Flexibility and security in the labour market. The wage dimension.

Literaturnachweis - Detailanzeige

Trefferliste

Autor/in	Tonin, Mirco
Institution	International Labour Organisation. Subregional Office for Central and Eastern Europe
Titel	Flexibility and security in the labour market. The wage dimension. Gefälligkeitsübersetzung: Flexibilität und Sicherheit auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Die Lohndimension.
Quelle	Budapest (2006), 58 S.; 318 KB PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Reihe	Flexicurity paper. 2006/04
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Monographie
ISBN	92-2-118950-3; 92-2-118951-1
Schlagwörter	Bildungsniveau; Transfer; Arbeitnehmer; Arbeitslosengeld; Bulgarien; Lohnpolitik; Lohnsteuer; Polen; Kroatien; Litauen; Osteuropa; Transfer; Ungarn; Internationaler Vergleich; Flexibilität; Steuerbelastung; Lohnentwicklung; Bildungsniveau; Mindestlohn; Reallohn; Tarifverhandlung; Beschäftigungssystem; Regionale Disparität; Lohnflexibilität; Regionale Disparität; Sozialabgaben; Soziale Sicherung; Steuerbelastung; Arbeitskosten; Lohnentwicklung; Lohnflexibilität; Lohnpolitik; Lohnsteuer; Mindestlohn; Reallohn; Tarifverhandlung; Arbeitslosengeld; Beschäftigungssystem; Informeller Sektor; Lohnfindung; Internationaler Vergleich; Dezentralisierung; Flexibilität; Sektorale Verteilung; Arbeitnehmer; Bulgarien; Kroatien; Litauen; Osteuropa; Polen; Tschechische Republik; Ungarn
Abstract	"The study investigates the wage dimension of labour market flexibility and security in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, and Poland. The way wages are determined has shifted with the transition process. Starting from a highly centralised system, wages are now set in a very decentralised way. The coverage of collective bargaining is limited to a minority of the workforce and bargaining takes place mainly at the enterprise level. Moreover, implementation of the existing collective agreements is weak. An exception is Croatia, where the sectoral level of bargaining is important and coverage is greater. Informal arrangements are very common in the labour market. The informal economy is particularly sizeable in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Lithuania. The payment of 'envelope wages' above the officially declared level to evade taxes and social security contributions is frequent. Non-payment of contractually agreed wages is also an issue. These phenomena further increase the degree of wage flexibility. Real wages have showed considerable downward flexibility during the transition process. With the exception of Hungary, real earnings fell at the outset of transition and adjusted further in the ensuing macroeconomic crises. There is a broad correspondence between the paths of productivity and real wages. An exception is Bulgaria, where despite a recovery in productivity wages have stagnated at very low levels. The responsiveness of wages to local unemployment is instead rather subdued, in particular in countries like the Czech Republic and Croatia - this despite wide variations in local labour market conditions due to differences in labour demand. An analysis of wage variation along sectoral, educational, and professional lines reveals that the sectoral structure of wages is very similar to that characteristic of EU-15 countries. Croatia appears to present the lowest variation along all dimensions, while Hungary and the Czech Republic are the countries where educational achievements are rewarded most. Skill differentials are limited in Lithuania and Bulgaria, where there are instead wide sectoral differences. The minimum wage has regained its role as an effective wage floor in most of the countries, at least for some segments of the workforce, while unemployment benefits have lost this function due to the tightening of regulation. A tendency toward differentiating the minimum wage applicable to different categories of workers is emerging. The tax wedge on labour is very high, especially in Hungary. By contrast, Bulgaria presents the most favourable tax framework. High tax imposition extends also to lowwage- earners. Several studies have shown the relevance of changes in the wage formation system in explaining the rise in inequality and poverty typical of the transition process. The Czech Republic and Hungary are the most equal societies, while Lithuania and Poland present both high inequality and poverty. All in all, wages are flexible in the countries under consideration. The part of flexibility stemming from non-compliance with regulations is however perverse and should be overcome by negotiating a combination of flexibility and security effectively applying to the whole workforce." Die Untersuchung enthält quantitative Daten. Forschungsmethode: empirisch-quantitativ; empirisch; Sekundäranalyse; Querschnitt. Die Untersuchung bezieht sich auf den Zeitraum 1989 bis 2003. (author's abstract, IAB-Doku).
Erfasst von	Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Nürnberg
Update	2009/1