October 18–19, 2012
Organizers
- Mark Aguiar, Princeton University
- Erik Hurst, University of Chicago
- Loukas Karabarbounis, University of Chicago
- Randall Wright, University of Wisconsin
Economic shocks, long-term unemployment trends, an aging population, and evolving trends in family formation are producing shifts in how individuals allocate time away from market work. On October 18–19, 2012, the Becker Friedman Institute hosted a conference to share and discuss recent research illuminating this trend.
The conference convened leading scholars pursuing diverse paths of inquiry—including macro and micro analysis of family, labor, and public economics—to share methods and ideas from the leading edge of family economics. Papers considered recent and historical labor trends, employment trends, and the dynamics of substituting household production for market production as workers transition into retirement. Another strand of work examined labor and consumption dynamics between married men and women.
The research generated significant insights into how families respond in the face of recession, how they transition into retirement, how married men and women interact, and how all these questions impact ongoing discussions of public policy.
“This was a very useful conference in many senses,” said Richard Blundell, a Visiting Fellow who traveled from London to present his research on consumption inequality and labor supply. “It brought together people who don’t always meet together, and I was able to think about different shocks across industries, about how families operate, and about labor specialization between family members. It’s valuable to have all of these perspectives represented at the same conference.”
Program
Thursday, October 18
“Manufacturing Busts, Housing Booms, and Declining Employment: A Structural Explanation”
- Matthew J. Notowidigdo, University of Chicago
- Discussant: Tom Lemieux, University of British Columbia
- This paper suggests that the housing boom masked the impact of manufacturing declines on rising nonemployment trends for non-college men until the housing bubble burst in 2007. Read more »
- Paper (.pdf) » | View Slides (.pdf) » | View Discussion Slides (.pdf) »
“The Trend Is the Cycle: Job Polarization and Jobless Recoveries”
- Henry Siu, University of British Columbia
- Discussant: Rob Shimer, University of Chicago
- Siu and colleagues point to job growth in the high-wage and low-wage sector but continued loss of mid-wage jobs to explain why this recession has produced a rebound in output without a corresponding rebound in employment. Read more »
- Paper (.pdf) » | View Discussion Slides (.pdf) »
- Jeremy Greenwood, University of Pennsylvania
- Discussant: Gary Becker, University of Chicago
- Over 50 years, changes in wage structure have changed educational attainment and choice of spouses for US women but do not motivate their entry into the workforce. Adopting household technology, in contrast, increases labor participation and leads to more marriages and fewer divorces. Read more »
- Paper (.pdf) » | View Slides (.pdf) » | View Discussion Slides (.pdf) »
Friday, October 19
“Retirement, Home Production, and Labor Supply Elasticities”
- Richard Rogerson, Princeton University
- Discussant: Gianluca Violante, New York University
- This paper looks at how to measure workplace dynamics and retirement decisions, and what impact these decisions have on consumption. Read more »
- Paper (.pdf) » | View Slides (.pdf) » | View Discussion Slides (.pdf) »
“Home Production and Social Security Reform”
- Fang Yang, State University of New York at Albany
- Discussant: Loukas Karabarbounis, University of Chicago
- Fang and colleagues show that under a revamped US Social Security system based on individual insurance, older citizens without Social Security would work more market hours, consume fewer goods, save more money, generate higher household productivity, and benefit from lower interest rates.Read more »
- Paper (.pdf) » | View Slides (.pdf) » | View Discussion Slides (.pdf) »
“Consumption Inequality and Family Labor Supply”
- Richard Blundell, University College London
- Discussant: Mark Aguiar, Princeton University
- Blundell’s empirical work suggests that families insulate themselves from permanent shocks to wages—and smooth out consumption—not just through credit markets but also by relying on other family members to work more hours inside and outside of the home. Read more »
- Paper (.pdf) » | View Slides (.pdf) » | View Discussion Slides (.pdf) »
- Martin Browning, Oxford University
- Discussant: Robert Pollak, Washington University in St. Louis
- Browning compared how marital status affects the amount and type of labor performed in households within and across various countries, to determine whether the behavioral differences observed between single and married people are causal or selective. Read more »
- View Slides (.pdf) »
“Marriage, Markets, and Money: A Coasian Theory of Household Formation”
- Randall Wright, University of Wisconsin
- Discussant: Raquel Fernandez, New York University
- This paper shows that, like firms, households emerge in part as a response to the costs and inconveniences of using the market. Read more »
- Paper (.pdf) » | View Slides (.pdf) » | View Discussion Slides (.pdf) »