IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ast/wpaper/0027.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Supply-side labour market reforms: a neglected cause of the productivity crisis

Author

Listed:
  • Alfred Kleinknecht

Abstract

In spite of impressive stories about a Second Machine Age or Industry 4.0, growth rates of labor productivity in the US, Japan and Western Europe declined, during the last 10-15 years, to their lowest levels since World War II. Recent contributions on the productivity slowdown by mainstream economists produced an impressive amount of statistical data that certainly add to our understanding, but they fail addressing the negative impact of supply-side labor market reforms on innovation and productivity. I present theoretical arguments of how labor market deregulation can negatively influence innovation and productivity growth and I review empirical evidence.

Suggested Citation

  • Alfred Kleinknecht, 2017. "Supply-side labour market reforms: a neglected cause of the productivity crisis," Working Papers 0027, ASTRIL - Associazione Studi e Ricerche Interdisciplinari sul Lavoro.
    • Handle: RePEc:ast:wpaper:0027
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://host.uniroma3.it/associazioni/astril/db/0ee43af9-049e-4801-8cac-c706bc6d9dfb.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. David M. Byrne & John G. Fernald & Marshall B. Reinsdorf, 2016. "Does the United States Have a Productivity Slowdown or a Measurement Problem?," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 47(1 (Spring), pages 109-182.
    2. Lorenzo Cappellari & Carlo Dell’Aringa & Marco Leonardi, 2012. "Temporary Employment, Job Flows and Productivity: A Tale of Two Reforms," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(562), pages 188-215, August.
    3. Nathan ROSENBERG, 2009. "Why do firms do basic research (with their own money)?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Nathan Rosenberg (ed.), Studies On Science And The Innovation Process Selected Works of Nathan Rosenberg, chapter 11, pages 225-234, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Acemoglu, Daron & Pischke, Jorn-Steffen, 1999. "Beyond Becker: Training in Imperfect Labour Markets," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(453), pages 112-142, February.
    5. Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, 2009. "Varieties of Crises and Their Dates," Introductory Chapters, in: This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly, Princeton University Press.
    6. Brouwer, Erik & Kleinknecht, Alfred, 1999. "Innovative output, and a firm's propensity to patent.: An exploration of CIS micro data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 615-624, August.
    7. Haibo Zhou & Ronald Dekker & Alfred Kleinknecht, 2011. "Flexible labor and innovation performance: evidence from longitudinal firm-level data," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 20(3), pages 941-968, June.
    8. Alfred Kleinknecht & Flore N. van Schaik & Haibo Zhou, 2014. "Is flexible labour good for innovation? Evidence from firm-level data," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 38(5), pages 1207-1219.
    9. van Ours, Jan C. & Boone, Jan & Belot, Michèle, 2002. "Welfare Effects of Employment Protection," CEPR Discussion Papers 3396, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Scarpetta, Stefano & Tressel, Thierry, 2004. "Boosting productivity via innovation and adoption of new technologies : any role for labor market institutions?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3273, The World Bank.
    11. Chad Syverson, 2017. "Challenges to Mismeasurement Explanations for the US Productivity Slowdown," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(2), pages 165-186, Spring.
    12. Viral V. Acharya & Ramin P. Baghai & Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian, 2013. "Labor Laws and Innovation," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(4), pages 997-1037.
    13. Nickell, Stephen & Layard, Richard, 1999. "Labor market institutions and economic performance," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 46, pages 3029-3084, Elsevier.
    14. Carmen M. Reinhart & Kenneth S. Rogoff, 2014. "This Time is Different: A Panoramic View of Eight Centuries of Financial Crises," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 15(2), pages 215-268, November.
    15. Andrea Bassanini & Ekkehard Ernst, 2002. "Labour market regulation, industrial relations and technological regimes: a tale of comparative advantage," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 11(3), pages 391-426, June.
    16. Luca Pieroni & Fabrizio Pompei, 2008. "Evaluating innovation and labour market relationships: the case of Italy," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 32(2), pages 325-347, March.
    17. Wachsen, Eva & Blind, Knut, 2016. "More labour market flexibility for more innovation? Evidence from employer–employee linked micro data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 941-950.
    18. Amaia Altuzarra & Felipe Serrano, 2010. "Firms' Innovation Activity and Numerical Flexibility," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 63(2), pages 327-339, January.
    19. Belot, Michèle & Boone, Jan & van Ours, Jan C, 2002. "Welfare Effects of Employment Protection," CEPR Discussion Papers 3396, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Federico Lucidi & Alfred Kleinknecht, 2010. "Little innovation, many jobs: An econometric analysis of the Italian labour productivity crisis," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 34(3), pages 525-546.
    21. Horst Hanusch & Andreas Pyka (ed.), 2007. "Elgar Companion to Neo-Schumpeterian Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2973.
    22. Marian Rizov & Richard Croucher, 2009. "Human resource management and performance in European firms," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 33(2), pages 253-272, March.
    23. Scherer, F M, 1992. "Schumpeter and Plausible Capitalism," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 30(3), pages 1416-1433, September.
    24. Rosario Sanchez & Luis Toharia, 2000. "Temporary workers and productivity: the case of Spain," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(5), pages 583-591.
    25. Baccaro, Lucio & Rei, Diego, 2007. "Institutional Determinants of Unemployment in OECD Countries: Does the Deregulatory View Hold Water?," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(3), pages 527-569, July.
    26. Storm, Servaas & Naastepad, C. W. M., 2012. "Macroeconomics Beyond the NAIRU," Economics Books, Harvard University Press, number 9780674062276, Spring.
    27. Alfred Kleinknecht & Zenlin Kwee & Lilyana Budyanto, 2016. "Rigidities through flexibility: flexible labour and the rise of management bureaucracies," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 40(4), pages 1137-1147.
    28. Robert J. Gordon, 2016. "Perspectives on The Rise and Fall of American Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 72-76, May.
    29. Robert Buchele & Jens Christiansen, 1999. "Labor Relations and Productivity Growth in Advanced Capitalist Economies," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 31(1), pages 87-110, March.
    30. Cohen, Wesley M & Levinthal, Daniel A, 1989. "Innovation and Learning: The Two Faces of R&D," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 99(397), pages 569-596, September.
    31. Matteo PICCHIO, 2006. "Wage Differentials between Temporary and Permanent Workers in Italy," Working Papers 257, Universita' Politecnica delle Marche (I), Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali.
    32. Naastepad, C. W. M. & Kleinknecht, Alfred, 2004. "The Dutch productivity slowdown: the culprit at last?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 137-163, June.
    33. Kamien,Morton I. & Schwartz,Nancy L., 1982. "Market Structure and Innovation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521293853, December.
    34. Breschi, Stefano & Malerba, Franco & Orsenigo, Luigi, 2000. "Technological Regimes and Schumpeterian Patterns of Innovation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(463), pages 388-410, April.
    35. Spyros Arvanitis, 2005. "Modes of labor flexibility at firm level: Are there any implications for performance and innovation? Evidence for the Swiss economy," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 14(6), pages 993-1016, December.
    36. Robert Vergeer & Steven Dhondt & Alfred Kleinknecht & Karolus Kraan, 2015. "Will ‘structural reforms’ of labour markets reduce productivity growth? A firm-level investigation," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 12(3), pages 300—317-3, December.
    37. Jonathan Michie & Maura Sheehan, 2003. "Labour market deregulation, 'flexibility' and innovation," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 27(1), pages 123-143, January.
    38. Alfred Kleinknecht & Remco Oostendorp & Menno Pradhan & C. W. M. Naastepad, 2006. "Flexible Labour, Firm Performance and the Dutch Job Creation Miracle," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(2), pages 171-187.
    39. Boris Hirsch & Steffen Mueller, 2012. "The Productivity Effect of Temporary Agency Work: Evidence from German Panel Data," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(562), pages 216-235, August.
    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. 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.

    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. Hoxha, Sergei & Kleinknecht, Alfred, 2020. "When labour market rigidities are useful for innovation. Evidence from German IAB firm-level data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(7).
    2. Robert VERGEER & Alfred KLEINKNECHT, 2014. "Do labour market reforms reduce labour productivity growth? A panel data analysis of 20 OECD countries (1960–2004)," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 153(3), pages 365-393, September.
    3. Robert Vergeer & Steven Dhondt & Alfred Kleinknecht & Karolus Kraan, 2015. "Will ‘structural reforms’ of labour markets reduce productivity growth? A firm-level investigation," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 12(3), pages 300—317-3, December.
    4. Alfred Kleinknecht, 2014. "Schaden Strukturreformen des Arbeitsmarkts der Innovation?," Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft - WuG, Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien, Abteilung Wirtschaftswissenschaft und Statistik, vol. 40(3), pages 417-428.
    5. Dughera, Stefano & Quatraro,Francesco & Ricci,Andrea & Vittori,Claudia, 2021. "For the rest of our lives: Flexibility and innovation in Italy," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 202102, University of Turin.
    6. Chengde You & Huishan Qiu & Zhuojie Pi & Mengyuan Yu, 2023. "Sustainable Enterprise Development in the Manufacturing Sector: Flexible Employment and Innovation in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-30, May.
    7. Kato, Masatoshi & Zhou, Haibo, 2018. "Numerical labor flexibility and innovation outcomes of start-up firms: A panel data analysis," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 15-27.
    8. Wachsen, Eva & Blind, Knut, 2016. "More labour market flexibility for more innovation? Evidence from employer–employee linked micro data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(5), pages 941-950.
    9. Armanda Cetrulo & Valeria Cirillo & Dario Guarascio, 2018. "Weaker jobs, weaker innovation. Exploring the temporary employment-product innovation nexus," LEM Papers Series 2018/06, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    10. Riccardo Pariboni & Pasquale Tridico, 2020. "Structural change, institutions and the dynamics of labor productivity in Europe," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(5), pages 1275-1300, November.
    11. Larisa Smirnykh, 2016. "Is Flexible Labor Good for Innovation? Evidence from Russian Firm-level Data," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 10(4), pages 60-70.
    12. repec:aia:aiaswp:wp115 is not listed on IDEAS
    13. Domenico Lisi & Miguel A. Malo, 2017. "The impact of temporary employment on productivity [Auswirkungen befristeter Beschäftigung auf die Produktivität]," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 50(1), pages 91-112, August.
    14. Ikeda, Yuya & Kato, Masatoshi & Kleinknecht, Alfred, 2024. "Flexible labor, innovation regimes and the erosion of the Japanese model: Evidence from the Basic Survey on Wage Structure," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 333-339.
    15. Perone, Gaetano, 2024. "The relationship between labor market institutions and innovation in 177 European regions over the period 2000–2015," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 128-149.
    16. Valeria Cirillo & Andrea Ricci, 2022. "Heterogeneity matters: temporary employment, productivity and wages in Italian firms," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(2), pages 567-593, July.
    17. Tan, Youchao & Liu, Xiumei & Sun, Hanwen & Zeng, Cheng(Colin), 2022. "Population ageing, labour market rigidity and corporate innovation: Evidence from China," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(2).
    18. Andrés J. Marchante Mera & Alejandro García Pozo & José Luis Sánchez Ollero, 2017. "Flexibilidad Laboral Y Productividad En El Sector De Alojamiento De Andalucia," Revista de Estudios Regionales, Universidades Públicas de Andalucía, vol. 1, pages 17-41.
    19. Michele Capriati & Valeria Cirillo & Marialuisa Divella, 2024. "Productivity slowdown across European regions: does non-standard work matter?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(9), pages 1687-1709, September.
    20. Damiani, Mirella & Pompei, Fabrizio & Kleinknecht, Alfred, 2020. "When robots do (not) enhance job quality: The role of innovation regimes," MPRA Paper 103059, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. 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.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Varieties of capitalism; structural reforms of lab or markets; innovation; productivity crisis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J53 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - Labor-Management Relations; Industrial Jurisprudence
    • K31 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Labor Law
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:ast:wpaper:0027. 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: the person in charge (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://host.uniroma3.it/associazioni/astril .

    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.