Job mobility, reallocation and wage growth
A tale of two countries
This paper analyses the role of job mobility for job reallocation and aggregate wage
growth in Norway and the United States using linked employer-employee data. It provides
four main findings. First, despite lower overall job mobility in Norway, the speed
of worker reallocation from low-wage to high-wage firms is similar to that in the
United States. Second, job reallocation tends to be counter-cyclical in Norway, but
pro-cyclical in the United States, due to the weaker tendency of high-wage firms in
the United States to hoard workers during economic downturns. Third, the reallocation
of workers from low to high wage firms through job-to-job mobility disproportionately
benefits high-skilled workers in Norway and low-skilled workers in the United States.
Fourth, the slowdown in aggregate wage growth primarily reflects a weakening of on-the-job
wage growth in both countries rather than a reduced role of job reallocation between
low and high-wage firms (although this does also play a role in the United States).
Published on January 13, 2021
In series:OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papersview more titles