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The Effects of Permanent Technology Shocks on Labor Productivity and Hours in the RBC model

Author

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  • Lindé, Jesper

    (Research Department, Central Bank of Sweden)

Abstract

Recent work on the effects of permanent technology shocks argue that the basic RBC model cannot account for a negative correlation between hours worked and labor productivity. In this paper, I show that this conjecture is not necessarily correct. In the basic RBC model, I find that hours worked fall and labor productivity rises after a positive permanent technology shock once one allows for the possibility that the process for the permanent technology shock is slightly persistent in growth rates. A more serious limitation of the RBC model is its inability to generate a persistent rise in hours worked after a positive permanent technology shock along with a rise in labor productivity that are in line with what the data suggests. These results call for a reconsideration of the real and nominal frictions and policy response that need to be introduced in the basic RBC model in order to improve the model’s ability to match the data.

Suggested Citation

  • Lindé, Jesper, 2004. "The Effects of Permanent Technology Shocks on Labor Productivity and Hours in the RBC model," Working Paper Series 161, Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden).
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:rbnkwp:0161
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Park, Kangwoo, 2012. "Employment responses to aggregate and sectoral technology shocks," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 801-821.
    4. Federico S. Mandelman & Francesco Zanetti, 2008. "Technology shocks, employment, and labor market frictions," FRB Atlanta Working Paper 2008-10, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
    5. Mr. Ashoka Mody & Ms. Franziska L Ohnsorge, 2007. "Can Domestic Policies Influence Inflation?," IMF Working Papers 2007/257, International Monetary Fund.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    permanent technology shocks; hours worked per capita; labor productivity; real business cycle model; vector autoregressions;
    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
    • E32 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Business Fluctuations; Cycles

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