• December 2024
• Article

We document a sizeable increase in the frequency of price adjustments following the large energy shocks of 2022. We use a tractable New Keynesian model, calibrated to the pre-shock data, to interpret such a pattern. The calibration highlights the state-dependence of firms' decisions: prices are adjusted rapidly when markups are misaligned. In the model, a large cost shock triggers a swift increase in the frequency of price adjustments, causing a rapid pass-through from costs to prices. Time-dependent models, such as the Calvo model, miss this frequency response, failing to capture the sudden inflation surge after a large shock.

• 2024
• Working Paper

The growing participation of women in the labor market has marked a significant societal transformation, coinciding with the rise of gender conservatism and far-right support. We study whether the economic consequences of labor market feminization and gender backlash are causally connected beyond other well-known factors, such as cultural change. Using Swiss panel data and a novel shift-share instrument measuring men’s exposure to changes in the gender composition of the labor force across industries (labor market feminization), we make two contributions. First, labor market feminization negatively affects men’s income and employment prospects, making men more conservative in their gender attitudes. Second, while labor market feminization affects gender attitudes within the private sphere, in a context of low politicization of gender by political elites, it does not influence broader political outcomes like policy preferences or far-right voting. These findings reveal the sequence and mechanisms behind the distributional consequences of labor market feminization.

• October 2024
• Case

In June 2024, Roberto Vedovotto, CEO of Kering Eyewear, prepared to discuss the future of the recently acquired brands LINDBERG, a Danish optical eyewear brand, and Maui Jim, an American sunglasses brand. Vedovotto founded Kering Eyewear in 2014, convincing François-Henri Pinault to internalize eyewear production for Kering’s luxury brands like Gucci and Saint Laurent. Kering could in this way control design, quality, and distribution of its eyewear products. In the following years, following an agreement with the luxury group Richemont, which became a co-owner, Kering Eyewear also included four Richemont eyewear brands, among which the high-end one Cartier. By 2024, Kering Eyewear was the second-largest eyewear manufacturer, generating 1.5 billion in revenue. However, slowing growth in China’s luxury market was expected to impact sunglasses sales, which accounted for 70% of its business. Vedovotto now faced the challenge of managing and growing a portfolio of brands, which included house brands and eyewear-only brands.