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on Human Capital and Human Resource Management |
| By: | Baktash, Mehrzad B. |
| Abstract: | Increased wages and productivity associated with performance pay can be beneficial to both employers and employees. However, performance pay can also entail unintended consequences for workers' well-being. This study is the first to systematically examine the association between performance pay and loneliness, a significant social well-being concern. Using representative survey data from Germany, I find that performance pay is positively associated with incidence, dimensions, and intensity of loneliness. Correspondingly, performance pay is negatively associated with social life satisfaction of the workers. The findings also hold in sensible instrumental variable estimations addressing the potential endogeneity of performance pay and in various robustness checks. Investigating the potential role of moderating factors reveals that the association between performance pay and loneliness is particularly large for private sector employees. Finally, implications are discussed. |
| Keywords: | Performance Pay, Loneliness, Social Life, Well-Being, SOEP |
| JEL: | J33 I31 J32 I10 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1524 |
| By: | Anderlik, Jasmin (Ministry of Labor and the Economy (Vienna)); Jumaniyozova, Malika (Johannes Kepler University Linz); Schmidpeter, Bernhard (Vienna University of Economics and Business); Winter-Ebmer, Rudolf (Johannes Kepler University Linz) |
| Abstract: | Using linked vacancy-employer-employee data from Austria, we investigate how monopsony power affects firms' posting behavior and wage negotiations. Consistent with theoretical predictions, we find that firms with greater monopsony power post lower wages and offer fewer non-wage amenities, suggesting that wages and non-wage benefits are complementary. However, we find no evidence that monopsonistic firms demand higher levels of skill or education. Instead, our results indicate that they require more basic skills, particularly those related to routine tasks. On the workers' side, we find that employees hired in monopsonistic labor markets face significantly lower wages, both initially and in the long run. These lower wages are driven by both lower posted wages and reduced bargaining power, as well as reduced opportunities to climb the wage ladder later. |
| Keywords: | monopsony, wages, bargaining, upskilling |
| JEL: | J12 J16 J13 J22 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17585 |
| By: | Gathmann, Christina (LISER); Grimm, Felix (LISER); Winkler, Erwin (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) |
| Abstract: | How does Artificial Intelligence (AI) affect the task content of work, and how do workers adjust to the diffusion of AI in the economy? To answer these important questions, we combine novel patent-based measures of AI and robot exposure with individual survey data on tasks performed on the job and administrative data on worker careers. Like prior studies, we find that robots have reduced routine tasks. In sharp contrast, AI has reduced non-routine abstract tasks like information gathering and increased the demand for 'high-level' routine tasks like monitoring processes. These task shifts mainly occur within detailed occupations and become stronger over time. While displacement effects are small, workers have responded by switching jobs, often to less exposed industries. We also document that low-skilled workers suffer some wage losses, while high-skilled incumbent workers experience wage gains. |
| Keywords: | Artificial Intelligence, tasks, skills, reallocation, robots, patents |
| JEL: | J23 J24 J31 J62 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17554 |
| By: | Ihsaan Bassier; Leila Gautham |
| Abstract: | We find that women sorting into lower wage firms explains nearly half of the gender wage gap in South Africa, using matched employer-employee panel data covering the universe of formal sector workers. Sorting varies considerably over the life cycle: the firm-wage gender gap is negligible for the youngest workers, grows steeply for 25-35-year-olds (i.e. typical child-rearing years), and narrows for older workers. |
| Keywords: | Wage premium, Gender gap, Wage inequality, Sorting, Worker mobility, Firm-level analysis |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2024-80 |
| By: | Valeria Maggian (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice); Giacomo Pasini (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; NETSPAR); Paola Profeta (Bocconi University); Ludovica Spinola (University of Milano Bicocca) |
| Abstract: | Does the gender of the supervisor matter for career trajectories and compensation of both male and female subordinates? This paper exploits a fine-grained longitudinal personnel data on workers from an Italian insurance company over the period 2014-2021 and identifies the gender composition of supervisor-subordinate dyads. Employing an individual fixed effect model, we show that while male and female supervisors evaluate similarly the performance of male and female subordinates, female supervisors are less likely to award one-off bonuses to both genders compared to their male counterparts. Additionally, both male and female subordinates are less likely of receiving promotions from employee to middle-manager when their supervisor is a woman compared to when their supervisor is a man. We interpret these findings as suggestive of female supervisors facing heightened scrutiny, leading to fewer promotions and bonuses being granted. |
| Keywords: | gender gaps; career; workers’ outcomes; leadership |
| JEL: | J16 J24 J31 M51 M52 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2024:21 |
| By: | Jeronimo Carballo; Richard Mansfield; Kassandra McLean |
| Abstract: | We link U.S. job records with both firm-level business register and customs records to construct a novel set of summary statistics and descriptive regressions that highlight the central role played by the small set of multinational firms (denoted RP XM firms) who engage in both importing and exporting with related parties in translating international trade shocks to shifts in labor demand. We find that RP XM firms 1) dominate trade volumes; 2) account for very disproportionate shares of national employment and payroll; 3) employ greater shares of workers in higher pay deciles; 4) disproportionately poach other firms’ high paid workers; 5) offer higher raises to their existing workers. These hiring and pay patterns generally exist even among new RP XM firms, but strengthen with RP XM tenure, and continue to hold, albeit at smaller magnitudes, after conditioning on standard proxies for firm and worker productivity. Taken together, these findings reveal that RP XM status is a reliable proxy for the kind of firm that drives the initial labor market impacts of trade shocks, and that high paid workers are likely to be most directly exposed to such shocks. |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:24-77 |
| By: | Anja Prummer; Francesco Squintani |
| Abstract: | Motivated by the recent surge in union drives, we present a theoretical model of the factors that influence unionization. An employee seeking to unionize their workplace assembles organizers to persuade coworkers to vote in favor. If unionization benefits workers, it is more likely to succeed when the organizers are credible. Credibility depends on the organizers not being overly biased and/or bearing significant organizational costs. Our theory explains why grassroots movements, rather than established unions, often succeed in organizing workplaces. Interestingly, the likelihood of successful unionization, when it benefits workers, is non-monotonic with respect to organizational costs. When such costs are low, a firm that opposes unionization and targets organizers may paradoxically increase the chances of success. However, the unionization drive is ineffective if the firm’s opposition is sufficiently strong, as this makes organizational costs prohibitive. |
| Keywords: | Unions, Labor Organization, Campaigns |
| JEL: | D71 D83 D23 |
| Date: | 2024–12–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdp:dpaper:0056 |
| By: | Broso, Matteo; Gallice, Andrea; Muratori, Caterina |
| Abstract: | Men and women often sort into different jobs, and male-dominated jobs typically pay more than female-dominated ones. Why is that the case? We propose a model where workers have heterogeneous attitudes with respect to the social norms that define gender prescribed occupations and face endogenous social costs when entering jobs deemed "appropriate" for the other gender. We show that: (i) workers trade off identity and wage considerations in deciding where to work; (ii) asymmetric social norms contribute to the gender pay gap by deterring women from entering higher-paying male-dominated sectors; (iii) breaking social norms generates positive externalities, reducing social stigma for everyone. Therefore, in equilibrium, there are too few social norm breakers. |
| Keywords: | Occupational Segregation, Wage Gap, Social Norms |
| JEL: | J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1529 |
| By: | Falck, Oliver; Guo, Yuchen; Langer, Christina; Lindlacher, Valentin; Wiederhold, Simon |
| Abstract: | Job training is widely regarded as crucial for protecting workers from automation, yet there is a lack of empirical evidence to support this belief. Using internationally harmonized data from over 90, 000 workers across 37 industrialized countries, we construct an individual-level measure of automation risk based on tasks performed at work. Our analysis reveals substantial within-occupation variation in automation risk, overlooked by existing occupation-level measures. To assess whether job training mitigates automation risk, we exploit within-occupation and within-industry variation. Additionally, we employ entropy balancing to re-weight workers without job training based on a rich set of background characteristics, including tested numeracy skills as a proxy for unobserved ability. We find that job training reduces workers' automation risk by 4.7 percentage points, equivalent to 10 percent of the average automation risk. The training-induced reduction in automation risk accounts for one-fifth of the wage returns to job training. Job training is effective in reducing automation risk and increasing wages across nearly all countries, underscoring the external validity of our findings. Women tend to benefit more from training than men, with the advantage becoming particularly pronounced at older ages. |
| Keywords: | automation, entropy balancing, human capital, job training, technological change |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J61 O33 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:iwhdps:308050 |
| By: | Burdin, Gabriel (University of Siena); Kambayashi, Ryo (Musashi University); Kato, Takao (Colgate University) |
| Abstract: | This study provides the first analysis of Japan's 2018 Work Style Reform (WSR) and its effects on firms and workers, using payroll and survey data in a difference-in-difference design. We find that the reform's introduction of an overtime cap reduces average monthly overtime hours by 5 hours (-25%) and compresses the distribution of overtime within establishments. Total earnings decrease by 2% due to reduced overtime pay, while hourly wages remain unchanged. Notably, the reform improves life and leisure satisfaction, but these well-being gains are observed only among women. This gender difference is not explained by variations in perceived work intensification or time use. Instead, we find evidence that men (but not women) substitute paid overtime for unpaid overtime, which is consistent with the lack of well-being gains for men. Finally, we document that the reform leads to women taking more career jobs (standard employment) relative to non-career jobs (nonstandard employment) as compared to their male counterparts, highlighting the potential of working-hour regulations to promote gender equality in the labor market. |
| Keywords: | working time regulations, overtime, wages, employment, subjective well-being, gender, Japan, work style reform |
| JEL: | J16 J22 J23 J41 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17583 |
| By: | Marco Caliendo; Katrin Huber; Ingo E. Isphording; Jakob Wegmann |
| Abstract: | Surveys are an indispensable source of data for applied economic research; however, their reliance on self-reported information can introduce bias, especially if core variables such as personal income are misreported. To assess the extent and impact of this misreporting bias, we compare self-reported wages from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) with administrative wages from social security records (IEB) for the same individuals. Using a novel and unique data linkage (SOEP-ADIAB), we identify a modest but economically significant reporting bias, with SOEP respondents underreporting their administrative wages by about 7.3%. This misreporting varies systematically with individual, household, and especially job and firm characteristics. In replicating common empirical analyses in which wages serve as either dependent or independent variables, we find that misreporting is consequential for some, but not all estimated relationships. It turns out to be inconsequential for examining the returns to education, but relevant for analyzing the gender wage gap. In addition we find that misreporting bias can significantly affect the results when wage is used as the independent variable. Specifically, estimates of the wage-satisfaction relationship are substantially overestimated when based on survey data, although this bias is mitigated when focusing on interpersonal changes. Our Findings underscore that survey-based measures of individual wages can significantly bias commonly estimated empirical relationships. They also demonstrate the enormous research potential of linked administrative-survey data. |
| Keywords: | reporting bias, measurement error, wage, income, administrative data, survey data, data linkage |
| JEL: | J01 J30 D31 |
| Date: | 2025–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bon:boncrc:crctr224_2025_619 |