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The Fixed Wage Puzzle: Why Profit Sharing Is So Hard to Implement

Author

Listed:
  • Jürgen Jerger

    (University of Regensburg and Osteuropa-Institut Regensburg)

  • Jochen Michaelis

    (University of Kassel)

Abstract

It is well known that profit sharing arrangements Pareto-dominate fixed wage contracts. Share agreements are (far) less than ubiquitous, however. This paper offers a solution of this "fixed wage puzzle“ by adopting a perspective of bounded rationality. We show that share arrangements that fulfill ”plausible“ constraints are not generally acceptable to both firms and unions.

Suggested Citation

  • Jürgen Jerger & Jochen Michaelis, 2010. "The Fixed Wage Puzzle: Why Profit Sharing Is So Hard to Implement," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201013, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    • Handle: RePEc:mar:magkse:201013
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jurgen Jerger & Jochen Michaelis, 1999. "Profit Sharing, Capital Formation and the NAIRU," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(2), pages 257-275, June.
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    3. Erkki Koskela & Rune Stenbacka, 2006. "Flexible and Committed Profit Sharing with Wage Bargaining: Implications for Equilibrium Unemployment," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 87(2), pages 159-180, March.
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    8. Holmlund, Bertil, 1990. "Profit Sharing, Wage Bargaining, and Unemployment," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 28(2), pages 257-268, April.
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    10. Farber, Henry S, 1978. "Individual Preferences and Union Wage Determination: The Case of the United Mine Workers," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(5), pages 923-942, October.
    11. Weitzman, Martin L, 1985. "The Simple Macroeconomics of Profit Sharing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(5), pages 937-953, December.
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    13. Maria Brouwer, 2005. "Managing Uncertainty through Profit Sharing Contracts from Medieval Italy to Silicon Valley," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 9(3), pages 237-255, September.
    14. Carruth, Alan A & Oswald, Andrew J, 1985. "Miners' Wages in Post-war Britain: An Application of a Model of Trade Union Behaviour," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 95(380), pages 1003-1020, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gilberto Tadeu Lima & Jaylson Jair Silveira, 2021. "Evolutionary microdynamics of employee profit sharing as productivity-enhancing device," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 31(2), pages 417-449, April.
    2. Gilberto Tadeu Lima & Jaylson Jair da Silveira, 2018. "Macrodynamic Implications of Employee Profit Sharing as Effort Elicitation Device," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2018_02, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Profit Sharing; Share Economy; Remuneration Systems;
    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
    • J33 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Compensation Packages; Payment Methods

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