Julie Valentin

Early Starters Versus Late Beginners

We consider a model of wage formation characterized by two features, learning and downward rigidity. We show that wages should exhibit a late‐beginning property: when one controls for the wage at date t, the wage at date t + 1 should be negatively correlated with the wage at date 6–1. We test this property on a sample of about 1,000 executives of a French state‐owned firm whose careers we observe for 15 years. This organization exhibits the features that charecterize internal labor markets; in particular, careers consist of sequences of discrete promotions, a fact that generates specific econometric problems. The results confirm the prediction.

Inter-firm dependency and employment inequalities: Theoretical hypotheses and empirical tests on French subcontracting relationships

This article highlights the importance of power relations in subcontracting relationships and analyzes their impact on firms’ employment management practices. We show that the use of subcontracting creates a chain of inter-firm economic dependency because it leads the principal contractor to plan and control the activities of the subcontractors. The hypothesis is that this chain of dependency influences both the skill structure and wage levels. Empirical tests carried out on French data confirm that firms that subcontract outsource execution tasks and that the hierarchy of firms impacts employees’ wage levels.

Le renchérissement des CDD peut être favorable à l'emploi: une analyse des décisions des entreprises en environnement incertain

This paper study the effect on employment level of an increase in the specific cost of fixed term contracts. We build a stochastic dynamic model of labour demand where long-term and fixed-term contracts are both available. We found that such a change reduces employment when shocks are transitory but it can increase hiring on long-term contracts and decrease firing providing an increase in employment. An illustration is designed by calibrating the model on aggregate data.