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Wage Policies of a Russian Firm and the Financial Crisis of 1998: Evidence from Personnel Data - 1997 to 2002

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  • Thomas Dohmen
  • Hartmut Lehmann
  • Mark E. Schaffer

Abstract

We use a rich personnel data set from a Russian firm for the years 1997 to 2002 to analyze how the financial crisis in 1998 and the resulting change in external labor market conditions affect the wages and the welfare of workers inside a firm. We provide evidence that large shocks to external conditions affect the firm's personnel policies, and show that the burden of the shock is not evenly spread across the workforce. The firm takes advantage of a high-inflationary environment and of a fall in workers' outside options after the financial crisis and cuts real wages. Earnings are curbed most for those who earned the highest rents, resulting in a strong compression of real wages. The fact that real wages and real compensation levels never recovered to pre-crisis levels even though the firm's financial situation was better in 2002 than before the crisis and the differential treatment of employee groups within the firm can be taken as evidence that market forces strongly influence the wage policies of our firm.

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  • Thomas Dohmen & Hartmut Lehmann & Mark E. Schaffer, 2008. "Wage Policies of a Russian Firm and the Financial Crisis of 1998: Evidence from Personnel Data - 1997 to 2002," ESCIRRU Working Papers 4, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:diw:diwesc:diwesc4
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    3. Moritz Drechsel-Grau & Felix Holub, 2020. "Gender Gaps and the Role of Bosses," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2020_237, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    4. Thomas Dohmen & Hartmut F. Lehmann & Mark E. Schaffer, 2014. "Wage Policies of a Russian Firm and the Financial Crisis of 1998: Evidence from Personnel Data, 1997 to 2002," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 67(2), pages 504-531, April.
    5. Thomas Dohmen & Hartmut Lehmann & Anzelika Zaiceva, 2008. "The Gender Earnings Gap inside a Russian Firm: First Evidence from Personnel Data - 1997 to 2002 ; Updated Version," ESCIRRU Working Papers 6, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    6. Christian Grund & Tanja Hofmann, 2019. "The dispersion of bonus payments within and between firms," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 89(4), pages 417-445, June.
    7. Colella, Fabrizio, 2014. "Women's Part-Time - Full-Time Wage Differentials in Europe: an Endogenous Switching Model," MPRA Paper 55287, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Gurvich, E. & Vakulenko, E., 2018. "Studies of Russian Labor Market and Economic Policy," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 203-212.
    9. Dohmen, Thomas & Lehmann, Hartmut & Zaiceva, Anzelika, 2008. "The gender earnings gap inside a Russian firm : first evidence from personnel data - 1997 to 2002," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 41(2/3), pages 157-179.
    10. Norberto Pignatti, 2012. "Gender wage gap dynamics in a changing Ukraine," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 1(1), pages 1-44, December.
    11. Pfeifer, Christian & Sohr, Tatjana, 2008. "Analysing the Gender Wage Gap Using Personnel Records of a Large German Company," IZA Discussion Papers 3533, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Horie, Norio & Iwasaki, Ichiro & 岩﨑, 一郎, 2022. "Returns to Education in European Emerging Markets: A Meta-Analytic Review," RRC Working Paper Series 95, Russian Research Center, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    13. Tamar Khitarishvili, 2018. "Gender Pay Gaps in the Former Soviet Union: A Review of the Evidence," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_899, Levy Economics Institute.
    14. Stanislava Kontsevaya & Jindřich Špička & Irina Kharcheva & Irina Makunina & Raisa Kostina, 2018. "Comparison Analysis and Control Procedures of Labor Workforce Efficiency of Milk Processors in Visegrad Group and Russia," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 66(1), pages 263-272.
    15. Zheng Fang & Chris Sakellariou, 2015. "Glass Ceilings versus Sticky Floors: Evidence from Southeast Asia and an International Update," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 215-242, September.
    16. Joanna Tyrowicz & Lucas Augusto van der Velde, 2021. "When Opportunity Knocks: Confronting Theory and Empirics About Dynamics of Gender Wage Inequality," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(3), pages 837-864, June.
    17. Lokshin, Michael & Gimpelson, Vladimir & Oshchepkov, Aleksey, 2012. "Explaining the Dynamics in Perceptions of Job Insecurity in Russia," IZA Discussion Papers 6422, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Juho Jokinen & Jaakko Pehkonen, 2017. "Promotions and Earnings – Gender or Merit? Evidence from Longitudinal Personnel Data," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 38(3), pages 306-334, September.
    19. Carolina Castagnetti & Luisa Rosti, 2012. "Unfair tournaments: gender stereotyping and wage discrimination among Italian graduates," DEM Working Papers Series 010, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Management.
    20. Dohmen, Thomas & Lehmann, Hartmut & Zaiceva, Anzelika, 2008. "The gender earnings gap inside a Russian firm : first evidence from personnel data - 1997 to 2002," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 41(2/3), pages 157-179.
    21. Dohmen, Thomas & Lehmann, Hartmut & Zaiceva, Anzelika, 2008. "The gender earnings gap inside a Russian firm : first evidence from personnel data - 1997 to 2002," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 41(2/3), pages 157-179.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internal labor markets; wage policies of a firm; personnel data; Russia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • P23 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Factor and Product Markets; Industry Studies; Population

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