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Permanent uncertainty, employment protection, and firms'location

Author

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  • Sophie Lecostey

    (University of Caen Basse-Normandie - CREM UMR CNRS 6211)

Abstract

It is often argued that firms need flexibility in order to better face demand uncertainty. As employment protection legislation (EPL) impacts the cost of volume adjustments available to firms, it constrains the volume flexibility that they can achieve. Weakening EPL might thus be thought of as a desirable policy, in particular for when firms are deciding where to locate. On the other hand, it is well known that in an oligopolistic setting, flexibility is not necessarily an advantage. The aim of this paper is to analyze the consequences that different EPL regimes may have on firms' location decisions. It shows that the country characterized by the strongest EPL can nevertheless attract firms under demand uncertainty (either in an agglomeration equilibrium, or in a dispersion equilibrium), and highlights the respective and combined roles played by trade costs and strategic interaction. Moreover, it shows that if firms compete in prices, they will never agglomerate in the country with the lowest EPL.

Suggested Citation

  • Sophie Lecostey, 2012. "Permanent uncertainty, employment protection, and firms'location," Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes & University of Caen) 201240, Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes, University of Caen and CNRS.
    • Handle: RePEc:tut:cremwp:201240
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Barbieri Teresa & Devicienti Francesco & Manello Alessandro & Vannoni Davide, 2022. "The effect of EPL on the internationalization of small firms," Working papers 078, Department of Economics, Social Studies, Applied Mathematics and Statistics (Dipartimento di Scienze Economico-Sociali e Matematico-Statistiche), University of Torino.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    oligopoly; strategic behavior; commitment; flexibility; employment protection; trade costs; firms'location;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F12 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Models of Trade with Imperfect Competition and Scale Economies; Fragmentation
    • F16 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Labor Market Interactions
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

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