Labor and Product Market Reforms and External Imbalances: Evidence from Advanced Economies

By Romain A Duval, Davide Furceri, João Tovar Jalles

February 26, 2021

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Romain A Duval, Davide Furceri, and João Tovar Jalles. Labor and Product Market Reforms and External Imbalances: Evidence from Advanced Economies, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2021) accessed December 22, 2024

Disclaimer: IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.

Summary

We explore the impact of major labor and product market reforms on current account dynamics using a new “narrative” database of major changes in employment protection for regular workers and product market regulation for non-manufacturing industries covering 26 advanced economies over the past four decades. Our main finding is that product market deregulation is associated with a weakening of the current account, while labor market deregulation is associated with an improvement. These effects are transitory and driven by both saving and investment responses. Labor and product market reforms both have a more positive impact on the current account balance when implemented under weak macroeconomic conditions. Our results are broadly consistent with predictions from recent DSGE models with endogenous producer entry and labor market frictions.

Subject: Commodity markets, Current account, Current account balance, Employment protection, Labor market reforms

Keywords: External imbalances, Labor market., Policy area, Product market, Product market deregulation, Product market reform, Product market regulation, Reform shock, Structural reforms, WP

Publication Details

Pages:

31
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 2021/054
Stock No:

WPIEA2021054
ISBN:

9781513570747
ISSN:

1018-5941

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