Documents de travail de l'OCDE sur les questions sociales, l'emploi et les migrations
Cette série a pour objectif de diffuser auprès d’un grand nombre de lecteurs un choix d’études traitant du marché du travail, des politiques sociales et des migrations à usage interne. Il s’agit généralement d’un travail collectif, mais les noms des principaux auteurs sont cités. En général, ces documents de travail existent uniquement en version originale – anglais ou français – avec un résumé dans l’autre langue.
- ISSN : 1815199X (en ligne)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/1815199X
Aggregate Earnings and Macroeconomic Shocks
The Role of Labour Market Policies and Institutions
I examine the effect of labour market policies and institutions on the transmission of macroeconomic shocks to the labour market, using both aggregate and industry-level annual data for 23 OECD countries, 23 business-sector industries and up to 29 years. I find that high and progressive labour taxes and generous unemployment benefits amplify labour income fluctuations. By contrast, statutory minimum wages reduce the difference in the sensitivity of wages to aggregate shocks between low-wage and high-wage industries. Dismissal regulations are found to mitigate the impact of shocks on both earnings and employment. Moreover, this mitigation effect is greater in industries where firms have a greater propensity to make staffing changes through dismissals. Stringent dismissal regulations also appear to reduce the counter-cyclicality of the earnings dispersion between high and low-educated labour.