Do higher wages come at a price?

Alex Bryson, Erling Barth and Harald Dale-Olsen

Journal of Economic Psychology, 2012, vol. 33, issue 1, 251-263

Abstract: Using linked employer–employee data for Britain we find that higher wages are associated with higher job satisfaction and higher job anxiety. The association between wages and non-pecuniary job satisfaction disappears with the inclusion of effort measures whereas the positive association between wages and job anxiety remains strong and significant providing no support for a compensating differential explanation, but rather for a ‘gift exchange’ type of reciprocal behaviour. No support is found for the proposition that within-workplace wage differentials are a source of job anxiety.

Keywords: Worker wellbeing; Job stress; Job anxiety; Job satisfaction; Wages; Compensating differentials (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J31 J81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (31)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Do Higher Wages Come at a Price? (2010)
Working Paper: Do Higher Wages Come at a Price? (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:33:y:2012:i:1:p:251-263

DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2011.10.005

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