Labor Market Adjustment in Chile

This paper examines the reasons behind the sudden increase and the slow recovery of unemployment in Chile after the economic slowdown that took place in 1998 as a result of the Asian Crisis. To do so, we analyze the response of employment and wages to this economic shock and show that Chile exhibits substantial wage rigidity. We argue that a large increase in minimum wages, pre-determined before the slowdown, and a widespread practice of negotiating inflation-indexed long-term wage contracts prevented wages from adjusting to the changing economic conditions and slowed down employment growth