IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/5978.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Do high incomes reflect individual performance? The determinants of high incomes in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Hirschel, Dierk

Abstract

In neoclassical economic theory the level of individual income is predominantly determined by individual job performance. Thus high incomes reflect the high marginal productivity of labour of the affluent working population. While the scientific research of poverty has a long tradition, nearly nothing is known about the rich. This study tries to diminish this research gap by investigating the structure of high labour incomes in Germany. By revealing the determinants of high incomes by descriptive and paneleconometric analyses mit Daten des Sozio-ökonomischen Panels, we want to answer the question if high incomes are especially the result of individual job performance or rather the result of social selection through social background or sexual discrimination

Suggested Citation

  • Hirschel, Dierk, 2003. "Do high incomes reflect individual performance? The determinants of high incomes in Germany," MPRA Paper 5978, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:5978
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/5978/1/MPRA_paper_5978.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mincer, Jacob & Polachek, Solomon, 1974. "Family Investment in Human Capital: Earnings of Women," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(2), pages 76-108, Part II, .
    2. John M. Abowd & Francis Kramarz & David N. Margolis, 1999. "High Wage Workers and High Wage Firms," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(2), pages 251-334, March.
    3. Schmidt, Christoph M & Zimmermann, Klaus F, 1991. "Work Characteristics, Firm Size and Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 73(4), pages 705-710, November.
    4. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1, July.
    5. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling and Earnings," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 41-63, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Becker, Gary S., 1971. "The Economics of Discrimination," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, edition 2, number 9780226041162.
    7. Altonji, Joseph G & Dunn, Thomas A, 1996. "The Effects of Family Characteristics on the Return to Education," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(4), pages 692-704, November.
    8. McFadden, Daniel, 1974. "The measurement of urban travel demand," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 303-328, November.
    9. Robert Erikson & John H. Goldthorpe, 2002. "Intergenerational Inequality: A Sociological Perspective," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 16(3), pages 31-44, Summer.
    10. Jacob Mincer, 1958. "Investment in Human Capital and Personal Income Distribution," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 66(4), pages 281-281.
    11. William T. Dickens & Lawrence F. Katz, 1986. "Interindustry Wage Differences and Industry Characteristics," NBER Working Papers 2014, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rosalia Castellano & Gennaro Punzo, 2011. "Education and Earnings Differentials: The Role of Family Background Across European Countries," Working Papers 28, AlmaLaurea Inter-University Consortium.
    2. Veronique Genre & Karsten Kohn & Daphne Momferatou, 2011. "Understanding inter-industry wage structures in the euro area," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(11), pages 1299-1313.
    3. Solomon Polachek, 2003. "Mincer's Overtaking Point and the Life Cycle Earnings Distribution," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 1(4), pages 273-304, December.
    4. Fortin, Bernard & Ragued, Safa, 2017. "Does temporary interruption in postsecondary education induce a wage penalty? Evidence from Canada," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 108-122.
    5. James J. Heckman, 2006. "Some Brief Remarks on the Life and Work of Jacob Mincer," Springer Books, in: Shoshana Grossbard (ed.), Jacob Mincer A Pioneer of Modern Labor Economics, chapter 1, pages 3-5, Springer.
    6. Barry R. Chiswick, 2006. "Jacob Mincer, Experience and the Distribution of Earnings," Springer Books, in: Shoshana Grossbard (ed.), Jacob Mincer A Pioneer of Modern Labor Economics, chapter 10, pages 109-126, Springer.
    7. Philip Du Caju & Gábor Kátay & Ana Lamo & Daphne Nicolitsas & Steven Poelhekke, 2010. "Inter-Industry Wage Differentials In EU Countries: What Do Cross-Country Time Varying Data Add to the Picture?," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 8(2-3), pages 478-486, 04-05.
    8. Zveglich, Joseph E. & van der Meulen Rodgers, Yana & Laviña, Editha A., 2019. "Expected work experience and the gender wage gap: A new human capital measure," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 372-383.
    9. Necker, Sarah & Voskort, Andrea, 2014. "Intergenerational transmission of risk attitudes – A revealed preference approach," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 66-89.
    10. Flávio Kauê Fiuza-Moura & Katy Maia & Solange Cassia Inforzato de Souza & Magno Rogério Gomes & Paulo Reis Mourão, 2019. "The luck of being of the right gender and color: a detailed discussion about the wage gaps in the Brazilian manufacturing industry," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 53(3), pages 1275-1300, May.
    11. Rassou R., 1993. "Statistical measurement of gender wage differentials," ILO Working Papers 992920693402676, International Labour Organization.
    12. Morchio, Iacopo & Moser, Christian, 2018. "The Gender Pay Gap: Micro Sources and Macro Consequences," MPRA Paper 99276, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Mar 2020.
    13. Del Bono, Emilia & Vuri, Daniela, 2011. "Job mobility and the gender wage gap in Italy," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 130-142, January.
    14. Polachek, Solomon W., 2008. "Earnings Over the Life Cycle: The Mincer Earnings Function and Its Applications," Foundations and Trends(R) in Microeconomics, now publishers, vol. 4(3), pages 165-272, April.
    15. Heckman, James J. & Lochner, Lance John & Todd, Petra E., 2003. "Fifty Years of Mincer Earnings Regressions," IZA Discussion Papers 775, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    16. Nuno M. O. Romão & Vitor M. A. Escaria, 2004. "Wage mobility, Job mobility and Spatial mobility in the Portuguese economy," ERSA conference papers ersa04p584, European Regional Science Association.
    17. NAVARRO-GÓMEZ, María Lucía & RUEDA-NARVÁEZ, Mario F., 2014. "Segregación Laboral Por Género En España: Efectos Sobre Los Salarios Y La Movilidad Salarial," Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 14(3), pages 131-154.
    18. Aysit Tansel & Elif Oznur Acar, 2016. "The Formal/Informal Employment Earnings Gap: Evidence from Turkey," Research on Economic Inequality, in: Inequality after the 20th Century: Papers from the Sixth ECINEQ Meeting, volume 24, pages 121-154, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    19. Kenneth L. Sørensen & Rune Vejlin, 2014. "Return To Experience And Initial Wage Level: Do Low Wage Workers Catch Up?," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 984-1006, September.
    20. Napari, Sami, . "Essays on the Gender Wage Gap in Finland," ETLA A, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy, number 44.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    High incomes; social background; discrimination; human capital; job performance; GSOEP; theory of justice;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:5978. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.