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Regulatory reform and labour earnings in Portuguese banking

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Abstract

This study examines changes in union contracts and wage structure during and after the introduction of regulatory reforms (deregulation and privatisation) in the Portuguese banking sector. The main finding is that, despite a relative wage erosion detected in the contract data, banking workers were able to enjoy an increasing wage premium in the period 1985–2000, probably reflecting the increasing profitability of the industry and the rise in labour productivity. The evidence also shows that some specific groups benefited relatively more than others: the least skilled and educated workforce and male workers gained more from the regulatory reforms. However, this unequal sharing of the wage premium did not raise wage inequality across ownership groups in the industry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Minho and NIPE, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal

    Natália Pimenta Monteiro

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  1. Natália Pimenta Monteiro
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Correspondence to Natália Pimenta Monteiro.

Additional information

I thank Mark Stewart, Odd Rune Straume, Ian Walker and two anonymous referees for very helpful comments. I am indebted to the Ministério do Trabalho e da Solidariedade for allowing the availability of data from Quadros de Pessoal. Financial support was provided by the Ministério da Ciência e Tecnologia under the grant BD/SFRH/2000/1291.

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Monteiro, N.P. Regulatory reform and labour earnings in Portuguese banking. Empir Econ 36, 557–574 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-008-0211-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-008-0211-4

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