Escaping from low-wage employment: The role of co-worker networks. (February 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Baranowska-Rataj, Anna; Elekes, Zoltán; Eriksson, Rikard
• Is Part Of: Research in social stratification and mobility. Volume 83(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-02
• Subjects: Co-worker networks -- Employer-employee data -- Low-wage -- Wage mobility; Social mobility -- Periodicals; Occupational mobility -- Periodicals; Social status -- Periodicals; Social conflict -- Periodicals; Social classes -- Periodicals; Mobilité sociale -- Périodiques; Mobilité professionnelle -- Périodiques; Statut social -- Périodiques; Conflits sociaux -- Périodiques; Classes sociales -- Périodiques; 305.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rssm.2022.100747
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0276-5624

Abstract

Abstract: Low-wage jobs are often regarded as dead ends in the labour market careers of young people. Previous research focused on disentangling to what degree the association between a low-wage job at the start of working life and limited chances of transitioning to better-paid employment is causal or spurious. Less attention has been paid to the factors that may facilitate the upward wage mobility of low-wage workers. We focus on such mechanisms, and we scrutinize the impact of social ties to higher-educated co-workers. Due to knowledge spillovers, job referrals, as well as firm-level productivity gains, having higher-educated co-workers may improve an individual's chances of transitioning to a better-paid job. We use linked employer-employee data from longitudinal Swedish registers and panel data models that incorporate measures of low-wage workers' social ties to higher-educated co-workers. Our results confirm that having social ties to higher-educated co-workers increases individual chances of transitioning to better-paid employment.