Macroeconomic volatilities and the labor market: First results from the euro experiment

We analyze the effects of labor market institutions (LMIs) on inflation and output volatility. The eurozone offers an unprecedented experiment for this exercise: since 1999, no national monetary policies have been implemented that could account for volatility differences. We use a New Keynesian model with unemployment to predict the effects of LMIs. In our empirical estimations, we find that higher labor turnover costs have a significant negative effect on output volatility, while replacement rates have a positive effect, both in line with theory. While LMIs have a large effect on output volatility, they do not matter much for inflation volatility. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.