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Labour market transitions, shocks and institutions in turbulent times: a cross-country analysis

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  • Ronald Bachmann

    (RWI – Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung
    Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE)
    Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
    Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit (IZA))

  • Rahel Felder

    (RWI – Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung
    Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB))

Abstract

This paper analyses the impact of the business cycle on labour market dynamics in EU member states and the US during the first decade of the 21st century. Using unique measures of labour market flows constructed from worker-level micro data, we examine to what extent macro shocks were transmitted to national labour markets. We apply the approach by Blanchard and Wolfers (Econ J 110(462):1–33, 2000) to analyse the role of the interaction of macroeconomic shocks and labour market institutions for worker transitions in order to explain cross-country differences in labour market reactions in a period including the Great Recession. Our results suggest a significant influence of trade unions in channelling macroeconomic shocks. Specifically, union density moderates these impacts over the business cycle, i.e. countries with stronger trade unions experience weaker reactions of the unemployment rate and of worker transitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Ronald Bachmann & Rahel Felder, 2021. "Labour market transitions, shocks and institutions in turbulent times: a cross-country analysis," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 48(2), pages 329-352, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:empiri:v:48:y:2021:i:2:d:10.1007_s10663-019-09469-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10663-019-09469-y
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    3. Bachmann, Ronald & Gonschor, Myrielle & Lewandowski, Piotr & Madoń, Karol, 2024. "The impact of Robots on Labour market transitions in Europe," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 422-441.
    4. Rujin, Svetlana, 2024. "Labor market institutions and technology-induced labor adjustment along the extensive and intensive margins," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    5. Cardona Arenas Carlos David & Sierra Suárez Lya Paola & Trillas Jané Francesc, 2024. "Revealing the New Nexus in Urban Unemployment Dynamics: The Relationship between Institutional Variables and Long-Term Unemployment in Colombia," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 1-23.
    6. Zhe Wang, 2020. "Unemployment across the Euro Area: The Role of Shocks and Labor Market Institutions," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2020-05, Department of Economics, University of Reading.
    7. Igor Fedotenkov & Virmantas Kvedaras & Miguel Sanchez-Martinez, 2024. "Employment protection and labour productivity growth in the EU: skill-specific effects during and after the Great Recession," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 51(1), pages 209-262, February.
    8. Pedro Clavijo-Cortes, 2021. "How persistent is unemployment in major Latin American economies?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(2), pages 342-360.
    9. Nils Braakmann & Boris Hirsch, 2024. "Unions as insurance: Workplace unionization and workers' outcomes during COVID‐19," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(2), pages 152-171, April.
    10. Rujin, Svetlana, 2019. "What are the effects of technology shocks on international labor markets?," Ruhr Economic Papers 806, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    11. Sara Boni & Francesco Ravazzolo, 2022. "A Structural Analysis of Unemployment-Generating Supply Shocks with an Application to the US Pharmaceutical Industry," BEMPS - Bozen Economics & Management Paper Series BEMPS94, Faculty of Economics and Management at the Free University of Bozen.
    12. Alexander Mihailov & Giovanni Razzu & Zhe Wang, 2020. "The Gender Unemployment Gap Across the Euro Area: The Role of Macroeconomic Shocks and Labour Market Institutions," Economics Discussion Papers em-dp2020-26, Department of Economics, University of Reading.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Worker flows; Labour market dynamics; Institutions; Great recession;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

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