Wage Flexibility and Economic Performance Evidence Across Industrial Countries

This paper provides new empirical evidence on the degree of nominal wage flexibility in a sample of nineteen industrial countries. Across countries, aggregate uncertainty increases the degree of wage flexibility in the face of various shocks. Wage flexibility stabilizes fluctuations in real output a...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kandil, Magda
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Washington, D.C. International Monetary Fund 2000
Series:IMF Working Papers
Online Access:
Collection: International Monetary Fund - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
Description
Summary:This paper provides new empirical evidence on the degree of nominal wage flexibility in a sample of nineteen industrial countries. Across countries, aggregate uncertainty increases the degree of wage flexibility in the face of various shocks. Wage flexibility stabilizes fluctuations in real output and guarantees workers a higher real standard of living in response to aggregate demand shocks. Wage flexibility in response to energy price shocks guarantees workers higher real wages without exacerbating price inflation or output contraction. Nominal wage inflation decreases in response to productivity shocks, reinforcing output expansion
Physical Description:31 pages
ISBN:9781451855906