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The Costs of Price Stability - Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity in Europe

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Steinar Holden

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Abstract

In most European countries, the prevailing terms of employment, including the nominal wage, can only be changed by mutual consent. I show that this feature implies that workers have a strategic advantage in the wage negotiations when they try to prevent a cut in nominal wages. If inflation is so low that some nominal wages have to be cut, the strategic advantage of the workers' induces higher unemployment in equilibrium. The upshot is a long run tradeoff between inflation and unemployment for low levels of inflation. The prediction that low inflation involves higher unemployment in Europe but not in the US, is consistent with previous empirical findings.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 8865.

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Date of creation: Mar 2002
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:8865

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J5 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining
J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies

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  1. Francesco Devicienti, 2002. "Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity in Italy: Evidence and Consequences," LABORatorio R. Revelli Working Papers Series 20, LABORatorio R. Revelli, Centre for Employment Studies. [Downloadable!]
  2. Anders Forslund & Nils Gottfries & Andreas Westermark, 2006. "Real and Nominal Wage Adjustment in Open Economies," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Marika Karanassou & Hector Sala & Dennis Snower, 2007. "Long-Run Inflation-Unemployment Dynamics: The Spanish Phillips Curve and Economic Policy," Kiel Working Papers 1326, Kiel Institute for the World Economy. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Michael W. L. Elsby, 2005. "Evaluating the Economic Significance of Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity," CEP Discussion Papers dp0704, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE. [Downloadable!]
  5. Pierpaolo Benigno & Luca Antonio Ricci, 2008. "The Inflation-Unemployment Trade-Off at Low Inflation," NBER Working Papers 13986, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. Agell, Jonas & Bennmarker, Helge, 2002. "Wage Policy and Endogenous Wage Rigidity: A Representative View from the Inside," Research Papers in Economics 2002:12, Stockholm University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  7. Steinar Holden & Fredrik Wulfsberg, 2007. "Downward nominal wage rigidity in the OECD," Working Paper Series 777, European Central Bank. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Agell, Jonas & Bennmarker, Helge, 2002. "Wage policy and endogenous wage rigidity: a representative view from the inside," Working Paper Series 2002:12, IFAU - Institute for Labour Market Policy Evaluation. [Downloadable!]
  9. Agell, Jonas & Bennmarker, Helge, 2003. "Endogenous Wage Rigidity," Research Papers in Economics 2003:10, Stockholm University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  10. Louis N. Christofides & Paris Nearchou, 2007. "Real and Nominal Wage Rigidities in Collective Bargaining Agreements," IZA Discussion Papers 2799, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  11. Orietta DESSY, 2004. "Nominal wage flexibility and institutions: preliminary micro-evidence from the Europanel," Departemental Working Papers 2004-17, Department of Economics University of Milan Italy. [Downloadable!]
  12. V. Bhaskar, 2002. "Asymmetric Price Adjustment: Micro-foundations and Macroeconomic Implications," Economics Discussion Papers 547, University of Essex, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  13. Steinar Holden & Fredrik Wulfsberg, 2004. "Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity in Europe," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  14. Orietta DESSY, 2005. "Nominal wage rigidity in Europe: estimates and institutional causes," Departemental Working Papers 2005-09, Department of Economics University of Milan Italy. [Downloadable!]
  15. Jonas Agell & Helge Bennmarker, 2003. "Endogenous Wage Rigidity," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  16. Gottfries, Nils, 2003. "Booms and Busts in EMU," Working Paper Series 2003:29, Uppsala University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  17. Jonas Agell & Helge Bennmarker, 2002. "Wage Policy and Endogenous Wage Rigidity: A Representative View From the Inside," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  18. Böckerman, Petri & Laaksonen, Seppo & Vainiomäki, Jari, 2006. "Micro-level evidence on wage rigidities in Finland," MPRA Paper 1811, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  19. Bläs, Barno, 2006. "Ausmaß und reale Konsequenzen nach unten starrer Nominallöhne. Eine Untersuchung für den deutschen Arbeitsmarkt," Regensburger Diskussionsbeiträge zur Wirtschaftswissenschaft 416, University of Regensburg, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  20. Lundborg, Per, 2008. "Wage Redistribution and the Long Run Phillips Curve," Working Paper Series 3/2008, Swedish Institute for Social Research. [Downloadable!]
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