Hannah Illing

Hiring and the Dynamics of the Gender Gap

With Hanna Schwank and Linh Tô

Abstract

We investigate how the same hiring opportunity leads to different labor market outcomes for male and female full-time workers. To study firms’ wage-setting behavior following exogenous vacancies, we analyze the wages of new hires after sudden worker deaths between 1981 and 2016. Using admin- istrative data from Germany, we apply a novel technique to identify external replacement workers, and we use machine learning to compare replacements hired for comparable positions by similar firms. We find that female replacement workers’ starting wages are, on average, 10 log points lower than those of replacing men of the same productivity. Differences in labor supply, within-firm ad- justments, or outside options do not explain this gap; instead, we attribute it to gender differences in bargaining. We conclude that a significant portion of the gender wage gap emerges within firms at the hiring stage.

The Gender Gap in Earnings Losses after Job Displacement

With Johannes Schmieder and Simon Trenkle

[Journal of the European Economic Association, Volume 22, No. 5, October 2024]

Abstract

We compare men and women who are displaced from similar jobs by applying an event study design combined with propensity score matching and reweighting to administrative data from Germany. After a mass layoff, women’s earnings losses are about 35% higher than men’s, with the gap persisting five years after displacement. This is partly explained by women taking up more part-time employment, but even women’s full-time wage losses are almost 50% higher than men’s. Parenthood magnifies the gender gap sharply. Finally, displaced women spend less time on job search and apply for lower-paid jobs, highlighting the importance of labor supply decisions.

The Labor Market Costs of Job Displacement by Migrant Status

With Maria Balgova

Abstract

This paper examines the differential impact of job displacement on migrants and natives. Using administrative data for Germany from 1997-2016, we identify mass layoffs and estimate the trajectory of earnings and employment of observationally similar migrants and natives displaced from the same establishment. Despite similar pre-layoff careers, migrants lose an additional 9% of their earnings in the first 5 years after displacement. This gap arises from both lower re-employment probabilities and post-layoff wages and is not driven by selective return migration. Key mechanisms include sorting into lower-quality firms and depending on lower-quality coworker networks during job search.

Crossing Borders: Labor Market Effects of European Integration

IZA DP 15930

[2nd round revise and resubmit at the Journal of Human Resources]

Abstract

This paper studies the labor market effects of out- and in-migration in the context of cross-border commuting. It investigates an EU policy reform that granted Czech citizens full access to the German labor market, resulting in a Czech commuter outflow across the border to Germany. Exploiting the fact that the reform specifically impacted the Czech and German border regions, I use a matched difference-in-differences design to estimate its effects on local labor markets in both countries. Using a novel dataset on Czech regions, I show that municipalities in the Czech border region experienced a decrease in unemployment rates due to the worker outflow, and a corresponding increase in vacancies. For German border municipalities, I find evidence for slower employment growth (long-term) and slower wage growth (short-term), but no displacement effects for incumbent native workers.

Mobility and the Labor Market Effects of Being Affected by a Flood Event

With Hanna Schwank, Johannes Weber and Leonie Wicht

The Impact of a Forced Migrant Outflow on Firms and Workers

With Britta Jensen and Cem Özgüzel

Cross-border Careers

With Sandro Favre, Bernd Fitzenberger, Julia Holleitner, Alexandre Jenni, Jan Ringling and Josef Zweimüller

The Impact of Job Disruptions on Households During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Policy Brief (in German)

With Mara Buhmann, Michael Oberfichtner, Nico Pestel, Johannes Schmieder and Simon Trenkle