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In Search of Labor Demand

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  • Paul Beaudry
  • David A. Green
  • Benjamin M. Sand

Abstract

We propose and estimate a novel specification of the labor demand curve incorporating search frictions and the role of entrepreneurs in new firm creation. Using city-industry variation over four decades, we estimate the employment - wage elasticity to be -1 at the industry-city level and -0.3 at the city level. We show that the difference between these estimates likely reflects the congestion externalities predicted by the search literature. Also, holding wages constant, an increase in the local population is associated with a proportional increase in employment. These results provide indirect information about the elasticity of job creation to changes in profits.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Beaudry & David A. Green & Benjamin M. Sand, 2014. "In Search of Labor Demand," NBER Working Papers 20568, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20568
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    Cited by:

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    4. Basu, Arnab K. & Chau, Nancy H. & Soundararajan, Vidhya, 2021. "Contract employment as a worker discipline device," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
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    6. Gerald Carlino & Thorsten Drautzburg, 2020. "The role of startups for local labor markets," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 751-775, September.
    7. Pierre Cahuc & Stéphane Carcillo & Thomas Le Barbanchon, 2019. "The Effectiveness of Hiring Credits," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(2), pages 593-626.
    8. Joya, Omar & Rougier, Eric, 2019. "Do (all) sectoral shocks lead to aggregate volatility? Empirics from a production network perspective," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 77-107.
    9. Mario Bossler & Lars Chittka & Thorsten Schank, 2024. "A 22 percent increase in the German minimum wage: nothing crazy!," Papers 2405.12608, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2024.
    10. Loukas Karabarbounis & Jeremy Lise & Anusha Nath, 2022. "Minimum Wages and Labor Markets in the Twin Cities," NBER Working Papers 30239, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Pierre Cahuc & Stéphane Carcillo & Thomas Le Barbanchon, 2017. "The Effectiveness of Hiring Credits," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-03393157, HAL.
    12. Green, David A. & Liu, Huju & Ostrovsky, Yuri & Picot, Garnett, 2023. "Are Immigrants Particularly Entrepreneurial? Policy Lessons from a Selective Immigration System," IZA Discussion Papers 16515, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Pierre Cahuc & Stéphane Carcillo & Thomas Le Barbanchon, 2017. "The Effectiveness of Hiring Credits," SciencePo Working papers hal-03393157, HAL.
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    15. Sun, Jianhua & Hou, Shaobo & Deng, Yuxia & Li, Huaicheng, 2024. "New media environment, green technological innovation and corporate productivity: Evidence from listed companies in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    16. Tim Bartik, 2023. "Seize the Time: Needed Research on Local Economic Development in an Era of Increased Attention to Problems of Place," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 37(1), pages 7-13, February.
    17. Gert Bijnens & Shyngys Karimov & Jozef Konings, 2023. "Does Automatic Wage Indexation Destroy Jobs? A Machine Learning Approach," De Economist, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 85-117, March.
    18. Miroslav Gabrovski & Mario Rafael Silva, 2023. "Unemployment and Labor Productivity Co-movement: the Role of Firm Exit," Working Papers 202301, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Department of Economics.
    19. Edward Glaeser & Joseph Gyourko, 2018. "The Economic Implications of Housing Supply," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 32(1), pages 3-30, Winter.
    20. Gregory Howard, 2017. "The Migration Accelerator: Labor Mobility, Housing, and Aggregate Demand," 2017 Meeting Papers 563, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    21. Medrano-Adán, Luis & Salas-Fumás, Vicente, 2023. "Do minimum wages deliver what they promise? Effects of minimum wage on employment, output, and income inequality from occupational choice theory," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 366-383.
    22. Pérez Pérez, Jorge, 2020. "The minimum wage in formal and informal sectors: Evidence from an inflation shock," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    23. Jardim, Ekaterina & Long, Mark C. & Plotnick, Robert & Vigdor, Jacob & Wiles, Emma, 2024. "Local minimum wage laws, boundary discontinuity methods, and policy spillovers," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    24. Luis E. Arango & Francesca Castellani & Nataly Obando, 2016. "It is mainly about where you work! Labor demand in the Colombian manufacturing sector," Borradores de Economia 933, Banco de la Republica de Colombia.

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    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand

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