Vertical and Horizontal Wage Dispersion and Mobility Outcomes: Evidence from the Swedish Microdata

Using employer–employee matched data from Sweden between 2001 and 2008, we test hypotheses designed to assess the contingent nature of the relationship between wage dispersion and cross-firm mobility. Whereas past research has mostly established that dispersed wages increase interfirm mobility, we investigate the conditions under which pay variance might have the opposite effect, serving to retain workers. We propose that the effect of wage dispersion is contingent on organizational rank and that it depends on whether wages are dispersed vertically (between job levels) or horizontally (within the same job level). We find that vertical wage dispersion suppresses cross-firm mobility because it is associated with outcomes beneficial for employees, such as attractive advancement opportunities. By contrast, horizontal wage dispersion increases cross-firm mobility because it is associated with outcomes harmful for employees, such as inequity concerns. We further find that the vertical-dispersion effect is ampli...