Socio-Economic Differences in the Satisfaction of High-Pay and Low-Pay Jobs in Europe

Pouliakas, Konstantinos and Theodossiou, Ioannis (2005): Socio-Economic Differences in the Satisfaction of High-Pay and Low-Pay Jobs in Europe. Forthcoming in: International Labour Review No. 1 (2010)

Abstract

This paper investigates whether any significant differences in the job satisfaction of high- and low-paid workers exist in eleven European labour markets. Using data from six waves (1996-2001) of the ECHP, it is shown that low-paid employees are significantly less satisfied with their jobs compared to the high-paid in the periphery of Southern European countries, as opposed to those in the North. This evidence suggests that in the face of an increasing flexibility in labour markets, low-paid jobs in the EU are not inevitably of low quality, though in some countries low-wage workers have experienced the full brunt of both lower-paid and bad quality jobs. For these countries policies that centre on the quality of work are essential. Evidence indicates that the cross-country differences reflect the disparate manner with which the flexibility-security nexus has been confronted.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: job satisfaction, low pay, job quality, Europe, flexicurity
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J2 - Demand and Supply of Labor > J28 - Safety ; Job Satisfaction ; Related Public Policy; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J4 - Particular Labor Markets > J42 - Monopsony ; Segmented Labor Markets

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