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The enduring effects of the Great Recession on wage growth in the United States

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  • Dean Baker

    (Center for Economic and Policy Research, USA)

Abstract

Real wages in the United States have continued to stagnate in the years since the end of the Great Recession. This paper attributes this stagnation directly to the prolonged period of high unemployment. It notes research showing that the only period of sustained wage growth for most of the workforce in the last 3 decades was the period of unusually low unemployment in the late 1990s. Given current economic and political trends, it is unlikely that we will again see a level of unemployment low enough to support broad-based real wage growth in the near future.

Suggested Citation

  • Dean Baker, 2014. "The enduring effects of the Great Recession on wage growth in the United States," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 11(2), pages 195-204, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:elg:ejeepi:v:11:y:2014:i:2:p195-204
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Sebastian Gechert, 2015. "What fiscal policy is most effective? A meta-regression analysis," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 67(3), pages 553-580.
    5. Dean Baker, 2007. "The Productivity to Paycheck Gap: What the Data Show," CEPR Reports and Issue Briefs 2007-11, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    unemployment; wages; hysteresis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E66 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General Outlook and Conditions
    • E62 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Fiscal Policy; Modern Monetary Theory
    • E31 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Prices, Business Fluctuations, and Cycles - - - Price Level; Inflation; Deflation

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