| Abstract [eng] |
SUMMARY 62 pages, 5 figures, 17 tables, 45 references. The main objective of this academic paper is to assess the relationship between wages and productivity and the factors influencing it in the Baltic States on the basis of an analysis of the academic literature and empirical analysis. The academic thesis consists of four main parts: a literature review, a research methodology, a description of the study and its results, as well as conclusions and recommendations at the end of the academic thesis. The literature analysis part defines the concepts and characteristics of wages and productivity, as well as the factors influencing these indicators. The theoretical part of the paper presents the factors that determine the interaction between wages and productivity and analyses the work of other authors who have studied the impact of these factors on wages and productivity. It also analyses the work of other authors who have found a positive, negative or no relationship between wages and productivity indicators. Following the literature analysis, the research methodology was chosen. The main research question is whether there is a relationship between wages and productivity in the Baltic States and how it is affected by different indicators that have the greatest impact on wages and productivity, such as employment or inflation. The empirical study carries out a correlation analysis comparing labour market statistics and lagged variables between the Baltic countries. Regression analysis is then carried out to find out which indicators and variables are driving wage and productivity growth in the Baltic countries, specifically looking at the relationship between wages and productivity to find out how one determines the other. The regression analysis is followed by tests for normality of standard errors, heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation. The study shows that there is a statistically significant weak negative relationship between real wages and productivity indicators for Estonia. The second lagged real productivity variable is also found to have a negative impact on the real wage indicator. A statistically significant negative relationship between the employment rate and real wages was also found for Lithuania. The analysis showed that there was a statistically significant relationship in the case of Lithuania, where an increase in the real minimum wage has a positive impact on the real wage rate. The conclusions summarise the insights from the literature review and the empirical study, and provide recommendations for further research. The author believes that his insights will be useful for employers, governments dealing with issues of wages increases, employee motivation and productivity, and for further research on the relationship between wages and productivity. |
