Imperfect information, lagged labour adjustment, and the Great Moderation

Authors
Publication date 2013
Journal Oxford Economic Papers
Volume | Issue number 65 | 2
Pages (from-to) 219-239
Organisations
  • Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) - Amsterdam School of Economics Research Institute (ASE-RI)
Abstract This paper first documents the increase in the lag with which US labour input reacts to macroeconomic fluctuations since the 1980s. We show that lagged labour adjustment is optimal when there is uncertainty about the persistence of shocks and labour input is costly to adjust. We then present evidence that both the nature of shocks hitting the economy as well as labour adjustment costs have changed during the 1980s in a direction that could explain the increase in the lag. Finally, we argue that this development has the potential to explain the reduction in output volatility since the 1980s.
Document type Article
Language English
Published at https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gps037
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