IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/chb/bcchec/v19y2016i1p38-56.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The labor wedge and business cycles in Chile

Author

Listed:
  • David Coble
  • Sebastián Faúndez

Abstract

Recent studies have documented the importance of the labor wedge in accounting for the level of business cycle fluctuations in the Chilean economy. None of these papers, however, extensively studies the labor wedge fluctuations and its possible sources. In this paper we take a closer look at the labor wedge in Chile, with emphasis on its cyclicality.Using a flexible model to implicitly derive the Frisch elasticity of labor, we construct a set of labor wedges for the Chilean economy and find that the labor wedge in Chile is counter-cyclical. Finally,we show that the labor wedge can be written as the sum of two elements: the firm and the household components. We find that the household component is the main driver of Chilean labor market fluctuations.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:chb:bcchec:v:19:y:2016:i:1:p:38-56
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://si2.bcentral.cl/public/pdf/revista-economia/2016/abr/rec19n1_abril2016_pp38-56.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. V. V. Chari & Patrick J. Kehoe & Ellen R. McGrattan, 2002. "Accounting for the Great Depression (technical appendix)," Working Papers 619, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    2. Jordi Galí & Pau Rabanal, 2005. "Technology Shocks and Aggregate Fluctuations: How Well Does the Real Business Cycle Model Fit Postwar US Data?," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2004, Volume 19, pages 225-318, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Justiniano, Alejandro & Primiceri, Giorgio E. & Tambalotti, Andrea, 2010. "Investment shocks and business cycles," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(2), pages 132-145, March.
    4. Edward C. Prescott, 2004. "Why do Americans work so much more than Europeans?," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, vol. 28(Jul), pages 2-13.
    5. 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.
    6. Gomme, Paul & Greenwood, Jeremy, 1995. "On the cyclical allocation of risk," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 19(1-2), pages 91-124.
    7. Ohanian, Lee E. & Raffo, Andrea, 2012. "Aggregate hours worked in OECD countries: New measurement and implications for business cycles," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 40-56.
    8. Robert Shimer, 2009. "Convergence in Macroeconomics: The Labor Wedge," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 1(1), pages 280-297, January.
    9. Raphael Bergoeing & Patrick J. Kehoe & Timothy J. Kehoe & Raimundo Soto, 2002. "A Decade Lost and Found: Mexico and Chile in the 1980s," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 5(1), pages 166-205, January.
    10. Ruy Lama, 2011. "Accounting for Output Drops in Latin America," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 14(2), pages 295-316, April.
    11. V. V. Chari & Patrick J. Kehoe & Ellen R. McGrattan, 2007. "Business Cycle Accounting," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 75(3), pages 781-836, May.
    12. Edwards, Sebastian & Edwards, Alejandra Cox, 2002. "Social Security Privatization and Labor Markets: The Case of Chile," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(3), pages 465-489, April.
    13. Juan Pablo Medina & Claudio Soto, 2007. "The Chilean Business Cycles Through the Lens of a Stochastic General Equilibrium Model," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 457, Central Bank of Chile.
    14. Galí, Jordi & Rabanal, Pau, 2004. "Technology Shocks and Aggregate Fluctuations: How Well Does the RBC Model Fit Post-War US Data?," CEPR Discussion Papers 4522, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Juan Pablo Medina & Alberto Naudon, 2012. "Labor Market Dynamic in Chile:The Role of the Terms of Trade," Journal Economía Chilena (The Chilean Economy), Central Bank of Chile, vol. 15(1), pages 32-75, April.
    16. V. V. Chari & Patrick J. Kehoe & Ellen R. McGrattan, 2003. "Accounting for the Great Depression," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, vol. 27(Spr), pages 2-8.
    17. Raphael Bergoeing & Patrick J. Kehoe & Timothy J. Kehoe & Raimundo Soto, 2002. "A Decade Lost and Found: Mexico and Chile in the 1980s," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 5(1), pages 166-205, January.
    18. Sebastian Edwards & Alejandra Cox Edwards, 2002. "Social Security Privatization Reform and Labor Markets: The Case of Chile," NBER Working Papers 8924, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. 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.
    20. Gonzalo Castex & Miguel Ricaurte, 2011. "Self – Employment, Labor Market Rigidities and Unemployment Over the Business Cycle," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 650, Central Bank of Chile.
    21. Frank Smets & Rafael Wouters, 2007. "Shocks and Frictions in US Business Cycles: A Bayesian DSGE Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(3), pages 586-606, June.
    22. Alejandra Mizala & Pilar Romaguera & Paulo Henríquez, 1998. "Oferta laboral y seguro de desempleo: Estimaciones para la economía chilena," Documentos de Trabajo 28, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile.
    23. Raphael Bergoeing & Patrick J. Kehoe & Timothy J. Kehoe & Raimundo Soto, 2002. "Decades lost and found: Mexico and Chile since 1980," Quarterly Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, vol. 26(Win), pages 3-30.
    24. Robert E. Hall, 2009. "Reconciling Cyclical Movements in the Marginal Value of Time and the Marginal Product of Labor," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 117(2), pages 281-323, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Bergoeing, Raphael & Piguillem, Facundo, 2022. "Cooperatives versus traditional banks: the impact of interbank market exclusion," Revista CEPAL, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), December.
    2. Stefano Banfi & Sekyu Choi, 2018. "Sorting On-line and On-time," Documentos de Trabajo 337, Centro de Economía Aplicada, Universidad de Chile.

    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. Inaba, Masaru & Nutahara, Kengo & Shirai, Daichi, 2022. "What drives fluctuations of labor wedge and business cycles? Evidence from Japan," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    2. David Coble, 2015. "The Labor Wedge: New Facts Based on US Microdata," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 751, Central Bank of Chile.
    3. Keqiang Hou & Alok Johri, 2018. "Intangible Capital, the Labor Wedge and the Volatility of Corporate Profits," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 29, pages 216-234, July.
    4. del Río, Fernando & Lores, Francisco-Xavier, 2021. "Accounting for U.S. economic growth 1954–2017," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Adnan Haider & Musleh ud Din & Ejaz Ghani, 2012. "Monetary Policy, Informality and Business Cycle Fluctuations in a Developing Economy Vulnerable to External Shocks," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 51(4), pages 609-681.
    6. Hansen, G.D. & Ohanian, L.E., 2016. "Neoclassical Models in Macroeconomics," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & Harald Uhlig (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 0, pages 2043-2130, Elsevier.
    7. Hevia, Constantino, 2014. "Emerging market fluctuations: What makes the difference?," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(1), pages 33-49.
    8. 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.
    9. Rodrigo A. Cerda & José Tomás Valente, 2022. "The role of capital taxation on the business cycle: the case of Chile, 1960–2019," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 83-108, February.
    10. Ohanian, Lee E. & Raffo, Andrea, 2012. "Aggregate hours worked in OECD countries: New measurement and implications for business cycles," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 40-56.
    11. Schorfheide, Frank & Fuentes-Albero, Cristina & Kryshko, Maxym & Santaeulà lia-Llopis, Raül, 2009. "Methods versus Substance: Measuring the Effects of Technology Shocks on Hours," CEPR Discussion Papers 7474, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    12. 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.
    13. Dooyeon Cho & Antonio Doblas-Madrid, 2013. "Business Cycle Accounting East and West: Asian Finance and the Investment Wedge," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 16(4), pages 724-744, October.
    14. 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.
    15. Zhang, Lini, 2018. "Credit crunches, individual heterogeneity and the labor wedge," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 65-88.
    16. Keqiang Hou & Alok Johri, 2018. "Intangible Capital, the Labor Wedge and the Volatility of Corporate Profits," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 29, pages 216-234, July.
    17. del Río, Fernando & Lores, Francisco-Xavier, 2023. "Accounting for the role of investment frictions in recessions," MPRA Paper 116024, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. del Río, Fernando & Lores, Francisco-Xavier, 2020. "Accounting for U.S. post-war economic growth," MPRA Paper 100716, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. 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.
    20. Benjamin Bridgman, 2016. "Engines of Leisure," BEA Working Papers 0137, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

    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:chb:bcchec:v:19:y:2016:i:1:p:38-56. 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: Fredherick Sanllehi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/bccgvcl.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.