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Barriers to Reallocation and Economic Growth: The Effects of Firing Costs

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  • Toshihiko Mukoyama
  • Sophie Osotimehin

Abstract

We study how factors that hinder the reallocation of inputs across firms influence aggregate productivity growth. We extend Hopenhayn and Rogerson's (1993) firm-dynamics model to allow for endogenous innovation. We evaluate the effects of firing taxes on reallocation, innovation, and productivity growth. We find firing taxes can have opposite effects on entrants' innovation and incumbents' innovation, and the overall outcome depends on the relative strengths of these forces. In the entrant-driven growth calibration, firing taxes reduce aggregate productivity growth, whereas aggregate productivity growth increases in the incumbent-driven growth calibration.

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  • Toshihiko Mukoyama & Sophie Osotimehin, 2019. "Barriers to Reallocation and Economic Growth: The Effects of Firing Costs," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 11(4), pages 235-270, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aejmac:v:11:y:2019:i:4:p:235-70
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/mac.20170170
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    Cited by:

    1. Da-Rocha, José-María & Restuccia, Diego & Tavares, Marina Mendes, 2019. "Firing costs, misallocation, and aggregate productivity," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 60-81.
    2. Dan Cao & Erick Sager & Henry Hyatt & Toshihiko Mukoyama, 2019. "Firm Growth through New Establishments," 2019 Meeting Papers 1484, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    3. Philippe Aghion & Antonin Bergeaud & John Van Reenen, 2023. "The Impact of Regulation on Innovation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(11), pages 2894-2936, November.
    4. Federico S. Mandelman & Mehra dup Mishita & Hewei Shen, 2024. "Skilled Immigration Frictions as a Barrier for Young Firms," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2024-2, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    5. Brendan K. Beare & Alexis Akira Toda, 2022. "Determination of Pareto Exponents in Economic Models Driven by Markov Multiplicative Processes," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 90(4), pages 1811-1833, July.
    6. García-Vega, María & Kneller, Richard & Stiebale, Joel, 2021. "Labor market reform and innovation: Evidence from Spain," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(5).
    7. Lopez-Martin, Bernabe & Perez-Reyna, David, 2021. "Contracts, firm dynamics, and aggregate productivity," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    8. Eero Mäkynen, 2021. "Economic Growth through Worker Reallocation: The Role of Knowledge Spillovers," Discussion Papers 147, Aboa Centre for Economics.
    9. Marek Ignaszak & Petr Sedlácek, 2021. "Profitability, Productivity and Growth," Economics Series Working Papers 937, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    10. Marcin Bielecki, 2022. "Innovation and Endogenous Growth over the Business Cycle with Frictional Labor Markets," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 14(3), pages 263-302, September.
    11. 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.
    12. Jin, Gang & Zhang, Jiwen & Ye, Yongwei & Yao, Shiqi & Song, Jingxiang, 2024. "Social insurance law and firm markup in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    13. Diego Restuccia, 2019. "Misallocation and aggregate productivity across time and space," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(1), pages 5-32, February.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • K31 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Labor Law

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