Wage Contracts, Capital Mobility, and Macroeconomic Policy

Author/Editor:

Pierre-Richard Agénor

Publication Date:

January 1, 1995

Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary:

This paper examines the long-run effects of macroeconomic policy shocks on the behavior of output, inflation, real wages and the real exchange rate in a small open economy. The analysis is based on a two-sector, three-good optimizing model with imperfect capital mobility, nominal wage contracts with backward- or forward-looking price expectations, and endogenous mark-up pricing in the nontraded goods sector. The effects of a cut in government spending on nontraded goods are shown to be independent of the expectational mechanism embedded in wage contracts. A reduction in the nominal devaluation rate lowers steady-state output in the tradable sector under backward-looking contracts, but exerts an expansionary effect under forward-looking contracts.

Series:

Working Paper No. 1995/010

Subject:

Consumption Exports Foreign exchange International trade Labor National accounts Real exchange rates Real wages Wages

English

Publication Date:

January 1, 1995

ISBN/ISSN:

9781451842647/1018-5941

Stock No:

WPIEA0101995

Pages:

32

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