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What can wages and employment tell us about the UK's productivity puzzle?

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Listed:
  • Richard Blundell

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University College London)

  • Claire Crawford

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University of Birmingham)

  • Wenchao (Michelle) Jin

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies)

Abstract

This paper uses individual data on employment and wages to shed light on the UK’s productivity puzzle. It finds that workforce composition cannot explain the reduction in wages and hence productivity that we observe; instead, real wages have fallen significantly within jobs. Why? One possibility we investigate is higher labour supply in this recession than in the past. Another is lower trade union membership. Alternatively, it might be driven by a fall in productivity as a result of a lower capital-labour ratio. We cannot tell whether productivity is driving wages or vice versa, but understanding why wages have fallen within jobs is at the heart of the UK's productivity puzzle.

Suggested Citation

  • Richard Blundell & Claire Crawford & Wenchao (Michelle) Jin, 2013. "What can wages and employment tell us about the UK's productivity puzzle?," IFS Working Papers W13/11, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:13/11
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peter Dolton & Chiara Rosazza Bondibene & Jonathan Wadsworth, 2012. "Employment, Inequality and the UK National Minimum Wage over the Medium‐Term," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 74(1), pages 78-106, February.
    2. Claire Crawford & Wenchao Jin & Helen Simpson, 2013. "Productivity, Investment and Profits during the Great Recession: Evidence from UK Firms and Workers," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 34(2), pages 153-177, June.
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