• Media type: Report; E-Book
  • Title: Unemployment Benefits, Contract Length and Nominal Wage Flexibility
  • Contributor: Calmfors, Lars [Author]; Johansson, Åsa [Author]
  • imprint: Munich: Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), 2001
  • Language: English
  • Keywords: Nominal wage flexibility ; contracts length ; unemployment benefits ; macroeconomic fluctuations
  • Origination:
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  • Description: We show in a union-bargaining model that a decrease in the unemployment benefit level increases not only equilibrium employment, but also nominal wage flexibility, and thus reduces employment variations in the case of nominal shocks. Long-term wage contracts lead to highter expected real wages and hence higher expected unemployment than short-term contracts. Therefore lower benefits reduce the expected utility gross of contract costs of a union member more with long-term than with short-term contracts and thus create an incentive for shorter contracts. Incentives for employers work in the same direction. Lower taxes associated with lower benefits also tend to make short-term contracts more attractive.
  • Access State: Open Access