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Employment Dynamics and the Structure of Labor Adjustment Costs

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Author Info
José Varejão
Pedro Portugal

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Abstract

In this article we document the patterns of employment adjustment at the micro level. We find clear evidence of lumpy adjustment consistent with the presence of nonconvexities in the adjustment technology—inaction is pervasive, action spells are short-lived, and extreme adjustment episodes are responsible for a nontrivial share of employment adjustment. We also find that the probability of employment adjustment increases with the duration of inaction. The skill structure of the workforce, the type of employment contract, and the proportion of low-tenure workers, which we interpret as proxies for the magnitude of adjustment costs, all influence the probability of adjustment.

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File URL: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/resolve?id=doi:10.1086/509825
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Publisher Info
Article provided by University of Chicago Press in its journal Journal of Labor Economics.

Volume (Year): 25 (2007)
Issue (Month): ()
Pages: 137-165
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Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlabec:v:25:y:2007:p:137-165

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Caballero, Ricardo J & Engel, Eduardo M R A & Haltiwanger, John, 1997. "Aggregate Employment Dynamics: Building from Microeconomic Evidence," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(1), pages 115-37, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Blundell, Richard & Griffith, Rachel & Van Reenen, John, 1995. "Dynamic Count Data Models of Technological Innovation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 105(429), pages 333-44, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  3. John M. Abowd & Patrick Corbel & Francis Kramarz, 1999. "The Entry And Exit Of Workers And The Growth Of Employment: An Analysis Of French Establishments," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 81(2), pages 170-187, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Anderson, Patricia M, 1993. "Linear Adjustment Costs and Seasonal Labor Demand: Evidence from Retail Trade Firms," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 108(4), pages 1015-42, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Mark E. Doms & Timothy Dunne, 1998. "Capital Adjustment Patterns in Manufacturing Plants," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 1(2), pages 409-429, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Øivind Anti Nilsen & Fabio Schiantarelli, 2003. "Zeros and Lumps in Investment: Empirical Evidence on Irreversibilities and Nonconvexities," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 85(4), pages 1021-1037, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Sheshinski, Eytan & Weiss, Yoram, 1977. "Inflation and Costs of Price Adjustment," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 44(2), pages 287-303, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Olivier Blanchard & Pedro Portugal, 2001. "What Hides Behind an Unemployment Rate: Comparing Portuguese and U.S. Labor Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(1), pages 187-207, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. R. Gaston Gelos & Alberto Isgut, 2001. "Fixed Capital Adjustment: Is Latin America Different?," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(4), pages 717-726, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Russell Cooper & John Haltiwanger & Laura Power, 1995. "Machine Replacement and the Business Cycle: Lumps and Bumps," Papers 0062, Boston University - Industry Studies Programme.
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  11. Steven J. Davis & John C. Haltiwanger & Scott Schuh, 1998. "Job Creation and Destruction," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262540932.
  12. Hamermesh, Daniel S, 1989. "Labor Demand and the Structure of Adjustment Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(4), pages 674-89, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  13. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 1992. "Spatial and Temporal Aggregation in the Dynamics of Labor Demand," NBER Working Papers 4055, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Stephan Fahr & Fang Yao, 2009. "When does Lumpy Factor Adjustment Matter for Aggregate Dynamics?," Working Paper Series 1016, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
  2. João Miguel Ejarque & Pedro Portugal, 2007. "Labor Adjustment Costs in a Panel of Establishments: A Structural Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 3091, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Pedro S. Martins, 2007. "Heterogeneity in Real Wage Cyclicality," IZA Discussion Papers 2929, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  4. Ejarque, Joao & Nilsen, Øivind Anti, 2008. "Identifying Adjustment Costs of Net and Gross Employment Changes," IZA Discussion Papers 3703, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  5. Fang Yao, 2008. "Lumpy Labor Adjustment as a Propagation Mechanism of Business Cycles," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2008-022, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. [Downloadable!]
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  6. Ana Rute Cardoso & Daniel S. Hamermesh & José Varejão, 2008. "The Timing of Labor Demand," UFAE and IAE Working Papers 759.08, Unitat de Fonaments de l'Anàlisi Econòmica (UAB) and Institut d'Anàlisi Econòmica (CSIC). [Downloadable!]
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  7. Pedro S. Martins, 2007. "Dismissals for Cause: The Difference That Just Eight Paragraphs Can Make," IZA Discussion Papers 3112, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Guiso, Luigi & Pistaferri, Luigi & Schivardi, Fabiano, 2006. "Labour Adjustment: Disentangling Firing and Mobility Costs," CEPR Discussion Papers 5787, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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