A labour-matching economy with ex post heterogeneous firms is presented. When bargaining over the wage, firms and workers do not know the level of product demand. Once demand is realized, hours of work are chosen. We show that the existence of a legal workweek may enhance efficiency with respect...

In this paper the author examines whether there is significant evidence of the effect of adjustment costs on Canadian labour demand. This is an important question, as sluggish adjustment of labour demand resulting from significant adjustment costs may be one factor that could help explain some...

This paper estimates an unobserved components model to explore the macro dynamics of entrepreneurship in Spain and the US. We ask whether entrepreneurship exhibits hysteresis, defined as a macro dynamic structure in which business cycle fluctuations have persistent effects on the natural rate of...

The advent of rising immigration has spurred research into a number of important issues insofar as the indigenous labor market is concerned. Some of these issues regarding the nature of the effect on native workers have been studied extensively. Others, like the interrelationships among...

The article uses aggregate time series data to estimate real wage elasticities of demand for covered and uncovered labour. The results of long-run analysis suggest that the demand for covered sector employment is more elastic than for uncovered. So increased formal sector real wages, for example...

This paper uses long-run restrictions on a three-variable system containing output growth, real wage growth and the differenced unemployment rate, to isolate three 'structural' shocks which drove business cycle fluctuations in Spain during 1970-94. These shocks are interpreted as aggregate...

Many indicators (OECD 1994) show that the Italian labour market is characterised by a strong pro-workers and pro-unions legislation. This is usually interpreted as a high degree of rigidity. It is known that, in response to shocks, firms in rigid labour markets tend to trade workers adjustment...

Since its formation in 1972 under the leadership of its founding chairman, Professor Lim Chong Yah, the NWC has been a major force in ensuring the stability of the labor market. A key recommendation which the NWC pushed for as a means of saving jobs in the recessions has been the reduction of...

The elasticity parameters of labour demand for the whole economy are important for macroeconomic analyses. In particular, the parameters reflecting the change of labour demand with respect to labour costs and product are relevant information for policy makers. However, there are only a few...