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Labor market rigidity, social policies and the labor share: Empirical evidence before and after the big crisis

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  • Parisi, Maria Laura

Abstract

This paper provides evidence of the impact of three important and general policies shaping the degree of labor market rigidity on the labor share: welfare expenditures, government expenditures on active labor market programs, and passive labor market measures. It analyses the impact of regulation, such as the intensity of employment protection, and evaluates whether trade unions and minimum wage institutions play a role in the relationship between all measures and the labor share. The labor income share has experienced a declining trend since the mid-1970s in most advanced economies, and the existing literature found little if no correlation of this decline to general labor market characteristics. However, the present paper finds that some institutions are correlated to the downward trend, depending on the welfare system adopted, and that welfare and employment protection counteract the decline. Moreover, many countries saw an upsurge in their labor share after the burst of the financial crisis. Evidence of whether the effect of the policies weakened or reinforced the labor share after 2007 is reported.

Suggested Citation

  • Parisi, Maria Laura, 2017. "Labor market rigidity, social policies and the labor share: Empirical evidence before and after the big crisis," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 492-512.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecosys:v:41:y:2017:i:4:p:492-512
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecosys.2017.08.003
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    Cited by:

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    2. Cui, Guanghui & Zhang, Yi & Ma, Jingwen & Yao, Wenyun, 2023. "Does environmental regulation affect the labor income share of manufacturing enterprises? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    3. Emiliano Brancaccio & Fabiana De Cristofaro & Raffaele Giammetti, 2020. "No Consensus In The Imf-Oecd 'Consensus': A Meta-Analysis On The Employment Impact Of Labour Deregulations," Working Papers 445, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    4. Jiaxin Wu & Hongjuan Yang & Tanveer Ahmed, 2023. "An assessment of the policy of poverty alleviation in continuous poverty-stricken areas: evidence from Yunnan Province, China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(9), pages 9757-9777, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor income share; Employment protection legislation; Active labor market programs; Minimum wage; Welfare systems;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy
    • E25 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Aggregate Factor Income Distribution
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs

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