372 research outputs found
Dundee Discussion Papers in Economics 122:Monopolistic competition, efficiency wages and perverse effects of demand shock
No full textIn this paper we construct a stylised general equilibrium macromodel to show that demand led expansions may have unexpected effects when market imperfections lead to changes in labour productivity. We find some empirical support, from a number of European countries, for the main predictions of this model that unemployment and output are positively related when unemployment is low and inversely related when unemployment is high. An important policy insight that emerges from this study is that an exogenous stimulation of aggregate demand can only raise output and reduce unemployment provided the economy is operating relatively efficiently. However, when an economy is trapped in an inefficient equilibrium, positive demand shocks can lead, perversely, to an increase in unemployment
A note on testing for tax-smoothing in general equilibrium
No full textBarro’s original partial equilibrium tax-smoothing model has generated a tremendous amount of empirical interest over the last several decades. However, to date, there has been no formal empirical testing of the more recent general equilibrium renditions of this model. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to construct, and directly test, a general equilibrium model of optimal growth and endogenous fiscal policy in which policymakers find it optimal to keep the tax rate constant over time. In contrast to most of the evidence from partial equilibrium models, we find that data from 26 OECD economies uniformly reject the taxsmoothing hypothesis over the period 1960-1996.
Fiscal Policy and the Composition of Private Consumption: Some Evidence from the U.S. and Canada
No full textThis paper develops a generalised version of the life-cycle model in which consumers’ preferences are defined over components of consumption and are affected by the level of public expenditure on goods and services. The model implies that the crowding out of private consumption could in fact be a direct demand side phenomenon caused by the way preferences respond to a change in public spending. Evidence from the U.S. and Canadian data for the period 1935-1995 confirms this theoretical conjecture as well as implying that in both countries demand for durable goods is likely to show relatively large swings which may undermine the stability of the sector and harm the supply side.
The Relationship between Output and Unemployment with Efficiency Wages
No full textWe construct a stylised model of the supply side with goods and labour market imperfections to show that an economy can rationally operate at an inefficient, or ‘low-effort’, state in which the relationship between output and unemployment is positive. We examine data from the G7 countries over 1960-2001 and find that only German data strongly favour a persistent negative relationship between the level of output and rate of unemployment. The consequence of this is that circumstances exist in which market imperfections could pose serious obstacles to the smooth working of expansionary and/or stabilization policies and a positive demand shock might have adverse effects on employment.Efficiency wages, effort supply, Kalman filter, monopolistic competition, Okun’s law.
Dundee Discussion Papers in Economics 113:Fiscal policy and the composition of private consumption: some evidence from the U.S. and Canada
No full textThis paper develops a generalised version of the life-cycle model in which consumers’ preferences are defined over components of consumption and are affected by the level of public expenditure on goods and services. The model implies that the crowding out of private consumption could in fact be a direct demand side phenomenon caused by the way preferences respond to a change in public spending. Evidence from U.S. and Canadian data for the period 1935-1995 confirms this theoretical conjecture as well as implying that in both countries demand for durable goods is likely to show relatively large swings which may undermine the stability of the sector and harm the supply side
Monopolistic Competition, Efficiency Wages and Perverse Effects of Demand Shock
No full textIn this paper we construct a stylised general equilibrium macromodel to show that demand led expansions may have unexpected effects when market imperfections lead to changes in labour productivity. We find some empirical support, from a number of European countries, for the main predictions of this model that unemployment and output are positively related when unemployment is low and inversely related when unemployment is high. An important policy insight that emerges from this study is that an exogenous stimulation of aggregate demand can only raise output and reduce unemployment provided the economy is operating relatively efficiently. However, when an economy is trapped in an inefficient equilibrium, positive demand shocks can lead, perversely, to an increase in unemployment.Efficiency wages, effort supply, monopolistic competition, multiple equilibria, stability, fiscal multiplier
Monopolistic Competition, Efficiency Wages and Perverse Effects of Demand Shock
No full textIn this paper we construct a stylised general equilibrium macromodel to show that demand led expansions may have unexpected effects when market imperfections lead to changes in labour productivity. We find some empirical support, from a number of European countries, for the main predictions of this model that unemployment and output are positively related when unemployment is low and inversely related when unemployment is high. An important policy insight that emerges from this study is that an exogenous stimulation of aggregate demand can only raise output and reduce unemployment provided the economy is operating relatively efficiently. However, when an economy is trapped in an inefficient equilibrium, positive demand shocks can lead, perversely, to an increase in unemployment.
Dundee Discussion Papers in Economics 126:Efficiency wages, unemployment and macroeconomic policy
No full textWe construct a stylised macro-model with goods and labour market imperfections to show that the economy can rationally operate at an inefficient, or ‘low-effort’, equilibrium in the neighbourhood of which the relationship between output and unemployment is, in contrast to Okun’s Law, positive. We use the Kalman-filter approach allowing for trends, cyclical changes and breaks to examine data from the G7 countries over period 1960-2001, and find that only German data strongly favour a persistent negative relationship between the level of output and rate of unemployment. Our results suggest that circumstances exist in which market imperfections pose serious obstacles to the smooth working of expansionary and/or stabilization policies
Efficiency Wages, Unemployment and Macroeconomic Policy
No full textWe provide empirical evidence from a number of European countries, which shows that unemployment and output are positively related when unemployment is low and inversely related when unemployment is high. We then construct a stylised macro-model with goods and labour market imperfections to show that the economy can rationally operate at an inefficient equilibrium in the neighbourhood of which the relationship between output and unemployment is positive. Our results suggest that circumstances exist in which market imperfections pose serious obstacles to the smooth working of expansionary and/or stabilization policies whose final aim is to improve welfare.Efficiency wages; effort supply; monopolistic competition; multiple equilibria; stability; fiscal multiplier
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