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Labor flows across firm size, age, and economic sector in Colombia vs. the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Luz A. Flórez

    (Researchers in the Labour Market Analysis Group, Central Bank of Colombia)

  • Leonardo Fabio Morales

    (Researchers in the Labour Market Analysis Group, Central Bank of Colombia)

  • Daniel Medina

    (Professor of Economics at Universidad EAFIT and Master student at National University, respectively)

  • José Lobo

    (Professor of Economics at Universidad EAFIT and Master student at National University, respectively)

Abstract

This paper compares labor market flows between a developing economy, Colombia, and a developed one, the United States (US). In a comparative framework, we explore measures of labor market flows across dimensions such as firm size, age, and economic sector. This comparison allows us testing, for both countries, a series of interesting hypothesis suggested in the literature, namely the negative systematic relationship between firm size/age and employment growth rate. We find that labor market fluidity in the US labor market is substantially higher than in Colombia and that the churning rate is twice as high for the US market as it is for the Colombian one. We argue that this fluidity gap between the two economies can be explained by, among other factors, the rigid nature of Colombian labour market institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Luz A. Flórez & Leonardo Fabio Morales & Daniel Medina & José Lobo, 2021. "Labor flows across firm size, age, and economic sector in Colombia vs. the United States," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1569-1600, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:sbusec:v:57:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s11187-020-00362-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11187-020-00362-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Leonardo Fabio Morales & Leonardo Bonilla‐Mejía & Jose Pulido & Luz A. Flórez & Didier Hermida & Karen L. Pulido‐Mahecha & Francisco Lasso‐Valderrama, 2022. "Effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the Colombian labour market: Disentangling the effect of sector‐specific mobility restrictions," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 55(S1), pages 308-357, February.

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