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Labor Demand and the Structure of Adjustment Costs

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  • Hamermesh, Daniel S

Abstract

This study examines the costs firms face in adjusting labor demand to exogenous shocks. Evidence on monthly plant-level data shows that adjustment proceeds in jumps: employment is unchanged in response to small shocks, but moves instantaneously to a new equilibrium if the shocks are large. Results in the large literature that assumes smooth adjustment are due to aggregation of this nonlinear relation. The finding has implications for cyclical changes in productivity; for severance pay, layoff, and plant-closing restrictions; and for all other policies that affect the cost of adjusting employment. Copyright 1989 by American Economic Association.

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  • Hamermesh, Daniel S, 1989. "Labor Demand and the Structure of Adjustment Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(4), pages 674-689, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:79:y:1989:i:4:p:674-89
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    1. Hamermesh, Daniel S., 1987. "The demand for labor in the long run," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & R. Layard (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 8, pages 429-471, Elsevier.
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    3. Robert J. Gordon, 1979. "The "End-of-Expansion" Phenomenon in Short-Run Productivity Behavior," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 10(2), pages 447-462.
    4. Alan S. Blinder, 1981. "Retail Inventory Behavior and Business Fluctuations," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 12(2), pages 443-520.
    5. Robert J. Barro, 1972. "A Theory of Monopolistic Price Adjustment," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 39(1), pages 17-26.
    6. Burgess, Simon M, 1988. "Employment Adjustment in UK Manufacturing," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 98(389), pages 81-103, March.
    7. P. K. Trivedi, 1985. "Distributed Lags, Aggregation and Compounding: Some Econometric Implications," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 52(1), pages 19-35.
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