IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/labeco/v91y2024ics0927537124001246.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How do firms attain internal and external flexibility of employment?

Author

Listed:
  • Fukai, Taiyo
  • Kawaguchi, Daiji
  • Kondo, Ayako
  • Yokoyama, Izumi

Abstract

While firms in many developed countries increasingly rely on workers with nonstandard contracts, the underlying economic factor distinguishing workers on standard contracts from those on nonstandard contracts is poorly understood. Thus, we explore the asymmetric employment and wage adjustments of these two groups to examine whether differences in the importance of firm–worker relation specificity between the two types of workers is a fundamental source of the heterogeneity. We use unique firm-level panel data that records the number of dispatched workers from temporary help agencies, matched with payroll records. Leveraging the exogenous shock that stems from exchange rate fluctuation and heterogeneous trade exposure among firms, we find that firms absorb temporary shocks by adjusting the number of dispatched workers while refraining from changing the employment of in-house workers. Instead, firms opt to change the wages of in-house workers by adjusting their yearly bonuses, rather than their monthly wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Fukai, Taiyo & Kawaguchi, Daiji & Kondo, Ayako & Yokoyama, Izumi, 2024. "How do firms attain internal and external flexibility of employment?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:labeco:v:91:y:2024:i:c:s0927537124001246
    DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2024.102628
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927537124001246
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.labeco.2024.102628?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David Card & Ana Rute Cardoso & Joerg Heining & Patrick Kline, 2018. "Firms and Labor Market Inequality: Evidence and Some Theory," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(S1), pages 13-70.
    2. Jose Manuel Campa & Linda S. Goldberg, 2001. "Employment Versus Wage Adjustment And The U.S. Dollar," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(3), pages 477-489, August.
    3. Felix R. FitzRoy & Kornelius Kraft, 1987. "Cooperation, Productivity, and Profit Sharing," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 102(1), pages 23-35.
    4. 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.
    5. Andres Drenik & Simon Jager & Pascuel Plotkin & Benjamin Schoefer, 2023. "Paying Outsourced Labor: Direct Evidence from Linked Temp Agency-Worker-Client Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 105(1), pages 206-216, January.
    6. Freeman, Richard B. & Weitzman, Martin L., 1987. "Bonuses and employment in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 168-194, June.
    7. Nucci, Francesco & Pozzolo, Alberto Franco, 2010. "The exchange rate, employment and hours: What firm-level data say," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(2), pages 112-123, November.
    8. Barbara Rossi, 2013. "Exchange Rate Predictability," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(4), pages 1063-1119, December.
    9. Deborah Goldschmidt & Johannes F. Schmieder, 2017. "The Rise of Domestic Outsourcing and the Evolution of the German Wage Structure," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 132(3), pages 1165-1217.
    10. David Autor & David Dorn & Lawrence F Katz & Christina Patterson & John Van Reenen, 2020. "The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms [“Automation and New Tasks: How Technology Displaces and Reinstates Labor”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 645-709.
    11. Luigi Guiso & Luigi Pistaferri & Fabiano Schivardi, 2005. "Insurance within the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(5), pages 1054-1087, October.
    12. Arindrajit Dube & Ethan Kaplan, 2010. "Does Outsourcing Reduce Wages in the Low-Wage Service Occupations? Evidence from Janitors and Guards," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 63(2), pages 287-306, January.
    13. Hildreth, Andrew K. G. & Ohtake, Fumio, 1998. "Labor Demand and the Structure of Adjustment Costs in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 12(2), pages 131-150, June.
    14. Joseph G. Altonji & Robert A. Shakotko, 1987. "Do Wages Rise with Job Seniority?," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 54(3), pages 437-459.
    15. Joseph Blasi & Michael Conte & Douglas Kruse, 1996. "Employee Stock Ownership and Corporate Performance among Public Companies," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 50(1), pages 60-79, October.
    16. Daiji Kawaguchi & Fumio Ohtake, 2007. "Testing the Morale Theory of Nominal Wage Rigidity," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 61(1), pages 59-74, October.
    17. Kawaguchi, Daiji & Naito, Hisahiro & Yokoyama, Izumi, 2017. "Assessing the effects of reducing standard hours: Regression discontinuity evidence from Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 59-76.
    18. Hashimoto, Masanori, 1979. "Bonus Payments, on-the-Job Training, and Lifetime Employment in Japan," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(5), pages 1086-1104, October.
    19. Hart,Robert A. & Kawasaki,Seiichi, 1999. "Work and Pay in Japan," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521577724, November.
    20. Sergio Correia & Paulo Guimarães & Tom Zylkin, 2020. "Fast Poisson estimation with high-dimensional fixed effects," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 20(1), pages 95-115, March.
    21. Maibom, Jonas & Vejlin, Rune Majlund, 2021. "Passthrough of Firm Performance to Income and Employment Stability," IZA Discussion Papers 14131, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Luigi Guiso & Luigi Pistaferri, 2020. "The insurance role of the firm," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 45(1), pages 1-23, March.
    23. Nicholas Wilson & Michael J. Peel, 1991. "The Impact on Absenteeism and Quits of Profit-Sharing and other Forms of Employee Participation," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 44(3), pages 454-468, April.
    24. Kato, Takao,, 2016. "Productivity, wages and unions in Japan," ILO Working Papers 994904643402676, International Labour Organization.
    25. Peter Cappelli & David Neumark, 2001. "External Job Churning and Internal Job Flexibility," NBER Working Papers 8111, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    26. Nakamura, Masao & Nakamura, Alice, 1991. "Risk behavior and the determinants of bonus versus regular pay in Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 140-159, June.
    27. Naomi Kodama & Izumi Yokoyama, 2018. "The Labour Market Effects of Increases in Social Insurance Premium: Evidence from Japan," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 80(5), pages 992-1019, October.
    28. Abraham, Katharine G & Farber, Henry S, 1987. "Job Duration, Seniority, and Earnings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(3), pages 278-297, June.
    29. Ito, Takatoshi & Koibuchi, Satoshi & Sato, Kiyotaka & Shimizu, Junko, 2016. "Exchange rate exposure and risk management: The case of Japanese exporting firms," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 17-29.
    30. Nakamura, Masao & Hubler, Olaf, 1998. "The bonus share of flexible pay in Germany, Japan and the US: Some empirical regularities," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 221-232, April.
    31. Shapiro, Carl & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1984. "Equilibrium Unemployment as a Worker Discipline Device," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 74(3), pages 433-444, June.
    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. Izumi Yokoyama & Kazuhito Higa & Daiji Kawaguchi, 2018. "Adjustments of regular and non-regular workers to exogenous shocks: Evidence from exchange rate fluctuation," Bank of Japan Working Paper Series 18-E-2, Bank of Japan.
    2. Diego Daruich & Sabrina Di Addario & Raffaele Saggio, 2023. "The Effects of Partial Employment Protection Reforms: Evidence from Italy," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 90(6), pages 2880-2942.
    3. Jonas Hjort & Xuan Li & Heather Sarsons, 2020. "Across-Country Wage Compression in Multinationals," NBER Working Papers 26788, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Jonas Hjort & Xuan Li & Heather Sarsons, 2020. "Random-Coefficients Logit Demand Estimation with Zero-Valued Market Shares," Working Papers 2020-15, Becker Friedman Institute for Research In Economics.
    5. Abe, Naohito & Gaston, Noel & Kubo, Katsuyuki, 2005. "Executive pay in Japan: the role of bank-appointed monitors and the Main Bank relationship," Japan and the World Economy, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 371-394, August.
    6. Bas Scheer & Wiljan van den Berge & Maarten Goos & Alan Manning & Anna Salomons, 2022. "Alternative Work Arrangements and Worker Outcomes: Evidence from Payrolling," CPB Discussion Paper 435, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    7. Bergeaud, Antonin & Mazet-Sonilhac, Clément & Malgouyres, Clément & Signorelli, Sara, 2021. "Technological Change and Domestic Outsourcing," IZA Discussion Papers 14603, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Paul Hek & Daniel Vuuren, 2011. "Are older workers overpaid? A literature review," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 18(4), pages 436-460, August.
    9. Cortes, Guido Matias & Dabed, Diego & Oliveira, Ana & Salomons, Anna, 2024. "Fissured firms and worker outcomes," CLEF Working Paper Series 80, Canadian Labour Economics Forum (CLEF), University of Waterloo.
    10. Arellano-Bover, Jaime & Saltiel, Fernando, 2021. "Differences in On-the-Job Learning across Firms," IZA Discussion Papers 14473, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Wouter Zwysen, 2024. "Working apart: Domestic outsourcing in Europe," European Journal of Industrial Relations, , vol. 30(2), pages 221-241, June.
    12. Roland A. Amann & Tobias J. Klein, 2012. "Returns to type or tenure?," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 175(1), pages 153-166, January.
    13. Kerndler, Martin, 2019. "Size and persistence matter: Wage and employment insurance at the micro level," ECON WPS - Working Papers in Economic Theory and Policy 04/2019, TU Wien, Institute of Statistics and Mathematical Methods in Economics, Economics Research Unit.
    14. Schmieder, Johannes F., 2023. "Establishment age and wages," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 233(2), pages 424-442.
    15. Jaime Arellano-Bover, 2024. "Career Consequences of Firm Heterogeneity for Young Workers: First Job and Firm Size," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(2), pages 549-589.
    16. Jae Song & David J Price & Fatih Guvenen & Nicholas Bloom & Till von Wachter, 2019. "Firming Up Inequality," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 134(1), pages 1-50.
    17. Federico Huneeus & Kory Kroft & Kevin Lim, 2021. "Earnings Inequality in Production Networks," NBER Working Papers 28424, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Laurence J. Kotlikoff & Jagadeesh Gokhale, 1992. "Estimating a Firm's Age-Productivity Profile Using the Present Value of Workers' Earnings," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(4), pages 1215-1242.
    19. Basu, Arnab K. & Chau, Nancy H. & Soundararajan, Vidhya, 2019. "Wage fairness in a subcontracted labor market," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 24-42.
    20. Pardesi, Mantej, 2024. "Productivity convergence and firm’s training strategy," ROA Research Memorandum 003, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Alternative employment arrangement; Dual labor market; Risk; Insurance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J41 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Labor Contracts
    • J42 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Monopsony; Segmented Labor Markets

    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:eee:labeco:v:91:y:2024:i:c:s0927537124001246. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/labeco .

    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.