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Variable Pay and Risk Sharing Between Firms and Workers

Author

Listed:
  • Sockin, Jason

    (Cornell University)

  • Sockin, Michael

    (University of Texas at Austin)

Abstract

Firms differ in the extent to which they use variable pay. Using U.S. employeeemployer matched data on variable pay from Glassdoor, we document such dispersion and find workers are exposed to firm-level shocks through variable pay. Credit rating downgrades from investment to speculative grade, negative shocks to financial or operational performance, and greater exposure to a financial crisis, as proxied for by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, induce firms to shift compensation toward base pay. Increased use of variable pay is associated with greater earnings variance for workers but less volatile growth for firms. We rationalize these findings in a model of risk sharing between a risk-averse firm and workers with limited commitment.

Suggested Citation

  • Sockin, Jason & Sockin, Michael, 2025. "Variable Pay and Risk Sharing Between Firms and Workers," IZA Discussion Papers 17644, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17644
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gabriel Chodorow-Reich, 2014. "The Employment Effects of Credit Market Disruptions: Firm-level Evidence from the 2008-9 Financial Crisis," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 129(1), pages 1-59.
    2. John Grigsby & Erik Hurst & Ahu Yildirmaz, 2021. "Aggregate Nominal Wage Adjustments: New Evidence from Administrative Payroll Data," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 111(2), pages 428-471, February.
    3. Raj Chetty & Adam Guren & Day Manoli & Andrea Weber, 2011. "Are Micro and Macro Labor Supply Elasticities Consistent? A Review of Evidence on the Intensive and Extensive Margins," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(3), pages 471-475, May.
    4. Gabriel Chodorow-Reich, "undated". "The Employment Effects of Credit Market Disruptions: Firm-level Evidence from the 2008-09 Financial Crisis," Working Paper 90811, Harvard University OpenScholar.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity

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