Is Hypoinflation Good Policy?
Abstract
One argument against a policy to achieve absolute price stability is that workers resist pay cuts. We examine several Canadian microdata sources and corroborate earlier evidence of pay-cut resistance, particularly recently as inflation has approached zero. We then use data on industrial sectors to estimate that pay-cut resistance reduced employment growth by from 0.6 to 1.5 percent per annum from 1993 to 1995. We also estimate a model of wage settlements, treating pay freezes and pay cuts as censored data, which implies that pay-cut resistance may have increased the annual unemployment rate by as much as 2 percent during the same period. In view of these results, the case for very low inflation targets should be reexamined.Download Info
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Bibliographic Info
Article provided by University of Toronto Press in its journal Canadian Public Policy.
Volume (Year): 24 (1998)
Issue (Month): 3 (September)
Pages: 291-308
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Related research
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- Kahn, Shulamit, 1997. "Evidence of Nominal Wage Stickiness from Microdata," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(5), pages 993-1008, December.
- James Tobin, 1956. "Estimation of Relationships for Limited Dependent Variables," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 3R, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
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"The Extent of Measurement Error in Longitudinal Earnings Data: Do Two Wrongs Make a Right?,"
Journal of Labor Economics,
University of Chicago Press, vol. 9(1), pages 1-24, January.
- John Bound & Alan B. Krueger, 1989. "The Extent of Measurement Error In Longitudinal Earnings Data: Do Two Wrongs Make A Right?," NBER Working Papers 2885, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- George A. Akerlof & William R. Dickens & George L. Perry, 1996. "The Macroeconomics of Low Inflation," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 27(1), pages 1-76.
Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Louis N. Christofides & Thanasis Stengos, 2003.
"Wage rigidity in Canadian collective bargaining agreements,"
Industrial and Labor Relations Review,
ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(3), pages 429-448, April.
- Louis N. Christofides & Thanasis Stengos, 2003. "Wage Rigidity in Canadian Collective Bargaining Agreements ," University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics 1-2003, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
- Louis N. Christofides & Man Tuen Leung, 2002.
"Nominal Wage Rigidity in Contract Data: A Parametric Approach,"
University of Cyprus Working Papers in Economics
0210, University of Cyprus Department of Economics.
- Louis N. Christofides & Man Tuen Leung, 2003. "Nominal Wage Rigidity in Contract Data: A Parametric Approach," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 70(280), pages 619-638, November.
- Roderick Hill, 2000. "Real Income, Unemployment and Subjective Well-Being: Revisiting the Costs and Benefits of Inflation Reduction in Canada," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 26(4), pages 399-414, December.
- Louis Christofides & Thanasis Stengos, 2001. "Nominal Wage Rigidity: Non-Parametric Tests Based on Union Data for Canada," CESifo Working Paper Series 535, CESifo Group Munich.
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