Labor productivity: structural change and cyclical dynamics

Martin Neil Baily, Eric Bartelsman and John Haltiwanger
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Martin Neil Baily: Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Faculteit der Economische Wetenschappen en Econometrie (Free University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics Sciences, Business Administration and Economitrics

No 50, Serie Research Memoranda from VU University Amsterdam, Faculty of Economics, Business Administration and Econometrics

Abstract: A longstanding puzzle of empirical economics is that average labor productivity de­clines during recessions and increases during booms. This paper provides a framework to assess the empirical importance of competing hypotheses for explaining the observed pro­cyclicality. For each competing hypothesis we derive the implications for cyclical produc­tivity conditional on expectations of future demand and supply conditions. The novelty of the paper is that we exploit the tremendous heterogeneity in long-run structural changes across individual plants to identify the short-run sources of procyclical productivity.

Keywords: Labor productivity; Business cycles (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 E32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1995
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Labor Productivity: Structural Change And Cyclical Dynamics (2001)
Working Paper: Labor Productivity: Structural Change and Cyclical Dynamics (1998)
Working Paper: Labor productivity: structural change and cyclical dynamics (1996)
Working Paper: Labor Productivity: Structural Change and Cyclical Dynamics (1996)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:vua:wpaper:1995-50

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