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Real Wage Flexibility in Russia: Comparative Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Vakulenko, E.

    (National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia)

  • Gurvich, E.

    (Economic Expert Group, Moscow, Russia
    Financial Research Institute, Moscow, Russia)

Abstract

Elasticity of real wages with respect to unemployment is measured for Russia. The estimates are compared to those obtained for a sample of advanced and transition countries by other authors. In order to make our conclusions more robust 3 different specifications are used to construct 'wage Phillips curve'. One model draws on data by region, two others draw on country-wide series. We find that regardless of the econometric specification real wage elasticity in Russia exceeds by far elasticity in all (or almost all) other countries for which comparable estimates are available. This evidences that high wage flexibility is an important salient feature of the Russian labor market. We obtain thus an explanation to the sustained low unemployment in the recent years despite marked output decline.

Suggested Citation

  • Vakulenko, E. & Gurvich, E., 2016. "Real Wage Flexibility in Russia: Comparative Analysis," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 31(3), pages 67-92.
    • Handle: RePEc:nea:journl:y:2016:i:31:p:67-92
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    Cited by:

    1. Evsey T. Gurvich & Maria A. Ivanova, 2018. "Economic Effect of Population Ageing and Pension Reforms," Finansovyj žhurnal — Financial Journal, Financial Research Institute, Moscow 125375, Russia, issue 5, pages 9-22, October.
    2. Pestova, Anna & Mamonov, Mikhail, 2019. "Should we care? : The economic effects of financial sanctions on the Russian economy," BOFIT Discussion Papers 13/2019, Bank of Finland, Institute for Economies in Transition.
    3. Gurvich, E. & Vakulenko, E., 2018. "Studies of Russian Labor Market and Economic Policy," Journal of the New Economic Association, New Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 203-212.
    4. Ksenia V. Rozhkova & Sergey Yu. Roshchin & Sergey A. Solntsev, 2018. "Wage Adjustment Policies In Russian Firms," HSE Working papers WP BRP 205/EC/2018, National Research University Higher School of Economics.
    5. Pestova, Anna & Mamonov, Mikhail, 2019. "Should we care? The economic effects of financial sanctions on the Russian economy," BOFIT Discussion Papers 13/2019, Bank of Finland Institute for Emerging Economies (BOFIT).
    6. Olga Demidova & Pierluigi Daddi & Ekaterina Medvedeva & Marcello Signorelli, 2018. "Modeling the Employment Rate in Russia: a Spatial-Econometric Approach," Economy of region, Centre for Economic Security, Institute of Economics of Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, vol. 1(4), pages 1383-1398.
    7. Lyashok, Victor Yu. (Ляшок, Виктор) & Lopatina, Marina V. (Лопатина, Марина), 2019. "Wage Flexibility in Russia: Empirical Evidence from Microdata Analysis [Гибкость Заработных Плат В России: Что Показывают Микроданные?]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 4, pages 96-119, August.
    8. Gurvich, Evsey & Vakulenko, Elena, 2017. "Macroeconomic and structural properties of the Russian labor market: A cross-country comparison," Russian Journal of Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 411-424.
    9. repec:zbw:bofitp:2019_013 is not listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Phillips curve; wage flexibility; Russia; unemployment rate; comparative analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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