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Wage bargaining as an optimal control problem: a dynamic version of the efficient bargaining model

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  • Marco Guerrazzi

    (University of Genoa)

Abstract

In this paper, I develop a dynamic version of the efficient bargaining model grounded on optimal control in which a firm and a union bargain over the wage in a continuous-time environment under the supervision of an infinitely lived mediator. Overturning the findings achieved by means of a companion right-to-manage framework, I demonstrate that when employment is assumed to adjust itself with some attrition in the direction of the contract curve implied by the preferences of the two bargainers, increases in the bargaining power of the firm (union) accelerate (delay) the speed of convergence towards the stationary solution. In addition, confirming the reversal of the results obtained when employment moves over time towards the firm’s labour demand, I show that the dynamic negotiation of wages tends to penalize unionized workers and favour the firm with respect to the bargaining outcomes retrieved with a similar static wage-setting model.

Suggested Citation

  • Marco Guerrazzi, 2021. "Wage bargaining as an optimal control problem: a dynamic version of the efficient bargaining model," Decisions in Economics and Finance, Springer;Associazione per la Matematica, vol. 44(1), pages 359-374, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:decfin:v:44:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10203-021-00326-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10203-021-00326-x
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    Cited by:

    1. Marco Guerrazzi & Pier Giuseppe Giribone, 2022. "The dynamics of working hours and wages under implicit contracts," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(4), pages 1075-1094, October.
    2. Marco Guerrazzi & Pier Giuseppe Giribone, 2021. "Dynamic wage bargaining and labour market fluctuations: the role of productivity shocks," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(8), pages 1-20, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wage–employment bargaining; Optimal control; Local dynamics;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • J52 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Dispute Resolution: Strikes, Arbitration, and Mediation

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