Collaborative Research: Contract Theory and Labor Market Behavior: An Empirical Analysis

这项研究的目的是确定劳动力市场的契约方法是否有助于解释整个商业周期中工资和工作时间的变动。重要的是，使用合同方法的初步调查结果已经显示出分析这些变动的巨大希望。该项目将从几个方向扩展这项初步工作，以便进一步评估合同在解释劳动力市场结果方面的经验相关性。首先，将开发和测试与个人层面工资数据最一致的合同模型类型。其次，研究将集中于如何估计在雇佣关系受长期合同支配的情况下休闲的跨期可替代性。第三，将使用来自几个不同县的个人层面的数据来调查当雇佣关系由合同支配时，如何比较劳动力市场的灵活性。最后，将分析一个市场清算合同模型，以确定这样的模型是否能够解释整个商业周期中就业水平的总体行为。这个项目很重要，因为它将提供有益的见解，以了解在整个商业周期内受合同关系制约的工资变动的性质。

The purpose of this research is to determine whether a contractual approach to the labor market can help explain the movements of wages and hours worked over the business cycle. Important, preliminary findings using the contract approach have already shown great promise for analyzing these movements. The project will involve extending this preliminary work in several directions in order to further assess the empirical relevance of contracts in explaining labor market outcomes. Firstly, the type of contract model which is most consistent with individual level wage data will be developed and tested. Secondly, research will focus on how to estimate the intertemporal substitutability of leisure when employment relations are governed by long term contracts. Thirdly, individual level data from several different counties will be used to investigate how labor market flexibility can be compared when employment relations are governed by contracts. Finally, a market clearing contract model will be analyzed to determine whether such a model can explain the aggregate behavior of employment levels over the business cycle. This project is important because it will provide useful insights into the nature of the movement of wages subject to contractual relations over the business cycle.