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Oil price shocks and labor market fluctuations

Author

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  • Javier Ordóñez

    (Departament d'Economia, Universitat Jaume I de Castelló)

  • Hector Sala

    (Departament d'Economia Aplicada, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona)

  • José I. Silva

    (Departament d'Economia, Universitat de Girona)

Abstract

We examine the impact of real oil price shocks on labor market flows in the U.S. We first use smooth transition regression (STR) models to investigate to what extent oil prices can be considered as a driving force of labor market fluctuations. Then we develop and calibrate a modified version of Pissarides’ (2000) model with energy costs, which we simulate in response to shocks mimicking the behavior of the actual oil price shocks. We find that (i) these shocks are an important driving force of job market flows; (ii) the job finding probability is the main transmission mechanism of such shocks; and (iii) they bring a new amplification mechanism for the volatility and should thus be seen as complementary of labor productivity shocks. Overall we conclude that shocks in oil prices cannot be neglected in explaining cyclical labor adjustments in the U.S.

Suggested Citation

  • Javier Ordóñez & Hector Sala & José I. Silva, 2010. "Oil price shocks and labor market fluctuations," Working Papers wpdea1005, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.
    • Handle: RePEc:uab:wprdea:wpdea1005
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    Cited by:

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    2. Shiu‐Sheng Chen, 2016. "Commodity prices and related equity prices," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(3), pages 949-967, August.
    3. Gubler, Matthias & Hertweck, Matthias S., 2013. "Commodity price shocks and the business cycle: Structural evidence for the U.S," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 324-352.
    4. Chen, Shiu-Sheng & Hsu, Kai-Wei, 2012. "Reverse globalization: Does high oil price volatility discourage international trade?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1634-1643.
    5. Shiu-Sheng Chen and Kai-Wei Hsu, 2013. "Oil Price Volatility and Bilateral Trade," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    6. Koirala, Niraj Prasad & Ma, Xiaohan, 2020. "Oil price uncertainty and U.S. employment growth," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    7. Akdoğan, Kurmaş, 2020. "Fundamentals versus speculation in oil market: The role of asymmetries in price adjustment?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Isiaka Akande Raifu & Alarudeen Aminu & Abiodun O. Folawewo, 2020. "Investigating the relationship between changes in oil prices and unemployment rate in Nigeria: linear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag approaches," Future Business Journal, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-18, December.
    9. Hutter, Christian & Weber, Enzo, 2023. "Russia–Ukraine war: A note on short-run production and labour market effects of the energy crisis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    10. Gormus, N. Alper & Soytas, Ugur & Diltz, J. David, 2014. "Volatility transmission between energy-related asset classes," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 246-259.
    11. Fan, Wenrui & Wang, Zanxin, 2022. "Whether to abandon or continue the petroleum product price regulation in China？," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Oil Prices; Unemployment; Vacancies; Business Fluctuations.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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