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Is Corporate Social Responsibility Associated with Lower Wages?

Link to article:

[DOI] [PDF]

Authors:

Nyborg, Karine and Tao Zhang

Year:

2013

Reference:

Environmental and Resource Economics

vol 55, 107-117

Summary

Firms with a reputation as socially responsible may have an important cost advantage: If workers prefer their employer to be socially responsible, equilibrium wages may be lower in such firms. We explore this hypothesis, combining Norwegian register data with data on firm reputation collected by an employer branding firm. Adjusting for a large set of background variables, we find that the firm’s social responsibility reputation is significantly associated with lower wages.

JEL:

C51, D21, D64, Q56

Keywords:

Self-regulation · Wage differentials · CSR

Project:

Oppdragsgiver: Norges forskningsråd, Miljø2015
Oppdragsgivers prosjektnr.: 183593
Frisch prosjekt: 3171 - SAMFUNN: Norms, green agents and environmental policy