Work

Working Less and Bargain Hunting More: Macroimplications of Sales during Japan's Lost Decades

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Standard New Keynesian models have often neglected temporary sales. In this study, we ask whether this treatment is appropriate. We use Japanese scanner data covering the last two decades and find a negative correlation between the frequency of sales and hours worked. We then construct a model that takes households' decisions regarding their allocation of time for work, leisure, and bargain hunting into account. We show that the decline in hours worked explains the rise in the frequency of sales. The real effect of monetary policy shocks weakens by around 40% due to temporary sales, but monetary policy still matters.

Source: Journal of money credit and banking

DOI: 10.1111/jmcb.12467

Authors: NAO SUDO, KOZO UEDA, KOTA WATANABE, TSUTOMU WATANABE