Using information on Japanese, UK, and German workers work hour and matched firms characteristics, this paper investigates whether the number of hours worked is determined by demand-side factors, and tries to introduce one possibility to explain why Japanese tend to work longer hours than...

Using Canadian linked employer-employee data covering the period 1999-2005, I examine the determinants of the availability of family-friendly "care" practices and the impact of such practices on wages. The results show that the provision of family-friendly practices is not mainly derived from...

The data indicate that non-wage labour costs in Germany have reached a record high in recent years. From 1972 to 2001, the ratio of non-wage labour costs to direct compensation in West German manufacturing industry rose from 55.6 per cent to 81.2 per cent. The topic of non-wage labour costs is...

The rarity with which firms reduce nominal wages has been frequently observed, even in the face of considerable negative economic shocks. This paper uses a unique survey of fourteen European countries to ask firms directly about the incidence of wage cuts and to assess the relevance of a range...

Following an old economic literature dealing with work sharing, the aim of this paper is to review the theoretical effects on unemployment and inequality we may expect from a working time reduction (WTR). To do so, we begin considering labour demand models and we go through general equilibrium...

This paper examines the endogeneity of several structural variables which enter unemployment rate equations--the generosity of unemployment benefits, nonwage labor costs, the relative minimum wage, and the degree of unionization. It finds evidence of reverse causality for these structural...

Using Canadian linked employer-employee data covering the period 1999-2005, I examine the determinants of the availability of family-friendly "care" practices and the impact of such practices on wages. The results show that the provision of family-friendly practices is not mainly derived from...

This paper presents the results of a survey carried out in Poland in 2014 among nearly 1500 firms, within the framework of the ECB's Wage Dynamics Network (WDN). It aims at assessing the impact of the global economic and financial crisis on firms' business activity, as well as analysing the way...

This paper provides evidence on the role of non-base wage components as a channel for firms to adjust labour costs in the event of adverse shocks. It uses data from a firm-level survey for 25 European countries that covers the period 2010–2013. We find that firms subject to nominal wage...