IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/eurase/v10y2020i1d10.1007_s40822-019-00139-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Are labor unions important for business cycle fluctuations? Lessons from Bulgaria

Author

Listed:
  • Aleksandar Vasilev

    (Lincoln International Business School)

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the quantitative importance of collective bargaining agreements for the observed fluctuations in Bulgarian labor markets. Following Maffezzoli (Rev Econ Dyn 4:860–892, 2001), we introduce a monopoly union into a real-business-cycle model with government sector. We calibrate the model to Bulgarian data for the period following the introduction of the currency board arrangement (1999–2018), and compare and contrast it to a model without unions. We find that the sequential bargaining procedure between the monopoly union and the stand-in firm produces an important internal propagation mechanism within the theoretical setup, which allows the monopoly model to fit data better than the alternative framework with perfectly-competitive labor markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Aleksandar Vasilev, 2020. "Are labor unions important for business cycle fluctuations? Lessons from Bulgaria," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(1), pages 143-161, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eurase:v:10:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s40822-019-00139-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s40822-019-00139-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s40822-019-00139-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s40822-019-00139-9?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2015. "Welfare gains from the adoption of proportional taxation in a general-equilibrium model with a grey economy: the case of Bulgaria's 2008 at tax reform. Technical Appendix," EconStor Research Reports 124186, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    2. Hansen, Gary D., 1985. "Indivisible labor and the business cycle," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 309-327, November.
    3. Aleksandar Vasilev, 2015. "Welfare gains from the adoption of proportional taxation in a general-equilibrium model with a grey economy: the case of Bulgaria’s 2008 flat tax reform," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 169-185, May.
    4. Marco Maffezzoli, 2001. "Non-Walrasian Labor Markets and Real Business Cycles," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 4(4), pages 860-892, October.
    5. Cogley, Timothy & Nason, James M, 1995. "Output Dynamics in Real-Business-Cycle Models," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(3), pages 492-511, June.
    6. Aleksandar Vasilev, 2017. "VAT Evasion in Bulgaria: A General-Equilibrium Approach," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 8(2).
    7. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2015. "The welfare effect of flat income tax reform: the case of Bulgaria," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 53(3), pages 205-220.
    8. King, Robert G. & Rebelo, Sergio T., 1999. "Resuscitating real business cycles," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 14, pages 927-1007, Elsevier.
    9. Aleksandar Vasilev, 2020. "Search and Matching Frictions and Business Cycle Fluctuations in Bulgaria," International Journal of Business and Economics, School of Management Development, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan, vol. 19(3), pages 319-340, December.
    10. Kydland, Finn E & Prescott, Edward C, 1982. "Time to Build and Aggregate Fluctuations," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(6), pages 1345-1370, November.
    11. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2017. "Business Cycle Accounting: Bulgaria after the introduction of the currency board arrangement (1999-2014)," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 14(2), pages 197-219.
    12. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2015. "Macroeconomic effects of public-sector unions," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 29(2), pages 101-126.
    13. Rogerson, Richard, 1988. "Indivisible labor, lotteries and equilibrium," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 3-16, January.
    14. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2016. "A Real-Business-Cycle model with efficiency wages and fiscal policy: the case of Bulgaria," EconStor Preprints 148413, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    15. Aleksandar Zdravkov Vasilev, 2009. "Business cycles in Bulgaria and the Baltic countries: an RBC approach," International Journal of Computational Economics and Econometrics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 1(2), pages 148-170.
    16. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2015. "The welfare effect of at income tax reform: the case of Bulgaria. Technical Appendix," EconStor Research Reports 124168, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    17. Rotemberg, Julio J & Woodford, Michael, 1996. "Real-Business-Cycle Models and the Forecastable Movements in Output, Hours, and Consumption," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(1), pages 71-89, March.
    18. Long, John B, Jr & Plosser, Charles I, 1983. "Real Business Cycles," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 91(1), pages 39-69, February.
    19. Palokangas,Tapio, 2010. "Labour Unions, Public Policy and Economic Growth," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521144056, September.
    20. Westermark, Andreas, 1999. "A Model of Union Formation," Working Paper Series 1999:8, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    21. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2017. "A Real-Business-Cycle model with efficiency wages and a government sector: the case of Bulgaria," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue 4, pages 359-377.
    22. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2013. "Technical Appendix to "Macroeconomic effects of public sector unions"," MPRA Paper 68235, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Dec 2015.
    23. Brian J. Hall & Jeffrey B. Liebman, 1998. "Are CEOs Really Paid Like Bureaucrats?," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(3), pages 653-691.
    24. Aleksandar Vasilev, 2017. "A Real-Business-Cycle Model with Reciprocity in Labor Relations and Fiscal Policy: The Case of Bulgaria," Bulgarian Economic Papers bep-2017-03, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski - Bulgaria // Center for Economic Theories and Policies at Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski, revised Mar 2017.
    25. Rogerson, Richard & Wright, Randall, 1988. "Involuntary unemployment in economies with efficient risk sharing," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 501-515.
    26. Hall, Robert E., 1999. "Labor-market frictions and employment fluctuations," Handbook of Macroeconomics, in: J. B. Taylor & M. Woodford (ed.), Handbook of Macroeconomics, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 17, pages 1137-1170, Elsevier.
    27. Olivier Jean Blanchard & Stanley Fischer, 1989. "Lectures on Macroeconomics," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262022834, April.
    28. Renato Faccini & Stephen Millard & Francesco Zanetti, 2013. "Wage Rigidities in an Estimated Dynamic, Stochastic, General Equilibrium Model of the UK Labour Market," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 81, pages 66-99, September.
    29. Manning, Alan, 1987. "An Integration of Trade Union Models in a Sequential Bargaining Framework," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 97(385), pages 121-139, March.
    30. Oswald, Andrew J, 1982. "The Microeconomic Theory of the Trade Union," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 92(367), pages 576-595, September.
    31. Zanetti, Francesco, 2007. "A non-Walrasian labor market in a monetary model of the business cycle," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 2413-2437, July.
    32. Nelson, Charles R. & Plosser, Charles I., 1982. "Trends and random walks in macroeconmic time series : Some evidence and implications," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 139-162.
    33. Jean‐Pascal Bénassy, 1997. "Imperfect Competition, Capital Shortages and Unemployment Persistence," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(1), pages 15-27, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nazmus Sadat Khan, 2020. "Propagation of economic shocks from Russia and Western European countries to CEE-Baltic countries," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 10(3), pages 489-512, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Aleksandar Vasilev, 2019. "Are Labor Unions Important for Business Cycle Fluctuations: Lessons from Bulgaria (1999-2016)," Bulgarian Economic Papers bep-2019-02, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski - Bulgaria // Center for Economic Theories and Policies at Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski, revised Jan 2019.
    2. John Kennan, 2001. "Uniqueness of Positive Fixed Points for Increasing Concave Functions on Rn: An Elementary Result," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 4(4), pages 893-899, October.
    3. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2017. "A Real-Business-Cycle model with reciprocity in labor relations and fiscal policy: the case of Bulgaria," EconStor Preprints 156164, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    4. Vasilev Aleksandar, 2020. "Are “fair” wages quantitatively important for business cycle fluctuations in Bulgaria?," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 20(1), pages 91-105, March.
    5. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2022. "A business-cycle model with cash- and credit goods and a modified cash-in-advance feature: lessons for Bulgaria (1999-2020)," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 26(1 (forthc), pages 1-13.
    6. Marco Maffezzoli, 2001. "Non-Walrasian Labor Markets and Real Business Cycles," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 4(4), pages 860-892, October.
    7. Aleksandar Vasilev, 2018. "A Real-Business-Cycle model with reciprocity in labor relations and a government sector," Journal of Economics and Econometrics, Economics and Econometrics Society, vol. 61(2), pages 47-76.
    8. Aleksandar Vasilev, 2020. "A Real-business-cycle Model with a Stochastic Capital Share: Lessons for Bulgaria (1999–2018)," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 14(1), pages 107-121, February.
    9. Aleksandar Vasilev, 2017. "A Real-Business-Cycle Model with Efficiency Wages and a Government Sector: The Case of Bulgaria," Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, Central European Journal of Economic Modelling and Econometrics, vol. 9(4), pages 359-377, December.
    10. Aleksandar Vasilev, 2022. "A Real-Business-Cycle Model with Endogenous Discounting and a Government Sector," Notas Económicas, Faculty of Economics, University of Coimbra, issue 54, pages 73-86, July.
    11. Aleksandar Vasilev, 2021. "A Real-Business-Cycle model with search-and-matching frictions and efficiency ("fair") wages," Journal of Economics and Econometrics, Economics and Econometrics Society, vol. 64(2), pages 1-23.
    12. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2020. "A business-cycle model with a modified cash-in-advance feature, government sector and one-period nominal wage contracts: the case of Bulgaria," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 6(1(10)), pages 19-38.
    13. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2019. "The role of energy in a real-business-cycle model with an endogenous capital utilization rate and a government sector: lessons from Bulgaria (1999-2016)," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 5(52), pages 130-141.
    14. Ester Faia & Lorenza Rossi, 2013. "Union Power, Collective Bargaining, And Optimal Monetary Policy," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 51(1), pages 408-427, January.
    15. Aleksandar VASILEV, 2019. "Taxation And Welfare: Measuring The Effect Of Bulgaria’S 2007-08 Corporate-Personal Income Tax Reforms," Theoretical and Practical Research in the Economic Fields, ASERS Publishing, vol. 10(2), pages 113-117.
    16. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2022. "Optimal fiscal policy in a model with reciprocity in labor relations: the case of Bulgaria," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue EarlyCite, pages 1-24.
    17. Mattesini, Fabrizio & Rossi, Lorenza, 2009. "Optimal monetary policy in economies with dual labor markets," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 33(7), pages 1469-1489, July.
    18. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2020. "Does the form of the Aggregate Production Function Matter for Modelling Business Cycle Fluctuations? Lessons for Bulgaria (1999-2018)," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 18, pages 81-86.
    19. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2016. "A Real-Business-Cycle model with efficiency wages and fiscal policy: the case of Bulgaria," EconStor Preprints 148413, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    20. Vasilev, Aleksandar, 2020. "A business-cycle-model with monopolistically-competitive firms and Calvo wages: Lessons for Bulgaria (1999-2018)," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue Early Cit.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Business cycles; General equilibrium; Labor unions; Indivisible labor; Involuntary unemployment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles
    • 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
    • J51 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Trade Unions: Objectives, Structure, and Effects

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:eurase:v:10:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s40822-019-00139-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.