Working Paper: NBER ID: w1878
Authors: Richard B. Freeman; Martin L. Weitzman
Abstract: Japan has a relatively unique system of labor compensation. Most Japanese workers are paid large bonuses twice a year. This paper examines the cyclical movement of bonuses compared with wages and the relation of bonuses to employment in the context of the Weitzman "share economy." The paper makes three basic points:(1) The Japanese bonus is much more pro-cyclical than Japanese base wages,but not as cyclically variable as profits. Bonuses can be interpreted as containing a quantitatively significant revenue or profit-sharing component.(2) Bonuses have quite different employment consequences than do base wages. Even after controlling for other economic factors, bonuses are positively related to employment, whereas base wages are negatively related to employment.(3) The bonus system of paying workers, while far from explaining the whole macroeconomic story in Japan, seems to play a role in helping to stabilize Japanese unemployment at comparatively low levels.
Keywords: Bonuses; Employment; Japan; Labor Market; Economic Conditions
JEL Codes: J31; J41
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| bonuses (M52) | economic performance (P17) |
| economic performance (P17) | bonuses (M52) |
| bonuses (M52) | employment (J68) |
| base wages (J31) | employment (J68) |
| economic performance (P17) | base wages (J31) |
| bonus system (J33) | unemployment levels (J64) |
| bonuses (M52) | stabilize employment (J68) |