Wage Adjustment in the Great Recession and Other Downturns: Evidence from the United States and Great Britain

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Elsby, Michael W. L.; Shin, Donggyun; Solon, Gary
• 署名单位: University of Edinburgh; Kyung Hee University; University of Arizona; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/682407
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: S249-S291
• 关键词: business-cycle; real wages; cyclicality; unemployment; CONTRACTS; RIGIDITY

摘要

Using 1979-2012 CPS data for the United States and 1975-2012 NES data for Great Britain, we study wage behavior in both countries, with particular attention to the Great Recession. Real wages are procyclical in both countries, but the procyclicality of real wages varies across recessions, and does so differently between the two countries, in ways that defy simple explanations. We devote particular attention to the hypothesis that downward nominal wage rigidity plays an important role in cyclical employment and unemployment fluctuations. We conclude that downward wage rigidity may be less binding and have lesser allocative consequences than is often supposed.