IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/brjirl/v49y2011i3p460-485.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Wage Dispersion and Firm Productivity in Different Working Environments

Author

Listed:
  • Benoît Mahy
  • François Rycx
  • Mélanie Volral

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of wage dispersion on firm productivity in different working environments. More precisely, it examines the interaction with: i) the skills of the workforce, using a more appropriate indicator than the standard distinction between white- and blue collar-workers, and ii) the uncertainty of the firm economic environment, which has, to our knowledge, never been explored on an empirical basis. Using detailed LEED for Belgium, we find a hump-shaped relationship between (conditional) wage dispersion and firm productivity. This result suggests that up to (beyond) a certain level of wage dispersion, the incentive effects of “tournaments” dominate (are dominated by) “fairness” considerations. Findings also show that the intensity of the relationship is stronger for highly skilled workers and in more stable environments. This might be explained by the fact that monitoring costs and production-effort elasticity are greater for highly skilled workers and that in the presence of high uncertainty workers have less control over their effort-output relation and associate higher uncertainty with more unfair environments.
(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)

Suggested Citation

  • Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral, 2011. "Wage Dispersion and Firm Productivity in Different Working Environments," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 49(3), pages 460-485, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:brjirl:v:49:y:2011:i:3:p:460-485
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a search for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lazear, Edward P & Rosen, Sherwin, 1981. "Rank-Order Tournaments as Optimum Labor Contracts," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(5), pages 841-864, October.
    2. George A. Akerlof & Janet L. Yellen, 1990. "The Fair Wage-Effort Hypothesis and Unemployment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 105(2), pages 255-283.
    3. Fredrik Heyman, 2005. "Pay inequality and firm performance: evidence from matched employer-employee data," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(11), pages 1313-1327.
    4. Edward P. Lazear & Paul Oyer, 2012. "Personnel Economics [The Handbook of Organizational Economics]," Introductory Chapters,, Princeton University Press.
    5. Levine, David I., 1991. "Cohesiveness, productivity, and wage dispersion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 237-255, March.
    6. Hibbs, Douglas A, Jr & Locking, Hakan, 2000. "Wage Dispersion and Productive Efficiency: Evidence for Sweden," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(4), pages 755-782, October.
    7. Milgrom, Paul R, 1988. "Employment Contracts, Influence Activities, and Efficient Organization Design," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(1), pages 42-60, February.
    8. Thierry Lallemand & Robert Plasman & François Rycx, 2009. "Wage Structure and Firm Productivity in Belgium," NBER Chapters, in: The Structure of Wages: An International Comparison, pages 179-215, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Erling Barth & Bernt Bratsberg & Torbjørn Hægeland & Oddbjørn Raaum, 2008. "Who pays for performance?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(1), pages 8-29, March.
    10. Lazear, Edward P, 1989. "Pay Equality and Industrial Politics," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(3), pages 561-580, June.
    11. White, Halbert, 1980. "A Heteroskedasticity-Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimator and a Direct Test for Heteroskedasticity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(4), pages 817-838, May.
    12. Main, Brian G M & O'Reilly, Charles A, III & Wade, James, 1993. "Top Executive Pay: Tournament or Teamwork?," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 11(4), pages 606-628, October.
    13. Foss, Nicolai J. & Laursen, Keld, 2005. "Performance pay, delegation and multitasking under uncertainty and innovativeness: An empirical investigation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 246-276, October.
    14. Edward P. Lazear, 1995. "Personnel Economics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262121883, April.
    15. Donald Richards & Robert Guell, 1998. "Baseball success and the structure of salaries," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(5), pages 291-296.
    16. Canice Prendergast, 2002. "The Tenuous Trade-off between Risk and Incentives," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(5), pages 1071-1102, October.
    17. Uwe Jirjahn & Kornelius Kraft, 2007. "Intra‐firm Wage Dispersion and Firm Performance – Is There a Uniform Relationship?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(2), pages 231-253, May.
    18. Milgrom, Paul & Roberts, John, 1990. "The Efficiency of Equity in Organizational Decision Processes," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(2), pages 154-159, May.
    19. P. B. Beaumont & R. I. D. Harris, 2003. "Internal Wage Structures and Organizational Performance," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 41(1), pages 53-70, March.
    20. Nils Braakmann, 2008. "Intra-firm wage inequality and firm performance – First evidence from German linked employer-employee-data," Working Paper Series in Economics 77, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    21. Eriksson, Tor, 1999. "Executive Compensation and Tournament Theory: Empirical Tests on Danish Data," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(2), pages 262-280, April.
    22. Martins, Pedro S., 2008. "Dispersion in wage premiums and firm performance," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 101(1), pages 63-65, October.
    23. repec:bla:kyklos:v:52:y:1999:i:4:p:555-72 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kampelmann, Stephan & Rycx, François, 2012. "The impact of educational mismatch on firm productivity: Evidence from linked panel data," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 918-931.
    2. Lukasz Arendt & Wojciech Grabowski, 2017. "Innovations, ICT and ICT-driven labour productivity in Poland," The Economics of Transition, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, vol. 25(4), pages 723-758, October.
    3. Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Guillaume Vermeylen, 2015. "Educational Mismatch and Firm Productivity: Do Skills, Technology and Uncertainty Matter?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 233-262, June.
    4. Carolina Laureti, 2015. "The Debt Puzzle in Dhaka’s Slums: Do Poor People Co-hold for Liquidity Needs?," Working Papers CEB 15-021, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    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. Stephan Kampelmann, 2011. "The Socio-Economics of Pay Rules," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/268040, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    7. 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).
    8. Guy Vernon & Mark Rogers, 2013. "Where Do Unions Add Value? Predominant Organizing Principle, Union Strength and Manufacturing Productivity Growth in the OECD," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 51(1), pages 1-27, March.
    9. Bai, Peiwen & Cheng, Wenli, 2020. "Relative earnings and firm performance: Evidence from publicly-listed firms in China, 2005–2012," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 279-290.
    10. Dai, Yunhao & Kong, Dongmin & Xu, Jin, 2017. "Does fairness breed efficiency? Pay gap and firm productivity in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 406-422.
    11. Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral, 2011. "Does Wage Dispersion Make All Firms Productive?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 58(4), pages 455-489, September.
    12. Surhan Cam & Serap Palaz, 2023. "Mutual interests management with a purposive approach: Evidence from the Turkish shipyards for an amorphous impact model between (subjective) well‐being and performance," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 40-70, January.
    13. Aleksandra Skorupinska & Joan Torrent-Sellens, 2017. "ICT, Innovation and Productivity: Evidence Based on Eastern European Manufacturing Companies," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 8(2), pages 768-788, June.
    14. Skorupinska, Aleksandra, 2017. "ICT, innovation and productivity: evidence based on Polish companies," Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research, Pro Global Science Association, vol. 13(1), pages 59-65, JUNE.
    15. Carolina Laureti, 2017. "Why do Poor People Co-hold Debt and Liquid Savings?," Working Papers CEB 17-007, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    16. Ballestar, María Teresa & Díaz-Chao, Ángel & Sainz, Jorge & Torrent-Sellens, Joan, 2020. "Knowledge, robots and productivity in SMEs: Explaining the second digital wave," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 119-131.
    17. Camiña, Ester & Díaz-Chao, Ángel & Torrent-Sellens, Joan, 2020. "Automation technologies: Long-term effects for Spanish industrial firms," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    18. Stoyanov Andrey & Zubanov Nick, 2022. "Skill complementarity in production technology: New empirical evidence and implications," German Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 23(2), pages 233-274, May.
    19. Roya Taherifar & Mark J. Holmes & Gazi M. Hassan, 2021. "Is performance affected by the CEO-Employee pay gap? Evidence from Australia," Working Papers in Economics 21/14, University of Waikato.
    20. Nasir, Muhammad Ali & Wu, Junjie & Howes, Cameron & Ripley, Helen, 2022. "Asymmetric nexus between wages and productivity in the context of the global financial crisis," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 164-175.

    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. Benoît Mahy & François Rycx & Mélanie Volral, 2011. "Does Wage Dispersion Make All Firms Productive?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 58(4), pages 455-489, September.
    2. Thierry Lallemand & Robert Plasman & François Rycx, 2005. "La dispersion salariale stimule-t-elle la performance d'une firme ?," Reflets et perspectives de la vie économique, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(2), pages 63-70.
    3. Egon Franck & Stephan Nüesch, 2007. "Wage Dispersion and Team Performance - An Empirical Panel Analysis," Working Papers 0017, University of Zurich, Center for Research in Sports Administration (CRSA).
    4. Nils Braakmann, 2008. "Intra-firm wage inequality and firm performance – First evidence from German linked employer-employee-data," Working Paper Series in Economics 77, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    5. Luiz A. Esteves & Pedro S. Martins, 2008. "Is firm performance driven by fairness or tournaments? Evidence from Brazilian matched data," Working Papers 16, Queen Mary, University of London, School of Business and Management, Centre for Globalisation Research.
    6. Christian Grund & Niels Westergaard-Nielsen, 2008. "The Dispersion of Employees' Wage Increases and Firm Performance," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 61(4), pages 485-501, July.
    7. Peiyi Yu & Bac Luu, 2016. "Bank performance and executive pay: tournament or teamwork," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 607-643, October.
    8. Kin Lee & Baruch Lev & Gillian Yeo, 2008. "Executive pay dispersion, corporate governance, and firm performance," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 315-338, April.
    9. Bingley, P. & Eriksson, T, 2001. "Pay Spread and Skewness. Employee Effort and Firm Productivity," Papers 01-2, Aarhus School of Business - Department of Economics.
    10. Kampkötter, Patrick & Sliwka, Dirk, 2011. "Differentiation and Performance: An Empirical Investigation on the Incentive Effects of Bonus Plans," IZA Discussion Papers 6070, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Simon Gächter & Daniele Nosenzo & Martin Sefton, 2012. "The Impact of Social Comparisons on Reciprocity," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(4), pages 1346-1367, December.
    12. Dai, Yunhao & Kong, Dongmin & Xu, Jin, 2017. "Does fairness breed efficiency? Pay gap and firm productivity in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 406-422.
    13. Hajime Katayama & Hudan Nuch, 2011. "A game-level analysis of salary dispersion and team performance in the national basketball association," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(10), pages 1193-1207.
    14. Kampelmann, Stephan & Rycx, François, 2012. "The impact of educational mismatch on firm productivity: Evidence from linked panel data," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 918-931.
    15. Carlo Bellavite Pellegrini & Raul Caruso & Marco Di Domizio, 2021. "Relative wages, payroll structure and performance in soccer. Evidence from Italian Serie A (2007-2019)," DISCE - Quaderni del Dipartimento di Politica Economica dipe0015, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    16. Rudolf Winter‐Ebmer & Josef Zweimüller, 1999. "Intra‐firm Wage Dispersion and Firm Performance," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(4), pages 555-572, November.
    17. Michael Waldman, 2012. "Theory and Evidence in Internal LaborMarkets [The Handbook of Organizational Economics]," Introductory Chapters,, Princeton University Press.
    18. Fredrik Heyman, 2005. "Pay inequality and firm performance: evidence from matched employer-employee data," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(11), pages 1313-1327.
    19. Ambra Poggi, 2013. "Labor mobility network and intra firm wage dispersion," LABORatorio R. Revelli Working Papers Series 133, LABORatorio R. Revelli, Centre for Employment Studies.
    20. Marco Di Domizio & Carlo Bellavite Pellegrini & Raul Caruso, 2022. "Payroll dispersion and performance in soccer: A seasonal perspective analysis for Italian Serie A (2007–2021)," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 40(3), pages 513-525, July.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • M52 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects

    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:bla:brjirl:v:49:y:2011:i:3:p:460-485. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.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.