Elasticity Of Labor Demand Research Articles

Gender differences in the volatility of work hours and labor demand

This paper examines the role of heterogeneity in a real business cycle model, which traditionally has not fully captured the relative volatility of hours to output. Men and women have different cyclical volatilities in hours worked, which is robust to different filtering methods. This empirical regularity is used to motivate a standard RBC model augmented to allow for two different agents following Jaimovich et al. (2013). These two agents have identical utility functions, but face different elasticities of labor demand due to their different complementarities with capital. These estimated elasticities find that women are more complementary to capital. The calibrated model generates the cyclical volatility of work hours by gender and for the total hours worked that matches the U.S. data better than the traditional representative agent model. I then explore other extensions to this model including investigating the stability of the estimated labor demand elasticities and allowing for various Frisch elasticities of labor supply. This paper demonstrates that allowing for even broad levels of heterogeneity in a simple framework can increase the model’s tractability with the data. Since gender is important to explain U.S. business cycle dynamics, we need to carefully consider heterogeneity when analyzing counter-cyclical economic policy, as it may not have symmetric effects across assorted groups.

Optimal Monetary Policy with Skill Heterogeneity and Wage Rigidity

Labor market indicators such as unemployment rates and labor force participation show a significant amount of heterogeneity across demographic groups, which is often not incorporated in monetary policy analysis. In this paper, I build a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with skill heterogeneity in the U.S. labor market. Low-skilled workers have a higher elasticity of labor supply and labor demand, resulting in a flatter wage Phillips curve for low-skilled workers. A welfare improving optimal monetary policy with skill differentials can be implemented by a simple interest rate rule with unemployment rates for high and low-skill workers. Welfare improvement is twice that of a naive policy, where the central bank makes low-skill workers significantly better-off but high-skill workers are slightly worse-off.

The Elusive Effect of Employment Protection on Labor Turnover

For a large sample of Italian firms, we analyze employment adjustments to external wage shocks under different EPL regimes. The responsiveness of labor quantity to wages is shown to be systematically higher under stricter regulation. We explain this counterintuitive result arguing that the effect of labour regulation is twofold: on the one hand, it increases the cost of dismissals; on the other, along with the greater presence of unions, it reduces the monopsonistic power of employers and induces higher firm-level labor supply elasticity. This is confirmed by the analysis of the effects of a tax induced shift of the labor demand. Hence, although labor demand elasticity is arguably lower for regulated firms, wage shocks may result in larger employment variations. Our results motivate to reconsider labor deregulation as the key for improving employment reallocation.

Who Benefits from State Corporate Tax Cuts? A Local Labor Markets Approach with Heterogeneous Firms: Comment

Suarez Serrato and Zidar (2016) identify state corporate tax incidence in a spatial equilibrium model with imperfectly mobile firms. Their identification argument rests on comparative-statics omitting a channel implied by their model: the link between common determinants of a location’s attractiveness and the average idiosyncratic productivity of firms choosing that location. This compositional margin causes the labor demand elasticity to be independent from the product demand elasticity, impeding the identification of incidence from the four estimated reduced-form effects. Assigning consensual values to the unidentified parameters, we find that the incidence share born by firm-owners is closer to 25% than 40%.

Employment Effects of the New German Minimum Wage: Evidence from Establishment-Level Microdata

The authors present the first evidence on the consequences of the new statutory minimum wage in Germany, which was implemented on January 1, 2015. Using the IAB Establishment Panel, they identify employment effects from variation in the extent that establishments are affected by the minimum wage. A difference-in-differences estimation reveals an increase in average wages between 3.8% and 6.3% and an employment loss by approximately 1.7% in establishments affected by the minimum wage. These estimates imply a labor demand elasticity with respect to wages ranging between −0.2 and −0.4. The authors also observe a transitory reduction of the working hours in the first year after the introduction and that the employment effect seems mostly driven by a reduction in hires rather than by an increase in layoffs.

Estimating Labor Demand Elasticities and Elasticities of Substitution in Egyptian Manufacturing Sector: A Firm-Level Static Analysis

This paper analyzes central issues of labor demand: How do wages affect employers demand for labor? And does this differ according to skill levels? Specifically, this study measures the own-wage elasticities of the demand for labor, in addition to the elasticities of substitution between different labor inputs disaggregated according to skill in Egypt. Estimates of such phenomena at the firm level are rare for developing countries in general and for Egypt in particular, and this paper happens to be the first in the Egyptian case. The evidence indicates that unskilled workers are substitutes for all other labor types, while all other three types—the semiskilled production workers, skilled workers and professionals—are complements to each other. Results also indicate that skilled workers wage elasticities are higher than those for all other types of labor. We can also conclude that labor demand in Egypt is inelastic, no matter the skill level.

FACTORS INFLUENCING EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT POLICIES IN BULGARIA

The adequacy and timeliness of an implemented policy are crucial for the effective support of changes in the parameters of the labour market and economic development. Considering the time delay of the effects and changes. its duration should not be overlooked in order to develop preventive measures for a timely response. Shortening the period in which the effects of the contemporary crisis are transferred on the labour market, respectively labour demand, reflects not only the degree of elasticity of labour demand to primary markets, but also the flexibility of the implemented policies. This fact has focused attention on the flexibility of labour markets and opportunities through its increase to strengthen the mobility and adaptability of the workforce to the dynamically evolving labour demand .

THE LEGACY FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE MARKET ECONOMY TRANSITION IN BULGARIA

The adequacy and timeliness of an implemented policy are crucial for the effective support of changes in the parameters of the labour market and economic development . Considering the time delay of the effects and changes. its duration should not be overlooked in order to develop preventive measures for a timely response. Shortening the period in which the effects of the contemporary crisis are transferred on the labour market, respectively labour demand, reflects not only the degree of elasticity of labour demand to primary markets, but also the flexibility of the implemented policies. This fact has focused attention on the flexibility of labour markets and opportunities through its increase to strengthen the mobility and adaptability of the workforce to the dynamically evolving labour demand .

Concorrência e demanda por trabalho no Brasil: o caso da competição externa

Mudanças no poder de mercado de empresas alteram o emprego pela mudança no nível de atividade, mas também pela alteração da sensibilidade do emprego ante a mudanças na receita. Este estudo considera o efeito do grau de competição sobre a demanda por emprego, utilizando mudanças de exposição à competição externa via variações do câmbio e da penetração das importações no Brasil. Os resultados confirmam que maior competição torna o emprego em firmais industriais mais sensível a choques de demanda. O efeito se verifica com variações em preços relativos (taxa de câmbio), mas não na penetração das importações.

Long‐run Asymmetries in Labor Demand: Estimating Wage Elasticities of Labor Demand Using a Fractional Panel Probit Model

AbstractModels of labor demand usually use cost or production functions to derive profit‐maximizing firm performance. These models often rely on the assumption of symmetrical behavior, i.e., the response to a positive or negative wage shock of the same relative size is identical to the shock, and the estimated labor demand elasticities are the same for increasing and decreasing employment. However, behavioral economics models like loss aversion and endowment effects question the assumption of symmetry in labor demand. In addition, the influence of a labor shortage should be reflected in the investigations. Estimations of Fractional Panel Probit models for three different skill levels are applied to evaluate these findings with a large panel of German establishments. The results indicate asymmetrical structures for long‐run own‐wage elasticities and for some cross‐wage elasticities, putting some doubt on the assumption of strict rationality in labor demand and indicating the influence of labor shortages.

Estimates of the Effects of Emigration on the Labour Market


 Migration flows have increased since the EU enlargement in 2004. In many European countries, they are sufficiently large to have significant economic effects. These effects are among the most popular topics in public debate.
 In this paper, the authors attempt to quantify the effects of emigration on wages, welfare and in­come redistribution in the selected new EU member states. Emigration reduces labour supply and in­creases national wage generating income redistribu­tion from the owners of capital to the labour force. Emigration also results in welfare loss as emigrants no longer produce output in their home country. The au­thors of the article adopt a simple theoretical model of the labour market which allows quantifying these effects through the use of basic economic and demo­graphic statistics.
 The research on the effects of emigration on wages uses a simple supply and demand framework, where labour demand is derived from a marginal pro­ductivity condition using the Cobb–Douglas produc­tion function. The authors also assume perfectly ine­lastic labour supply, in case of which the effect of emigration on wages is entirely determined by labour demand. Wage elasticity estimation uses the fact that the capital share parameter in the Cobb–Douglas function also measures labour demand elasticity. This property of the production function allows the au­thors to estimate the elasticity using national ac­counts data.
 The estimates of labour demand (wage) elas­ticity for Lithuania range from 0.44 to 0.55, implying that due to emigration wages might have increased from 0.75 to 0.94 per cent a year, on average. In the period of 2001–2008, emigration might have resulted in a wage increase of 5.9 to 7.3 per cent. However, these estimates require caution as the beginning of the period was characterised by high unemployment. Emigration loss amounts to 0.4 per cent of GDP, and 2.8 per cent of GDP is redistributed to labour every year.
 Due to the poor quality of migration data, the impact of emigration on wages, welfare and income redistribution in other countries is most likely signifi­cantly underestimated. The assumption that the share of declared emigration is similar across countries would imply that those affected by emigration the most are Slovenia, Czech Republic and Estonia.

ELASTISITAS PERMINTAAN TENAGA KERJA PADA USAHA KONVEKSI SKALA MIKRO DAN KECIL

Labor intensive in small and micro scales garment sector is very common in Soreang Village, Bandung Regency, West Java Province. The purpose of this study is to analyze the elasticity of labor demand of the labor-intensive micro-small scale garment enterprises. Sixty seven entrepreneurs were interviewed to collect primary data. Result from natural logarithm regression showed that labor demand was inelastic to the unit number of machines, wage, number of output, and firm age. These regression coefficients showed that unit of machines was complementary for labor; the wage elasticity of labor demand was negative; the increase in production output will lead to increase in labor demand; and, firm age was contributed positively to the increase in labor demand.Keywords: elasticity of labor demand; small-micro scale enterprises; garment

The Legacy for the Beginning of the Market Economy Transition in Bulgaria

The adequacy and timeliness of an implemented policy are crucial for the effective support of changes in the parameters of the labour market and economic development. Considering the time delay of the effects and changes. its duration should not be overlooked in order to develop preventive measures for a timely response. Shortening the period in which the effects of the contemporary crisis are transferred on the labour market, respectively labour demand, reflects not only the degree of elasticity of labour demand to primary markets, but also the flexibility of the implemented policies. This fact has focused attention on the flexibility of labour markets and opportunities through its increase to strengthen the mobility and adaptability of the workforce to the dynamically evolving labour demand.

Factors Influencing Employment and Unemployment Policies in Bulgaria

The adequacy and timeliness of an implemented policy are crucial for the effective support of changes in the parameters of the labour market and economic development. Considering the time delay of the effects and changes. its duration should not be overlooked in order to develop preventive measures for a timely response. Shortening the period in which the effects of the contemporary crisis are transferred on the labour market, respectively labour demand, reflects not only the degree of elasticity of labour demand to primary markets, but also the flexibility of the implemented policies. This fact has focused attention on the flexibility of labour markets and opportunities through its increase to strengthen the mobility and adaptability of the workforce to the dynamically evolving labour demand.

Política monetaria y acumulación de reservas en una economía emergente: un modelo DSGE para el caso colombiano

Este artículo presenta un modelo de Equilibrio General Dinámico Estocástico (dsge) en el que se incluye explícitamente la demanda de dinero, las decisiones de inversión, el papel de los intermediarios financieros y el balance del Banco Central. El modelo permite la evaluación del impacto de diversos shocks exógenos sobre la actividad económica y los niveles de precios. También, permite evaluar diferentes formas de intervención del banco central en la economía, ya sea a través de la tasa de interés o mediante la acumulación de reservas internacionales. Se presta especial atención al parámetro básico de la función de utilidad de los hogares (aversión al riesgo, elasticidad de oferta laboral y demanda de dinero), a la formulación adecuada de los balances de los agentes económicos, y a la relación entre el balance del banco central y el suministro de dinero.

Asymmetries in labor demand: Do loss aversion and endowment effects affect labor demand elasticities on the establishment level?

Asymmetries in labor demand: Do loss aversion and endowment effects affect labor demand elasticities on the establishment level?

LOBBYING FOR MINIMUM WAGES

Using a common agency lobbying framework, this paper illustrates how the minimum wage set reflects the interaction between economic and political factors and under what circumstances will the policymaker be induced, through lobbying, to change the minimum wage. Specifically, when the labor demand elasticity is large, lobbying is successful in inducing the policymaker to set the minimum wage in accordance with her political ideology. However, the paper also shows the conditions under which lobbying will reverse the ideological preference and induce a business‐friendly government to increase the minimum wage. Empirical analysis on a panel data for ten Canadian provinces gives considerable support for theoretical predictions. The real minimum wage decreases in skill‐adjusted union density and political ideology, while larger labor demand elasticity reinforces the influence of political ideology in the presence of lobbying. (JEL J38, D72, D78)

The impact of climate change on labour demand in the plantation sector: the case of tea production in Sri Lanka

Limited opportunities for crop switching and lengthy preharvesting periods make the plantation sector particularly vulnerable to climate change. Surprisingly, however, the economic consequences of climate change on plantation crops are seldom analysed. Drawing on a unique primary panel data set from a representative cross section of 35 tea estates in Sri Lanka over the period 2002–2014, this study implements a structural model of estate profit maximisation to estimate the elasticity of labour demand with respect to different components of weather. Results indicate a negative relationship between labour demand and rainfall in the south‐west monsoon, the north‐east monsoon and the second inter‐monsoon. A positive relationship is found between labour demand and rainfall in the first inter‐monsoon. Overall, predicted changes in rainfall by 2050 are anticipated to reduce labour demand by approximately 1,175,000 person‐days per year across Sri Lanka's tea plantation sector. This is likely to have considerable social and welfare implications, particularly for the Indian Tamil women who comprise the majority of the sector's workforce.

Does Casualization Increase the Job Opportunity to the Workers or Impoverish Them? An Evidence from Indian-Organized Manufacturing Sector

This article investigates the impact of casualization on the labour market of organized manufacturing industries in India. In specific, this article analyses the impact of casualization on the labour demand and output elasticity of 15 manufacturing industries in the post-liberalization period for the direct production workers. Dynamic panel data analysis of system generalized methods of moment method is used here for the estimation of lagged labour demand for permanent production workers. Aggregate level analysis ensures that casualization has a significant positive impact on the labour demand and on output elasticity. Disaggregate level analysis also confirms the significant positive impact on the output elasticity at individual industry level. However, wage share of the workers falls along with the increase in the usage of contract workers across most of the industries. Output elasticity increases but at the cost of falling wage share. Casualization generates more job opportunity but reduces the wage share for the permanent production workers in post-liberalization period. JEL Codes: J20, J21, J30, J46, C23

Wage Flexibility and Employment Fluctuations: Evidence from the Housing Sector

Many economists suspect that downward nominal wage rigidities in ongoing labour contracts are an important source of employment fluctuations over the business cycle, but there is little direct empirical evidence on this conjecture. This paper compares three occupations in the housing sector with very different wage setting institutions: real estate agents, architects and construction workers. I study the wage and employment responses of these occupations to the housing cycle, a proxy for labour demand shocks to the industry. The employment of real estate agents, whose pay is far more flexible than the other occupations, indeed reacts less to the cycle than employment in the other occupations, although specific estimates are noisy. I show that the aggregate implications of the estimates depend also on the aggregate labour demand elasticity, which captures how easily laid off workers can find employment in alternative sectors.