WP 115 - More flexibility for more innovation? Evidence from the Netherlands

Eva Wachsen and K. Blind
Additional contact information
Eva Wachsen: Faculty of Economics and Management, Innovation Economics, Berlin University of Technology

AIAS Working Papers from AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies

Abstract: Labor market flexibility continues to be one of economics, politics and society highly debated topic. In recent years, the impact of increased labor market flexibility on research and innovation has gained more and more attention. Previous studies have shown, depending on the measurement of flexibility as well as on the data that both positive and negative influences can be found. However, the financial flexibility in terms of wage rigidities has hardly been explored empirically. With the use of a unique dataset combining comprehensive information from both employers and employees we can accomplish variables not only to numerical and functional, but also to financial wage flexibility. In a panel probit model, we show that the influences of most of the indicators of wage flexibility are positive and vary by type of innovation. While the variables of wage bargaining has a higher impact on process innovations, information about specific wage levels, however, affects in particular the development of new products. The same applies to a separate consideration of wage bargaining levels. Aspects of numerical and functional labor market flexibility, in contrast, act negative on all types of innovation. Thereby, part time employees affect particularly processes, while flexible employment contracts have a stronger influence on product innovations. It seems that new products depend more on employment status and the resulting motivation of the employees.

Keywords: Labor market flexibility; innovation; wages; collective bargaining (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec, nep-eur, nep-ino, nep-ipr, nep-knm, nep-lab and nep-ppm
Date: 2011-12
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations Track citations by RSS feed

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.uva-aias.net/uploaded_files/publications/WP115-Wachsen,Blind.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aia:aiaswp:wp115

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in AIAS Working Papers from AIAS, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies
Address: Plantage Muidergracht 12, 1018 TV Amsterdam
Contact information at EDIRC.
Series data maintained by Wiemer Salverda ().