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Wage Dispersion and Firm Productivity in Different Working Environments

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  • Mahy, Benoît

    (University of Mons)

  • Rycx, François

    (Free University of Brussels)

  • Volral, Mélanie

    (University of Mons)

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of wage dispersion on firm productivity in different working environments. More precisely, it examines the interaction with: i) the skills of the workforce, using a more appropriate indicator than the standard distinction between white- and blue collar workers, and ii) the uncertainty of the firm economic environment, which has, to our knowledge, never been explored on an empirical basis. Using detailed LEED for Belgium, we find a hump-shaped relationship between (conditional) wage dispersion and firm productivity. This result suggests that up to (beyond) a certain level of wage dispersion, the incentive effects of “tournaments” dominate (are dominated by) “fairness” considerations. Findings also show that the intensity of the relationship is stronger for highly skilled workers and in more stable environments. This might be explained by the fact that monitoring costs and production-effort elasticity are greater for highly skilled workers and that in the presence of high uncertainty workers have less control over their effort-output relation and associate higher uncertainty with more unfair environments.

Suggested Citation

  • Mahy, Benoît & Rycx, François & Volral, Mélanie, 2009. "Wage Dispersion and Firm Productivity in Different Working Environments," IZA Discussion Papers 4044, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
  • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4044
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    Cited by:

    1. Stephan Kampelmann, 2011. "The Socio-Economics of Pay Rules," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/268040, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    2. Kampelmann, Stephan & Rycx, François, 2012. "The impact of educational mismatch on firm productivity: Evidence from linked panel data," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 918-931.
    3. Stephan Kampelmann & Benoit Mahy & François Rycx & Guillaume Vermeylen, 2016. "Who is your perfect match? Educational norms, educational mismatch and firm profitability," Working Papers CEB 16-050, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    4. Surhan Cam & Serap Palaz, 2023. "Mutual interests management with a purposive approach: Evidence from the Turkish shipyards for an amorphous impact model between (subjective) well‐being and performance," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 40-70, January.
    5. François Rycx & Yves Saks & Ilan Tojerow, 2015. "Does Education Raise Productivity and Wages Equally? The Moderating Roles of Age, Gender and Industry," Working Paper Research 281, National Bank of Belgium.
    6. Ballestar, María Teresa & Díaz-Chao, Ángel & Sainz, Jorge & Torrent-Sellens, Joan, 2020. "Knowledge, robots and productivity in SMEs: Explaining the second digital wave," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 119-131.
    7. Carolina Laureti, 2015. "The Debt Puzzle in Dhaka’s Slums: Do Poor People Co-hold for Liquidity Needs?," Working Papers CEB 15-021, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    8. Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Guillaume Vermeylen, 2015. "Educational Mismatch and Firm Productivity: Do Skills, Technology and Uncertainty Matter?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 233-262, June.
    9. Aleksandra Skorupinska & Joan Torrent-Sellens, 2017. "ICT, Innovation and Productivity: Evidence Based on Eastern European Manufacturing Companies," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(2), pages 768-788, June.
    10. Skorupinska, Aleksandra, 2017. "ICT, innovation and productivity: evidence based on Polish companies," Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research, Pro Global Science Association, vol. 13(1), pages 59-65, JUNE.
    11. Bai, Peiwen & Cheng, Wenli, 2020. "Relative earnings and firm performance: Evidence from publicly-listed firms in China, 2005–2012," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 279-290.
    12. Dai, Yunhao & Kong, Dongmin & Xu, Jin, 2017. "Does fairness breed efficiency? Pay gap and firm productivity in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 406-422.
    13. Stoyanov Andrey & Zubanov Nick, 2022. "Skill complementarity in production technology: New empirical evidence and implications," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 23(2), pages 233-274, May.
    14. Roya Taherifar & Mark J. Holmes & Gazi M. Hassan, 2021. "Is performance affected by the CEO-Employee pay gap? Evidence from Australia," Working Papers in Economics 21/14, University of Waikato.
    15. Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral, 2011. "Does Wage Dispersion Make All Firms Productive?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 58(4), pages 455-489, September.
    16. Lukasz Arendt & Wojciech Grabowski, 2017. "Innovations, ICT and ICT-driven labour productivity in Poland," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 25(4), pages 723-758, October.
    17. Nasir, Muhammad Ali & Wu, Junjie & Howes, Cameron & Ripley, Helen, 2022. "Asymmetric nexus between wages and productivity in the context of the global financial crisis," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 164-175.
    18. Carolina Laureti, 2017. "Why do Poor People Co-hold Debt and Liquid Savings?," Working Papers CEB 17-007, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    19. Guy Vernon & Mark Rogers, 2013. "Where Do Unions Add Value? Predominant Organizing Principle, Union Strength and Manufacturing Productivity Growth in the OECD," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(1), pages 1-27, March.
    20. Camiña, Ester & Díaz-Chao, Ángel & Torrent-Sellens, Joan, 2020. "Automation technologies: Long-term effects for Spanish industrial firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    linked employer-employee data; personnel economics; working environments; labour productivity; wage dispersion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

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