Wage Cyclicality under Different Regimes of Industrial Relations

Since there is scant evidence on the role of industrial relations in wage cyclicality, this paper analyzes the effect of collective wage contracts and of works councils on real wage growth. Using linked employer-employee data for western Germany, we find that works councils affect wage growth only in combination with collective bargaining. Wage adjustments to positive and negative economic shocks are not always symmetric. Only under sectoral bargaining there is a (nearly symmetric) reaction to rising and falling unemployment. In contrast, wage growth in establishments without collective bargaining adjusts only to falling unemployment and is unaffected by rising unemployment.wage cyclicality, wage bargaining, works council, Germany

Wage posting or wage bargaining? Evidence from the employers side

Using a representative establishment dataset, this paper analyzes the incidence of wage posting and wage bargaining in the matching process. We show that both modes of wage determination coexist in the German labor market, with about two-thirds of hirings being characterized by wage posting. Wage posting dominates in the public sector, in larger firms, in firms covered by collective agreements, and in part-time and fixed-term contracts. Job-seekers who are unemployed, out of the labor force or just finished their apprenticeship are also less likely to get a chance of negotiating. Wage bargaining is more likely for more-educated applicants and in jobs with special requirements as well as in tight regional labor markets

Wage cyclicality under different regimes of industrial relations

Since there is scant evidence on the role of industrial relations in wage cyclicality, this paper analyzes the effect of collective wage contracts and of works councils on real wage growth. Using linked employer-employee data for western Germany, we find that works councils affect wage growth only in combination with collective bargaining. Wage adjustments to positive and negative economic shocks are not always symmetric. Only under sectoral bargaining there is a (nearly symmetric) reaction to rising and falling unemployment. In contrast, wage growth in establishments without collective bargaining adjusts only to falling unemployment and is unaffected by rising unemployment

Wage posting or wage bargaining? Evidence from the employers' side

Using a representative establishment dataset, this paper is the first to analyze the incidence of wage posting and wage bargaining in the matching pro-cess from the employer's side. We show that both modes of wage determination coexist in the German labor market, with about two-thirds of hirings being charac-terized by wage posting. Wage posting dominates in the public sector, in larger firms, in firms covered by collective agreements, and in part-time and fixed-term contracts. Job-seekers who are unemployed, out of the labor force or just finished their apprenticeship are also less likely to get a chance of negotiating. Wage bar-gaining is more likely for more-educated applicants and in jobs with special requirements as well as in tight regional labor markets.Dieser Aufsatz analysiert erstmals mit Hilfe einer reprä-sentativen Betriebsbefragung die Verbreitung von fixen Lohnangeboten der Arbeit-geber und von Lohnverhandlungen bei Neueinstellungen. Wir zeigen, dass sowohl individuelle Lohnverhandlungen als auch fixe Lohnangebote in Deutschland vor-kommen, wobei bei rund zwei Drittel der Neueinstellungen ein fixer Lohn angeboten wird. Besonders häufig gibt es fixe Lohnangebote im öffentlichen Dienst, in tarif-gebundenen Firmen und bei Teilzeit- oder befristeter Beschäftigung. Mit Personen, die vorher nicht erwerbstätig waren oder eine Ausbildung beendet haben, wird seltener über den Lohn verhandelt. Wahrscheinlicher ist eine Lohnverhandlung, wenn die eingestellte Person höher qualifiziert ist, wenn spezielle Qualifikationen verlangt werden oder wenn die regionale Arbeitslosigkeit gering ist

Wage cyclicality under different regimes of industrial relations

Since there is scant evidence on the role of industrial relations in wage cyclicality, this paper analyzes the effect of collective wage contracts and of works councils on real wage growth. Using linked employer-employee data for western Germany, we find that works councils affect wage growth only in combination with collective bargaining. Wage adjustments to positive and negative economic shocks are not always symmetric. Only under sectoral bargaining there is a (nearly symmetric) reaction to rising and falling unemployment. In contrast, wage growth in establishments without collective bargaining adjusts only to falling unemployment and is unaffected by rising unemployment

Wage cyclicality under different regimes of industrial relations

Since there is scant evidence on the role of industrial relations in wage cyclicality, this paper analyzes the effect of collective wage contracts and of works councils on real wage growth. Using linked employer-employee data for western Germany, we find that works councils affect wage growth only in combination with collective bargaining. Wage adjustments to positive and negative economic shocks are not always symmetric. Only under sectoral bargaining there is a (nearly symmetric) reaction to rising and falling unemployment. In contrast, wage growth in establishments without collective bargaining adjusts only to falling unemployment and is unaffected by rising unemployment

Wage Posting or Wage Bargaining? Evidence from the Employers' Side

Using a representative establishment dataset, this paper is the first to analyze the incidence of wage posting and wage bargaining in the matching process from the employer's side. We show that both modes of wage determination coexist in the German labor market, with about two-thirds of hirings being characterized by wage posting. Wage posting dominates in the public sector, in larger firms, in firms covered by collective agreements, and in part-time and fixed-term contracts. Job-seekers who are unemployed, out of the labor force or just finished their apprenticeship are also less likely to get a chance of negotiating. Wage bargaining is more likely for more-educated applicants and in jobs with special requirements as well as in tight regional labor markets

Wage posting or wage bargaining? Evidence from the employer's side

Using a representative establishment dataset, this paper is the first to analyze the incidence of wage posting and wage bargaining in the matching process from the employer's side. We show that both modes of wage determination coexist in the German labor market, with about two-thirds of hirings being characterized by wage posting. Wage posting dominates in the public sector, in larger firms, in firms covered by collective agreements, and in part-time and fixed-term contracts. Jobseekers who are unemployed, out of the labor force or just finished their apprenticeship are also less likely to get a chance of negotiating. Wage bargaining is more likely for more-educated applicants and in jobs with special requirements as well as in tight regional labor markets.Dieser Aufsatz analysiert erstmals mit Hilfe einer repräsentativen Betriebsbefragung die Verbreitung von fixen Lohnangeboten der Arbeitgeber und von Lohnverhandlungen bei Neueinstellungen. Wir zeigen, dass sowohl individuelle Lohnverhandlungen als auch fixe Lohnangebote in Deutschland vorkommen, wobei bei rund zwei Drittel der Neueinstellungen ein fixer Lohn angeboten wird. Besonders häufig gibt es fixe Lohnangebote im öffentlichen Dienst, in tarifgebundenen Firmen und bei Teilzeitoder befristeter Beschäftigung. Mit Personen, die vorher nicht erwerbstätig waren oder eine Ausbildung beendet haben, wird seltener über den Lohn verhandelt. Wahrscheinlicher ist eine Lohnverhandlung, wenn die eingestellte Person höher qualifiziert ist, wenn spezielle Qualifikationen verlangt werden oder wenn die regionale Arbeitslosigkeit gering ist

Wage cyclicality under different regimes of industrial relations

Since there is scant evidence on the role of industrial relations in wage cyclicality, this paper analyzes the effect of collective wage contracts and of works councils on real wage growth. Using linked employer-employee data for western Germany, we find that works councils affect wage growth only in combination with collective bargaining. Wage adjustments to positive and negative economic shocks are not always symmetric. Only under sectoral bargaining there is a (nearly symmetric) reaction to rising and falling unemployment. In contrast, wage growth in establishments without collective bargaining adjusts only to falling unemployment and is unaffected by rising unemployment

Wage cyclicality under different regimes of industrial relations

Since there is scant evidence on the role of industrial relations in wage cyclicality, this paper analyzes the effect of collective wage contracts and of works councils on real wage growth. Using linked employer-employee data for western Germany, we find that works councils affect wage growth only in combination with collective bargaining. Wage adjustments to positive and negative economic shocks are not always symmetric. Only under sectoral bargaining there is a (nearly symmetric) reaction to rising and falling unemployment. In contrast, wage growth in establishments without collective bargaining adjusts only to falling unemployment and is unaffected by rising unemployment