The cyclicality of the user cost of labor

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Kudlyak, Marianna
• 署名单位: Federal Reserve System - USA; Federal Reserve Bank - Richmond
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF MONETARY ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3932
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2014.07.007
• 发表日期: 2014
• 页码: 53-67
• 关键词: User cost of labor; cyclicality; wage rigidity; search and matching

摘要

The user cost of labor is the expected difference between the present discounted value of wages paid to a worker hired in the current period and that paid to a worker hired in the next period. Analogous to the price of any long-term asset, the user cost, not wage, is the relevant price for a firm that is considering adding a worker. I construct its counterpart in the data and estimate that it is substantially more procyclical than average wages or wages of newly hired workers. I demonstrate an application of the finding using the textbook search and matching model. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.