Monetary Policy and Inequality under Labor Market Frictions and Capital-Skill Complementarity

A-Tier
Journal: American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics
Year: 2021
Volume: 13
Issue: 2
Pages: 292-332

Score contribution per author:

1.341 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We provide a new channel through which monetary policy has distributional consequences at business cycle frequencies. We show that an unexpected monetary easing increases labor income inequality between high-skilled and less-skilled workers. To rationalize these findings, we build a New Keynesian DSGE model with asymmetric search-and-matching (SAM) frictions and capital-skill complementarity (CSC) in production. We show that CSC on its own introduces a dynamic demand amplification mechanism: the increase in high-skilled employment after a monetary expansion makes complementary capital more productive, encouraging a further rise in investment demand and creating a multiplier effect. SAM asymmetries magnify this channel.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aejmac:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:292-332
Journal Field
Macro
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25