Exporters and wage inequality during the Great Recession—Evidence from Germany

•We examine the exporter wage premium (EWP) during the financial crisis.•It decreased at the dawn of the crisis and stagnated afterwards.•It explains 24%–43% of the decrease in residual wage inequality between 2007 and 2008.•This happened because exporters adjusted wages earlier than non-exporters.

We show that the exporter wage premium decreased at the dawn of the Great Recession and stagnated afterwards. Our decomposition suggests that the decline of the premium explains 24%–43% of the decrease in residual wage inequality between 2007 and 2008.