The East German Wage Structure after Transition

Robert Orlowski () and Regina Riphahn
Additional contact information
Robert Orlowski: University of Erlangen-Nuremberg

No 3861, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We extend the literature on transition economies' wage structures by investigating the returns to tenure and experience. This study applies recent panel data and estimation approaches that control for hitherto neglected biases. We compare the life cycle structure in East and West German wages for fulltime employed men in the private sector. The patterns in the returns to seniority are similar for the two regional labor markets. The returns to experience lag behind in the East German labor market, even almost 20 years after unification. The results are robust when only individuals are considered who started their labor market career in the market economy and they hold across skill groups.

Keywords: returns to experience; wage structure; life cycle earnings; returns to tenure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2008-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab and nep-tra
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published - published in: Economics of Transition, 2009, 17 (4), 629-659

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https://docs.iza.org/dp3861.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: The East German Wage Structure after Transition (2009)
Working Paper: The East German Wage Structure after Transition (2008)
Working Paper: The East German Wage Structure after Transition (2008)
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