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Geringverdiener: Wem und wie gelingt der Aufstieg? / Low-Wage Earners: Who Manages to Reach Higher Wage Levels?

Author

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  • Schank Thorsten
  • Schnabel Claus

    (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Lehrstuhl für Arbeitsmarkt- und Regionalpolitik, Lange Gasse 20, 90403 Nürnberg, Germany)

  • Stephani Jens

    (Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB) Regensburger Strasse 104, 90478 Nürnberg, Germany)

Abstract

Using representative linked employer-employee data of the German Federal Employment Agency, this paper analyzes to which extent full-time employees who earned low wages (less than two-thirds of the median wage) in 1998/99 were able to earn higher wages in the following years, and which factors play a role in this context. It is shown that just one out of seven of these low-wage earners was able to earn wages above the low wage threshold in 2005. Bivariate probit estimations with endogenous selection indicate that younger and better qualified low-wage earners record a higher probability of getting higher wages, whereas women are less successful. In addition, this probability shows a significant relationship with the size and the employment structure of the establishment. Moving from one establishment to another is an important instrument for leaving low-wage employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Schank Thorsten & Schnabel Claus & Stephani Jens, 2009. "Geringverdiener: Wem und wie gelingt der Aufstieg? / Low-Wage Earners: Who Manages to Reach Higher Wage Levels?," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 229(5), pages 584-614, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:jns:jbstat:v:229:y:2009:i:5:p:584-614
    DOI: 10.1515/jbnst-2009-0505
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    Cited by:

    1. Mosthaf, Alexander & Schnabel, Claus & Stephani, Jens, 2011. "Low-wage careers: Are there dead-end firms and dead-end jobs?," Zeitschrift für ArbeitsmarktForschung - Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 43(3), pages 231-249.
    2. Schnabel Claus, 2016. "United, Yet Apart? A Note on Persistent Labour Market Differences between Western and Eastern Germany," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 236(2), pages 157-179, March.
    3. Alexander Mosthaf & Thorsten Schank & Claus Schnabel, 2014. "Low-wage employment versus unemployment: Which one provides better prospects for women?," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 3(1), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Stephani, Jens, 2012. "Wage growth and career patterns of German low-wage workers," IAB-Discussion Paper 201201, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    5. Schnitzlein, Daniel D. & Stephani, Jens, 2016. "Locus of Control and low-wage mobility," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 164-177.
    6. Stephani, Jens, 2013. "Does it matter where you work? : employer characteristics and the wage growth of low-wage workers and higher-wage workers," IAB-Discussion Paper 201304, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].

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