Research Details

Abstract

In the last three decades, the wages of older workers in many high-income countries grew at a much faster rate than the wages of younger workers. This paper uses extensive administrative data from Italy and Germany to provide an analysis of this age wage gap. First, the widening of the age wage gap stemmed from the increasing difficulty of younger workers to reach high-paying jobs. Second, a large part of the deterioration in the careers of younger workers occurred within firms. Third, older workers became more likely to work in higher-wage firms and experienced an increase in their bargaining power. The last portion of the analysis shows that the effects are larger for firms with constraints in adding higher-ranked jobs to their organization, highlighting the role of career spillovers in widening the age wage gap.

Type

Working Paper

Author(s)

Nicola Bianchi, Matteo Paradisi

Date Published

2021

Citations

Bianchi, Nicola, and Matteo Paradisi. 2021. Countries for Old Men: An Analysis of the Age Wage Gap.

LINK