Wages and the Bargaining Regime under Multi-level Bargaining: Belgium, Denmark and Spain

Robert Plasman, Michael Rusinek () and Francois Rycx

No 1990, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Using a unique harmonized matched employer-employee dataset (European Structure of Earnings Survey, 1995), we study the impact of the regime of collective bargaining on wages in the manufacturing sector of three countries that are characterized by a multi-level system of bargaining: Belgium, Denmark and Spain. Our findings show that, compared to multi-employer bargaining, single-employer bargaining has a positive effect both on wage levels and on wage dispersion in Belgium and in Denmark. In Spain, single-employer bargaining also increases wage levels but reduces wage dispersion. Our interpretation is that in Belgium and Denmark, single-employer bargaining is used to adapt pay to the specific needs of the firm while, in Spain, it is mainly used by trade unions in order to compress the wage distribution.

Keywords: wage structure; collective bargaining (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J31 J51 J52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 23 pages
Date: 2006-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eec, nep-lab and nep-ltv
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (40)

Published - published in: European Journal of Industrial Relations, 2007, 13 (2), 161-180

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Related works:
Working Paper: Wages and the bargaining regime under multi-level bargaining: Belgium, Denmark and Spain (2007)
Working Paper: Wages and the bargaining regime under multi-level bargaining: Belgium, Denmark and Spain (2006)
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