Job mobility and wage mobility of high and low-paid workers

Abstract

Studies have shown that voluntary job-to-job changes have a positive effect on wage growth. This paper argues that the impact of a job change on wage mobility depends on the position in the wage distribution. Using panel data from the UK and Germany, we show that a change of employer results into a wage increase only for the low paid workers. Within-firm job changes produce, on the average, moderate wage gains for the low-paid workers in Britain, but have no effect in Germany.