Arbeitspapier
How Substitutable Are Workers? Evidence from Worker Deaths
We estimate how exogenous worker exits affect firms' demand for incumbent workers and new hires. Drawing on administrative data from Germany, we analyze 34,000 unexpected worker deaths, which, on average, raise the remaining workers' wages and retention probabilities. The average effect masks substantial heterogeneity: Coworkers in the same occupation as the deceased see positive wage effects; coworkers in other occupations experience wage decreases when a high-skilled or specialized worker dies. Our findings imply substantial replacement costs, which are larger in thin markets and when skills are specialized.
- Language
-
Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
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Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 15717
- Classification
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Wirtschaft
Demand and Supply of Labor: General
Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs: General
Labor Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
- Subject
-
hiring costs
human capital specificity
labor market thickness
- Event
-
Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
-
Jäger, Simon
Heining, Jörg
- Event
-
Veröffentlichung
- (who)
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Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
- (where)
-
Bonn
- (when)
-
2022
- Handle
- Last update
-
10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET
Data provider
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ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Jäger, Simon
- Heining, Jörg
- Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
Time of origin
- 2022
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