High skills pay off: the changing wage structure during economic transition in Poland (original) (raw)
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This paper analyses the changes in the size distribution of wages in Poland over a decade of transition. Until about 1998 there were some forces tending to increase wage inequality and other forces contracting it. The result was a relatively constant level of inequality. Privatisation was the main force tending to increase wage inequality, partly because it generated major increases in the relative wages of professional and managerial workers. We demonstrate how private firms tend to pay less at the bottom end of the wage distribution and more at the top end. The main force contracting the variance of wages was the decline, between 1992 and 1998 in labour market participation of those with low levels of education. Wage inequality seems to have increased since 2000. Suggestively, whereas privatisation has continued, the decline in participation has halted.
Wage policy during the transition to a market economy : Poland 1990-91
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 1992
All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America First printingJuly 1992 Discussion Papers present results of coumtry analysis or research that is circulated to encourage discussion and comment within the development community. To present these results with the least possible delay, the typescript of this paper has not been prepared in accordance with the procedures appropriate to formal printed texts, and the World Bank accepts no responsibility for errors. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the author(s) and should not be attributed in any manner to the World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the countries they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any consequence of their use. Any maps that accompany the text have been prepared solely for the convenience of readers; the designations and presentation of material in them do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the World Bank, its affiliates, or its Board or member countries concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city:, or area or of the authorities thereof or concerning the delimitation of its boundaries or its national affiliation.
Earnings in Poland: The Private Versus the Public Sector
The Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, 2002
The transition of Poland to a free market economy, concurrent to a substantial increase of the private sector, promoted entrepreneurship, joint ventures, self-employment, labor reallocation, growth of financial markets and direct foreign investments. Previous studies have provided inconclusive evidence regarding earning disparities in Poland. The present study proposes a model that employs demographic, employment and organizational characteristics, revealing that earnings in the private sector are 9.8% higher than in the public sector; human capital characteristics are more influential in the private than in the public sector; the return to general training is higher for both workers with a higher education and those in the private sector; and the return to firm-specific-training is higher in the private sector. The results are discussed in light of the structure of a transitional economy and the changing labor market.
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Does economic transition necessitate a profound change in the inter-industry wage structure? This paper argues that principles of wage determination in centrally planned economies were not basically different from those prevailing in market economies. Even if the center became involved in wage setting, reward for human capital and the compensating differential had to be taken into consideration. Moreover, market power led to rent-sharing via wage bargaining and efficiency wages. Hence, this paper claims that wages in socialist economies were determined by similar factors to those in market economies. This is supported by comparison of inter-industry wage structures between socialist and capitalist countries and by results of the estimation of the wage equation for Poland. There is a noticeable degree of similarity in wage structures generated by both systems.
Employment and wages in transition: panel evidence from Poland
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 1999
New survey data for a panel of Polish firms is used to estimate employment and wage adjustments under various forms of ownership (insider vs. outsider) and asymmetrie response to exogenous shocks. In contrast to earlier studies, dynamic panel data estimators (GMM) allow for endogeneity of observed variables and partial adjustment to shocks. Results differ from other findings in the transition literature: wages have little effect on dynamic labor demand and the firm-size wage effect is confirmed. Firms that expand employment have to pay significantly larger wage increases and rising sales add little to employment, suggesting labor hoarding. Dec1ining sales, however, significantly reduce employment and privatization (or anticipation thereof) has the expected benefits.
The politics and policies of labour market adjustment in post-1989 Poland
Labour market adjustment is constructed by the policies that set the rules for the governance of employment and unemployment. Therefore, labour market polices have redistributive implications. Their orientations are defined in a process that involves various socio-political actors (unions, employers associations, government with a partisan orientation). This has been particularly salient in Central and Eastern Europe given the pressure for adaptation to new market conditions resulting from economic liberalisation. Starting from a critical review of Esping-Andersen's concept of welfare regimes which puts the emphasis on the politics of social risk redistribution, the paper explores the policies and politics of labour market adjustment in Poland since 1989. It builds on original and secondary material and has a strong empirical component. The aim is twofold: (i) to identify which welfare regime (if any) is gradually taking shape and (ii) to uncover the socio-political compromise on which it rests. While policies have generally tended to become minimalist over time, retracing the trajectory of policy reform in two domains, unemployment compensation on the one hand and the rules governing the employment relationship on the other reveals that there are two contrasted worlds of 'labour market politics'.
Wage and employment effects of a wage norm: The Polish transition experience
2011
Most transition countries used tax-supported wage norms in the early 1990's, as a part of their market liberalization programs. This paper analyses how a firm-level tax (or subsidy) on deviations from a pre-set wage norm may promote employment by rotating the labor demand curve perceived by the workers' union around the value of the norm. We derive the conditions such that it yields a positive employment effect. We test the effect of the norm on the wages on a sample of Polish firms in 1990 and 1991. The data support the role of the wage norm on the position of the perceived labor demand and the role of the tax rate on its slope.
1996
This paper presents error correction estimates of a simple interdependent model of the labour market using monthly data over 1990-1994 for the industrial sector in Poland and Hungary. The aim is to investigate three issues in the performance of labour markets during transition. First, is there a stable labour market equilibrium or do high unemployment rates across the region indicate hysteresis? Second, has the intensity of employment adjustment increased with progress in institutional reforms that strengthened corporate governance at the enterprise level? Third, what governs the evolution of real wages and to what extent is there evidence for strong insider power in the labour market? The results reveal striking differences between Poland and Hungary. The former exhibits hysteresis and evidence for considerable insider power while the latter has experienced adjustment towards a stable labour market equilibrium. The intensity of adjustment, however, is high in both countries over the sample period and fails to respond to the initiation of institutional reforms.