Wage Rigidity, Collective Bargaining and theMinimum Wage:Evidence from French Agreement Data

Using several unique data sets on wage agreements at both industry and firm levels inFrance, we document stylized facts on wage stickiness and the impact of wage-settinginstitutions on wage rigidity. First, the average duration of wages is a little less than one yearand around 10 percent of wages are modified each month by a wage agreement. Datapatterns are consistent with predictions of a mixture of Calvo and Taylor models. Thefrequency of wage change agreements is rather staggered over the year but the frequency ofeffective wage changes is seasonal. The national minimum wage has a significant impact onthe probability of a wage agreement and on the seasonality of wage changes. Negotiatedwage increases are correlated with inflation, the national minimum wage increases and thefirm profitability....