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A Fair Wage Model of Unemployment with Inertia in Fairness Perceptions

Author

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  • Monica Correa-Lopez
  • George Choullarakis

Abstract

Theories of psychology and empirical evidence suggest that the reference transactions against which workers judge fairness exhibit inertia. This paper shows that a fair-wage model with inertia in fairness perceptions provides a plausible explanation for the observed negative correlation between changes in productivity growth and equilibrium unemployment over the medium run, a stylized fact that remains elusive to most other classes of models. It also shows that skillbiased productivity shocks and shocks to workers’ taste for equal pay have permanent effects on unemployment and the skill premium. Thus, skill-biased shocks to productivity increase unemployment among the lowskilled while, if high-skilled workers are less inequity-averse, they reduce unemployment among the high-skilled.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
  • Handle: RePEc:bbv:wpaper:1203
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Global; Fairnesss; unemployment; Skill Premium; Fair Wage-Effort Hypothesis; Inequity Aversion; Personnel Management;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • M12 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Personnel Management; Executives; Executive Compensation

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