Details

Subject(s)

• Labor costs [Browse]

Related name

• Kramarz, Francis [Browse]
• National Bureau of Economic Research [Browse]

Series

• Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w6110. [More in this series]
• NBER working paper series no. w6110

Summary note

In this article, we estimate the costs of hiring, separation, and retirement of employees for a representative sample of French establishments in 1992. The estimates are computed using data from three sources: the Wage Structure Survey (ESS), the Workforce Movement Questionnaire (DMMO), and the Occupational Structure Survey (ESE). We show that the estimated costs are generally asymmetric (hiring is cheaper than terminations), increasing, and concave functions of the number of entries or exits (either retirements or terminations). There is a fixed component to each of these costs that is related to the structure of the firm's personnel department. Our estimates imply that firms should not adjust gradually to the desired level of employment.

Notes

July 1997.

Source of description

Print version record

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