IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aea/aecrev/v104y2014i5p183-88.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can Intangible Capital Explain Cyclical Movements in the Labor Wedge?

Author

Listed:
  • Fran?ois Gourio
  • Leena Rudanko

Abstract

Intangible capital is an important factor of production in modern economies that is generally neglected in business cycle analyses. We demonstrate that intangible capital can have a substantial impact on business cycle dynamics, especially if the intangible is complementary with production capacity. We focus on customer capital: the capital embodied in the relationships a firm has with its customers. Introducing customer capital into a standard real business cycle model generates a volatile and countercyclical labor wedge, due to a mismeasured marginal product of labor. We also provide new evidence on cyclical variation in selling effort to discipline the exercise.

Suggested Citation

  • Fran?ois Gourio & Leena Rudanko, 2014. "Can Intangible Capital Explain Cyclical Movements in the Labor Wedge?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(5), pages 183-188, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:104:y:2014:i:5:p:183-88
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/aer.104.5.183
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/aer.104.5.183
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/aer/data/10405/P2014_1132_data.zip
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: http://www.aeaweb.org/aer/ds/10405/P2014_1132_ds.zip
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to AEA members and institutional subscribers.
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ellen R. McGrattan & Edward C. Prescott, 2010. "Unmeasured Investment and the Puzzling US Boom in the 1990s," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 88-123, October.
    2. Casey B. Mulligan, 2002. "A Century of Labor-Leisure Distortions," NBER Working Papers 8774, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Loukas Karabarbounis, 2014. "The Labor Wedge: MRS vs. MPN," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 17(2), pages 206-223, April.
    4. Hall, Robert E, 1997. "Macroeconomic Fluctuations and the Allocation of Time," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 223-250, January.
    5. Robert Shimer, 2009. "Convergence in Macroeconomics: The Labor Wedge," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 280-297, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Can Intangible Capital Explain Cyclical Movements in the Labor Wedge?
      by Christian Zimmermann in NEP-DGE blog on 2014-03-05 22:15:32

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jose Ignacio Lopez & Virginia Olivella, 2018. "The importance of intangible capital for the transmission of financial shocks," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 30, pages 223-238, October.
    2. Munkacsi, Zsuzsa, 2015. "Fiscal austerity, unemployment and family firms," Discussion Papers 06/2015, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    3. Leena Rudanko, 2017. "The Value of Loyal Customers," Economic Insights, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, vol. 2(2), pages 11-17, April.
    4. Epstein, Brendan & Mukherjee, Rahul & Finkelstein Shapiro, Alan & Ramnath, Shanthi, 2020. "Trends in aggregate employment, hours worked per worker, and the long-run labor wedge," MPRA Paper 99289, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Pau Roldan & Sophia Gilbukh, 2017. "Firm Dynamics and Pricing under Customer Capital Accumulation," 2017 Meeting Papers 1235, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    6. Yang, Shenglang & Shi, Xunpeng, 2018. "Intangible capital and sectoral energy intensity: Evidence from 40 economies between 1995 and 2007," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 118-128.
    7. Benjamin Bridgman, 2016. "Engines of Leisure," BEA Working Papers 0137, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    8. Laurent Cavenaile & Pau Roldan-Blanco, 2021. "Advertising, Innovation, and Economic Growth," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(3), pages 251-303, July.
    9. Kilic, Mete & Yang, Louis & Zhang, Miao Ben, 2022. "The cross-section of investment and profitability: Implications for asset pricing," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(3), pages 706-724.
    10. Atesagaoglu, Orhan Erem & Elgin, Ceyhun, 2015. "Cyclicality of labor wedge and informal sector," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 141-146.
    11. Pedro Brinca & João Ricardo Costa Filho & Francesca Loria, 2024. "Business cycle accounting: What have we learned so far?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(4), pages 1276-1316, September.
    12. Roldan-Blanco, Pau & Gilbukh, Sonia, 2021. "Firm dynamics and pricing under customer capital accumulation," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 99-119.
    13. Morlacco, Monica & Zeke, David, 2021. "Monetary policy, customer capital, and market power," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 116-134.
    14. Mitra, Shalini, 2018. "Intangible Capital and the Rise in Wage and Hours Volatility," MPRA Paper 89697, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Gallen, Trevor S., 2018. "Is the labor wedge due to rigid wages? Evidence from the self-employed," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 184-198.
    16. Mitra, Shalini, 2019. "Intangible capital and the rise in wage and hours volatility," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 70-85.
    17. Macnamara Patrick, 2016. "Understanding entry and exit: a business cycle accounting approach," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 16(1), pages 47-91, January.
    18. Kouvavas, Omiros & Osbat, Chiara & Reinelt, Timo & Vansteenkiste, Isabel, 2021. "Markups and inflation cyclicality in the euro area," Working Paper Series 2617, European Central Bank.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. François Gourio & Leena Rudanko, 2014. "Can Intangible Capital Explain Cyclical Movements in the Labor Wedge?," Working Paper Series WP-2014-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
    2. Cociuba, Simona E. & Ueberfeldt, Alexander, 2015. "Heterogeneity and long-run changes in aggregate hours and the labor wedge," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 75-95.
    3. Benjamin Bridgman, 2016. "Engines of Leisure," BEA Working Papers 0137, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    4. Ek, Andreas, 2021. "Cross-country differences in preferences for leisure," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    5. Gallen, Trevor S., 2018. "Is the labor wedge due to rigid wages? Evidence from the self-employed," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 184-198.
    6. Jordi Galí, 2015. "Insider-outsider labor markets, hysteresis and monetary policy," Economics Working Papers 1506, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Jun 2020.
    7. Nicola Acocella & Laura Bisio & Giovanni Di Bartolomeo & Alessandra Pelloni, "undated". "Labor market imperfections, real wage rigidities and financial shocks," Working Papers 80/11, Sapienza University of Rome, Metodi e Modelli per l'Economia, il Territorio e la Finanza MEMOTEF.
    8. Murat Tasci & Andrea Pescatori, 2011. "Search Frictions and the Labor Wedge," 2011 Meeting Papers 371, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    9. Mark Bils & Peter J. Klenow & Benjamin A. Malin, 2018. "Resurrecting the Role of the Product Market Wedge in Recessions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(4-5), pages 1118-1146, April.
    10. Jordi Galí, 2022. "Insider–Outsider Labor Markets, Hysteresis, and Monetary Policy," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 54(S1), pages 53-88, February.
    11. Hevia, Constantino, 2014. "Emerging market fluctuations: What makes the difference?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 33-49.
    12. Brinca, Pedro, 2014. "Distortions in the neoclassical growth model: A cross-country analysis," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-19.
    13. Saki Bigio & Jennifer La’O, 2020. "Distortions in Production Networks," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(4), pages 2187-2253.
    14. David Coble & Sebastián Faúndez, 2016. "The labor wedge and business cycles in Chile," Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 19(1), pages 38-56, April.
    15. Skibińska, Małgorzata, 2016. "What drives the labour wedge? A comparison between CEE countries and the Euro Area," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 148-161.
    16. Brinca, Pedro, 2014. "Distortions in the neoclassical growth model: A cross-country analysis," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 1-19.
    17. Małgorzata Skibińska, 2015. "What drives the labour wedge? A comparison between CEE countries and the Euro Area," NBP Working Papers 220, Narodowy Bank Polski.
    18. David Coble, 2015. "The Labor Wedge: New Facts Based on US Microdata," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 751, Central Bank of Chile.
    19. Simona Cociuba & Alexander Ueberfeldt, 2012. "Heterogeneity and Long-Run Changes in U.S. Hours and the Labor Wedge," University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP) Working Papers 20124, University of Western Ontario, Centre for Human Capital and Productivity (CHCP).
    20. Bridji, Slim, 2013. "The French Great Depression: A business cycle accounting analysis," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 427-445.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D92 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Intertemporal Firm Choice, Investment, Capacity, and Financing
    • E13 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Neoclassical
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:104:y:2014:i:5:p:183-88. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Michael P. Albert (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/aeaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.