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Unemployment Benefits, Contract Length and Nominal Wage Flexibility

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  • Lars Calmfors
  • Åsa Johansson

Abstract

We show in a union-bargaining model that a decrease in the unemployment benefit level increases not only equilibrium employment, but also nominal wage flexibility, and thus reduces employment variations in the case of nominal shocks. Long-term wage contracts lead to highter expected real wages and hence higher expected unemployment than short-term contracts. Therefore lower benefits reduce the expected utility gross of contract costs of a union member more with long-term than with short-term contracts and thus create an incentive for shorter contracts. Incentives for employers work in the same direction. Lower taxes associated with lower benefits also tend to make short-term contracts more attractive.

Suggested Citation

  • Lars Calmfors & Åsa Johansson, 2001. "Unemployment Benefits, Contract Length and Nominal Wage Flexibility," CESifo Working Paper Series 514, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_514
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    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo_wp514.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Ball, Laurence Markham, 1987. "Externalities from Contract Length," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 77(4), pages 615-629, September.
    6. McDonald, Ian M & Solow, Robert M, 1981. "Wage Bargaining and Employment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(5), pages 896-908, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pasquale Commendatore & Ingrid Kubin, "undated". "The dynamics of wages and employment in a model of monopolistic competition and efficient bargaining," Modeling, Computing, and Mastering Complexity 2003 03, Society for Computational Economics.
    2. Pasquale Commendatore & Ingrid Kubin, 2009. "Dynamic effects of regulation and deregulation in goods and labour markets," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 61(3), pages 517-537, July.

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