Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/100662 
Year of Publication: 
28-Aug-2014
Publisher: 
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften, Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft, Kiel und Hamburg
Abstract: 
Following the real option literature, whether or not uncertainty shocks drive business cycles depends on the degree of adjustment frictions. The more plants freeze and remain inactive in response to increased uncertainty, the stronger the adverse effects on the economic activity. Using quarterly labor flow data of U.S. establishments, we find that an unexpected increase in uncertainty reduces hiring, quits and job creation, while it raises layoffs and job destruction. Our finding suggests that plants remain active as a result of uncertainty shocks. A partial equilibrium model with capital and labor adjustment costs can not explain our empirical results. Surprise increases in uncertainty leads plants to freeze investment and labor policies. We are able to rationalize our findings using a version of this model without labor adjustment frictions. As uncertainty increases, more plants adopt a wait-and-see policy for investment. This, in turn, reduces capital through depreciation of the existing capital stock, and thereby lowers labor demand, which implies more layoffs and less hiring. The model implies that economies with flexible labor market regulations should experience more layoffs and job destruction upon an uncertainty shock with respect to economies with stricter regulations. Using additional labor ow data from Germany, France and UK, we obtain empirical evidence that supports this hypothesis.
Subjects: 
Uncertainty
real-option
labor demand
JEL: 
J23
J63
D81
Document Type: 
Preprint

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