This paper exploits a new matched universal and longitudinal employer-employee database at the US Census Bureau to empirically investigate the link between firms' choice of worker mix and the implied relationships between productivity and wages. We particularly focus on the decision making...

In this paper we use a very large matched database on firms and employees to analyze the use of temporary agencies by low earners, and to estimate the impact of temp employment on subsequent employment outcomes for these workers. Our results show that, while temp workers have lower earnings than...

Innovation in the U.S. economy is about employing and rewarding highly talented workers to produce new products. Using unique longitudinal matched employer-employee data, this paper makes a key connection between talent and firms in markets with risky product innovations. We show that software...

The focus of the literature on the effect of job changes has been on the consequences of job destruction on the individual worker. In this paper we analyze the impact on the earnings distribution of both job creation and job destruction. We establish a link between job reallocation and the...

The ‘fractal’ nature of the rise in earnings dispersion is one of its key features and remains a puzzle. This paper offers a new perspective on the causes of changes in earnings dispersion, focusing on the role of labour reallocation. Once we drop the assumption that all firms pay a given...

We utilize a large firm-level panel dataset to explore the links between gross job flows and gross worker flows. Our findings have relevance for models of job creation and destruction, of labour reallocation and of employment adjustment costs. We find churning flows (the difference between...

The striking geographical concentration of economic activities suggests that there are substantial benefits to agglomeration. The nature of those benefits remains unclear, however. In this Paper we take advantage of a new dataset to quantify the role of one of the main contenders: the matching...