Tasks, Employment and Wages: An Analysis of the German Labor Market from 1979 to 2012

Konferenzbeitrag

The literature has found evidence for a wage polarization depending on routine and non-routine working tasks. Using unique German survey data we ask whether wage polarization coincides with polarization in job satisfaction. First, we find that contrary to what polarization predicts, routine cognitive tasks are associated with higher wage. Second, satisfaction across tasks has converged rather than diverged. The main driver for these two findings are routine cognitive tasks which do not lower satisfaction but instead more often than not increase it. Evidence for polarization arises from the facts that non-routine analytic tasks tend to increase and routine manual to decrease satisfaction. But due to a persistent positive effect of routine cognitive tasks, we do not find clearcut satisfaction polarization.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Beiträge zur Jahrestagung des Vereins für Socialpolitik 2015: Ökonomische Entwicklung - Theorie und Politik - Session: Labor - Empirical Studies 1 ; No. A16-V3

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Safety; Job Satisfaction; Related Public Policy ; Labor and Demographic Economics: General

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Pikos, Anna Katharina ; Thomsen, Stephan L.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (when): 2015

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/112929
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET