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Persistence of labor share fluctuations and overshooting

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  • Bandyopadhyay, Sujan
  • Ferraro, Domenico

Abstract

Workhorse business cycle models struggle to explain the magnitude and persistence of cyclical fluctuations in the labor share of output and employment in the United States. A model with search frictions in the labor market and a technology choice addresses this shortcoming. In this model, the production technology is a constant elasticity of substitution (CES) in the short run, while it converges to Cobb-Douglas in the long run. We calibrate the model using U.S. data and find that the inclusion of a technology choice with adjustment costs significantly enhances the model's ability to propagate productivity shocks, compared to a model with a fixed Cobb-Douglas technology. The calibrated model successfully replicates the overshooting of the labor share in the data.

Suggested Citation

  • Bandyopadhyay, Sujan & Ferraro, Domenico, 2025. "Persistence of labor share fluctuations and overshooting," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:dyncon:v:180:y:2025:i:c:s0165188925001502
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jedc.2025.105184
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    Keywords

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    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
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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