Topic 8 Flashcards
What do Keynesian’s present info on to show their dissatisfaction with the classical explanation of unemployement?
They present evidence that shows that during
recessions unemployed workers spend relatively little time searching for work
Rather than times of increased worker-job mismatch, Keynesian’s believe that…
Recessions are periods of low demand
for both output and workers
What is real wage rigidity?
the idea that the real wage moves too little to equilibrate the labor market
For unemployment to exist, what must be happening?
the real wage must exceed the market-clearing wage
I the real wage is too high, why don’t firms reduce the wage? (3)
- Minimum wage or labour unions
- To get a stable labour force and avoid turnover costs
- Worker’s productivity may depend on the wages they’re paid- the efficiency wage model
What are turnover costs?
costs of hiring and training new workers
Look at slides to see determination of the efficiency wage
To maximise profits in the efficiency wage model, where do firms set wages?
Choose real wage that gets the most effort from workers for each pound of real wages paid (E / w)
On a labour diagram, where is the efficiency wage set?
What does this result in?
Above market clearing wage.
Excess supply
What is different about a labour market diagram in the efficiency wage model?
The labor demand curve, 𝑵𝑫*, is the demand curve for labour in the efficiency wage model.
Continues to be identical to the MPN curve, however MPN also now depends on the worker’s effort, as well as the production function and capital stock.
In addition to an increase in productivity or in the capital stock increasing MPN, what else in the Keynesian model increases MPN?
Any change in the effort curve that leads to an increase in the optimal effort level E*
Using the efficiency wage model, what can we determine about employment?
The level of employment in the economy is determined by the labour demand
What is the full- employment level of employment in the Keynesian model?
The demand-determined level of employment 𝑁bar at the efficiency wage 𝑤∗
What is the amount of unemployment in the Keynesian model?
Difference between labour supply and labour demand- where efficiency wage is above classical equilibrium wage
What is the wage said to be at the efficiency wage? Why?
Rigid
The fact that there’s unemployment puts no downward pressure on the real wage, since firms know that if they reduce the real wage, effort will decline
What is a criticism of the efficiency wage model?
The real wage is fixed for no change in the effort curve.
The theory implies that the real wage is completely rigid, whereas the data suggests that the real wage
moves over time and over the business cycle
What is the response to the criticism of the efficiency wage model suggesting that wages are rigid?
It is possible to extend the basic Keynesian model to allow for changes in the
effort curve that bring changes in the efficiency wage over time
In a recession, what can we say about the real wage?
Workers work harder during a recession if the probability of losing their jobs increased.
It follows that the real wage necessary to obtain any specific level of effort will be lower during recessions.
This would cause the effort curve to shift up to the left hence the efficiency wage paid in recessions may be lower
Unlike the Classical model, what does not shift the FE line in the IS-LM model?
Changes in labour supply, since they do not affect equilibrium employment
How does an increase in productivity increase FE indirectly and directly?
Indirectly:
By increasing the marginal product of labor at any given level of employment. Increases labour demand
Directly:
A rise in productivity increases the amount of output that can be produced with any particular
amount of capital, labor and effort.
What type of unemployment is present in the Keynesian model?
Involuntary unemployment
What do Keynesian’s refer to rigidity of nominal prices as?
Price stickiness