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Investment and labor income shares

Author

Listed:
  • Georgios Chortareas

    (King’s College London
    National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
    King’s College London)

  • Emmanouil Noikokyris

    (Kingston University London
    King’s College London)

Abstract

We explore empirically the determinants of labor shares focusing on the role of investment. We use a cross-country framework and consider up to 99 countries for the period 2004–2015. Our results reveal that the level of a country’s investment is a significant driving factor of the labor share of income. This evidence is in line with the predictions of neoclassical mechanisms for the role of investment in labor share. Among several other factors that we consider, as suggested by the extant empirical literature, we find strong evidence only for the degree of a country’s exposure to the international financial system, which is inversely related to the labor shares. Moreover, economic freedom amplifies the positive effect of gross fixed capital formation on labor income shares.

Suggested Citation

  • Georgios Chortareas & Emmanouil Noikokyris, 2021. "Investment and labor income shares," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 807-820, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ecopln:v:54:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s10644-020-09268-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10644-020-09268-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Raihan, Selim, 2022. "What Does Data on Functional Income Distribution tell us about Trends in and Correlates of Income Inequality in The Asia-Pacific?," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 56(3), pages 45-64.
    2. Ibarra, Carlos A. & Ros, Jaime, 2023. "Trade and factor intensity, and the transmission of the global shock to labor: A panel analysis of the fall of the labor income share in the Mexican manufacturing sector," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(1).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor share; Capital formation; R&D expenses;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • E25 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Aggregate Factor Income Distribution
    • F66 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Labor

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