Die vorliegende Dissertation besteht aus vier Aufsätzen, die sich mit Fragen des Außenhandels und der Arbeitsmarktökonomie auseinandersetzen. Der erste Aufsatz untersucht in einem internationalen Oligopol die Interaktion zwischen Handelsliberalisierung, Produkt- und Prozessinnovationen und...

This paper explores aspects of increased informalization in developing countries with the help of a modified specific factors model with a fixed nominal wage in the formal sector, which is assumed to have a “lighthouse” effect on the informal sector wage. Both sectors produce a tradable good...

This paper considers a dynamic matching model with imperfectly observable worker effort. In equilibrium, the wage distribution is truncated from below by a no-shirking condition. This downward wage rigidity induces the same type of inefficient churning and "contractual fragility" as in Ramey and...

This paper presents estimates based on individual data of downward nominal and real wage rigidities for thirteen sectors in Belgium, Denmark, Spain and Portugal. Our methodology follows the approach recently developed for the International Wage Flexibility Project, whereby resistance to nominal...

Una caída de la actividad agregada conlleva una reducción de la demanda de empleo, que es tanto mayor cuanto más rígidos sean los salarios. Este artículo examina el impacto de la rigidez salarial en España sobre la evolución del empleo entre 2009 y 2010. La extensión de los convenios...

This paper studies the impact of downward wage rigidity on wage and employment dynamics after the outbreak of major recessions in Spain. Downward wage rigidity stems from collective agreements, which set province-sector-skill-specific minimum wage floors for all workers. By exploiting variation...

Economics

This thesis is comprised of three chapters. The first chapter develops a statistical model that enriches the role that firms playin wage determination, allowing firms to influence both average wages as well as the returns to observable worker characteristics. I exploit the hierarchical nature of...

This paper examines the changes in relative earnings of workers with different education levels during Vietnam’s transition. It is found that females enjoy a higher return to education than males do in 1998, reversing the situation observed five years ago. A large fall in the returns to...

We study changes in the wage structures in nine EU countries over 1995-2002 and the role of demand, supply and institutional developments in shaping these changes. Using comparable cross-country microeconomic data, we compute for each country and at each decile of the wage distribution, the part...