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Monetary Policy and Inequality under Labor Market Frictions and Capital-Skill Complementarity

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  • Dolado, Juan J.

    () (European University Institute)

  • Motyovszki, Gergö

    () (European University Institute)

  • Pappa, Evi

    () (European University Institute)

Abstract

In order to improve our understanding of the channels through which monetary policy has distributional consequences, we build a New Keynesian model with incomplete asset markets, asymmetric search and matching (SAM) frictions across skilled and unskilled workers and, foremost, capital-skill complementarity (CSC) in the production function. Our main finding is that an unexpected monetary easing increases labor income inequality between high and low-skilled workers, and that the interaction between CSC and SAM asymmetry is crucial in delivering this result. The increase in labor demand driven by such a monetary shock leads to larger wage increases for high-skilled workers than for low-skilled workers, due to the smaller matching frictions of the former (SAM-asymmetry channel). Moreover, the increase in capital demand amplifies this wage divergence due to skilled workers being more complementary to capital than substitutable unskilled workers are (CSC channel). Strict inflation targeting is often the most successful rule in stabilizing measures of earnings inequality even in the presence of shocks which introduce a trade-off between stabilizing inflation and aggregate demand.

Suggested Citation

  • Dolado, Juan J. & Motyovszki, Gergö & Pappa, Evi, 2018. "Monetary Policy and Inequality under Labor Market Frictions and Capital-Skill Complementarity," IZA Discussion Papers 11494, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11494
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chris Redl, 2015. "Optimal Monetary Policy with Learning by Doing," Working Papers 490, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    2. Konstantinos Angelopoulos & Wei Jiang & James Malley, 2017. "Targeted fiscal policy to increase employment and wages of unskilled workers," Studies in Economics 1704, School of Economics, University of Kent.
    3. Pappa, Evi & Sajedi, Rana & Vella, Eugenia, 2015. "Fiscal consolidation with tax evasion and corruption," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(S1), pages 56-75.
    4. Campolmi, Alessia & Gnocchi, Stefano, 2016. "Labor market participation, unemployment and monetary policy," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 17-29.
    5. Nils Gornemann & Keith Kuester & Makoto Nakajima, 2016. "Doves for the Rich, Hawks for the Poor? Distributional Consequences of Monetary Policy," International Finance Discussion Papers 1167, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    6. Nils Gornemann & Keith Kuester & Makoto Nakajima, 2012. "Monetary policy with heterogeneous agents," Working Papers 12-21, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.
    7. Campolmi, Alessia & Faia, Ester, 2015. "Rethinking Optimal Exchange Rate Regimes With Frictional Labor Markets," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(05), pages 1116-1147, July.
    8. Ayako Saiki & Jon Frost, 2014. "Does unconventional monetary policy affect inequality? Evidence from Japan," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(36), pages 4445-4454, December.
    9. repec:eee:moneco:v:88:y:2017:i:c:p:70-89 is not listed on IDEAS
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    1. Monetary Policy and Inequality under Labor Market Frictions and Capital-Skill Complementarity
      by Christian Zimmermann in NEP-DGE blog on 2018-06-18 14:23:25

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    Cited by:

    1. Andrea Colciago & Anna Samarina & Jakob de Haan, 2018. "Central bank policies and income and wealth inequality: A survey," DNB Working Papers 594, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    monetary policy; search and matching; capital-skill complementarity; inequality;

    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
    • E25 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Aggregate Factor Income Distribution
    • E52 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Monetary Policy
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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