Labour Share and Economic Growth in OECD Countries

Abstract

ABSTRACT We propose a theoretical model that economic growth rate is a strictly concave function of labour share: Growth rate increases with labour share and decreases after reaching the peak. If wage rates are determined through bargaining between labour unions and employers instead of competition in markets, the labour share deviates from the competitive equilibrium level. When this occurs, the economic growth rate is lower than that in the competitive equilibrium, and the growth rate decreases with the increasing labour share. Our empirical analyses of the 23 OECD countries’ balanced panel between 1980 and 2008 confirm our theoretical model.