Microeconomic Evidence of Nominal Wage Rigidity in Chile

Abstract

This paper presents micro evidence on the degree of downward nominal wage rigidity in Chile and also explores its consequences in terms of employment. The data used corresponds to a new panel based on 440 thousand wage histories for the period 2001.12-2007.12. The results indicate a low degree of wage flexibility, the estimated length of wage adjustment for the whole economy being around nine quarters. In terms of the determinants of wage rigidity, the degree of flexibility depends negatively on the size of the firm, the percentage of female workers, the age of workers and white-collar participation at firm level. The econometric estimations indicate that the direct consequence of wage rigidity is a higher fluctuation of employment through the business cycle.