TY - JOUR
T1 - Comment : further sufficient conditions for an inverse relationship between productivity and employment
AU - CHOW, Kong Wing, Clement
AU - WONG, Kit Pong
PY - 1999/1/1
Y1 - 1999/1/1
N2 - Extant empirical studies document that productivity gains due to technological progress often lead to reductions in employment. This paper rationalizes the stated empirical finding within the context of the theory of the competitive firm under price uncertainty. We show that technological progress affects employment adversely if the firm's coefficient of relative risk aversion is no less than unity and its production technology exhibits non-decreasing returns to scale. On the other hand, technological progress unambiguously increases output if the firm's preference has non-increasing absolute risk aversion.
AB - Extant empirical studies document that productivity gains due to technological progress often lead to reductions in employment. This paper rationalizes the stated empirical finding within the context of the theory of the competitive firm under price uncertainty. We show that technological progress affects employment adversely if the firm's coefficient of relative risk aversion is no less than unity and its production technology exhibits non-decreasing returns to scale. On the other hand, technological progress unambiguously increases output if the firm's preference has non-increasing absolute risk aversion.
U2 - 10.1016/S1062-9769(99)00040-X
DO - 10.1016/S1062-9769(99)00040-X
M3 - Comment / Debate
SN - 1062-9769
VL - 39
SP - 565
EP - 571
JO - Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance
JF - Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance
IS - 4
ER -