Labour share developments over the past two decades. The role of public policies

"Labour share developments over the past two decades have differed widely across OECD countries, with about half of them experiencing significant declines. This paper analyses the role of public policies in shaping labour share developments across countries. The results suggest that pro-competi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pak, Mathilde, Schwellnus, Cyrille
Institution:ETUI-European Trade Union Institute
Format: TEXT
Language:English
Published: Paris 2019
OECD
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.labourline.org/KENTIKA-19307546124911257289-Labour-share-developments-over.htm
Description
Summary:"Labour share developments over the past two decades have differed widely across OECD countries, with about half of them experiencing significant declines. This paper analyses the role of public policies in shaping labour share developments across countries. The results suggest that pro-competition product market reforms raise the labour share by reducing producer rents. Labour market reforms that strengthen the bargaining position of workers, such as tightening employment protection or raising minimum wages, may raise wages in the short term but risk triggering the substitution of capital for labour in the medium term. On average, across countries, such reforms are estimated to reduce the labour share. By contrast, promoting the re-employment of workers who lose their jobs through active labour market policies unambiguously raises the labour share."
Physical Description:31 p.
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