Labour share developments over the past two decades : The role of public policies

Mathilde Pak ; Cyrille Schwellnus

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

关键词: public policies;    difference-in-differences estimation;    labour share;   

DOI  :  https://doi.org/10.1787/b21e518b-en

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: OECD iLibrary

【 摘 要 】

Labour share developments over the past two decades have differed widely across OECD countries, with about half of them experiencing significant declines. This paper analyses the role of public policies in shaping labour share developments across countries. The results suggest that pro-competition product market reforms raise the labour share by reducing producer rents. Labour market reforms that strengthen the bargaining position of workers, such as tightening employment protection or raising minimum wages, may raise wages in the short term but risk triggering the substitution of capital for labour in the medium term. On average, across countries, such reforms are estimated to reduce the labour share. By contrast, promoting the re-employment of workers who lose their jobs through active labour market policies unambiguously raises the labour share.