In Bartling, Fehr and Schmidt (2012) we show theoretically and experimentally that it is optimal to grant discretion to … workers if (i) discretion increases productivity, (ii) workers can be screened by past performance, (iii) some workers … reciprocate high wages with high effort and (iv) employers pay high wages leaving rents to their workers. In this paper we show …

I examine whether reference points can provide an explanation for rigid wages in recessions. Even though a recession … provides a good reason to adjust wages downward, workers' perception of a "fair wage" may depend on their previous wage, their … stipulated wages-can serve as reference points. My experimental results show that with initial contracts workers punish wage cuts …

Workers participating in firm-sponsored training receive higher wages as a result. But given that firms pay the …

We investigate the effects of works councils on employees' wages and job satisfaction in general and for subgroups with … support for the hypothesis that the introduction of a works council itself increases wages or job satisfaction for the …

We study the long-run effects of initial labor market conditions on wages for a large sample of male individuals … starting wages. This initial effect turns out to be quite persistent and even though wages do catch up later on, large effects … aggregate level are key to explain wages' adjustment process in the longer run. …

We estimate the effects of labor market entry conditions on wages for male individuals first entering the Austrian … labor market between 1978 and 2000. We find a large negative effect of unfavorable entry conditions on starting wages as …

in the treated shops by around 3%, and wages by 2.3%. The bonus is highly profitable for the firm, generating for each …