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Is there a Trade-off between Employment and Productivity?

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  • Junankar, Pramod N. (Raja)

    (University of New South Wales)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyse the possible trade-off between employment and productivity using panel data on world economies, developed and developing. We begin with the importance of productivity growth for developing countries, followed by a brief discussion of the concept of productivity and how it is measured. We discuss the concept of "decent work" and provide an index to measure decent work, and study its changes over time. First we provide some simple descriptive statistics and then carry out an econometric investigation using alternative estimation techniques. Our broad results suggest that there is a trade-off between employment and productivity.

Suggested Citation

  • Junankar, Pramod N. (Raja), 2013. "Is there a Trade-off between Employment and Productivity?," IZA Discussion Papers 7717, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7717
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    2. Thomas Habanabakize & Daniel Francois Meyer & Judit Oláh, 2019. "The Impact of Productivity, Investment and Real Wages on Employment Absorption Rate in South Africa," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Elise S. Brezis & Gilad Brand, 2018. "Productivity Gap between Sectors and Double Duality in Labor Markets," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 29(4), pages 725-749, September.
    4. Timo Mitze & Teemu Makkonen, 2020. "When interaction matters: the contingent effects of spatial knowledge spillovers and internal R&I on firm productivity," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(4), pages 1088-1120, August.
    5. Samuel Ajayi-Obe, 2020. "Key Determinants of Job Creation: A Comparative analysis between OECD Countries and Emerging Economies," Economic Alternatives, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria, issue 4, pages 619-647, December.
    6. Michel Dumont & Chantal Kegels, 2016. "Working Paper 06-16 - Young Firms and Industry Dynamics in Belgium," Working Papers 1606, Federal Planning Bureau, Belgium.
    7. Thanh Nguyen & Arsenio Staer & Jing Yang, 2024. "Productivity Shocks of Dominant Companies and Local Housing Markets," International Real Estate Review, Global Social Science Institute, vol. 27(2), pages 203-247.
    8. Junankar, Pramod N. (Raja), 2019. "Youth Labour Markets in Developing and Developed Countries: The Role of the Sectoral Composition of Production," IZA Discussion Papers 12256, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    9. Luis A. Gil-Alana & Marinko Skare, 2018. "Testing the great decoupling: a long memory approach," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 45(4), pages 801-820, November.
    10. Ritzen, Jo & Zimmermann, Klaus F., 2018. "Towards a European Full Employment Policy," GLO Discussion Paper Series 191, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    11. Richard Kofi Asravor & Frank Gyimah Sackey, 2023. "Impact of Technology on Macro-Level Employment and the Workforce: What are the Implications for Job Creation and Job Destruction in Ghana?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 207-225, August.
    12. Daňová Monika & Vozárová Ivana Kravčáková, 2021. "Does the instability of economic development affect the elasticity of the labour market?," Review of Economic Perspectives, Sciendo, vol. 21(3), pages 291-308, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    economic development; trade-off; employment; productivity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O11 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O47 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Empirical Studies of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements

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