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Rigid labour compensation and flexible employment? Firm-level evidence with regard to productivity for Belgium

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  • Fuss, Catherine
  • Wintr, Ladislav
Abstract
Using firm-level data for Belgium over the period 1997-2005, we evaluate the elasticity of firms' labour and real average labour compensation to microeconomic total factor productivity (TFP). Our results may be summarised as follows. First, we find that the elasticity of average labour compensation to firm-level TFP is very low contrary to that of labour, consistent with real wage rigidity. Second, while the elasticity of average labour compensation to idiosyncratic firm- level TFP is close to zero, the elasticity with respect to aggregate sector-level TFP is high. We argue that average labour compensation adjustment mainly occur at the sector level through sectoral collective bargaining, which leaves little room for firm-level adjustment to firm-specific shocks. Third, we report evidence of a positive relationship between hours and idiosyncratic TFP, as well as aggregate TFP within the year. JEL Classification: J30, J60

Suggested Citation

  • Fuss, Catherine & Wintr, Ladislav, 2009. "Rigid labour compensation and flexible employment? Firm-level evidence with regard to productivity for Belgium," Working Paper Series 1021, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20091021
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    Cited by:

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    2. Dhyne, Emmanuel & Druant, Martine, 2010. "Wages, labor or prices: how do firms react to shocks?," Working Paper Series 1224, European Central Bank.
    3. Kampelmann, Stephan & Mahy, Benoît & Rycx, François & Vermeylen, Guillaume, 2016. "Who Is Your Perfect Match? Educational Norms, Educational Mismatch and Firm Profitability," IZA Discussion Papers 10399, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. G. de Walque & M. Druant & Ph. Du Caju & C. Fuss, 2010. "Lessons of the Wage Dynamics Network," Economic Review, National Bank of Belgium, issue i, pages 55-75, June.
    5. François Rycx & Yves Saks & Ilan Tojerow, 2015. "Does Education Raise Productivity and Wages Equally? The Moderating Roles of Age, Gender and Industry," Working Paper Research 281, National Bank of Belgium.
    6. Emin Dinlersoz & Henry Hyatt & Sang Nguyen, 2011. "Wage Dynamics along the Life-Cycle of Manufacturing Plants," Working Papers 11-24r, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau, revised Mar 2013.
    7. Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Guillaume Vermeylen & Mélanie Volral, 2018. "Productivity, wages and profits: Does firms’ position in the value chain matter?," Working Paper Research 358, National Bank of Belgium.
    8. Alali, Walid Y., 2011. "The Contribution of Education to Economic Development," MPRA Paper 115614, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Claire Loupias & Patrick Sevestre, 2013. "Costs, Demand, and Producer Price Changes," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(1), pages 315-327, March.
    10. Barney Hartman‐Glaser & Hanno Lustig & Mindy Z. Xiaolan, 2019. "Capital Share Dynamics When Firms Insure Workers," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 74(4), pages 1707-1751, August.
    11. Stephan Kampelmann & François Rycx & Yves Saks & Ilan Tojerow, 2018. "Does education raise productivity and wages equally? The moderating role of age and gender," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-37, December.
    12. Emin Dinlersoz & Henry Hyatt & Sang Nguyen, 2011. "Wage Dynamics along the Life-Cycle of Manufacturing Plants," Working Papers 11-24, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau, revised Mar 2013.
    13. Maritza López-Novella & Salimata Sissoko, 2009. "Working Paper 12-09 - Salaires et négociation collective en Belgique : une analyse microéconomique en panel," Working Papers 0912, Federal Planning Bureau, Belgium.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    employment; hours; labour compensation; total factor productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General

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