10. An increase in labor supply

The focus now shifts to supply side shocks and an increase in labor supply is the first of the supply shocks presented in sections 10 - 14. Labor input in ADAM's production function is defined in terms of efficiency corrected labor hours, i.e. as a product of three elements: labor productivity, working hours per year per employed and employment. A change in any of these three components changes the labor input, and the three experiments of sections 10 - 12 present a shock to each of the three elements. In all cases production increases. In this section, table 10 presents the effect of a permanent increase in the number of people in the work force caused by a reduction of 27000 in the number of people outside the labor force who do not receive transfers. The work force increases approximately by 1 per cent of the total employment. (See experiment)

 

 

Table 10. The effect of a permanent increase in labor supply

    1. yr 2. yr 3. yr 4. yr 5. yr 10. yr 15. yr 20. yr 25. yr 30. yr
    Million 2005-kr.
Priv. consumption fCp 901 1780 2350 2420 2152 -1310 -4956 -7369 -8478 -8590
Pub. consumption fCo -14 -34 -51 -65 -76 -114 -149 -190 -229 -260
Investment fI 511 1470 2291 2738 2910 2126 963 714 1173 1894
Export fE 639 1544 2572 3703 4926 11552 18031 23649 27920 30699
Import fM 724 1657 2390 2782 2976 3206 3733 4902 6297 7545
GDP fY 1291 3029 4615 5792 6661 8642 9697 11382 13497 15538
    1000 Persons
Employment Q 1.37 3.75 6.40 8.86 11.00 17.46 20.83 23.88 26.44 27.92
Unemployment Ul 15.66 13.15 11.65 10.30 9.13 5.59 3.74 2.05 0.63 -0.18
    Percent of GDP
Pub. budget balance Tfn_o/Y -0.17 -0.15 -0.08 0.00 0.07 0.22 0.28 0.36 0.47 0.57
Priv. saving surplus Tfn_hc/Y 0.13 0.05 -0.04 -0.13 -0.18 -0.15 -0.01 0.06 0.07 0.05
Balance of payments Enl/Y -0.04 -0.09 -0.13 -0.13 -0.11 0.07 0.27 0.43 0.54 0.62
Foreign receivables Wnnb_e/Y 0.04 0.03 -0.02 -0.07 -0.11 0.19 1.27 2.88 4.77 6.77
Bond debt Wbd_os_z/Y 0.21 0.38 0.48 0.50 0.46 -0.27 -1.36 -2.68 -4.29 -6.11
    Percent
Capital intensity fKn/fX -0.08 -0.17 -0.25 -0.29 -0.32 -0.38 -0.49 -0.66 -0.80 -0.86
Labour intensity hq/fX -0.03 -0.07 -0.08 -0.08 -0.07 -0.03 -0.01 0.00 0.01 0.02
User cost uim -0.11 -0.23 -0.34 -0.43 -0.52 -0.85 -1.08 -1.21 -1.24 -1.21
Wage lna -0.25 -0.67 -1.03 -1.33 -1.60 -2.55 -3.12 -3.42 -3.48 -3.35
Consumption price pcp -0.12 -0.25 -0.38 -0.49 -0.60 -1.06 -1.40 -1.63 -1.73 -1.74
Terms of trade bpe -0.08 -0.18 -0.26 -0.33 -0.40 -0.66 -0.83 -0.92 -0.95 -0.92
    Percentage-point
Consumption ratio bcp -0.12 -0.08 -0.02 0.05 0.08 0.03 -0.13 -0.23 -0.28 -0.28
Wage ratio byw -0.08 -0.20 -0.28 -0.33 -0.37 -0.46 -0.50 -0.49 -0.44 -0.37

(See details)

 

The increased labor supply is not automatically soaked up in the economy as there is no demand side shock, so unemployment increases immediately. The higher unemployment reduces the growth of wages and prices. And the decline in prices relative to the baseline improves competitiveness, as a result production and exports increase and gradually pull the extra labor force into employment. Employment increases until the additional labor force is employed and the rate of unemployment is back at its structural level.

 

The positive effect on employment, the negative effect on wages and the positive effect on exports is permanent. Private consumption rises in the short run as the new members of the labor force receive unemployment benefits. However, the long term impact on private consumption is negative. This is because lower wages reduce real wage and real disposable income permanently as import prices are unchanged.

 

There is a significant positive effect on public budget. The fall in public expenses exceeds the fall in revenues. Transfer payments and public wage-expenses decline as hourly wages fall. Other public expenditures also fall as prices fall. Tax revenues from personal income taxes fall immediately when hourly wages fall. But the number of tax payers increases and offsets the fall in tax revenue. Other tax revenues also decline through the effect on prices.  

 

The negative long-term impact on consumption should be seen in relation to two things: the absence of a fiscal reaction function and the size of the foreign trade elasticities. The increase in the labor force expands the tax base and improves public finances permanently. If the improvement was returned in the form of tax reductions, consumption would increase. Also, if the foreign trade elasticities were higher, the necessary fall in terms of trade and real wages would be smaller and consumption would respond more positively. In general a permanent increase in labor force has a permanent positive effect on employment and output. This provides higher tax revenue for the government and a potential for higher public spending and lower taxes, which in turn will boosts domestic demand.

 

Figure 10. The effect of a permanent increase in labor supply with 10000 people

 

fig_10_1_zoom38fig_10_2_zoom38

 

 

fig_10_3_zoom38fig_10_4_zoom38

 

 

fig_10_5_zoom38fig_10_6_zoom38

 

 

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