Professors Remy Levin and Daniela Vidart have published a column in VoxEU – the policy portal of the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR):
Early-life experiences of labour markets faced by others can leave permanent scars on men’s willingness to work
Labour force participation among prime-aged American men has fallen for over half a century, and standard explanations leave much of the decline unaccounted for. This column combines panel and survey data to show that the labour markets these men experienced while growing up shaped their willingness to work decades later. These effects survive childhood moves across states and likely operate through men’s beliefs about whether work will pay off. If temporary downturns in labour demand can persistently influence labour supply, anchoring expectations about employment, not just inflation, may have a place in macroeconomic policy.
The full column is available at:
Professor Daniela Vidart has been named a Faculty Research Fellow in the Development of the American Economy Program of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).