Working Paper: NBER ID: w18816
Authors: Todd Neumann; Jason Taylor; Price Fishback
Abstract: During the Great Depression of 1930s, changes in the workweek drove a larger portion of changes in total labor input than in other decades. Work-sharing policies appear to be responsible. Hoover created various work-sharing committees lead by key industrialists, which pushed for shorter workweeks and Roosevelt's President's Reemployment Agreement called for sharp cuts in weekly hours. The hope was to spread available work amongst more people. While between 50 and 90 percent of declines in labor input were accommodated by falling hours during these periods, in recent decades employers have primarily relied on layoffs to achieve the same end. During the Great Depression of 1930s, changes in the workweek drove a larger portion of changes in total labor input than in other decades. Work-sharing policies appear to be responsible. Hoover created various work-sharing committees lead by key industrialists, which pushed for shorter workweeks and Roosevelt's President's Reemployment Agreement called for sharp cuts in weekly hours. The hope was to spread available work amongst more people. While between 50 and 90 percent of declines in labor input were accommodated by falling hours during these periods, in recent decades employers have primarily relied on layoffs to achieve the same end.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: N12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Changes in the workweek (J29) | Total labor input changes (J29) |
| Worksharing policies by Hoover and Roosevelt (J68) | Changes in the workweek (J29) |
| Worksharing policies by Hoover and Roosevelt (J68) | Total labor input changes (J29) |
| WHS in the 1930s (I00) | Changes in total hours (J22) |
| High-wage policies (J38) | Reductions in weekly hours (J22) |
| High-wage policies (J38) | Increased employment (J68) |
| Decline of WHS post-1980s (I39) | Shift towards layoffs (J63) |