This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

The Rise and Fall of Spanish Unemployment: A Chain Reaction Theory Perspective

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Karanassou, Marika () (University of London)
Sala, Hector () (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

The evolution of Spanish unemployment has been quite idiosyncratic. The full employment levels of the early seventies were followed by unemployment rates that were the highest within the OECD countries in the aftermath of the oil price shocks. While unemployment was extremely persistent in most of the eighties and nineties, it experienced its sharpest decline in recent years. We investigate the determinants of this unemployment trajectory using the analytical framework of the chain reaction theory (CRT). We show that unemployment may not gravitate towards its natural rate due to frictional growth, a phenomenon that arises from the interplay of lagged adjustment processes and growing exogenous variables in a dynamic system with spillovers. The empirical analysis distinguishes four periods: (i) 1978–1985, (ii) 1986–1990, (iii) 1991–1994, (iv) 1995–2005, and finds that capital accumulation is a crucial driving force of unemployment. Thus, our theoretical and empirical results question the key role of the natural rate in policy making.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://ftp.iza.org/dp3712.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3712.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 42 pages
Date of creation: Sep 2008
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3712

Contact details of provider:
Postal: IZA, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49 228 3894 223
Fax: +49 228 3894 180
Web page: http://www.iza.org

Order Information:
Postal: IZA, Margard Ody, P.O. Box 7240, D-53072 Bonn, Germany
Email:

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Mark Fallak).

Related research
Keywords: labour market dynamics; frictional growth; chain reaction theory; capital accumulation; impulse response function;

Other versions of this item:

Find related papers by JEL classification:
E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Capital; Investment; Capacity
E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomics: Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution
J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

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. Sosvilla-Rivero, Simón & Herce, José A., 2008. "European cohesion policy and the Spanish economy: A policy discussion case," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 559-570. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Karanassou, Marika & Sala, Hector & Snower, Dennis, 2003. "Unemployment in the European Union: a dynamic reappraisal," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 237-273, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Barry Eichengreen, 2000. "The EMS Crisis in Retrospect," NBER Working Papers 8035, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Raurich, Xavier & Sala, Hector & Sorolla, Valeri, 2004. "Unemployment, Growth and Fiscal Policy: New Insights on the Hysteresis Hypothesis," IZA Discussion Papers 1127, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. M. Hashem Pesaran & Yongcheol Shin & Richard J. Smith, 2001. "Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(3), pages 289-326. [Downloadable!]
  6. Arestis, Philip & Mariscal, Iris Biefang-Frisancho, 2000. "Capital Stock, Unemployment and Wages in the UK and Germany," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 47(5), pages 487-503, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Dolado, J J & Malo de Molina, J L & Zabalza, A, 1986. "Spanish Industrial Unemployment: Some Explanatory Factors," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 53(210(S)), pages S313-34, Supplemen. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Polo, Clemente & Sancho, Ferran, 1993. "An analysis of Spain's integration in the EEC," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 157-178, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  9. Marika Karanassou & Hector Sala & Pablo F. Salvador, 2006. "The (Ir)relevance of the NRU for Policy Making: The Case of Denmark," IZA Discussion Papers 2397, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  10. Marika Karanassou & Hector Sala & Pablo F. Salvador, 2007. "Capital Accumulation and Unemployment: New Insights on the Nordic Experience," Working Papers 611, Queen Mary, University of London, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Rod Cross & Julia Darby & Jonathan Ireland & Laura Piscitelli, 1999. "Hysteresis and Unemployment: a Preliminary Investigation," Computing in Economics and Finance 1999 721, Society for Computational Economics. [Downloadable!]
  12. Dolado, Juan J. & Jimeno, Juan F., 1997. "The causes of Spanish unemployment: A structural VAR approach," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(7), pages 1281-1307, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  13. Roberto Bande & Marika Karanassou, 2006. "Labour Market Flexibility and Regional Unemployment Rate Dynamics: Spain 1980-1995," Working Papers 574, Queen Mary, University of London, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  14. Guell, Maia & Petrongolo, Barbara, 2007. "How binding are legal limits? Transitions from temporary to permanent work in Spain," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 153-183, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  15. Juan J Dolado & Carlos Garcia--Serrano & Juan F. Jimeno, 2002. "Drawing Lessons From The Boom Of Temporary Jobs In Spain," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(721), pages F270-F295, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  16. Blanchard, Olivier & Wolfers, Justin, 2000. "The Role of Shocks and Institutions in the Rise of European Unemployment: The Aggregate Evidence," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(462), pages C1-33, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  17. Marika Karanassou & Dennis J. Snower, 2004. "Unemployment Invariance," German Economic Review, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 5(3), pages 297-317, 08. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Garrido, Luis & Toharia, Luis, 2004. "What does it take to be (counted as) unemployed? The case of Spain," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 507-523, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  19. Marika Karanassou & Hector Sala & Dennis Snower, 2008. "Phillips Curves and Unemployment Dynamics: A Critique and a Holistic Perspective," Kiel Working Papers 1441, Kiel Institute for the World Economy. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  20. Philip Arestis & Michelle Baddeley & Malcolm Sawyer, 2007. "The Relationship Between Capital Stock, Unemployment And Wages In Nine Emu Countries," Bulletin of Economic Research, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 59(2), pages 125-148, 04. [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. Marika Karanassou & Hector Sala, 2008. "Labour Market Dynamics in Australia: What Drives Unemployment?," Discussion Papers 2008-26, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? All RePEc services are meant to be be free forever, as they are all run by volunteers.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-30.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.