Author:
Benguria Felipe,Vickers Chris,Ziebarth Nicolas L.
Abstract
We study labor earnings inequality during the Great Depression using establishment-level information from the Census of Manufactures (COM). Inequality, as measured by the interquartile range in earnings per worker, declines by 10 log points between 1929 and 1933. However, by 1935, this difference has recovered to its 1929 level. In a decomposition, this decline and then rise in inequality is entirely explained by returns to observable factors, most notably the skill premium and regional differentials. The exit of establishments plays an important role in the initial decline in inequality but barely any role in the recovery.
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Subject
Economics, Econometrics and Finance (miscellaneous),Economics and Econometrics,History
Reference54 articles.
1. Credit Relationships and Business Bankruptcies during the Great Depression;Hansen;American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics,2017
2. Employment, Hours, and Earnings in the Depression: An Analysis of Eight Manufacturing Industries;Bernanke;American Economic Review,1986
3. Last Hired, First Fired? Unemployment and Urban Black Workers During the Great Depression
4. Firming Up Inequality*
5. The Distribution of the Income in the Great Depression: Preliminary State Estimates
Cited by
2 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献