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Wage Inequality and Labour-market Performance. A Role for Corporate Social Responsibility - Disuguaglianza salariale e performance del mercato del lavoro

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  • Destefanis, Sergio

    (Centro di Economia del Lavoro e di Politica Economica (CELPE) (Centre of Labour Economics and Economic Policy) Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Statistiche (Department of Economics and Statistics) Università degli Studi di Salerno)

  • Mastromatteo, Giuseppe

    (Università Cattolica, Istituto di Economia e Finanza)

Abstract

In this paper we assess the scope for corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the area of wage inequality. We begin by noting that the salient trends in wage structures and employment across European and US labour markets are more complicated than implied by the so-called ‘unified theory’. This leads us to examine in detail the factors mentioned in the literature as contributing to poor labour-market performance in Europe. We find that (a) strong unions, a factor often believed to bring about wage compression and poor labour-market performance, are not necessarily associated with the latter when bargaining is sufficiently coordinated; (b) successful welfare reforms can bring about considerable improvements in performance without significant impact on inequality; © territorial mobility and child-care policies may considerably increase work participation, especially among women. We conclude that there is room for CSR to affect wage inequality, especially through firm-provided training. / Un ruolo per la responsabilità sociale di impresa? In questo lavoro si valuta il possibile ruolo della responsabilità sociale di impresa nell’ambito delle disuguaglianze salariali. Dopo aver rilevato che le tendenze salienti di salari e occupazione in Europa e Stati Uniti sono più complesse di quelle implicite nella cosiddetta ‘teoria unificata’, vengono esaminati in dettaglio i fattori a cui la letteratura attribuisce la cattiva performance del mercato del lavoro in Europa. Da questa disamina scaturisce che (a) il potere sindacale, spesso ritenuto fonte di compressione salariale e cattiva performance del mercato del lavoro, non è necessariamente connesso con quest’ultima, in presenza di contrattazione salariale sufficientemente coordinata; (b) appropriate riforme del sistema di welfare possono portare a migliori performance del mercato del lavoro senza un impatto significativo sulla disuguaglianza; © le politiche per l’infanzia, nonché una maggiore mobilità territoriale, aumentano notevolmente il tasso di attività, soprattutto tra le donne. Si conclude che vi è spazio per la responsabilità sociale di impresa nella riduzione delle disuguaglianze salariali, in particolare attraverso una maggiore formazione professionale fornita dalle imprese.

Suggested Citation

  • Destefanis, Sergio & Mastromatteo, Giuseppe, 2010. "Wage Inequality and Labour-market Performance. A Role for Corporate Social Responsibility - Disuguaglianza salariale e performance del mercato del lavoro," Economia Internazionale / International Economics, Camera di Commercio Industria Artigianato Agricoltura di Genova, vol. 63(1), pages 91-120.
  • Handle: RePEc:ris:ecoint:0589
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wage Inequality; Labour-market Institutions; Corporate Social Responsibility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C24 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Truncated and Censored Models; Switching Regression Models; Threshold Regression Models
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J69 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Other

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