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Quantity and Elasticity Spillovers onto the Labor Market: Theory and Evidence on Sluggishness

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  • Allan Drazen
  • Daniel S. Hamermesh
  • Norman P. Obst

Abstract

Firms' beliefs that they may be unable to sell as much as they would like at the market price leads not only to a quantity spillover (even when prices are flexible) but also to a spillover of product demand elasticity onto the elasticity of labor demand. Hence, optimal firm behavior can be expected to produce a negative correlation between the (absolute value of) the wage elasticity and the unemployment rate. This hypothesis is tested on three sets of data. 1) For low-skilled workers in the United States in 1969 there is weak support for this hypothesis; 2) In time-series data for the U.S. there is no evidence for the hypothesis (there is essentially no cyclical variability in the elasticity); and 3) In time-series data for the United Kingdom there is fairly strong evidence supporting it. We also find that, in both the U.S. and the U.K., the demand elasticity for labor decreased in the 1970s to an extent that does not appear to be explained by changes in other factor prices.

Suggested Citation

  • Allan Drazen & Daniel S. Hamermesh & Norman P. Obst, 1981. "Quantity and Elasticity Spillovers onto the Labor Market: Theory and Evidence on Sluggishness," NBER Working Papers 0676, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:0676
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Rosen, Sherwin, 2007. "Studies in Labor Markets," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226726304, September.
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    3. Drazen, Allan, 1980. "Recent Developments in Macroeconomic Disequilibrium Theory," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(2), pages 283-306, March.
    4. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 1976. "Econometric Studies of Labor Demand and Their Application to Policy Analysis," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 11(4), pages 507-525.
    5. Solow, Robert M, 1980. "On Theories of Unemployment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(1), pages 1-11, March.
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    7. Robert W. Crandall & C. Duncan Macrae & Lorene Y. L. Yap, 1975. "An Econometric Model of the Low-Skill Labor Market," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 10(1), pages 3-24.
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    Cited by:

    1. Henri-Paul Rousseau & Francis Taurand, 1984. "Financement de la securite du revenu et taxes sur la masse salariale," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 10(4), pages 459-467, December.

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