Nominal wage rigidity and the rate of inflation

Using the accurate and extensive data available in the UK New Earnings Survey, this paper investigates the extent to which nominal wages are downwardly rigid and whether such rigidity interferes with necessary real wage adjustments when inflation is low. Despite the substantial numbers of individuals whose nominal wages fall from one year to the next, we find that there is evidence of some rigidity at zero nominal wage change. While the effect is statistically significant, the macroeconomic impact of the distortion is very modest.