Replication data for: Comparisons of Weekly Hours over the Past Century and the Importance of Work-Sharing Policies in the 1930s

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Todd C. Neumann; Jason E. Taylor; Price Fishback

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Submission			10/11/2019 06:31:PM
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Project Citation:

Neumann, Todd C., Taylor, Jason E., and Fishback, Price. Replication data for: Comparisons of Weekly Hours over the Past Century and the Importance of Work-Sharing Policies in the 1930s. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2013. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-11. https://doi.org/10.3886/E112610V1

Project Description

Summary: Changes in the work week drove a larger portion of changes in total labor input during the Great Depression of the 1930s than during other decades. Work-sharing policies appear to be responsible. Herbert Hoover created various work-sharing committees--led by key industrialists--which pushed for shorter work weeks. And Franklin Roosevelt's President's Reemployment Agreement called for sharp cuts in weekly work hours. Spreading available work amongst more people was the goal. During these periods between 50 and 90 percent of declines in labor input were accommodated by falling hours. In recent decades employers have instead relied on layoffs to achieve the same end.

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
      E32 Business Fluctuations; Cycles
      J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
      J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
      L60 Industry Studies: Manufacturing: General
      N32 Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-

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V1 [2019-10-11]

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