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Unemployment, Labor Market Transitions, and Residual Wage Dispersion

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  • Fitzenberger, Bernd
  • Garloff, Alfred

Abstract

It is commonplace in the debate on Germany?s labor market problems to argue that high unemployment and low wage dispersion are related. This paper analyses the relationship between unemployment and residual wage dispersion for individuals with comparable attributes. In the conventional neoclassical point of view, wages are determined by the marginal product of the workers. Accordingly, increases in union minimum wages result in a decline of residual wage dispersion and higher unemployment. A competing view regards wage dispersion as the outcome of search frictions and the associated monopsony power of the firms. Accordingly, an increase in search frictions causes both higher unemployment and higher wage dispersion. The empirical analysis attempts to discriminate between the two hypotheses for West Germany analyzing the relationship between wage dispersion and both the level of unemployment as well as the transition rates between different labor market states. The findings are not completely consistent with either theory. However, as predicted by search theory, one robust result is that unemployment by cells is not negatively correlated with the within?cell wage dispersion.

Suggested Citation

  • Fitzenberger, Bernd & Garloff, Alfred, 2005. "Unemployment, Labor Market Transitions, and Residual Wage Dispersion," ZEW Discussion Papers 05-04, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:2895
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    Cited by:

    1. Kovács Ildikó & Marton Noémi & Patka Kinga & Páll Katalin, 2010. "The Determinats Of The Unemployment Rate - Empirical Evidence From Romania," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1(2), pages 277-282, December.
    2. Koelling Arnd, 2017. "Labor Demand and Unequal Payments: Does Wage Dispersion Matter? Using German Employer-Employee Data to Analyze the Influence of Intra-Firm Wage Inequality on Labor Demand," Review of Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 68(1), pages 1-39, April.
    3. Bertrand Lhommeau & Véronique Rémy, 2009. "Les politiques d’allégements ont-elles un effet sur la mobilité salariale des travailleurs à bas salaire ?," Économie et Statistique, Programme National Persée, vol. 429(1), pages 21-49.
    4. Garloff Alfred & Fitzenberger Bernd, 2007. "Labor Market Transitions and the Wage Structure in Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 227(2), pages 115-152, April.
    5. repec:jns:jbstat:v:227:y:2007:i:2:p:115-152 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Ronald Bachmann, 2005. "Labour Market Dynamics in Germany: Hirings, Separations, and Job-to-Job Transitions over the Business Cycle," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2005-045, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
    7. Marinela, Simuţ Ramona & Lavinia, Delcea (Săutiuţ), 2012. "Challenges for Romania’s employment policy in the Real Economy," MPRA Paper 40369, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Arnd Kölling, 2014. "Labor Demand and Unequal Payment: Does Wage Inequality matter? Analyzing the Influence of Intra-firm Wage Dispersion on Labor Demand with German Employer-Employee Data," Working Paper Series in Economics 326, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    9. Hutter, Christian & Weber, Enzo, 2017. "Labour market effects of wage inequality and skill-biased technical change in Germany," IAB-Discussion Paper 201705, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    search friction; labor demand; labor market transitions; wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • 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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