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Labor market policies in an equilibrium search model

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Author Info
Fernando Alvarez
Marcelo Veracierto

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Abstract

We explore to what extent differences in employment and unemployment across economies can be generated by differences in labor market policies. We use a version of the Lucas-Prescott equilibrium search model with undirected search and endogenous labor-force participation. Minimum wages, degree of unionization, firing taxes, and unemployment benefits are introduced and their effects analyzed. When the model is calibrated to US observations it reproduces several of the elasticities of employment and unemployment with respect to changes in policies reported in the empirical literature. We find that: i) minimum wages have small effects; ii) firing taxes have similar effects to those found in frictionless general equilibrium models; iii) unions have large and negative effects on employment, unemployment, and welfare; and iv) unemployment benefits substantially increase unemployment and reduce welfare.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in its series Working Paper Series with number WP-99-10.

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Date of creation: 1999
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedhwp:wp-99-10

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Keywords: Labor market ; Labor supply ; Wages;

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References listed on IDEAS
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. Lazear, Edward P, 1990. "Job Security Provisions and Employment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 105(3), pages 699-726, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Jeffrey R. Campbell & Jonas D.M. Fisher, 1996. "Aggregate employment fluctuations with microeconomic asymmetries," Discussion Paper / Institute for Empirical Macroeconomics 112, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Di Tella, Rafael & MacCulloch, Robert, 2005. "The consequences of labor market flexibility: Panel evidence based on survey data," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(5), pages 1225-1259, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Meyer, Bruce D, 1990. "Unemployment Insurance and Unemployment Spells," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(4), pages 757-82, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Hopenhayn, Hugo & Rogerson, Richard, 1993. "Job Turnover and Policy Evaluation: A General Equilibrium Analysis," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(5), pages 915-38, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Katz, Lawrence F & Meyer, Bruce D, 1990. "Unemployment Insurance, Recall Expectations, and Unemployment Outcomes," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 105(4), pages 973-1002, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. Bruce D. Meyer, 1995. "Lessons from the U.S. Unemployment Insurance Experiments," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(1), pages 91-131, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Hansen, Gary D & Imrohoroglu, Ayse, 1992. "The Role of Unemployment Insurance in an Economy with Liquidity Constraints and Moral Hazard," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 100(1), pages 118-42, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Oswald, Andrew J, 1985. " The Economic Theory of Trade Unions: An Introductory Survey," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 87(2), pages 160-93.
  10. Bentolila, Samuel & Bertola, Giuseppe, 1990. "Firing Costs and Labour Demand: How Bad Is Eurosclerosis?," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 57(3), pages 381-402, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Dickens, Richard & Machin, Stephen & Manning, Alan, 1999. "The Effects of Minimum Wages on Employment: Theory and Evidence from Britain," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 17(1), pages 1-22, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  12. Lucas, Robert Jr. & Prescott, Edward C., 1974. "Equilibrium search and unemployment," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 188-209, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Johnson, Harry G & Mieszkowski, Peter, 1970. "The Effects of Unionization on the Distribution of Income: A General Equilibrium Approach," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 84(4), pages 539-61, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Card, David, 1996. "The Effect of Unions on the Structure of Wages: A Longitudinal Analysis," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(4), pages 957-79, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Nickell, Stephen, 1997. "Unemployment and Labor Market Rigidities: Europe versus North America," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 55-74, Summer. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Fernando Alvarez & Marcel Veracierto, 1998. "Search, self-insurance and job-security provisions," Working Paper Series WP-98-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
  17. Lars Ljungqvist & Thomas J. Sargent, 1998. "The European Unemployment Dilemma," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 106(3), pages 514-550, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. McCall, John J, 1970. "Economics of Information and Job Search," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 84(1), pages 113-26, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Solon, Gary R, 1985. "Work Incentive Effects of Taxing Unemployment Benefits," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 53(2), pages 295-306, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  20. Bertola, Giuseppe & Caballero, Ricardo J, 1994. "Cross-Sectional Efficiency and Labour Hoarding in a Matching Model of Unemployment," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 61(3), pages 435-56, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  21. Burdett, Kenneth & Mortensen, Dale T, 1998. "Wage Differentials, Employer Size, and Unemployment," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 39(2), pages 257-73, May.
Full references

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. César Alonso-Borrego & Jesús Fernández-Villaverde & José E. Galdón-Sánchez, 2004. "Evaluating Labor Market Reforms: A General Equilibrium Approach," Economics Working Papers we042307, Universidad Carlos III, Departamento de Economía. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Blanchard, Olivier J & Tirole, Jean, 2007. "The Joint Design of Unemployment Insurance and Employment Protection. A First Pass," CEPR Discussion Papers 6127, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Fernando Alvarez & Robert Shimer, 2008. "Search and Rest Unemployment," NBER Working Papers 13772, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Adriana D. Kugler & Gilles Saint Paul, 2000. "Hiring and Firing Costs, Adverse Selection and Long-term Unemployment," Economics Working Papers 447, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Fernando Alvarez & Marcelo Veracierto, 2005. "Fixed term employment contracts in an equilibrium search model," Working Paper Series WP-05-14, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Sergio Rebelo, 2005. "Real Business Cycle Models: Past, Present, and Future," NBER Working Papers 11401, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  7. Marcelo Bianconi, 2004. "Heterogeneity, Adverse Selection and Valuation with Endogenous Labor Supply," Discussion Papers Series, Department of Economics, Tufts University 0412, Department of Economics, Tufts University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Tiago Cavalcanti, 2007. "Business cycle and level accounting: the case of Portugal," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 47-64, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Byeongju Jeong, 2003. "The Welfare Effects of Mobility Restrictions," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 6(3), pages 685-696, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Tomohiro Machikita, 2005. "Career Crisis? The Impacts of Financial Shock on Entry-Level Labour Market: Experimental Evidences from Thailand in 1997," Hi-Stat Discussion Paper Series d04-79, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University. [Downloadable!]
  11. Marcelo Veracierto, 2000. "Employment flows, capital mobility, and policy analysis," Working Paper Series WP-00-5, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. [Downloadable!]
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  12. Francesco Zanetti, . "Labour market institutions and aggregate fluctuations in a search and matching model," Bank of England working papers 333, Bank of England. [Downloadable!]
  13. Per Krusell & Toshihiko Mukoyama & Richard Rogerson & Aysegul Sahin, 2009. "Aggregate Labor Market Outcomes: The Role of Choice and Chance," NBER Working Papers 15252, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Bernhard Boockmann & Daniel Gutknecht & Susanne Steffes, 2008. "Effects of Dismissal Protection Legislation on Individual Employment Stability in Germany," IAW Discussion Papers 45, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW). [Downloadable!]
  15. Olivier L'Haridon & Franck Malherbet, 2006. "Employment Protection Reform in Search Economies," IZA Discussion Papers 2304, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  16. Wang, Cheng, 2006. "Equilibrium Layoff as Termination of a Dynamic Contract," Staff General Research Papers 12704, Iowa State University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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