AbstractStockhammer

link zum paper http://www.wu-wien.ac.at/inst/vw1/papers/wu-wp127.pdf

Abstract The paper highlights the polarization of income distribution (in particular the decline of the wage share) in OECD countries as an underlying cause of the present crisis. In particular, the often quoted “international imbalances” are intrinsically linked to issue of income distribution. We highlight two stylized facts: First, the neoliberal mode of regulation came with a decisive shift in power relations at the expense of labor, which is clearly reflected in the fall of wage shares across OECD economies. This has resulted in potential shortfall of domestic effective demand. Second, financial globalization has relaxed balance of payment constraints and thereby allowed the build up of big international imbalances. Changes in income distribution have interacted with the accumulation dynamics in the finance-dominated accumulation regime in a complex way. The combination of real wage moderation and financial liberalization has led to different strategies (or at least outcomes) in different countries: While some countries (like the USA) have “compensated” wage growth with credit-fuelled consumption growth that comes with large current account deficits, others (like Germany and Japan) have accepted stagnant domestic demand and relied on an export-driven growth model with large current account surpluses. Real wage depression has thus resulted in quite different macroeconomic outcome and played a crucial role in the build-up of the international imbalances that are frequently regarded as an important cause for the crisis.