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The dynamic effects of shocks to wages and prices in the United States and the Euro Area

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Abstract

This article investigates the dynamics of aggregate wages and prices in the United States (US) and the Euro Area (EA) with a special focus on persistence of real wages, wage and price inflation. The analysis is conducted within a structural vector error-correction model, where the structural shocks are identified using the long-run properties of the theoretical model, as well as the cointegrating properties of the estimated system. Overall, in the long run, wage and price inflation emerge as more persistent in the EA than in the US in the face of import price, unemployment, or permanent technology shocks. This finding is robust to the changes in the sample period and in the models’ specifications entertained in the article.

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  1. Research Department, Banco de Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal

    Rita Duarte & Carlos Robalo Marques

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  1. Rita Duarte
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  2. Carlos Robalo Marques
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Correspondence to Carlos Robalo Marques.

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The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Banco de Portugal or the Eurosystem.

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Duarte, R., Marques, C.R. The dynamic effects of shocks to wages and prices in the United States and the Euro Area. Empir Econ 44, 613–638 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-012-0561-9

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