German Job Mobility and Wages

44 Pages Posted: 23 Aug 1999 Last revised: 16 Apr 2023

See all articles by Klaus F. Zimmermann

Klaus F. Zimmermann

Global Labor Organization (GLO); UNU-MERIT; Maastricht University, Department of Economics; Free University Berlin; University of Bonn; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Journal of Population Economics

Abstract

The paper investigates the relative importance of job mobility for wages in comparison with human capital framework and the industry approach. Using German panel data, changes of workplaces within the firm as well as between the firms are carefully separated from occupational changes. Results suggest: Germans are much more flexible than is generally conjectured. The internal labor market is more important than the external labor market. The job approach is the most relevant determinant of earnings. Past mobility and sectoral and regional factors determine individual mobility.

Keywords: wages, occupational changes, intra-firmmobility, internal labor markets

JEL Classification: J31, J62

Suggested Citation

Zimmermann, Klaus F., German Job Mobility and Wages. IZA Discussion Paper No. 4, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=164554 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.164554

Klaus F. Zimmermann (Contact Author)

Global Labor Organization (GLO) ( email )

Bonn
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://https://glabor.org/

UNU-MERIT ( email )

Keizer Karelplein 19
Maastricht, 6211TC
Netherlands

Maastricht University, Department of Economics ( email )

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Maastricht, Limburg 6200MD
Netherlands

University of Bonn

Postfach 2220
Bonn, D-53012
Germany

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Journal of Population Economics

Tiergartenstr. 17
D-69121 Heidelberg
Germany

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