Social closure and wage inequality in Germany

• Applicants: Dr. Andreas Haupt; Professor Dr. Gerd Nollmann
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: from 2014 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 265326967

Why do employees of different occupations earn differently and why did wage inequality increase in Germany? The project aims to answer these questions analyzing the effects of market barriers into occupational labor markets on wage setting. Occupation specific labor market barriers can rest on firms recruitment behavior in which candidates with a certain degree are seen as legitimate only (e.g. engineers, opticians, and bank clerks). They can also rest on the law in so called licenses, e.g. for physicians, judges, and speech therapists). The project analyzes the effects of these barriers on wage setting in cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective. It proposes measurements of theses occupation specific labor market barriers. Both kinds of recruitment patterns and its connection to wage setting are related to major shifts of the labor market. This relation helps to deepen the understanding of the increase in wage inequality in Germany.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants