Hysteresis Effect on Unemployment for Men and Women: A Panel Unit Root Test for OECD Countries

Abstract

There are two major hypotheses about the dynamics of unemployment in the literature: (i) natural rate of employment hypothesis, (ii) unemployment hysteresis hypothesis. The natural rate of employment hypothesis (NAIRU) implies a stable relationship between unemployment and business cycles in the long run. This means economic shocks arising in the business cycle creates a temporary imbalance in the unemployment rate. In other words, after an economic shock, the unemployment rate will return to long-term equilibrium level. In contrary to this argument, according to unemployment hysteresis hypothesis, unemployment move away from equilibrium state due to economic shocks and this state continues in the long run. The persistent imbalance means that unemployment have mean-deviation in the long run. As econometric approach, the unemployment series have an unstable trend. If unemployment rate is stable in the long run, the hysteresis effect becomes not valid. That is why the relationship between unemployment rate and business cycle will be the main issue of this study. According to that the hysteresis effect on unemployment rate in OECD countries has been analyzed. In this research the hysteresis effect on unemployment for women and men has also been separately examined. Thus, the research would allow us to distinguish and compare the gender differentiation within the OECD countries. The models have been estimated using yearly unemployment rate data from 1991 to 2014 for OECD countries and obtained from ILO statistics. Within the mentioned context above, Hysteresis effect has been analyzed with Panel Unit Root Tests, which both allowing and not allowing structural breaks. It is expected that the hysteresis effect on unemployment differs in terms of both gender and country level.