Labor Market Slack and Monetary Policy

Labor Market Slack and Monetary Policy PDF Author: David G. Blanchflower
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Labor supply
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
In the wake of a severe recession and a sluggish recovery, labor market slack cannot be gauged solely in terms of the conventional measure of the unemployment rate (that is, the number of individuals who are not working at all and actively searching for a job). Rather, assessments of the employment gap should reflect the incidence of underemployment (that is, people working part time who want a full-time job) and the extent of hidden unemployment (that is, people who are not actively searching but who would rejoin the workforce if the job market were stronger). In this paper, we examine the evolution of U.S. labor market slack and show that underemployment and hidden unemployment currently account for the bulk of the U.S. employment gap. Next, using state-level data, we find strong statistical evidence that each of these forms of labor market slack exerts significant downward pressure on nominal wages. Finally, we consider the monetary policy implications of the employment gap in light of prescriptions from Taylor-style benchmark rules.

Labor Market Slack and Monetary Policy

Labor Market Slack and Monetary Policy PDF Author: David G. Blanchflower
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Labor supply
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
In the wake of a severe recession and a sluggish recovery, labor market slack cannot be gauged solely in terms of the conventional measure of the unemployment rate (that is, the number of individuals who are not working at all and actively searching for a job). Rather, assessments of the employment gap should reflect the incidence of underemployment (that is, people working part time who want a full-time job) and the extent of hidden unemployment (that is, people who are not actively searching but who would rejoin the workforce if the job market were stronger). In this paper, we examine the evolution of U.S. labor market slack and show that underemployment and hidden unemployment currently account for the bulk of the U.S. employment gap. Next, using state-level data, we find strong statistical evidence that each of these forms of labor market slack exerts significant downward pressure on nominal wages. Finally, we consider the monetary policy implications of the employment gap in light of prescriptions from Taylor-style benchmark rules.

Labor Force Participation and Monetary Policy in the Wake of the Great Recession

Labor Force Participation and Monetary Policy in the Wake of the Great Recession PDF Author: Christopher J. Erceg
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1484302605
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
In this paper, we provide compelling evidence that cyclical factors account for the bulk of the post-2007 decline in the U.S. labor force participation rate. We then proceed to formulate a stylized New Keynesian model in which labor force participation is essentially acyclical during “normal times” (that is, in response to small or transitory shocks) but drops markedly in the wake of a large and persistent aggregate demand shock. Finally, we show that these considerations can have potentially crucial implications for the design of monetary policy, especially under circumstances in which adjustments to the short-term interest rate are constrained by the zero lower bound.

United States

United States PDF Author: International Monetary Fund. Western Hemisphere Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1498396674
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 113

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Book Description
This Selected Issues paper on the United States of America examines the recent US labor force penetration rate (LFPR) dynamics. LFPR dynamics can be driven by structural factors and cyclical ones related to job prospects. With participation rates for older workers lower than for prime age workers, demographic models suggest that aging of the baby boom generation explains about 50 percent of the near 3p.p. LFPR decline during 2007–2013. State-level panel regression analysis is used to tie down the cyclical effect, which is estimated to account for about 30–40 percent of the decline. Significant remaining slack in the labor market points to an important role for macroeconomic and labor supply policies. This suggests a still important role for stimulative macroeconomic policies to help reach full employment. Macroeconomic policy should remain accommodative for a while given sizeable labor market slack. This slack goes beyond that signaled by the unemployment rate and takes account of the LFPR being below trend and many employees working part time ‘involuntarily’.

Labor Market Slack and the Output Gap: The Case of Korea

Labor Market Slack and the Output Gap: The Case of Korea PDF Author: Mr.Niels-Jakob H Hansen
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1513511130
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 23

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Book Description
Output gap estimates are widely used to inform macroeconomic policy decisions, including in Korea. The main determinant of these estimates is the measure of labor market slack. The traditional measure of unemployment in Korea yields an incomplete estimate of labor market slack, given that many workers prefer involuntary part-time jobs or leaving the labor force rather than registering as unemployed. This paper discusses a way in which the measure of unemployment can be broadened to yield a more accurate measure of labor market slack. This broader measure is then used to estimate the output gap using a multivariate filter, yielding a more meaningful measure of the output gap.

More Slack than Meets the Eye? Recent Wage Dynamics in Advanced Economies

More Slack than Meets the Eye? Recent Wage Dynamics in Advanced Economies PDF Author: Mr.Gee Hee Hong
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1484346947
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description
Nominal wage growth in most advanced economies remains markedly lower than it was before the Great Recession of 2008–09. This paper finds that the bulk of the wage slowdown is accounted for by labor market slack, inflation expectations, and trend productivity growth. In particular, there appears to be greater slack than meets the eye. Involuntary part-time employment appears to have weakened wage growth even in economies where headline unemployment rates are now at, or below, their averages in the years leading up to the recession.

Wages and Labor Market Slack

Wages and Labor Market Slack PDF Author: David G. Blanchflower
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Book Description


Market Reforms at the Zero Lower Bound

Market Reforms at the Zero Lower Bound PDF Author: Matteo Cacciatore
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1484324269
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 65

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Book Description
This paper studies the impact of product and labor market reforms when the economy faces major slack and a binding constraint on monetary policy easing. such as the zero lower bound. To this end, we build a two-country model with endogenous producer entry, labor market frictions, and nominal rigidities. We find that while the effect of market reforms depends on the cyclical conditions under which they are implemented, the zero lower bound itself does not appear to matter. In fact, when carried out in a recession, the impact of reforms is typically stronger when the zero lower bound is binding. The reason is that reforms are inflationary in our structural model (or they have no noticeable deflationary effects). Thus, contrary to the implications of reduced-form modeling of product and labor market reforms as exogenous reductions in price and wage markups, our analysis shows that there is no simple across-the-board relationship between market reforms and the behavior of real marginal costs. This significantly alters the consequences of the zero (or any effective) lower bound on policy rates.

Labor Market Slack in the United Kingdom

Labor Market Slack in the United Kingdom PDF Author: David Nevin Fraser Bell
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 28

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Book Description


Market Reforms at the Zero Lower Bound

Market Reforms at the Zero Lower Bound PDF Author: Matteo Cacciatore
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Understanding U.S. Wage Dynamics

Understanding U.S. Wage Dynamics PDF Author: Mr.Yasser Abdih
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN: 1484363574
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 34

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Book Description
In this paper, we undertake empirical analysis to understand U.S. wage behavior since the beginning of the new millennium. At the macroeconomic level, we find that a productivity-augmented Phillips curve model explains the data fairly well. The model reveals that the upward pressure on wage growth from recent tightening in the labor market has been dampened by a persistent decline in trend labor productivity growth and the share of income that accrues to labor. These themes are reinforced and complemented at the micro-economic level. Lower regional unemployment puts an upward pressure on wages of individuals, although this effect has become weaker since 2008. But there is downward pressure on wages for individuals with occupations that are exposed to automation and offshoring, and in industries with a higher concentration of large firms. All these factors appear to play a role illustrating why it is difficult to single out any one culprit for the observed wage growth moderation.