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Bargaining, Openness, and the Labor Share

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  • Dorothee Schneider

Abstract

This paper investigates determinants of changes of the labor share in developed countries with a focus on Western Europe. Using a country-industry panel that covers the private sector, the paper focuses on long and short-run changes within industries. The results show a large and time-persistent impact of increasing globalization on the labor share, especially if the within-industry changes are con- sidered. Openness seems to be the driving force for downward movements in the industry level labor shares while technological and institutional forces impact these shares positively. Furthermore, while investments into information and communi- cation technology (ICT) increase productivity of workers, it has a negative impact on the labor share as it enables higher economic integration which lowers the labor share. Economic integration has stronger impact on the polarization in Western European labor markets than ICT.

Suggested Citation

  • Dorothee Schneider, 2011. "Bargaining, Openness, and the Labor Share," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2011-068, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2011-068
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    Cited by:

    1. Young, Andrew T. & Lawson, Robert A., 2014. "Capitalism and labor shares: A cross-country panel study," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 20-36.
    2. Dorothee Schneider, 2011. "Monitoring, Information Technology and the Labor Share," SFB 649 Discussion Papers SFB649DP2011-066, Sonderforschungsbereich 649, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
    3. Andrew T. Young & Hernando Zuleta, 2018. "Do Unions Increase Labor Shares? Evidence from US Industry-Level Data," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 44(4), pages 558-575, September.
    4. Saumik Paul & Yoko Oishi, 2018. "A Primer on the Drivers of Labor Income Share," Working Papers id:12948, eSocialSciences.
    5. Dario JUDZIK & Hector SALA, 2013. "Productivity, deunionization and trade: Wage effects and labour share implications," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 152(2), pages 205-236, June.
    6. Eric Olson & Andrew T. Young, 2015. "Discretionary monetary policy, quantitative easing and the decline in US labor share," Economics and Business Letters, Oviedo University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 63-78.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor Share; Functional Income Distribution; Openness;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E25 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Aggregate Factor Income Distribution
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy

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