Structural unemployment, underemployment, and secular stagnation
成果类型：
Article
署名作者：
Hashimoto, Ken-ichi; Ono, Yoshiyasu; Schlegl, Matthias
署名单位：
Kobe University; University of Osaka; Sophia University
刊物名称：
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC THEORY
ISSN/ISSBN：
0022-0531
DOI：
10.1016/j.jet.2023.105641
发表日期：
2023
关键词：
摘要：
In this paper, we show that underemployment and not necessarily high unemployment becomes the main measure of economic slack in the labor market under secular stagnation. Specifically, involuntary underemployment in the form of a persistent shortfall of working hours occurs in the search and matching model, provided that households derive utility from holding wealth, and quickly dominates the total employment gap under stagnation. Conventional policy measures aimed at reducing unemployment may increase the labor market gap through their effects on underemployment and should be used with caution. In contrast, increases in aggregate demand improve unemployment and working hours, while increases in labor productivity worsen underemployment without improving unemployment (paradox of toil). Our analysis provides new insights into empirical puzzles such as Japan's seemingly decent employment record during its lost decades. (c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.