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Permanent scars: The effects of wages on productivity

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  • Claudia Fontanari
  • Antonella Palumbo

Abstract

This paper explores, from a classical‐Keynesian theoretical standpoint, how stagnating real wages may have contributed to the slowdown of US productivity. Through shift‐share analysis, we find that after a sharp change in distribution against wages, some historically high‐productivity sectors switched towards slower productivity growth. This supports our hypothesis that the anemic growth of productivity may be partly due to the trend toward massive use of cheap labor. Our estimation of Sylos Labini's productivity equation confirms the existence of two direct effects of wages, one acting through the incentive to mechanization and the other through the incentive to reorganize labor use.

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  • Claudia Fontanari & Antonella Palumbo, 2023. "Permanent scars: The effects of wages on productivity," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(2), pages 351-389, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:metroe:v:74:y:2023:i:2:p:351-389
    DOI: 10.1111/meca.12413
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    Cited by:

    1. Ariel Luis Wirkierman, 2023. "Distributive Profiles Associated with Domestic Versus International Specialization in Global Value Chains," Working Papers Series inetwp200, Institute for New Economic Thinking.
    2. Sascha Keil & Walter Paternesi Meloni, 2024. "Kaldorian cumulative causation in the Euro area: an empirical assessment of divergent export competitiveness," Chemnitz Economic Papers 063, Department of Economics, Chemnitz University of Technology.
    3. Fontanari, Claudia, 2024. "The role of wages in triggering innovation and productivity: A dynamic exploration for European economies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    4. Santos, Diogo Oliveira & Britto, Gustavo & Ribeiro, Rafael S.M. & Cardoso, Debora Freire, 2023. "Do wages squeeze markups? Sectoral-level evidence for Brazil, 2000–2013," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 52-66.
    5. Zamparelli, Luca, 2024. "On the positive relation between the wage share and labor productivity growth with endogenous size and direction of technical change," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure

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