Wage Dynamics Network (WDN)

The on-going third wave of the WDN survey (WDN3) aims to assess recent labour market adjustments and how firms have reacted to the labour market reforms that took place between 2010 and 2013. 25 ESCB countries are participating in this third wave (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom). Data collection took place during 2014 and the beginning of 2015. Several research projects are currently in progress.

In 2009 ten NCBs (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain) conducted a follow-up, more limited, survey which was specifically designed to understand firms’ reactions to the initial stages of the crisis. The total sample for this follow-up survey covers around 5,700 firms.

The results of the WDN2 survey are summarised in the following working paper:

The WDN1 survey was carried out by 17 EU national central banks (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Greece, Germany Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) between the end of 2007 and the first half of 2008. It collected information from over 17,000 firms. Malta, Cyprus, Bulgaria and Slovakia launched the survey at a later stage.

Several research papers and other works have been produced within the WDN using the survey data. The following papers, using WDN1 survey data for 15 countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain), are published in Labour Economics.

• Babecký, J., Du Caju, P., Kosma, D., Lawless, M., Messina, J. and T. Rõõm, How do European firms adjust their labour costs when nominal wages are rigid?
• Bertola, G., Dabusinskas, A., Hoeberichts, M., Izquierdo, M., Kwapil, C., Montornès, J. and R. Radowski , Price, wage and employment response to shocks - evidence from the WDN survey.
• Druant M., S. Fabiani, G. Kezdi, A. Lamo, F. Martins and R. Sabbatini, Firms' price and wage adjustment in Europe: Survey evidence on nominal stickiness.
• Galuscak K., Keeney, M., Nicolitsas, D., Smets, F., Strzelecki, P. and M. Vodopivec, The determination of wages of newly hired employees: survey evidence on internal versus external factors.
• Wasmer Etienne An introduction to the special feature section: Price, wage and employment adjustments in 2007–2008 and some inference for the current European crisis.

Data from WDN1 are available for the following 13 countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. In addition, data for Slovakia (not included in the papers) are also available for researchers.

WDN2 data are available to researchers for the following 8 countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.

WDN3 data are available for the following 25 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany,  Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and the United Kingdom.