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Figure 1

Contribution of composition effects to the wage growth, distinguishing between employers’ and workers’ characteristics.Source: own calculations on INPS data. Note: this figure plots the results on composition effects obtained from the BO decomposition (this is therefore the part of aggregate wage dynamics explained by changes in the average characteristics of employed individuals in the economy and of the firms where they are employed, keeping returns to these characteristics fixed over time). The results report the ratio between the 3-year moving average of the part of aggregate wage growth explained by changes in workers’ and employers’ composition and the 3-year moving average of aggregate wage growth. The blue line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in workers’ characteristics, and the red line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in employers’ characteristics.
Contribution of composition effects to the wage growth, distinguishing between employers’ and workers’ characteristics.Source: own calculations on INPS data. Note: this figure plots the results on composition effects obtained from the BO decomposition (this is therefore the part of aggregate wage dynamics explained by changes in the average characteristics of employed individuals in the economy and of the firms where they are employed, keeping returns to these characteristics fixed over time). The results report the ratio between the 3-year moving average of the part of aggregate wage growth explained by changes in workers’ and employers’ composition and the 3-year moving average of aggregate wage growth. The blue line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in workers’ characteristics, and the red line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in employers’ characteristics.

Figure 2

The contribution of some employers’ and workers’ characteristics to the composition effect of aggregate nominal wages.Source: own calculations on INPS data. Note: this figure plots the average contribution, for several subperiods, of the composition effects referred to changes in different workers’ and employers’ characteristics, as obtained from the BO decomposition. It therefore plots the average x¯ijt−x¯ijt−1β^t$\left( {{{\bar{x}}}_{ijt}}-{{{\bar{x}}}_{ijt-1}} \right){{\hat{\beta }}_{t}}$in each four- or five-year period for different x.
The contribution of some employers’ and workers’ characteristics to the composition effect of aggregate nominal wages.Source: own calculations on INPS data. Note: this figure plots the average contribution, for several subperiods, of the composition effects referred to changes in different workers’ and employers’ characteristics, as obtained from the BO decomposition. It therefore plots the average x¯ijt−x¯ijt−1β^t$\left( {{{\bar{x}}}_{ijt}}-{{{\bar{x}}}_{ijt-1}} \right){{\hat{\beta }}_{t}}$in each four- or five-year period for different x.

Figure 3

Contribution of composition effects to the wage growth, distinguishing between employers’ and workers’ characteristics, by sector.Source: own calculations on INPS data. Note: this figure plots the results on composition effects obtained from the BO decomposition (this is therefore the part of aggregate wage dynamics explained by changes in the average characteristics of employed individuals in the economy and of the firms where they are employed, keeping returns to these characteristics fixed over time). The results report the ratio between the 3-year moving average of the part of aggregate wage growth explained by changes in workers’ and employers’ composition and the 3-year moving average of aggregate wage growth. The blue line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in workers’ characteristics, and the red line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in employers’ characteristics.
Contribution of composition effects to the wage growth, distinguishing between employers’ and workers’ characteristics, by sector.Source: own calculations on INPS data. Note: this figure plots the results on composition effects obtained from the BO decomposition (this is therefore the part of aggregate wage dynamics explained by changes in the average characteristics of employed individuals in the economy and of the firms where they are employed, keeping returns to these characteristics fixed over time). The results report the ratio between the 3-year moving average of the part of aggregate wage growth explained by changes in workers’ and employers’ composition and the 3-year moving average of aggregate wage growth. The blue line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in workers’ characteristics, and the red line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in employers’ characteristics.

Figure A1

Representativeness of INPS and ESBS databases, class size.Source: our calculation based on INPS and Eurostat, Structural Business Statistics data.
Representativeness of INPS and ESBS databases, class size.Source: our calculation based on INPS and Eurostat, Structural Business Statistics data.

Figure 4

Contribution of the OP term to aggregate wage changes ΔOPtm/ΔW¯tm,$\left( {\Delta \text{OP}_{t}^{m}}/{\Delta \bar{W}}\;_{t}^{m} \right),$by sector.Source: our calculations based on INPS data on the universe of firms. Data on 2016 are not yet available for all firms and are thus discarded. Note: Δxtm=∑h=−11Δxt+h$\Delta x_{t}^{m}=\sum\nolimits_{h=-1}^{1}{\Delta {{x}_{t+h}}}$with Δ denoting first differences. TOT = private nonagricultural sector (blue line), MAN = manufacturing sector (red line), and SER = private services (green line; right axis)
Contribution of the OP term to aggregate wage changes ΔOPtm/ΔW¯tm,$\left( {\Delta \text{OP}_{t}^{m}}/{\Delta \bar{W}}\;_{t}^{m} \right),$by sector.Source: our calculations based on INPS data on the universe of firms. Data on 2016 are not yet available for all firms and are thus discarded. Note: Δxtm=∑h=−11Δxt+h$\Delta x_{t}^{m}=\sum\nolimits_{h=-1}^{1}{\Delta {{x}_{t+h}}}$with Δ denoting first differences. TOT = private nonagricultural sector (blue line), MAN = manufacturing sector (red line), and SER = private services (green line; right axis)

Figure 5

Contribution of the OP term to aggregate wage changes ΔOPtm/ΔW¯tm,$\left( {\Delta \text{OP}_{t}^{m}}/{\Delta \bar{W}_{t}^{m}}\; \right),$by sector and net of changes in workers’ composition.Note: our calculations based on INPS data on the universe of firms. Data on 2016 are not yet available for all firms and are thus discarded. Note: Δxtm=∑h=−11Δxt+h$\Delta x_{t}^{m}=\sum\nolimits_{h=-1}^{1}{\Delta {{x}_{t+h}}}$with Δ denoting first differences. TOT= private nonagricultural sector (blue line), MAN = manufacturing sector (red line), and SER = private services (green line; right axis). We correct for workers’ composition by using the residual of a regression of wages at the firm level on the occupational composition of workers in each firm, as a measure of net wages of workers’ composition.
Contribution of the OP term to aggregate wage changes ΔOPtm/ΔW¯tm,$\left( {\Delta \text{OP}_{t}^{m}}/{\Delta \bar{W}_{t}^{m}}\; \right),$by sector and net of changes in workers’ composition.Note: our calculations based on INPS data on the universe of firms. Data on 2016 are not yet available for all firms and are thus discarded. Note: Δxtm=∑h=−11Δxt+h$\Delta x_{t}^{m}=\sum\nolimits_{h=-1}^{1}{\Delta {{x}_{t+h}}}$with Δ denoting first differences. TOT= private nonagricultural sector (blue line), MAN = manufacturing sector (red line), and SER = private services (green line; right axis). We correct for workers’ composition by using the residual of a regression of wages at the firm level on the occupational composition of workers in each firm, as a measure of net wages of workers’ composition.

Figure 6

Average labor productivity and average wage by (log) class size, and fractions of incorporated businesses and of firms with balance sheet data within the universe of employer businesses.Note: our calculations based on INPS and Cerved. The figure displays the average labor productivity for the sample of limited companies in Cerved that can be merged to firms in INPS and the average wage for the firms in INPS, i.e. for the entire population of employer businesses, conditional on (the natural logarithm of) class size (left scale). It also reports the fraction of firms in INPS that are incorporated businesses and the fraction of firms in INPS that can be merged with Cerved and, therefore, for which we have labour productivity data (right scale).
Average labor productivity and average wage by (log) class size, and fractions of incorporated businesses and of firms with balance sheet data within the universe of employer businesses.Note: our calculations based on INPS and Cerved. The figure displays the average labor productivity for the sample of limited companies in Cerved that can be merged to firms in INPS and the average wage for the firms in INPS, i.e. for the entire population of employer businesses, conditional on (the natural logarithm of) class size (left scale). It also reports the fraction of firms in INPS that are incorporated businesses and the fraction of firms in INPS that can be merged with Cerved and, therefore, for which we have labour productivity data (right scale).

Figure A2

Representativeness of INPS and ESBS entry and exit rates.Source: our calculation based on INPS and Eurostat, Structural Business Statistics data. Note: the blue line displays statistics from INPS and the red line from ESBS data.
Representativeness of INPS and ESBS entry and exit rates.Source: our calculation based on INPS and Eurostat, Structural Business Statistics data. Note: the blue line displays statistics from INPS and the red line from ESBS data.

Figure A3

Firm-level evolution of employment, average wages, and value added per employee over time.Source: our calculation based on INPS and Istat, ENA data.
Firm-level evolution of employment, average wages, and value added per employee over time.Source: our calculation based on INPS and Istat, ENA data.

Figure A4

Percentage of firms in INPS with balance sheet information (from CERVED), by employment size class.Source: our calculation based on INPS and Cerved data.
Percentage of firms in INPS with balance sheet information (from CERVED), by employment size class.Source: our calculation based on INPS and Cerved data.

Figure A5

Contribution of composition effects to the wage growth, distinguishing between employers’ and workers’ characteristics and different types of fixed effects.Source: own calculation based on INPS data. Note: this figure plots the results on composition effects obtained from the BO decomposition (this is therefore the part of aggregate wage dynamics explained by changes in the average characteristics of employed individuals in the economy and of the firms where they are employed, keeping returns to these characteristics fixed over time). The results report the ratio between the 3-year moving average of the part of aggregate wage growth explained by changes in workers’ and employers’ composition and the 3-year moving average of aggregate wage growth. The blue line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in workers’ characteristics, and the red line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in employers’ characteristics.
Contribution of composition effects to the wage growth, distinguishing between employers’ and workers’ characteristics and different types of fixed effects.Source: own calculation based on INPS data. Note: this figure plots the results on composition effects obtained from the BO decomposition (this is therefore the part of aggregate wage dynamics explained by changes in the average characteristics of employed individuals in the economy and of the firms where they are employed, keeping returns to these characteristics fixed over time). The results report the ratio between the 3-year moving average of the part of aggregate wage growth explained by changes in workers’ and employers’ composition and the 3-year moving average of aggregate wage growth. The blue line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in workers’ characteristics, and the red line refers to the share of the yearly change in wage levels explained by changes in employers’ characteristics.

Figure A6

Dynamic OP decomposition and contribution of OP and net entry to aggregate wage growth.Source: our calculation based on INPS data.
Dynamic OP decomposition and contribution of OP and net entry to aggregate wage growth.Source: our calculation based on INPS data.

Descriptive statistics on workers (at the contract level)

Daily nominal wageAge% female% full time% blue collars% white collars% middle managers% industryN. of employeesN. of firms
YearMeanSDMeanSD
199049.9226.2036.3211.000.300.960.640.320.64674,316263,731
199151.5325.6436.3810.970.300.950.640.330.63683,562267,286
199254.5828.0936.5210.920.300.950.630.330.63683,060269,335
199356.6428.7736.7010.790.310.940.630.340.61656,778261,026
199458.3929.7736.7410.690.310.930.620.340.60648,803257,610
199560.1730.6436.6010.570.320.920.630.340.60654,221259,404
199662.0231.4636.6210.520.320.910.630.320.020.59665,853264,966
199764.2832.9136.6410.420.320.910.630.320.020.58665,207262,301
199865.7734.0136.7810.410.330.900.620.320.020.58677,306266,600
199966.6434.3136.7510.370.330.890.620.310.020.56702,670277,117
200067.9735.5336.8710.340.330.890.610.310.020.55747,457292,300
200169.3936.5137.0410.320.340.880.610.310.030.54774,424303,645
200270.6037.1537.0410.280.330.870.620.300.030.53810,678324,062
200372.3037.9437.3010.260.340.860.620.300.030.52818,378329,247
200474.6539.0237.5610.220.340.850.610.300.030.51826,770336,332
200576.5139.8737.9410.240.340.840.600.310.030.50821,421336,031
200678.7140.9138.2410.270.350.830.600.310.030.49835,521341,087
200780.3841.5138.3410.350.350.820.600.300.030.49879,014362,206
200884.2544.0338.5610.390.350.810.600.300.030.48895,650369,088
200985.8344.4239.1110.430.360.800.590.310.030.46882,614365,012
201087.7145.5539.4110.480.360.790.590.310.030.45877,436362,978
201189.0746.3939.6910.520.360.790.600.310.030.44880,748363,405
201290.3346.9240.0410.580.370.770.600.310.030.43871,845362,267
201392.2947.7940.4710.590.370.750.590.320.030.42844,600346,920
201492.9848.0540.8810.680.370.740.590.320.030.41835,498338,086
201593.9448.0341.1210.800.370.730.590.320.030.40856,844345,811
201694.2248.0041.3110.950.360.720.590.320.030.40869,931346,633

Descriptive statistics on universe of firms paying contribution at INPS

Year% of firms in industry% of firms in manufacturingwage Monthly per nominal employeeFirm sizeN. of firmsN. of employees
MeanSDMeanSD
19900.490.321,1024577.96182.281,116,9888,886,276
19910.480.321,2174957.96181.011,120,6168,921,224
19920.480.311,2885397.86188.061,122,4658,823,486
19930.470.311,3345567.8184.211,084,6138,462,596
19940.470.311,3825797.83180.241,059,3308,297,098
19950.470.301,4416207.87179.071,063,8168,370,518
19960.470.301,4926467.94172.871,069,9468,494,919
19970.460.301,5506707.96163.061,058,1148,422,835
19980.460.291,5806977.97156.181,082,8708,627,422
19990.450.281,5957117.86138.331,136,1608,931,878
20000.440.271,6377667.97139.111,181,3319,411,951
20010.440.271,6758217.98140.121,222,3819,748,518
20020.440.261,6937887.73133.231,293,2899,993,794
20030.440.251,7288197.7129.981,325,11610,208,096
20040.430.241,7658377.59127.861,369,57010,388,312
20050.420.241,8168927.56128.71,380,83910,444,820
20060.420.231,8729387.55131.951,403,80810,592,187
20070.420.221,8989947.53133.461,474,11211,105,779
20080.410.221,9731,0307.57128.971,496,80811,335,465
20090.400.221,9751,0067.48146.851,478,60711,056,102
20100.390.212,0311,0617.43169.791,471,72710,941,586
20110.380.212,0681,0707.46165.141,467,73110,943,035
20120.370.212,0731,0867.35167.581,468,61610,790,006
20130.360.212,1001,1407.46169.21,415,18610,556,232
20140.360.212,1281,1497.61174.121,371,09310,440,510
20150.350.202,1561,1757.59174.641,392,76110,565,555

Regressions at the sectoral level

Dep var:Delta OP share
(1)(2)(3)(4)
%Δ (productivity)0.047** (0.021)0.040* (0.021)
%Δ (productivity)–0.017 (0.030)–0.008 (0.029)
*post 2009
Herfindahl index–0.194* (0.112)–0.346* (0.224)
Herfindahl index–0.061 (0.153)–0.204* (0.125)
*post 2009
%Δ (employment)–0.005*** (0.000)–0.038 (0.043)
%Δ (employment)0.068 (0.052)0.113* (0.070)
*post 2009
No observations8121,3921,392812
Sector FEYesYesYesYes
Year FEYesYesYesYes

Percentage contribution of the OP term to aggregate wage growth in different periods

Private SectorManufacturingPrivate Services
YearsWage growthCounterfactual wage growthFraction due to OP termWage growthCounterfactual wage growthFraction due to OP termWage growthCounterfactual wage growthFraction due to OP term
Wages (%)
2002–201527.319.229.741.628.830.817.612.727.7
2004–201522.215.131.833.322.931.114.59.633.9
2004–200811.88.924.715.110.828.39.97.226.6
2008–20159.35.738.415.810.931.04.22.248.7
Wages net of differences in firm occupation structure across firms (%)
2002–201568.049.227.689.164.128.158.841.529.4
2004–201570.553.424.388.867.224.362.846.526.0
2004–200828.522.720.334.326.722.225.519.523.7
2008–201532.725.023.640.632.021.129.722.623.9

Correlations between log size, log firm wage and log labor productivity

Year 2007
All firmsE ≥ 20
ln(E)ln(W)ln(VA/E)ln(E)ln(W)ln(VA/E)
ln(W)29.8%13.7%
ln(VA/E)-4.5%51.2%11.8%79.6%
ln(LC)19.4%77.4%61.8%12.9%90.6%80.8%