to individual‐level wages, and control for composition effects. We find evidence in favor of the spot‐market model of wage setting in the whole sample, but there is significant variation across industries and education levels. In particular, the spot market matters most for low‐skill workers, while the implicit contract model with one‐sided limited commitment applies better to high‐skill workers.

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  • Juha Kilponen & Torsten Santavirta, 2010. "New Evidence on Implicit Contracts from Linked Employer–Employee Data," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 112(4), pages 864-883, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scandj:v:112:y:2010:i:4:p:864-883
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9442.2010.01623.x
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    1. Hermann Gartner, 2015. "Implicit contracts and industrial relations - Evidence from German employer-employee data," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 35(1), pages 298-304.
    2. Bellou, Andriana & Kaymak, Barış, 2012. "Wages, implicit contracts, and the business cycle: Evidence from a European panel," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 898-907.
    3. Martins, Pedro & Snell, Andy & Thomas, Jonathan, 2010. "Minu, Startu and all that:- Pitfalls in estimating the sensitivity of a worker’s wage to aggregate unemployment," SIRE Discussion Papers 2010-109, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
    4. Daniel Levy & Andrew T. Young, 2021. "Promise, trust, and betrayal: Costs of breaching an implicit contract," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 87(3), pages 1031-1051, January.
    5. Cockx, Bart & Ghirelli, Corinna, 2016. "Scars of recessions in a rigid labor market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 162-176.
    6. Corinna.Ghirelli, 2014. "The scarring effect of early non-employment," Working Papers of Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Ghent University, Belgium 14/895, Ghent University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration.
    7. Corinna Ghirelli, 2015. "Scars of early non-employment for low educated youth: evidence and policy lessons from Belgium," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-34, December.
    8. Corinna GHIRELLI, 2015. "Scars of early non-employment in a rigid labour market," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2015008, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).

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