The World Economy, Vol. 46 (1), 55-84.
Abstract: This paper investigates how labour market regulations alter the adverse impact of rising import competition from China in European local labour markets between 1997 and 2006. The paper constructs measures of regional exposure to Chinese imports based on previous literature and on regional labour market frictions exploiting involuntary labour reallocations. Taking into account the endogeneity of import competition and its interaction with labour market regulations, the paper finds that regions more exposed to the rise of China have suffered from a reduction in manufacturing employment shares. This shock grows larger with regional labour market frictions; hence, it exacerbates the impact of trade shock on employment. Moreover, the paper finds that employment in public services, and not in construction or private services sector, absorbed the negative shock to the manufacturing sector. The unemployment rate, the labour force participation rate and wages in all sectors are unresponsive to import competition from China.
Firm-specific pay premiums and the gender wage gap in Europe (joint with Balazs Stadler, OECD).
Economica, Vol. 90 (358), 911-936.
Abstract: We study how firm premia influence the gender wage gap for 21 European countries. We use a quadrennial harmonized matched employer–employee dataset to estimate gender-specific firm premia. Subsequently, we decompose the firm-specific wage premia differential into within- and between-firm components. On average, the former accounts mainly for the decline in the pay gap between 2002 and 2014. We pay particular attention to the development of each component by age group, and find that the between-firm component is associated with an increase in the gender pay gap over age. The decomposition of firm premia allows us to investigate how institutional settings relate to each component. We associate the within-firm component with collective bargaining at the national and firm levels, and the between-firm component with family policies. Decentralized wage bargaining is associated with a larger within-firm pay gap, whereas family policies incentivizing women to return to employment after family formation are linked to a smaller between-firm component.
Diffusion of Broadband Internet and Firm Market Power in Output and Labor Markets (joint with Elie Vidal-Naquet)
Abstract: We investigate how broadband internet access affects firms market power in both product and labor markets. Combining balance sheet data for firms with matched employer-employee data, we estimate firm-level markups and markdowns. We find substantial differences across sectors and firms in the level of both markups and markdowns. For our difference-in-differences design, we exploit the staggered introduction of broadband internet in France in the early 2000s. We provide evidence that access to broadband internet increases markups. This is particularly true when firms are able to exploit the new technology to reap benefits from globalization, both through cheaper inputs and more export activity. We also show that the most productive firms primarily raise their markups in response to obtaining access to broadband internet. At the same time, markdowns fall when firms obtain access to fast internet due to more efficient worker representation. Further, we provide evidence that the internet leveled the playing field between low- and high-skilled workers. This is because low-skilled workers profit more from changing employers.
Labor Market Polarization and Intergenerational Mobility: Theory and Evidence
Abstract: I investigate the impact of labor market polarization on intergenerational mobility through educational choice. I incorporate the task framework into an overlapping generations model, where bequests and wages determine educational choice. The model predicts that labor market polarization reduces upward mobility for children with parents in manual occupations. Empirical analyses for the United States demonstrate lower upward mobility for children from low-income parents and less economic mobility for children with parents in manual and abstract employment. Ultimately, I show that polarization of educational attainment rises over time, increasingly depends on family background, and is geographically linked to labor market polarization.
Firm market power, wage inequality and sorting (with Elie Vidal-Naquet)
Sorting After Motherhood: Low-Markup or High-Markdown Firms? (with Elie Vidal-Naquet)
Broadband Internet and Firm Structure (with Elie Vidal-Naquet)
The Spatial Structure of Sorting across the Life Cycle (with Christian Schluter)