Inventories, Employment and Hours

Marzio Galeotti, Louis Maccini () and Fabio Schiantarelli

No 522, Boston College Working Papers in Economics from Boston College Department of Economics

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to develop a model that integrates inventory and labor decisions. We extend a model of inventory behavior to include a detailed specification of the role of labor input in the production process and of the costs associated with it. In particular, we distinguish between employment, hours and effort per worker, and allow for adjustment costs associated with employment changes. We assume that the requirement function for effective hours has a general trans-logarithmic form, and derive an estimable system of Euler equations for inventories and employment with implied cross-equation restrictions. The econometric results shed light on several important topics, including the shape of the marginal cost of output and the role of labor hoarding as an explanation of procyclical productivity and the persistence of inventory stocks. Moreover, they raise questions about the adequacy of commonly used specifications such as Cobb-Douglas approximations to the production process and the definition of labor input as the product of employment and effective hours worked per worker.

Keywords: Inventories; Employment; Hours; Labor Adjustment Costs; Procyclical Productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D24 E23 E24 J23 J24 J32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2002-01-30
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Inventories, employment and hours (2005)
Working Paper: Inventories, employment and hours (2002)
Working Paper: Inventories, Employment and Hours (2002)
Working Paper: Inventories Employment and Hours (2002)
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