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Privately optimal severance pay

Author

Listed:
  • Fella Giulio
  • Tyson Christopher J.

    (School of Economics and Finance, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK)

Abstract

This paper constructs an equilibrium matching model with risk-averse workers and incomplete contracts to study both the optimal private provision of severance pay and the consequences of government mandates in excess of the private optimum. The privately-optimal severance payment is bounded below by the fall in lifetime wealth resulting from job loss. Despite market incompleteness, mandated minimum payments significantly exceeding the private optimum are effectively undone by adjustment of the contractual wage, and have only small allocational and welfare effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Fella Giulio & Tyson Christopher J., 2013. "Privately optimal severance pay," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 13(1), pages 1-39, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejmac:v:13:y:2013:i:1:p:39:n:24
    DOI: 10.1515/bejm-2012-0148
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gilles Saint-Paul, 2002. "The Political Economy of Employment Protection," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(3), pages 672-701, June.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Cozzi, Marco & Fella, Giulio, 2016. "Job displacement risk and severance pay," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 166-181.
    2. Etienne Lale, 2019. "Labor-market Frictions, Incomplete Insurance and Severance Payments," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 31, pages 411-435, January.
    3. Cozzi, Marco & Fella, Giulio, 2016. "Job displacement risk and severance pay," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 166-181.
    4. Kerndler, Martin, 2016. "Contracting frictions and inefficient layoffs of older workers," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145711, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    5. Stéphane Auray & Samuel Danthine & Markus Poschke, 2020. "Understanding the Determination of Severance Pay: Mandates, Bargaining, and Unions," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 122(3), pages 1073-1111, July.
    6. Jonathan Créchet, 2023. "Risk Sharing in a Dual Labor Market," Working Papers 2307E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    7. Sahin Avcioglu & Bilgehan Karabay, 2020. "Labor market regulation under self‐enforcing contracts," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(6), pages 1965-2018, December.
    8. Samuel Danthine & Markus Poschke & Stephane Auray, 2016. "Understanding Severance Pay Determination: Mandates, Bargaining, and Unions," 2016 Meeting Papers 967, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    9. Stéphane Auray & Samuel Danthine & Markus Poschke, 2014. "Mandated versus Negotiated Severance Pay," Working Papers 2014-28, Center for Research in Economics and Statistics.
    10. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/65dh65gjnn96rqgo52mg09a1uu is not listed on IDEAS

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