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Do newly founded firms pay lower wages? : first evidence from Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Brixy, Udo
  • Kohaut, Susanne
  • Schnabel, Claus

Abstract

"Using a linked employer-employee data set for Germany, this paper analyses wage setting in a cohort of newly founded and other establishments from 1997 to 2001. While theory provides alternative explanations for higher or lower wages in newly founded firms, we show empirically that start-ups tend to pay lower wages, ceteris paribus. On average, wages in newly founded establishments are 8 percent lower than in similar incumbent firms. This negative wage differential is substantially smaller in eastern than in western Germany. The wage differential is shown to decline over time as the newly founded firms become more mature." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Suggested Citation

  • Brixy, Udo & Kohaut, Susanne & Schnabel, Claus, 2004. "Do newly founded firms pay lower wages? : first evidence from Germany," IAB-Discussion Paper 200404, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    • Handle: RePEc:iab:iabdpa:200404
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wagner, Joachim, 1994. "The Post-entry Performance of New Small Firms in German Manufacturing Industries," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 141-154, June.
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    3. Oi, Walter Y. & Idson, Todd L., 1999. "Firm size and wages," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 33, pages 2165-2214, Elsevier.
    4. Claudio Michelacci & Vincenzo Quadrini, 2009. "Financial Markets and Wages," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 76(2), pages 795-827.
    5. Kölling, Arnd & Schnabel, Claus & Wagner, Joachim, 2002. "Establishment age and wages: evidence from German linked employer-employee data," Discussion Papers 13, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Chair of Labour and Regional Economics.
    6. Udo Brixy & Susanne Kohaut & Claus Schnabel, 2007. "Do Newly Founded Firms Pay Lower Wages? First Evidence from Germany," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 29(1), pages 161-171, June.
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    8. Brixy, Udo & Kohaut, Susanne, 1999. "Employment Growth Determinants in New Firms in Eastern Germany," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 13(2), pages 155-170, September.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; IAB-Linked-Employer-Employee-Datensatz ; Lohnhöhe ; Lohnstruktur ; Unternehmensalter ; Unternehmensgründung ; 1997-2001;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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