American Economic Journal:
Macroeconomics
ISSN 1945-7707 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7715 (Online)
Firms and the Decline in Earnings Inequality in Brazil
American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
vol. 10,
no. 1, January 2018
(pp. 149–89)
Abstract
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 decrease and worker effects for 29 percent. Changes in observable worker and firm characteristics contributed little to these trends. Instead, the decrease is primarily due to a compression of returns to these characteristics, particularly a declining firm productivity-pay premium. Our results shed light on potential drivers of earnings inequality dynamics.Citation
Alvarez, Jorge, Felipe Benguria, Niklas Engbom, and Christian Moser. 2018. "Firms and the Decline in Earnings Inequality in Brazil." American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, 10 (1): 149–89. DOI: 10.1257/mac.20150355Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D22 Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
- D63 Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
- L25 Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope
- M52 Personnel Economics: Compensation and Compensation Methods and Their Effects
- O15 Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
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