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Labor productivity, effort and the euro area business cycle

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  • Lewis, Vivien
  • Villa, Stefania
  • Wolters, Maik H.

Abstract

The Euro Area is characterized by little variation in unemployment and strongly procyclical labor productivity. We capture both characteristics in a New Keynesian business cycle model with labor search frictions, where labor can vary along three margins: employment, hours, and effort. We estimate the model with Bayesian methods and find evidence for a significant use of the effort margin in generating procyclical productivity. We show that a model with labor effort is more successful at matching the business cycle facts than is one with variable capital utilization or dominant technology shocks. Finally, we demonstrate that effort dampens the response of inflation to exogenous shocks.

Suggested Citation

  • Lewis, Vivien & Villa, Stefania & Wolters, Maik H., 2019. "Labor productivity, effort and the euro area business cycle," Discussion Papers 44/2019, Deutsche Bundesbank.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:bubdps:442019
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    Cited by:

    1. Matthias S. Hertweck & Vivien Lewis & Stefania Villa, 2021. "Going the Extra Mile: Effort by Workers and Job‐Seekers," Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 53(8), pages 2099-2127, December.
    2. Gantert, Konstantin, 2022. "The impact of active aggregate demand on utilisation-adjusted TFP," IWH Discussion Papers 9/2022, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    3. Kim, Minseung & Shim, Myungkyu, 2020. "Variable Effort, Business Cycles, and Economic Welfare," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    4. Gantert, Konstantin, 2022. "The Impact of Active Aggregate Demand on Utilization-Adjusted TFP," VfS Annual Conference 2022 (Basel): Big Data in Economics 264103, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Maarten Dossche & Andrea Gavazzi & Vivien Lewis, 2023. "Labor Adjustment and Productivity in the OECD," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 47, pages 111-130, January.
    6. Diwambuena, Josué & Fonseca, Raquel & Schubert, Stefan, 2025. "Labor market institutions, productivity, and the business cycle: An application to Italy," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).

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    JEL classification:

    • E30 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • E50 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - General
    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General

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