Multitasking and Wages

42 Pages Posted: 22 Jun 2013

See all articles by Dennis J. Snower

Dennis J. Snower

University of Kiel - Institute for World Economics (IfW); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

Dennis Görlich

Kiel Institute for the World Economy

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Abstract

This paper sheds light on how changes in the organization of work can help to understand increasing wage inequality. We present a theoretical model in which workers with a wider span of competence (higher level of multitasking) earn a wage premium. Since abilities and opportunities to expand the span of competence are distributed unequally among workers across and within education groups, our theory helps to explain (1) rising wage inequality between groups, and (2) rising wage inequality within groups. Under certain assumptions, it also helps to explain (3) the polarization of the income distribution. Using a rich German data set covering a 20-year period from 1986 to 2006, we provide empirical support for our model.

Keywords: wage inequality, multitasking, tasks, organizational change

JEL Classification: J31, J24, L23

Suggested Citation

Snower, Dennis J. and Görlich, Dennis, Multitasking and Wages. IZA Discussion Paper No. 7426, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2283541 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2283541

Dennis J. Snower (Contact Author)

University of Kiel - Institute for World Economics (IfW) ( email )

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Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute)

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Dennis Görlich

Kiel Institute for the World Economy ( email )

P.O. Box 4309
Kiel, Schleswig-Hosltein D-24100
Germany

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