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Employment, Hours, and Earnings in the Depression: An Analysis of EightManufacturing Industries

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  • Bernanke, Ben S

Abstract

This paper employs monthly, industry-level data in a study of Depression-era labor markets. As in Robert Lucas (1970), the model usedhere assumes that employers can vary total labor input not only by changing the number of workers but also by changing the length of thework week. (This assumption seems particularly relevant to the 1930s, aperiod in which work weeks fluctuated sharply.) With aggregate demandtreated as exogenous and in conjunction with additional elements, themodel seems able to provide an empirical explanation of the behavior ofthe key labor market time series, including hours of work and real wages. Copyright 1986 by American Economic Association.

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  • Bernanke, Ben S, 1986. "Employment, Hours, and Earnings in the Depression: An Analysis of EightManufacturing Industries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(1), pages 82-109, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:76:y:1986:i:1:p:82-109
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