Share:


Labor hoarding: an old phenomena in modern times? Case study for EU countries

    Kamila Radlińska   Affiliation
    ; Maria Klonowska-Matynia   Affiliation
    ; Agnieszka Jakubowska   Affiliation
    ; Grzegorz Kwiatkowski   Affiliation

Abstract

A consequence of similar institutional conditions of domestic labor markets in Europe is the permanent occurrence of the “labor hoarding” phenomenon, which entails non-immediate adaptation of employment to production changes. The article verifies whether the phenomenon of labor hoarding occurs in the European Union countries and what is its level and the direction of changes between 1996 and 2016. The empirical study of employment adjustments to the production volume showed that in the examined period the phenomenon of labor hoarding occurred in all countries of the European Union (excluding Spain). Labor hoarding was accomplished through a slight adjustment of the number of employees to production changes. At the same time, it was noticed that the companies were more flexible with adjusting  the number of hours worked. This was particularly evident during global crises and was the consequence of other vital changes in national economies.

Keyword : productivity, business cycle, labor hoarding, changes, European Union countries, global crises

How to Cite
Radlińska, K., Klonowska-Matynia, M., Jakubowska, A., & Kwiatkowski, G. (2020). Labor hoarding: an old phenomena in modern times? Case study for EU countries. Journal of Business Economics and Management, 21(3), 872-889. https://doi.org/10.3846/jbem.2020.12228
Published in Issue
May 12, 2020
Abstract Views
1300
PDF Downloads
967
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Adamowicz, E., Dudek, S., Puchucki, D., & Walczyk, K. (2009). Synchronizacja cyklu koniunkturalnego polskiej gospodarki z krajami strefy euro w kontekście struktury tych gospodarek. In Raport na temat pełnego uczestnictwa Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w trzecim etapie Unii Gospodarczej i Walutowej (pp. 8–224). Narodowy Bank Polski.

Arntz, M., Gregory, T., & Zierahn, U. (2016). The risk of automation for jobs in OECD countries: A comparative analysis (OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers No. 189). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/5jlz9h56dvq7-en

Baroniene, L., & Zirgutis, V. (2017). Cybersecurity faces: counterfactual impact evaluation of measure “Procesas LT” in enterprises of the IT sector. Journal of Security and Sustainability Issues, 6(3), 445–457. https://doi.org/10.9770/jssi.2017.6.3(10)

Barth, E., Davis, J., Freeman, R., & Kerr, S. P. (2017). Weathering the great recession: Variation in employment responses, by establishments and countries. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 3(3), 50–69. https://doi.org/10.7758/rsf.2017.3.3.03

Basu, S., & Fernald, J. (2001). Why is productivity procyclical? Why do we care? In Ch. R. Hulten, E. R. Dean, & M. J. Harper (Eds.), Developments in productivity analysis. University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.3386/w7940

Beck, K., & Grodzicki, M. (2014). Konwergencja realna i synchronizacja cykli koniunkturalnych w Unii Europejskiej. Wymiar strukturalny. Wydawnictwo Scholar. https://doi.org/10.7172/1733-9758.2014.17.6

Bentolila, S., Dolado, J. J., & Jimeno, J. F. (2019). Dual labour markets revisited (Working Paper No. 7479). Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190625979.013.502

Bentolila, S., & Dolado, J. J. (1994). Labour flexibility and wages: lessons from Spain. Economic Policy, 9(18), 53–99. https://doi.org/10.2307/1344458

Bernanke, B. S., & Parkinson, M. L. (1991). Procyclical labor productivity and competing theories of the business cycle: Some evidence from interwar U.S. manufacturing industries. Journal of Political Economy, 99(3), 439–459. https://doi.org/10.1086/261761

Berridge, W. A. (1922). Employment and the business cycle. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 4(1), 12–51. https://doi.org/10.2307/1924610

Biddle, J. E. (2015). The genealogy of the labor hoarding concept. In L. Fiorito, S. Scheall, & C. E. Suprinyak (Eds.), A research annual: Vol. 33. Research in the history of economic thought and methodology (pp. 125–161). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0743-415420150000033013

Blanchard, O. (2004). Designing labor market institutions. Memo. MIT, NBER.

Blanchard, O., & Landier, A. (2002). The pervese effects of partial labor market reform: Fixed duration contracts in France. Economic Journal, 112(480), 214–244. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0297.00047

Boeri, T. (2011). Institutional reforms and dualism in European labor markets. Handbook of Labor Economics, 4(Part B), 1173–1236. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-7218(11)02411-7

Boeri, T., & Garibaldi, P. (2005a). Two tier reforms of employment protection: A honeymoon effect?. Economic Journal, 117(521), 357–385. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.2007.02060.x

Boeri, T., & Garibaldi, P. (2005b). Are labour markets in the new member states sufficiently flexible for EMU? Journal of Banking & Finance, 30(5), 1393–1407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2005.07.005

Booth, A. L., & Wood, M. (2008). Back‐to‐front down under? Part‐time/full‐time wage differentials in Australia. Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, 47(1), 114–135. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-232X.2008.00507.x

Burda, M. C., Genadek, K. R., & Hamermesh, D. S. (2019). Unemployment and effort at work. Economica. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecca.12324

Burnside, C., Eichenbaum, M., & Rebelo, S. (1993). Labor harding and business cycle. The Journal of Political Economy, 101(2), 245–273. https://doi.org/10.1086/261875

Cahuc, P., Charlot, O., & Malherbet, F. (2012). Explaining the spread of temporary jobs and its impact on labor turnover (IZA Discussion Paper 6365). Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit. Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).

Canova, F. (1998). Detrending and business cycle facts. Journal of Monetary Economics, 41(3), 475–512. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3932(98)00006-3

Card, D. E., Cardoso, A. R., Heining, J., & Kline, P. (2016). Firms and labor market inequality: Evidence and some theory (IAB-Discussion Paper 19/2016). Institut fürArbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg. https://doi.org/10.3386/w22850

Cassell, C., Nadin, S., Gray, M., & Clegg, Ch. (2002). Exploring human resource management practices in small and medium sized enterprises. Personnel Review, 31(6), 671–692. https://doi.org/10.1108/00483480210445962

Chen, K. J., Lai, C. C., & Lai, T. W. (2019). Business cycle fluctuations with the division of permanent and temporary employment. Economic Inquiry, 57(4), 2082–2109. https://doi.org/10.1111/ecin.12814

Christiano, L. J., & Fitzgerald, T. J. (1999). The band pass filter. NBER. https://doi.org/10.3386/w7257

Clark, J. M. (1923). Studies in the economics of overhead cost. University of Chicago Press.

Dawson, Ch., Veliziotis, M., & Hopkins, B. (2017). Temporary employment, job satisfaction and subjective well-being. Economic and Industrial Democracy, 38(1), 69–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143831X14559781

Day, I., & Rodgers, J. (2015). The premium for part-time work in Australia. Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 18(3), 281.

Dietz, M., Stops, M., & Walwei, U. (2010). Safeguarding jobs through labor hoarding in Germany. Applied Economics Quarterly, 61, 125–166.

Ederveen, S., & Thissen, L. (2007). Can labour market institutions explain high unemployment rates in the new EU member states? Empirica, 34(4), 299–317. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10663-006-9030-z

Ehrenberg, R. G., & Smith, R. S. (2012). Modern labor economics. Theory and public policy (11 ed.). Pearson Education.

Fay, J. A., & Mendoff, J. L. (1985). Labor and output over the business cycle: Some direct evidence. The American Review, 75(4), 638–655.

Frey, C. B., & Osborne, M. A. (2017). The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation?. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 114, 254–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2016.08.019

Fuchs, V. R. (1968). Front matter, The Service Economy. In V. R. Fuchs (Ed.), The service economy. National Bureau of Economic Research.

Gałecka-Burdziak, E. (2017). Randomness or stock–flow: which mechanizm describes labour market matching in Poland? Baltic Journal of Economics, 17(2), 119–135. https://doi.org/10.1080/1406099X.2017.1344481

Hart, R. A. (2019). Labor productivity during the Great Depression in UK manufacturing (IZA Discussion Papers No. 12379). Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

Hodrick, R. J., & Prescott, E. C. (1997). Postwar U.S. business cycles: An empirical investigation. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking, 29(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.2307/2953682

Hultgren, T. (1960). Changes in labor cost during cycles in production and business. NBER.

Jiménez-Rodríguez, R., & Russo, G. (2012). Aggregate employment dynamics and (partial) labour market reforms. Bulletin of Economic Research, 64(3), 430–448. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8586.2011.00396.x

Kendrick, J. W. (1961). Productivity trends in the United States. Princeton University Press.

Klinger, S., & Weber, E. (2019). GDP-Employment decoupling and the slow-down of productivity growth in Germany (IAB-Discussion Paper No. 12/2019). Institute for Employment Research (IAB).

Lankauskiene, T. (2014). Accounting productivity In the sectors of economy: methodological aspects, Entrepreneurship and sustainability Issues, 2(2), 98–106. https://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2014.2.2(5)

Lopes de Melo, R. (2018). Firm wage differentials and labor market sorting: Reconciling theory and evidence. Journal of Political Economy, 126(1), 313–346. https://doi.org/10.1086/695505

Lucas, R. E. (1970). Capacity, overtime, and empirical production functions. The American Economic Review, 60(2), 23–27.

Mangan, J. (1982). The determinants of labour hoarding in Australian manufacturing. University of Wollongong.

Mitchell, W. C. (1922). The crisis of 1920 and the problem of controlling business cycles. The American Economic Review, 12(1), 20–32.

Moller, J. (2010). The German labor market response in the world recession – de-mystifying a miracle. Zeitschrift für Arbeitsmarkt Forschung, 41(4), 325–336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12651-009-0026-6

Nickell, S. J. (1986). Dynamic models of labour demand. Handbook of Labor Economics, 1, 473–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1573-4463(86)01012-X

Nilsson, R., & Gyomai, G. (2011). Cycle extraction: A comparison of the phase-average trend method, the Hodrick-Prescott and Christiano-Fitzgerald filters (OECD Statistics Working Papers 2011/04). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/5kg9srt7f8g0-en

Nitoi, M., & Pochea, M. M. (2016). Productivity clustering and growth in Central and Eastern Europe. Baltic Journal of Economics, 16(2), 132–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/1406099X.2016.1189267

Olkiewicz, M. (2015). Knowledge management as a determinant of innovation in enterprises. In Proceedings of the 9th International Management Conference Management and Innovation for Competitive Advantage (pp. 399–409), Bucharest, Romania.

Pissarides, Ch. A. (1991). Labor hoarding in industrial countries: Concept and measurment. Eurostat, ISTAT, OECD.

Quiggin, J. (2011). What have we learned from the global financial crisis? The Australian Economic Review, 44(4), 355–365. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8462.2011.00661.x

Radlińska, K. (2018). Mechanism of employment adjustment to short-term changes in production. Examples of Polish enterprises. Przedsiębiorczość i Zarządzanie, 19(4), 257–268.

Skrzypczyński, P. (2010). Metody spektralne w analizie cyklu koniunkturalnego gospodarki polskiej. Materiały i Studia. Narodowy Bank Polski.

Stark, D. (1986). Rethinking internal labor markets: New insights from a comparative perspective. American Sociological Review, 51(4), 492–504. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095583

Stone, N. I. (1923). Methods of stabilizing production of textiles, clothing, and novelties. In Committee of President’s Conference on Unemployment, and Special Staff of the National Bureau (Ed.), Business cycles and unemployment. (pp. 118–135). NBER.

Strzelecki, P., Wyszyński, R., & Saczuk, K. (2009). Zjawisko chomikowania pracy w polskich przedsiębiorstwach po okresie transformacji. Bank i Kredyt, 40(6), 77–104.

Tressel, T., & Scarpetta, S. (2004). Boosting productivity via innovation and adoption of new technologies: any role for labor market institutions? The World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-3273

United Nations. 2018. Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/

Vella, M. (2018). Employment and labour hoarding: a production function approach. Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science, 23(46), 230–246. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEFAS-07-2017-0079

Wilthagen, T., & Tros, F. (2004). The concept of ‘flexicurity’: A new approach to regulating employment and labour markets. European Review of Labour and Research, 10(2), 166–187. https://doi.org/10.1177/102425890401000204