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FIRM DYNAMICS, ENDOGENOUS MARKUPS, AND THE LABOR SHARE OF INCOME

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2014

Andrea Colciago*
Affiliation:
De Nederlandsche Bank and University of Milan Bicocca
Lorenza Rossi
Affiliation:
University of Pavia
*
Address correspondence to: Andrea Colciago, De Nederlandsche Bank, Research Department, Postbus 98, 1000AB Amsterdam, Westeinde 1,1017 ZN, the Netherlands; email: A.Colciago@dnb.nl.

Abstract

Recent U.S. evidence suggests that the response of labor share to a productivity shock is characterized by countercyclicality and overshooting. These findings cannot be reconciled easily with existing business cycle models. We extend the Diamond–Mortensen–Pissarides model of search in the labor market by considering strategic interactions among an endogenous number of producers, which leads to countercyclical price markups. Although Nash bargaining delivers a countercyclical labor share, we show that countercyclical markups are fundamental to address the overshooting. On the contrary, we find that real wage rigidity does not seem to play a crucial role in the dynamics of the labor share of income.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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