Wage Comparisons in and out of the Firm. Evidence from a Matched Employer-Employee French Database

Olivier Godechot and Claudia Senik (claudia.senik@gmail.com)
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Claudia Senik: PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UP4 - Université Paris-Sorbonne

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Abstract: This paper looks at the association between wage satisfaction and different notions of reference wage, based on a matched employer-employee dataset. It shows that workers' satisfaction depends on otherpeople's income in different ways. Relative income concerns are important, but we also find robust evidence of signal effects. For instance, workers are happier the higher the median wage in their firm, holding their own wage constant. This is true of all employees, whatever their relative position in the firm. This signal effect is stronger for young people and for women. These findings are based on objective measures of earnings as well as subjective declarations about wage satisfaction, awareness of other people's wage and reported income comparisons.

Keywords: Income comparisons; Income distribution; Job satisfaction; Wage satisfaction; Signal effect; Matched employer-employee survey data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-11
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00907268v1
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Related works:
Journal Article: Wage comparisons in and out of the firm. Evidence from a matched employer–employee French database (2015)
Working Paper: Wage Comparisons in and out of the Firm. Evidence from a Matched Employer-Employee French Database (2013)
Working Paper: Wage Comparisons in and out of the Firm. Evidence from a Matched Employer-Employee French Database (2013)
Working Paper: Wage comparisons in and out of the firm. Evidence from a matched employer-employee French database (2013)
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