International spill-over effects of labour market rigidities

This paper analyses the implications of real wage rigidities in a two-country stochastic general equilibrium model. It is shown how real wage rigidities in one country affect welfare in both countries. By assuming that the labour unions within each country decide whether wages are flexible or rigid, it is found that wages will be flexible in either none, one or both of the countries. Hence, even in a symmetric model flexible wages in one country and rigid wages in the other may be an equilibrium. Since there are international spill-over effects of the choice of wage setting regime, the utilitarian solution is also considered. Interestingly, this does not necessarily entail more real wage flexibility than in the Nash equilibrium.