The cycle of earnings inequality: Evidence from Spanish social security data

Arbeitspapier

We use detailed information on labor earnings and employment from social security records to document the evolution of earnings inequality in Spain from 1988 to 2010. Male earnings inequality was strongly countercyclical: it increased around the 1993 recession, showed a substantial decrease during the 1997-2007 expansion, and then a sharp increase during the recent recession. This evolution was partly driven by the cyclicality of employment and earnings in the lower-middle part of the distribution. We emphasize the importance of the housing boom and subsequent housing bust, and show that demand shocks in the construction sector had large effects on aggregate labor market outcomes.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 6669

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Personal Income, Wealth, and Their Distributions ; Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure ; Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
• Subject: earnings inequality ; social security data ; unemployment ; business cycle ; Lohnstruktur ; Lohndifferenzierung ; Konjunkturelle Arbeitslosigkeit ; Spanien

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Bonhomme, Stephane ; Hospido, Laura
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/62441
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET