Wage differentials in Belgium: the role of worker and employer characteristics

Robert Plasman, Francois Rycx and Ilan Tojerow

Brussels Economic Review, 2007, vol. 50, issue 1, 11-40

Abstract: This paper examines the role of worker and employer characteristics in the determination of wages in the Belgian private sector. Empirical findings, based on detailed matched employer-employee data covering the period 1995-2002, reveal the existence ceteris paribus of: i) a substantial but decreasing return on education, ii) a large and stable gender wage gap, iii) an increasing wage penalty for those employed on a fixed term contract, iv) a positive and persistent employer-size wage effect, v) small and slightly declining regional wage differentials, and vi) a positive but moderate effect of company collective agreements on workers’ wages. Further results show persistent but decreasing wage differentials between workers with the same observed characteristics and working conditions, employed in different sectors.

Keywords: Wage structure; matched employer-employee data; Belgium (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 J31 J41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (21)

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Working Paper: Wage differentials in Belgium: the role of worker and employer characteristics (2007)
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