Returns to Tenure or Seniority?

Ioan Sebastian Buhai, Miguel Portela (), C. N. Teulings () and Aico van Vuuren

No 3302, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This study documents two empirical regularities, using data for Denmark and Portugal. First, workers who are hired last, are the first to leave the firm (Last In, First Out; LIFO). Second, workers' wages rise with seniority (= a worker's tenure relative to the tenure of her colleagues). We seek to explain these regularities by developing a dynamic model of the firm with stochastic product demand and hiring cost (= irreversible specific investments). There is wage bargaining between a worker and its firm. Separations (quits or layoffs) obey the LIFO rule and bargaining is efficient (a zero surplus at the moment of separation). The LIFO rule provides a stronger bargaining position for senior workers, leading to a return to seniority in wages. Efficiency in hiring requires the workers' bargaining power to be in line with their share in the cost of specific investment. Then, the LIFO rule is a way to protect their property right on the specific investment. We consider the effects of Employment Protection Legislation and risk aversion.

Keywords: seniority; efficient bargaining; irreversible investment; LIFO; matched employer-employee data; EPL (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J31 J41 J63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44 pages
Date: 2008-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-bec
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Published - published in: Econometrica, 2014, 82 (2), 705-730

Downloads: (external link)
https://docs.iza.org/dp3302.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Returns to Tenure or Seniority? (2014)
Working Paper: Returns to Tenure or Seniority (2013)
Working Paper: Returns to Tenure or Seniority? (2008)
Working Paper: Returns to Tenure or Seniority? (2008)
Working Paper: Returns to Tenure or Seniority? (2008)
Working Paper: Returns to Tenure or Seniority? (2008)
Working Paper: Returns to Tenure or Seniority? (2008)
Working Paper: Returns to Tenure or Seniority? (2008)
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: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3302

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
IZA, Margard Ody, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA) IZA, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Holger Hinte ().