{"title":"Animal spirits at play? Firm sentiments and labour demand during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Ridwan Bolaji BELLO","doi":"10.1111/ilr.12438","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Economists have long theorized that sentiments, or spontaneous beliefs that are unjustified by economic fundamentals, are a driver of economic behaviours. In this study, I explore whether such sentiments influenced firms’ behaviours following the outbreak of COVID-19. Using a sample of Italian firms, I observe that in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak, firms’ expectations about post-COVID economic recovery largely reflected beliefs unexplained by their COVID-related experiences. I then show that these beliefs were associated with firms’ labour market behaviours. Firms that displayed more pessimistic beliefs were more likely to implement cost-cutting labour market measures, such as dismissing employees and reducing work hours.</p>","PeriodicalId":47216,"journal":{"name":"International Labour Review","volume":"163 4","pages":"517-544"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Labour Review","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ilr.12438","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"ECONOMICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
Economists have long theorized that sentiments, or spontaneous beliefs that are unjustified by economic fundamentals, are a driver of economic behaviours. In this study, I explore whether such sentiments influenced firms’ behaviours following the outbreak of COVID-19. Using a sample of Italian firms, I observe that in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak, firms’ expectations about post-COVID economic recovery largely reflected beliefs unexplained by their COVID-related experiences. I then show that these beliefs were associated with firms’ labour market behaviours. Firms that displayed more pessimistic beliefs were more likely to implement cost-cutting labour market measures, such as dismissing employees and reducing work hours.
期刊介绍：
The International Labour Review is the world"s leading multidisciplinary journal of labour market institutions and economics. Its aim is to advance academic research and inform policy debate and decision-making in these fields by bringing together the original thinking of lawyers, economists, sociologists, political scientists and industrial relations specialists on a broad range of labour market policy and social protection concerns. The International Labour Review also features concise reports on current developments considered to be of particular interest to those working in these fields and reviews of recent major publications. It is committed to an editorial policy that combines accessibility with rigorous, insightful analysis and the highest scholarly standards.
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