The Roles of Employer and Employee Characteristics for Plant Productivity

• Published in: Journal of productivity analysis Vol. 21; no. 3; pp. 249 - 276
• Main Authors: ILMAKUNNAS, PEKKA, MALIRANTA, MIKA, VAINIOMÄKI, JARI
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Norwell Kluwer Academic Publishers 01.05.2004; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Age; Average age; Careers; Coefficients; Economics; Education; Employee characteristics; Employees; Employers; Employment; Human capital; Industrial plants; Industrial production; Industrial productivity; Labor economics; Labor market; Performance evaluation; Present value; Production functions; Productivity; Seniority; Skills; Studies; Tenure; Variable coefficients; Wages; Wages & salaries; Workers; Finland
• ISSN: 0895-562X; 1573-0441
• DOI: 10.1023/b:prod.0000022093.59352.5e

The relationships of worker characteristics and productivity are examined using a matched worker-plant data set from Finnish manufacturing. The panel data are used for estimating productivity and wage profiles according to average age, seniority, and education. We measure productivity using the multilateral total factor productivity index. We find that the wage returns to plant-specific seniority exceed productivity returns when seniority is high. This result supports the hypothesis that human capital is not firm specific, and seniority related wages are used for incentive reasons, but may also be a symptom of sorting or insider influences on wage formation. Plant average age improves productivity more than it increases wage when average age is low, but for higher ages the productivity and wage returns to age are fairly similar. The returns to education in terms of wage and productivity are fairly close to each other for higher levels of education, but mid-level education is underpaid.