Wage diversity in the euro area - an overview of labour cost differentials across industries

Veronique Genre, Daphne Momferatou () and Gilles Mourre

No 24, Occasional Paper Series from European Central Bank

Abstract: This paper provides an overview of the magnitude of sectoral wage differentials in the euro area as a whole. Even when adjusting for structural sectoral features such as the skill structure or the proportion of part-timers, average wage levels in services are substantially lower than in manufacturing. The paper also studies how the euro area wage structure compares with that of the United States and the United Kingdom. It discusses some possible determinants of intersectoral wage differentials in the euro area and their likely implications from a policy perspective. A number of worker characteristics (e.g. age, skills, the proportion of temporary or self-employed) are highly correlated with the structure of wage differentials. At the same time, wage differentials are also highly correlated with sector-specific features such as average firm size or capital intensity. Finally, the paper presents some stylised facts on how the euro area wage structure has evolved since the early 1980s. JEL Classification: J31, E24, J41

Keywords: euro area; intersectoral wage differential; wage determination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005-02
Note: 471525
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (71)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ecb:ecbops:200524

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