Using a combination of rich administrative and household survey data, we document a series of new facts on earnings inequality and dynamics in a developing country with a large informal sector: Brazil. Since the mid-1990s, both inequality and volatility of earnings have declined significantly in...

This paper studies earnings inequality and dynamics in Argentina between 1996 and 2015. Following the 2001--2002 crisis, the Argentine economy transitioned from a low- to a high-inflation regime. At the same time, the number of collective bargaining agreements increased and the minimum wage...

Why do young firms pay less? Using confidential microdata from the US Census Bureau, we find lower earnings among workers at young firms. However, we argue that such measurement is likely subject to worker and firm selection. Exploiting the two-sided panel nature of the data to control for...

Abstract We study optimal savings policies when there is a dual concern about undersaving for retirement and income inequality. Agents differ in present bias and earnings ability, both unobservable to a planner with paternalistic and redistributive motives. We characterize the solution to this...

We show that a minimum wage can have large effects throughout the earnings distribution, using a combination of theory and empirical evidence. To this end, we develop an equilibrium search model featuring empirically relevant worker and firm heterogeneity. We use the estimated model to evaluate...

We document a large decrease in earnings inequality in Brazil between 1996 and 2012. Using administrative linked employer-employee data, we fit high-dimensional worker and firm fixed-effects models to understand the sources of this decrease. Firm effects account for 40 percent of the total...

This paper sheds light on the microfoundations of reduced-form returns to education. Specifically, we ask: are more advanced higher education degrees associated with increased earnings within employers or higher average pay across employers? And to the extent that sorting across firms matters,...

This short note discusses the role of employer heterogeneity as a driver of growth and earnings inequality across the world. Policy implications are discussed.

We study the nature of firm pay dynamics using matched employer-employee data from Sweden, including rich, administrative firm financial data. To this end, we propose and estimate a statistical model that extends the seminal framework by Abowd, Kramarz, and Margolis (1999a, henceforth AKM) to...

We assess the sources and consequences of the gender pay gap using a combination of theory and measurement. We start by documenting three empirical facts. First, women are more likely than men to work at low-paying employers. Second, for women as for men, pay is not the sole determinant of...