Is There a Growth-Unemployment Trade-Off?

Working paper

Why might there be a long-run trade-off between growth and unemployment ? In general equilibrium, the returns on the factors of production are interdependent. This paper develops a model where the determination of the wage is central to the evolution of these incentives. The incentive to hire responds little (and in some cases not at all)to changes in the rate of interest. If the wage grows in line with productivity, there is a positive relation between growth and unemployment. If the wage rises as the labour market tightens, the incentive to invest in human and physical capital rises relative to the incentive to hire. There emerges a trade-off between growth and unemployment.

Authors: Toche, P

• Publisher: Department of Economics (University of Oxford)
• Series: Discussion paper series
• Publication date: 2001-01-01
• Language: English