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The Labor Market Consequences of Adverse Financial Shocks

Author

Listed:
  • Tito Boeri
  • Pietro Garibaldi
  • Espen R. Moen
Abstract
The recent financial crises, alongside a dramatic rise in unemployment on both sides of the Atlantic, suggest that financial shocks do translate into the labor markets. In this paper we first document that financial recessions amplify labor market volatility and Okun's elasticity over the business cycle. Second, we highlight a key mechanisms linking financial shocks to job destruction, presenting and solving a simple model of labor market search and endogenous finance. While finance increases job creation and net output in normal times, it also augments their aggregate response in the aftermath of a financial shock. Third, we present evidence coherent with the idea that more leveraged sectors experience larger employment volatility during financial recessions. Theoretically, the job destruction effect of finance works as follows. Leveraged firms may find them- selves in a position in which their liquidity is suddenly called back by the lender. This has direct consequences on a firm ability to run and manage e xisting jobs. As a result, firms may be obliged to shut down part of their operations and destroy existing jobs. We argue that with well developed capital markets, firms will have an incentive to rely more on liquidity, and in normal times deep capital markets lead to tight labor markets. After an adverse liquidity shock, firms that rely much on liquidity, are hit disproportionally hard. This may explain why the unemployment rate in the US during the Great Recession increased more than in European countries experiencing larger output losses. Empirically, the paper uses a variety of datasets to test the implications of the model. At first we identify crises that, just like in the model, caused a sudden reduction of liquidity to firms. Next we draw on sector-level data on employment and leverage in a number of OECD countries at quarterly frequencies to assess whether highly leveraged equilibria originate more employment adjustment under financial recessions. We find that highly leveraged sectors and periods are associated with higher employment-to-output elasticities during banking crises and this effect explains the observation of higher Okun's elasticities during financial recessions. We also argue that the effect of leverage on employment adjustment can be interpreted as a causal effect, if our identification assumptions are considered plausible. All this amounts essentially for a test of the labor demand channel of adjustment. keywords: credit squeeze,matching,leverage JEL codes: G01,J23,J63

Suggested Citation

  • Tito Boeri & Pietro Garibaldi & Espen R. Moen, 2012. "The Labor Market Consequences of Adverse Financial Shocks," Working Papers 451, IGIER (Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research), Bocconi University.
    • Handle: RePEc:igi:igierp:451
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Popov, Alexander & Rocholl, Jörg, 2018. "Do credit shocks affect labor demand? Evidence for employment and wages during the financial crisis," Journal of Financial Intermediation, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 16-27.
    2. Laeven, Luc & McAdam, Peter & Popov, Alexander, 2023. "Credit shocks, employment protection, and growth:firm-level evidence from spain," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    3. Borsi, Mihály Tamás, 2018. "Credit contractions and unemployment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 573-593.
    4. Giorgia Piacentino & Anjan Thakor & Jason Donaldson, 2015. "Bank Capital, Bank Credit and Unemployment," 2015 Meeting Papers 1403, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    5. Taejun Lim, 2018. "Housing as Collateral, Financial Constraints, and Small Businesses," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 30, pages 68-85, October.
    6. Popov, Alexander & Rocholl, Jörg, 2015. "Financing constraints, employment, and labor compensation: evidence from the subprime mortgage crisis," Working Paper Series 1821, European Central Bank.
    7. Ayyagari,Meghana & Juarros,Pedro Francisco & Martinez Peria,Maria Soledad & Singh,Sandeep, 2016. "Access to finance and job growth : firm-level evidence across developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7604, The World Bank.
    8. Iva Tomic, 2016. "What drives youth unemployment in Europe?," Working Papers 1601, The Institute of Economics, Zagreb.
    9. Bernal-Verdugo, Lorenzo E. & Furceri, Davide & Guillaume, Dominique, 2013. "Banking crises, labor reforms, and unemployment," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 1202-1219.
    10. HOSONO Kaoru & TAKIZAWA Miho & TSURU Kotaro, 2014. "The Impact of a Demand Shock on the Employment of Temporary Agency Workers: Evidence from Japan during the global financial crisis," Discussion papers 14046, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    11. Floreani, Vincent Arthur, 2014. "Fixing Europe's youth unemployment and skills mismatch, can public financial support to SMEs be effective? The case of the European Commission and European Investment Bank joint initiatives," MPRA Paper 55849, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Iva TOMIĆ, 2018. "What drives youth unemployment in Europe? Economic vs non‐economic determinants," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 157(3), pages 379-408, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    credit squeeze; matching; leverage jel codes: g01; j23; j63;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G1 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor
    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers

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