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The Output Gap, the Labor Wedge, and the Dynamic Behavior of Hours

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  • Sala, Luca

    (Department of Economics and IGIER)

  • Söderström, Ulf

    (Research Department, Central Bank of Sweden)

  • Trigari, Antonella

    (Department of Economics and IGIER)

Abstract

We use a standard quantitative business cycle model with nominal price and wage rigidities to estimate two measures of economic inefficiency in recent U.S. data: the output gap - the gap between the actual and efficient levels of output - and the labor wedge - the wedge between households' marginal rate of substitution and firms' marginal product of labor. We establish three results. (i) The output gap and the labor wedge are closely related, suggesting that most inefficiencies in output are due to the inefficient allocation of labor. (ii) The estimates are sensitive to the structural interpretation of shocks to the labor market, which is ambiguous in the model. (iii) Movements in hours worked are essentially exogenous, directly driven by labor market shocks, whereas wage rigidities generate a markup of the real wage over the marginal rate of substitution that is acyclical. We conclude that the model fails in two important respects: it does not give clear guidance concerning the efficiency of business cycle fluctuations, and it provides an unsatisfactory explanation of labor market and business cycle dynamics.

Suggested Citation

  • Sala, Luca & Söderström, Ulf & Trigari, Antonella, 2010. "The Output Gap, the Labor Wedge, and the Dynamic Behavior of Hours," Working Paper Series 246, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:rbnkwp:0246
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lunardelli, Andre, 2025. "Fairness, ambiguity, wage markups and disinflation costs," MPRA Paper 126505, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Jannsen, Nils & Wolters, Maik H., 2016. "Zu Produktionspotenzial und Produktionslücke in den Vereinigten Staaten," Kiel Insight 2016.2, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    3. Alejandro Justiniano & Giorgio E. Primiceri & Andrea Tambalotti, 2013. "Is There a Trade-Off between Inflation and Output Stabilization?," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 1-31, April.
    4. Jordi Galí & Frank Smets & Rafael Wouters, 2012. "Unemployment in an Estimated New Keynesian Model," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(1), pages 329-360.
    5. Guy Segal, 2017. "To Respond or Not to Respond: Measures of the Output Gap in Theory and in Practice," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 13(2), pages 73-120, June.
    6. Maik H. Wolters, 2018. "How the baby boomers' retirement wave distorts model‐based output gap estimates," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(5), pages 680-689, August.
    7. Luca Sala, 2015. "Dsge Models in the Frequency Domains," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(2), pages 219-240, March.
    8. Yuemei Ji, 2018. "Why is there so much Inertia in Inflation and Output? A Behavioral Explanation," CESifo Working Paper Series 7181, CESifo.
    9. Francesco Furlanetto & Martin Seneca, 2012. "Rule‐of‐Thumb Consumers, Productivity, and Hours," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 114(2), pages 658-679, June.
    10. Lorenzo Burlon & Paolo D'Imperio, 2019. "The euro-area output gap through the lens of a DSGE model," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 477, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    11. Burlon, Lorenzo & D’Imperio, Paolo, 2020. "Reliable real-time estimates of the euro-area output gap," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    12. Fabio Canova & Filippo Ferroni & Christian Matthes, 2014. "Choosing The Variables To Estimate Singular Dsge Models," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(7), pages 1099-1117, November.
    13. Gern, Klaus-Jürgen & Hauber, Philipp & Jannsen, Nils & Kooths, Stefan & Plödt, Martin & Wolters, Maik H., 2016. "Weltkonjunktur im Frühjahr 2016 - Getrübte Aussichten für die Weltkonjunktur [World Economy Spring 2016 - Clouded outlook for the world economy]," Kieler Konjunkturberichte 15, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    14. Igor Vetlov & Tibor Hlédik & Magnus Jonsson & Henrik Kucsera & Massimiliano Pisani, 2011. "Potential Output in DSGE Models," Bank of Lithuania Working Paper Series 9, Bank of Lithuania.
    15. Skibińska, Małgorzata, 2016. "What drives the labour wedge? A comparison between CEE countries and the Euro Area," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 148-161.
    16. Daeha Cho, 2023. "Unemployment risk, MPC heterogeneity, and business cycles," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 14(2), pages 717-751, May.
    17. Groshenny, Nicolas, 2013. "Monetary Policy, Inflation And Unemployment: In Defense Of The Federal Reserve," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(6), pages 1311-1329, September.

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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
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy

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