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Wage-setting behavior in France: additional evidence from an ad-hoc survey

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  • Montornès, Jérémi
  • Sauner-Leroy, Jacques-Bernard

Abstract

We investigate the wage-setting behaviour of French companies using an ad-hoc survey conducted specifically for this study. Our main results are the following. i) Wages are changed infrequently. The mean duration of wage contracts is one year. Wage changes occur at regular intervals during the year and are concentrated in January and July. ii) We find a lower degree of down-ward real wage rigidity and nominal wage rigidity in France compared to the European average. iii) About one third of companies have an internal policy to grant wage increases according to inflation. iv) When companies are faced adverse shocks, only a partial response is transmitted into prices. Companies also adopt cost-cutting strategies. The wage of newly hired employees plays an important role in this adjustment. JEL Classification: E3, D4, L11

Suggested Citation

  • Montornès, Jérémi & Sauner-Leroy, Jacques-Bernard, 2009. "Wage-setting behavior in France: additional evidence from an ad-hoc survey," Working Paper Series 1102, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20091102
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    Cited by:

    1. Sanvi Avouyi-Dovi & Denis Fougère & Erwan Gautier, 2013. "Wage Rigidity, Collective Bargaining, and the Minimum Wage: Evidence from French Agreement Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(4), pages 1337-1351, October.
    2. Olivei, Giovanni & Tenreyro, Silvana, 2010. "Wage-setting patterns and monetary policy: International evidence," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(7), pages 785-802, October.
    3. Ahmed, Waqas & Choudhary, M. Ali & Khan, Sajawal & Naeem, Saima & Zoega, Gylfi, 2014. "Determinants of wage stickiness in a developing economy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 296-304.
    4. 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.
    5. Sigurdsson, Jósef & Sigurdardottir, Rannveig, 2016. "Time-dependent or state-dependent wage-setting? Evidence from periods of macroeconomic instability," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 50-66.
    6. M. Ali Choudhary & Saima Mahmood & Sajawal Khan & Waqas Ahmed & Gylfi Zoega, 2013. "Sticky Wages in a Developing Country: Lessons from Structured Interviews in Pakistan," School of Economics Discussion Papers 0213, School of Economics, University of Surrey.
    7. Le, Vo Phuong Mai & Meenagh, David & Minford, Patrick, 2021. "State-dependent pricing turns money into a two-edged sword: A new role for monetary policy," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    survey data; wage-setting behavior; wage rigidity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs

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