Unions, Oligopoly and the Natural Range of Employment.

Abstract

A simple two-sector, general-equilibrium macromodel is presented wi th oligopolistic price determination in the product market and a unionized labor market. In the first stage, unions set the nominal wage, and in the second stage, firms choose outputs given wages. By altering the balance of fiscal policy between the two sectors, the government can achieve a continuum of aggregate employment levels-the natural range of employment. A unique natural rate will occur only i f one requires fiscal policy to be the same in both sectors. This indicates that the natural rate property of some single or representative sect or macromodels is a special case. Copyright 1988 by Royal Economic Society.