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The Macroeconomic Consequences of Reciprocity in Labor Relations

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  • Jean-Pierre Danthine
  • André Kurmann

Abstract

We develop and analyze a structural model of efficiency wages founded on reciprocity. Workers are assumed to face an explicit trade-off between the disutility of providing effort and the psychological benefit of reciprocating the gift of a wage offer above some reference level. The model provides a rationale for rent sharing-a feature that is very much present in the data but absent from previous formulations of the efficiency wage hypothesis. This firm-internal perspective on efficiency wages has potentially important macroeconomic consequences: rent-sharing considerations promote wage rigidity, internal amplification and differential responses to technology and demand shocks. Copyright The editors of the "Scandinavian Journal of Economics" 2008 .

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  • Jean-Pierre Danthine & André Kurmann, 2008. "The Macroeconomic Consequences of Reciprocity in Labor Relations," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 109(4), pages 857-881, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:scandj:v:109:y:2008:i:4:p:857-881
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    Cited by:

    1. Francesco Busato & William Addessi, 2007. "Labor Unions and Asset Prices," Economics Working Papers 2007-05, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    2. Egger, Hartmut & Egger, Peter & Kreickemeier, Udo, 2013. "Trade, wages, and profits," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 332-350.
    3. Matthias Strifler & Thomas Beissinger, 2016. "Fairness Considerations in Labor Union Wage Setting – A Theoretical Analysis," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 63(3), pages 303-330, July.
    4. Danthine, Jean-Pierre & Kurmann, André, 2010. "The business cycle implications of reciprocity in labor relations," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(7), pages 837-850, October.
    5. Hartmut Egger & Udo Kreickemeier, 2010. "Worker-specific Effects of Globalisation," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(8), pages 987-1005, August.
    6. Matthieu Chemin & Joost DeLaat & André Kurmann, 2011. "Reciprocity in Labor Relations: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Long-Term Relationships," Cahiers de recherche 1127, CIRPEE.
    7. Fongoni, Marco & Dickson, Alex, 2015. "A Theory of Wage Setting Behavior," 2007 Annual Meeting, July 29-August 1, 2007, Portland, Oregon TN 2015-57, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    8. Riccardo Tilli, 2015. "High speed and low speed structural reforms in the italian goods and labor market," QUADERNI DI ECONOMIA DEL LAVORO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(103), pages 67-82.
    9. Andrea Vaona, 2015. "Inflation gifts restrictions for structural VARs: evidence from the US," Working Papers 16/2015, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    10. Addessi, William & Busato, Francesco, 2009. "Fair wages, labor relations and asset returns," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 5(4), pages 410-430, December.
    11. Ansgar, Rannenberg, 2009. "Disinflation and the NAIRU in a New-Keynesian New-Growth Model (Extended Version)," MPRA Paper 13610, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Andrea Vaona, 2013. "The Most Beautiful Variations on Fair Wages and the Phillips Curve," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 45(6), pages 1069-1084, September.
    13. Erkki Koskela & Ronnie Schöb, 2009. "A note on internal and external reference in efficiency wage models," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 96(1), pages 79-86, January.
    14. Andrea Vaona, 2013. "Inflation gifts and endogenous growth through learning-by-doing," Working Papers 09/2013, University of Verona, Department of Economics.
    15. Fongoni, Marco & Dickson, Alex, 2015. "A Theory of Wage Setting Behavior," SIRE Discussion Papers 2015-57, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).
    16. Monica Correa-Lopez & George Choullarakis, 2012. "A Fair Wage Model of Unemployment with Inertia in Fairness Perceptions," Working Papers 1203, BBVA Bank, Economic Research Department.
    17. Ansgar Rannenberg, 2009. "Shocks, Monetary Policy and Institutions: Explaining Unemployment Persistence in "Europe" and the United States," CDMA Working Paper Series 200903, Centre for Dynamic Macroeconomic Analysis.
    18. Yakita, Akira, 2014. "Involuntary unemployment and sustainability of bond-financed fiscal deficit," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 79-93.
    19. repec:bla:ecinqu:v:55:y:2017:i:3:p:1336-1349 is not listed on IDEAS

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • 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
    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General

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