What explains rising wage inequality in coordinated labor markets? Using a novel panel of over 500 German sectoral wage agreements (spanning May 1950 to September 2025) matched to employer-employee data since 1990, Alexander Busch shows that most variation in bargained wages occurs within contracts, not across industries or regions. He finds that inequality in negotiated wages has declined since the 1950s, with growing wage inequality instead driven by increasing variation in firm-level wage "cushions." Join Busch to explore how centralized bargaining shapes long-term trends in wage dispersion.
The Graduate Student Research Workshop is a seminar for graduate students at Harvard University and MIT to present their research to peers and faculty with an interest in European studies. This student-run, student-centered workshop welcomes presenters from any social science discipline who are at any stage of their research.
To join the seminar mailing list, please contact the seminar chairs. Papers will be distributed to participants via email in advance. For a schedule of upcoming workshops see here. This schedule will be updated throughout the academic year.
