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The economics of labor adjustment: mind the gap

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Author Info
Russell Cooper
Jonathan L. Willis

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Abstract

We study inferences about the dynamics of labor adjustment obtained by the "gap methodology" of Caballero and Engel [1993] and Caballero, Engel and Haltiwanger [1997]. In that approach, the policy function for employment growth is assumed to depend on an unobservable gap between the target and current levels of employment. Using time series observations, these studies reject the partial adjustment model and find that aggregate employment dynamics depend on the cross-sectional distribution of employment gaps. Thus, nonlinear adjustment at the plant level appears to have aggregate implications. We argue that this conclusion is not justified: these findings of nonlinearities in time series data may reflect mismeasurement of the gaps rather than the aggregation of plant-level nonlinearities.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis in its series Staff Report with number 310.

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Date of creation: 2003
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fedmsr:310

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Keywords: Labor supply Econometric models

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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. Bils, Mark, 1987. "The Cyclical Behavior of Marginal Cost and Price," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(5), pages 838-55, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Caballero, Ricardo J & Engel, Eduardo M R A, 1993. "Microeconomic Adjustment Hazards and Aggregate Dynamics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 108(2), pages 359-83, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. G. Steven Olley & Ariel Pakes, 1992. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," NBER Working Papers 3977, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Shapiro, Matthew D, 1986. "The Dynamic Demand for Capital and Labor," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 101(3), pages 513-42, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. Tauchen, George, 1986. "Finite state markov-chain approximations to univariate and vector autoregressions," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 177-181. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-97, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Sargent, Thomas J, 1978. "Estimation of Dynamic Labor Demand Schedules under Rational Expectations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 86(6), pages 1009-44, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Russell W. Cooper & John C. Haltiwanger, 2000. "On the Nature of Capital Adjustment Costs," NBER Working Papers 7925, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  10. Davis, Steven J & Haltiwanger, John C, 1992. "Gross Job Creation, Gross Job Destruction, and Employment Reallocation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 107(3), pages 819-63, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  11. Hansen, Gary D., 1997. "Technical progress and aggregate fluctuations," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 1005-1023, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  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. Nickell, S J, 1978. "Fixed Costs, Employment and Labour Demand over the Cycle," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 45(180), pages 329-45, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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. Carlos Casacuberta & Néstor Gandelman, 2006. "Protection, Openness and Factor Adjustment: Evidence from the manufacturing sector in Uruguay," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 1806, Department of Economics - dECON. [Downloadable!]
  2. Kalckreuth, Ulf von, 2008. "Financing constraints, firm level adjustment of capital and aggregate implications," Discussion Paper Series 1: Economic Studies 2008,11, Deutsche Bundesbank, Research Centre. [Downloadable!]
  3. Russell Cooper & Jonathan L. Willis, 2004. "A Comment on the Economics of Labor Adjustment: Mind the Gap: Rejoinder," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 1245-1247, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Ricardo J. Caballero & Eduardo M.R.A. Engel, 2004. "Three Strikes and You're Out: Reply to Cooper and Willis," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1456, Cowles Foundation, Yale University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Fransisco M. Ganzalez & Alok Johri, 2002. "Asymmetric Labor Adjustment, Organizational Capital and Aggregate Job Flows," Department of Economics Working Papers 2002-03, McMaster University. [Downloadable!]
  6. Russell Cooper & Jonathan Willis, 2002. "The cost of labor adjustment : inferences from the gap," Research Working Paper RWP 02-11, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Russell Cooper & Jonathan L. Willis, 2004. "A Comment on the Economics of Labor Adjustment: Mind the Gap," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 1223-1237, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Marcela Eslava & John Haltiwanger & Adriana Kugler & Maurice Kugler, 2005. "Factor Adjustments after Deregulation: Panel Evidence from Colombian Plants," IZA Discussion Papers 1751, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Nick Bloom, 2006. "The Impact of Uncertainty Shocks: Firm Level Estimation and a 9/11 Simulation," CEP Discussion Papers dp0718, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  10. Amil Petrin & Jagadeesh Sivadasan, 2006. "Job Security Does Affect Economic Efficiency: Theory, A New Statistic, and Evidence from Chile," NBER Working Papers 12757, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Ricardo J. Caballero & Eduardo M. R. A. Engel, 2004. "A Comment on the Economics of Labor Adjustment: Mind the Gap: Reply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 1238-1244, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Christian Bayer, 2004. "On the Interaction of Financial Frictions and Fixed Capital Adjustment Costs: Evidence from a Panel of German Firms," Macroeconomics 0410006, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
  13. Christian Bayer, 2004. "Aggregate investment dynamics when firms face fixed investment cost and capital market imperfections," Macroeconomics 0411018, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  14. Christian Bayer, 2004. "A closer look at the gap. A comment on Cooper and Willis' 'mind the gap' paper," Macroeconomics 0408010, EconWPA. [Downloadable!]
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