IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/reviec/v8y2000i3p517-532.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Smooth and Sticky Adjustment: A Comparative Analysis of the US and UK

Author

Listed:
  • Michelle Haynes
  • Richard Upward
  • Peter Wright

Abstract

This paper adopts the methodology of the microeconometric labor literature to analyze a common assertion from trade economists that reallocation within sectors is less costly than between sectors. Findings are compared across two countries (the UK and US) which have experienced very different recent aggregate unemployment experiences. Workers previously employed in “declining” sectors are more mobile than those employed in ‘expanding’ sectors in both countries, and individuals are more likely to switch sector the longer they are unemployed. A plausible explanation for this is that individuals initially attempt to find jobs that complement their general and specific skills in order to accrue the associated rewards, and move sector only as this prospect diminishes. This would seem to accord with the ‘smooth adjustment hypothesis’ which proposes that intraindustry adjustments are less costly than interindustry ones.

Suggested Citation

  • Michelle Haynes & Richard Upward & Peter Wright, 2000. "Smooth and Sticky Adjustment: A Comparative Analysis of the US and UK," Review of International Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(3), pages 517-532, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:reviec:v:8:y:2000:i:3:p:517-532
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-9396.00239
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9396.00239
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1467-9396.00239?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. T. Huw Edwards & John Whalley, 2002. "Short and Long Run Decompositions of OECD Wage Inequality Changes," NBER Working Papers 9265, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Abdul Azhar & Robert Elliott, 2003. "On the measurement of trade-induced adjustment," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 139(3), pages 419-439, September.
    3. R J R Elliott & J Lindley, 2003. "Trade, Skills and Adjustment Costs: A Study of Intra-Sectoral Labour Mobility in the UK," Economics Discussion Paper Series 0312, Economics, The University of Manchester.
    4. Roberto Leombruni & Roberto Quaranta, 2002. "The Unemployment Route to Versatility," LABORatorio R. Revelli Working Papers Series 16, LABORatorio R. Revelli, Centre for Employment Studies.
    5. Terence Huw Edwards & John Whalley, 2007. "Short‐ And Long‐Run Decompositions Of Uk Wage Inequality Changes," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 1-24, January.
    6. Mónica Rivera, 2014. "Trade patterns in the process of European integration: Evidence for the intraindustrial exchanges of a Mediterranean peripheral region," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 52(1), pages 227-249, January.

    More about this item

    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:bla:reviec:v:8:y:2000:i:3:p:517-532. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0965-7576 .

    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.