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Are Long-term Wage Elasticities of Labor Supply More Negative than Short-term Ones?

Author

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  • Kirk B. Doran

    (Department of Economics, University of Notre Dame)

Abstract

A fundamental prediction of inter-temporal labor supply theory is that the wage-elasticity of labor supply must be more negative the longer the wage change lasts. This paper analyzes labor supply using unique data on workers who choose their own daily hours and who experience both short-term and long-term wage changes. Workers decrease their daily hours in response to shortterm wage increases, but not in response to a 20% long-term wage increase. This is consistent with a specific daily income goals model- one in which these goals remain unadjusted to unexpected short-term wage fluctuations, but fully adjust to expected longer-term wage fluctuations.

Suggested Citation

  • Kirk B. Doran, 2013. "Are Long-term Wage Elasticities of Labor Supply More Negative than Short-term Ones?," Working Papers 020, University of Notre Dame, Department of Economics, revised Jan 2013.
    • Handle: RePEc:nod:wpaper:020
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Brodeur, Abel & Nield, Kerry, 2018. "An empirical analysis of taxi, Lyft and Uber rides: Evidence from weather shocks in NYC," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 1-16.
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    6. Motghare, Swapnil, 2021. "The long-run elasticity of labor supply: New evidence for New York City taxicab drivers☆," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    7. Tess M. Stafford, 2015. "What Do Fishermen Tell Us That Taxi Drivers Do Not? An Empirical Investigation of Labor Supply," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(3), pages 683-710.
    8. Henry S. Farber, 2014. "Why You Can't Find a Taxi in the Rain and Other Labor Supply Lessons from Cab Drivers," Working Papers 583a, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    9. Henry S. Farber, 2014. "Why You Can't Find a Taxi in the Rain and Other Labor Supply Lessons from Cab Drivers," NBER Working Papers 20604, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Christine L. Exley & Stephen J. Terry, 2019. "Wage Elasticities in Working and Volunteering: The Role of Reference Points in a Laboratory Study," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(1), pages 413-425, January.
    11. Hammarlund, Cecilia, 2018. "A trip to reach the target? – The labor supply of Swedish Baltic cod fishermen," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 1-11.
    12. Timothy J. Richards, 2020. "Income Targeting and Farm Labor Supply," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(2), pages 419-438, March.
    13. Alessandro Saia, 2022. "Trouble Underground: Demand Shocks and the Labor Supply Behavior of New York City Taxi Drivers," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 8(1), pages 1-27, March.
    14. Oliver März, 2016. "Framing, Expectations and Reference Points," Working Papers ECARES ECARES 2016-40, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    15. Yiyuan Ma & Ke Chen & Youzhi Xiao & Rong Fan, 2022. "Does Online Ride-Hailing Service Improve the Efficiency of Taxi Market? Evidence from Shanghai," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-16, July.
    16. Christine L. Exley & Stephen J. Terry, 2015. "Wage Elasticities in Working and Volunteering: The Role of Reference Points in a Laboratory Study," Harvard Business School Working Papers 16-062, Harvard Business School, revised Jun 2017.
    17. Kareem Haggag & Brian McManus & Giovanni Paci, 2017. "Learning by Driving: Productivity Improvements by New York City Taxi Drivers," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(1), pages 70-95, January.
    18. Henry S. Farber, 2014. "Why You Can't Find a Taxi in the Rain and Other Labor Supply Lessons from Cab Drivers," Working Papers 583, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    19. Pascaline Dupas & Jonathan Robinson, 2013. "Daily Needs, Income Targets and Labor Supply: Evidence from Kenya," NBER Working Papers 19264, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Lu Ling & Xinwu Qian & Satish V. Ukkusuri, 2023. "Impact of Transportation Network Companies on Labor Supply and Wages for Taxi Drivers," Papers 2307.13620, arXiv.org.
    21. Farber, Henry S, 2014. "Why You Can't Find a Taxi in the Rain and Other Labor Supply Lessons from Cab Drivers," IZA Discussion Papers 8562, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor elasticity;

    JEL classification:

    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor

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