17. Hourly wages

Here, we introduce a shock to the wage equation. Table 17 presents the effect of a one off 1 percent shock to the constant in the Phillips curve of ADAM. After the shock the wage level is 1 percent above its equilibrium and it is up to the crowding out mechanism of ADAM to make the wage rate return to its baseline. (See experiment)

 

Table 17. The effect of a temporary increase in wage

    1. yr 2. yr 3. yr 4. yr 5. yr 10. yr 15. yr 20. yr 25. yr 30. yr
    Million 2010-Dkr.
Priv. consumption fCp 1057 -251 733 1143 1353 1528 974 223 -462 -927
Pub. consumption fCo 0 0 2 3 5 13 21 28 34 38
Investment fI 26 -230 -473 -351 -230 -35 -207 -348 -372 -310
Export fE -1898 -2581 -3132 -3645 -4071 -4926 -4158 -2508 -721 646
Import fM 486 -337 -98 -45 -88 -465 -767 -778 -567 -273
GDP fY -1171 -2483 -2376 -2311 -2291 -2233 -1869 -1125 -280 392
    1000 Persons
Employment Q -1.89 -3.12 -3.59 -3.86 -4.05 -4.27 -3.59 -2.28 -0.86 0.22
Unemployment Ul 1.17 1.85 2.09 2.23 2.34 2.46 2.06 1.30 0.48 -0.14
    Percent of GDP
Pub. budget balance Tfn_o/Y 0.03 0.00 -0.17 -0.16 -0.15 -0.13 -0.11 -0.09 -0.07 -0.05
Priv. saving surplus Tfn_hc/Y -0.07 -0.02 0.12 0.09 0.06 -0.01 -0.02 -0.01 -0.01 0.00
Balance of payments Enl/Y -0.04 -0.02 -0.05 -0.08 -0.09 -0.14 -0.13 -0.10 -0.07 -0.05
Foreign receivables Wnnb_e/Y -0.39 -0.41 -0.48 -0.56 -0.64 -1.06 -1.38 -1.58 -1.65 -1.63
Bond debt Wbd_os_z/Y -0.15 -0.14 0.01 0.15 0.28 0.81 1.17 1.37 1.45 1.43
    Percent
Capital intensity fKn/fX 0.08 0.14 0.15 0.14 0.14 0.15 0.12 0.06 0.01 -0.03
Labour intensity hq/fX 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.00 -0.01 -0.01 -0.01 -0.01
User cost uim 0.29 0.30 0.29 0.29 0.29 0.24 0.15 0.06 0.00 -0.03
Wage lna 1.11 1.05 0.97 0.92 0.86 0.53 0.20 -0.05 -0.19 -0.22
Consumption price pcp 0.27 0.29 0.30 0.31 0.32 0.28 0.19 0.08 0.00 -0.04
Terms of trade bpe 0.20 0.21 0.21 0.22 0.22 0.17 0.10 0.03 -0.02 -0.04
    Percentage-point
Consumption ratio bcp 0.08 0.01 -0.09 -0.05 -0.03 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.02 0.00
Wage share byw 0.35 0.32 0.27 0.24 0.20 0.07 -0.03 -0.08 -0.09 -0.07

(See details)

 

The higher wage has both a positive and negative effect on the economy. The former is due to the positive effect on real wages which raises private consumption. Two years after the wage increase, income transfers from the government increase, because the equation for the rate of income transfers depends on wages with a lag of two years. This further increases disposable income and consumption and worsens public finance.

 

The negative demand effect arises due to a negative effect on the market share of Danish exports. The higher wage raises prices and worsens competitiveness, which leads to a fall in net exports. Consequently, production and employment fall. The lower production also drags investments down. In the short run, the negative effect is stronger and unemployment increases, i.e. the wage increase creates an economic downturn.

 

In the long run, the wage-driven crowding out returns unemployment and wage to the baseline. The wage relation in ADAM is a Phillips curve, which links the changes in wages to unemployment. A fall/rise in unemployment pushes wages and hence prices upward/downward and reduces/improves competitiveness. So exports and production decrease/increase and over time unemployment returns to its baseline. This is the wage-driven crowding out process. In the long run, all variables return to their baseline except for a permanent negative impact on public and foreign debt, reflecting the accumulated budget impact in the transition period before the equilibrium is reestablished.

 

Note the symmetry of the model responses in the present experiment and the foreign price shock in section 8. A permanent 1 percent fall in foreign prices will trigger a similar adjustment process as the baseline wage will be 1 percent above its equilibrium after such a foreign price shock, cf. chapter 11 of the ADAM book.

 

Figure 17. The effect of a temporary increase in wage

 

fig_17_1_zoom38fig_17_2_zoom38

 

 

fig_17_3_zoom38fig_17_4_zoom38

 

 

fig_17_5_zoom38fig_17_6_zoom38

 

 

fig_17_7_zoom38fig_17_8_zoom38