Lönespridning inom företag och produktivitet - En internationell forskningsöversikt

In recent years there has been an increased interest in issues related to wage inequality. This interest originates from a trend in many countries towards increased wage dispersion. According to a variety of theories, the wage distribution both within and between firms can have important effects on individual productivity and firm performance. Predictions from these theories, however, give rise to conflicting hypotheses. One argument for high wage differentials, based on incentive effects, is found in theories that stresses that higher wage differentials lead to increased individual effort, and are therefore productivity enhancing. The opposite relationship is found in theories stressing fairness and cooperation between coworkers. The purpose of this article is to provide an extensive survey of the empirical research on the impact of intra-firm wage dispersion on productivity and firm performance. Overall, the majority of the included studies present results showing a positive relationship between intra-firm wage dispersion and different measures of firm performance. However, many of these studies also find that the relationship is non-monotonic, suggesting that that up to a certain level of wage dispersion, the relationship is positive, but at some point the relation reverses.