Stephen P. Jenkins, Andrea Brandolini, John Micklewright, and Brian Nolan
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199671021
- eISBN:
- 9780191750601
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199671021.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This chapter describes what the book aims to do, including the key features of the research, and provides background for subsequent chapters’ analysis of the Great Recession (GR). It discusses the ...
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This chapter describes what the book aims to do, including the key features of the research, and provides background for subsequent chapters’ analysis of the Great Recession (GR). It discusses the potential routes by which changes in the macroeconomy, including severe recessions, affect the distribution of household income. It summarizes various frameworks for analysing the relationship between changes in macroeconomic variables and changes in household incomes and then reviews what empirical research about past recessions tells us about this relationship. It concludes by considering whether economies have been changing in ways such that the impact on household incomes of the GR is likely to differ from the impact of previous recessions, before drawing the elements of the discussion together and highlighting the complexity of the relationship between the macroeconomy and the income distribution.Less
This chapter describes what the book aims to do, including the key features of the research, and provides background for subsequent chapters’ analysis of the Great Recession (GR). It discusses the potential routes by which changes in the macroeconomy, including severe recessions, affect the distribution of household income. It summarizes various frameworks for analysing the relationship between changes in macroeconomic variables and changes in household incomes and then reviews what empirical research about past recessions tells us about this relationship. It concludes by considering whether economies have been changing in ways such that the impact on household incomes of the GR is likely to differ from the impact of previous recessions, before drawing the elements of the discussion together and highlighting the complexity of the relationship between the macroeconomy and the income distribution.
Josh Bivens
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450150
- eISBN:
- 9780801460654
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450150.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This book relays a compelling narrative of the U.S. economy's struggle to emerge from the Great Recession of 2008. It explains the causes and impact on working Americans of the most catastrophic ...
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This book relays a compelling narrative of the U.S. economy's struggle to emerge from the Great Recession of 2008. It explains the causes and impact on working Americans of the most catastrophic economic policy failure since the 1920s. Economic growth since the late 1970s has been slow and inequitably distributed, largely as a result of poor policy choices. These choices only got worse in the 2000s, leading to an anemic economic expansion. What growth we did see in the economy was fueled by staggering increases in private-sector debt and a housing bubble that artificially inflated wealth by trillions of dollars. As had been predicted, the bursting of the housing bubble had disastrous consequences for the broader economy, spurring a financial crisis and a rise in joblessness that dwarfed those resulting from any recession since the Great Depression. The fallout from the Great Recession makes it near certain that there will be yet another lost decade of income growth for typical families, whose incomes had not been boosted by the previous decade's sluggish and localized economic expansion. In its broad narrative of how the economy has failed to deliver for most Americans over much of the past three decades, the book also offers compelling graphic evidence on jobs, incomes, wages, and other measures of economic well-being most relevant to low-and middle-income workers. It tracks these trends carefully, giving a lesson in economic history that is readable yet rigorous in its analysis.Less
This book relays a compelling narrative of the U.S. economy's struggle to emerge from the Great Recession of 2008. It explains the causes and impact on working Americans of the most catastrophic economic policy failure since the 1920s. Economic growth since the late 1970s has been slow and inequitably distributed, largely as a result of poor policy choices. These choices only got worse in the 2000s, leading to an anemic economic expansion. What growth we did see in the economy was fueled by staggering increases in private-sector debt and a housing bubble that artificially inflated wealth by trillions of dollars. As had been predicted, the bursting of the housing bubble had disastrous consequences for the broader economy, spurring a financial crisis and a rise in joblessness that dwarfed those resulting from any recession since the Great Depression. The fallout from the Great Recession makes it near certain that there will be yet another lost decade of income growth for typical families, whose incomes had not been boosted by the previous decade's sluggish and localized economic expansion. In its broad narrative of how the economy has failed to deliver for most Americans over much of the past three decades, the book also offers compelling graphic evidence on jobs, incomes, wages, and other measures of economic well-being most relevant to low-and middle-income workers. It tracks these trends carefully, giving a lesson in economic history that is readable yet rigorous in its analysis.
Josh Bivens and Lawrence Mishel
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801450150
- eISBN:
- 9780801460654
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801450150.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This introductory chapter argues that the consequences of the Great Recession are driven by social and political choices about how the economy is managed. It was not inevitable that the significant ...
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This introductory chapter argues that the consequences of the Great Recession are driven by social and political choices about how the economy is managed. It was not inevitable that the significant run-up in home prices that began in the late 1990s would end with more than eight million Americans losing their jobs and unemployment hitting a twenty-five-year peak. The chapter argues against ascribing the impact of the Great Recession to mere fate, instead it draws comparisons between the shockwaves generated by the economic recession and that of another recent catastrophe—Hurricane Katrina—thus highlighting crucial choices made during and after the aforementioned disasters struck.Less
This introductory chapter argues that the consequences of the Great Recession are driven by social and political choices about how the economy is managed. It was not inevitable that the significant run-up in home prices that began in the late 1990s would end with more than eight million Americans losing their jobs and unemployment hitting a twenty-five-year peak. The chapter argues against ascribing the impact of the Great Recession to mere fate, instead it draws comparisons between the shockwaves generated by the economic recession and that of another recent catastrophe—Hurricane Katrina—thus highlighting crucial choices made during and after the aforementioned disasters struck.
Marc Mulholland
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199653577
- eISBN:
- 9780191744594
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199653577.003.0016
- Subject:
- History, World Modern History, History of Ideas
The collapse of Communism and the weakening of Social Democracy in the face of post-industrial capitalism seemed to nullify all systemic challenges to liberal capitalism. The Neo-conservatives ...
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The collapse of Communism and the weakening of Social Democracy in the face of post-industrial capitalism seemed to nullify all systemic challenges to liberal capitalism. The Neo-conservatives celebrated the triumph of free-market democracy, but worried that bourgeois civil society lacked the moral sinews to see off interstitial challenges from political Islam. The 9.11 atrocity and the subsequent War on Terror allowed for a ‘forward strategy’ in the Middle east, and Iraq was the set-piece for an export of bourgeois revolution on the points of bayonets. The liberation of Iraq was a bloody mess, however, and from the 2008 Great Recession deep-rooted economic problems in the model of financialized capitalism became evident. Nonetheless, bourgeois liberalism was not exhausted: rather, the markets demanded and the politicians agreed that marketization of social life was the appropriate response to multiple social and economic dysfunctions.Less
The collapse of Communism and the weakening of Social Democracy in the face of post-industrial capitalism seemed to nullify all systemic challenges to liberal capitalism. The Neo-conservatives celebrated the triumph of free-market democracy, but worried that bourgeois civil society lacked the moral sinews to see off interstitial challenges from political Islam. The 9.11 atrocity and the subsequent War on Terror allowed for a ‘forward strategy’ in the Middle east, and Iraq was the set-piece for an export of bourgeois revolution on the points of bayonets. The liberation of Iraq was a bloody mess, however, and from the 2008 Great Recession deep-rooted economic problems in the model of financialized capitalism became evident. Nonetheless, bourgeois liberalism was not exhausted: rather, the markets demanded and the politicians agreed that marketization of social life was the appropriate response to multiple social and economic dysfunctions.
Bridget Terry Long
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226201832
- eISBN:
- 9780226201979
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226201979.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This paper explores how the Great Recession affected college enrollment and costs to families. As with past recessions, reductions in income and increases in tuition prices could have had negative ...
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This paper explores how the Great Recession affected college enrollment and costs to families. As with past recessions, reductions in income and increases in tuition prices could have had negative effects on enrollment, while growing unemployment could have had the opposite effect by reducing the foregone costs of attending school. However, the Great Recession occurred within a much more complex postsecondary context than ever before, with the prominence of student loans but the changing availability of debt, a major increase in the number of college-age students, and substantial policy changes in federal financial aid. The net effect of these positive and negative pressures is unclear. Using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), an annual survey of colleges and universities, I investigate how the Great Recession affected college enrollment levels, attendance intensity, tuition costs, and financial aid. The analysis suggests college attendance levels increased during the recession, especially in the states most affected in terms of rising unemployment and declining home values, but it was part-time enrollment that grew while full-time enrollment declined. The tuition revenue collected per student also grew, while grants did not offset the increase in cost, and student loan amounts also increased.Less
This paper explores how the Great Recession affected college enrollment and costs to families. As with past recessions, reductions in income and increases in tuition prices could have had negative effects on enrollment, while growing unemployment could have had the opposite effect by reducing the foregone costs of attending school. However, the Great Recession occurred within a much more complex postsecondary context than ever before, with the prominence of student loans but the changing availability of debt, a major increase in the number of college-age students, and substantial policy changes in federal financial aid. The net effect of these positive and negative pressures is unclear. Using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), an annual survey of colleges and universities, I investigate how the Great Recession affected college enrollment levels, attendance intensity, tuition costs, and financial aid. The analysis suggests college attendance levels increased during the recession, especially in the states most affected in terms of rising unemployment and declining home values, but it was part-time enrollment that grew while full-time enrollment declined. The tuition revenue collected per student also grew, while grants did not offset the increase in cost, and student loan amounts also increased.
Matthew P Drennan
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780300209587
- eISBN:
- 9780300216349
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300209587.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This book tells two stories. First, it shows that rising income inequality played a major role in causing the financial crisis and Great Recession of 2008-2009. While others have argued that rising, ...
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This book tells two stories. First, it shows that rising income inequality played a major role in causing the financial crisis and Great Recession of 2008-2009. While others have argued that rising, indeed surging, household debt in the 1990s and 2000s contributed to the financial collapse, none have related rising household debt to the dramatic rise in income inequality. The rise in household debt was not the result of a rash of luxury, but instead was the effort to maintain consumption despite stagnant incomes. Part of that effort is reflected in the unprecedented drop in the rate of saving from around 10 percent to near zero. It is also reflected in the sharp rise of relative spending on three necessities of a middle class lifestyle -- housing, education, and health. Some of that jump in relative spending was brought about by steep price increases. Their prices were bid up by those whose incomes had skyrocketed. Thus to the usual suspects causing the recession–unsustainable residential mortgage debt, low interest rates, predatory lending and the housing price bubble–income inequality must be included. The second story is that mainstream economists have misunderstood the causes of the recession because they have adhered to a macroeconomic theory that ignores the role of income distribution. Mainstream economic theory maintains that inequality has no impact on macroeconomic outcomes. That view is incorrect and led most economists to ignore the serious consequences of rising inequality, despite the striking parallel with the Great Depression.Less
This book tells two stories. First, it shows that rising income inequality played a major role in causing the financial crisis and Great Recession of 2008-2009. While others have argued that rising, indeed surging, household debt in the 1990s and 2000s contributed to the financial collapse, none have related rising household debt to the dramatic rise in income inequality. The rise in household debt was not the result of a rash of luxury, but instead was the effort to maintain consumption despite stagnant incomes. Part of that effort is reflected in the unprecedented drop in the rate of saving from around 10 percent to near zero. It is also reflected in the sharp rise of relative spending on three necessities of a middle class lifestyle -- housing, education, and health. Some of that jump in relative spending was brought about by steep price increases. Their prices were bid up by those whose incomes had skyrocketed. Thus to the usual suspects causing the recession–unsustainable residential mortgage debt, low interest rates, predatory lending and the housing price bubble–income inequality must be included. The second story is that mainstream economists have misunderstood the causes of the recession because they have adhered to a macroeconomic theory that ignores the role of income distribution. Mainstream economic theory maintains that inequality has no impact on macroeconomic outcomes. That view is incorrect and led most economists to ignore the serious consequences of rising inequality, despite the striking parallel with the Great Depression.
Francesco Papadia and Tuomas Vӓlimӓki
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198806196
- eISBN:
- 9780191844058
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198806196.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
Monetary policy before the Great Recession rested on three unacknowledged assumptions: first, the central bank could effectively control a short-term rate; second, this short-term rate had a stable ...
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Monetary policy before the Great Recession rested on three unacknowledged assumptions: first, the central bank could effectively control a short-term rate; second, this short-term rate had a stable relationship with longer/riskier rates; third, the central bank could move the short-term rate up or down as needed. In one or the other phase of the Great Recession one or more of these assumptions no longer held. The Fed and the ECB reacted to these difficulties, adding balance sheet management to their weaponry. After the failure of Lehman Brothers, measures of financial stress exploded and the banking sector was affected by an acute lack of liquidity, large losses, a disproportion between diminished capital and a riskier balance sheet, low profitability, enhanced competition of shadow banks, deleveraging, and difficulties in raising new capital. The Fed and the ECB could address some, but not all, of these problems.Less
Monetary policy before the Great Recession rested on three unacknowledged assumptions: first, the central bank could effectively control a short-term rate; second, this short-term rate had a stable relationship with longer/riskier rates; third, the central bank could move the short-term rate up or down as needed. In one or the other phase of the Great Recession one or more of these assumptions no longer held. The Fed and the ECB reacted to these difficulties, adding balance sheet management to their weaponry. After the failure of Lehman Brothers, measures of financial stress exploded and the banking sector was affected by an acute lack of liquidity, large losses, a disproportion between diminished capital and a riskier balance sheet, low profitability, enhanced competition of shadow banks, deleveraging, and difficulties in raising new capital. The Fed and the ECB could address some, but not all, of these problems.
Johannes Lindvall
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199590643
- eISBN:
- 9780191723407
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199590643.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Economy
The concluding chapter summarizes the main results, discusses the implications of these results for the literature on comparative political economy, and shows how governments in Austria, Denmark, the ...
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The concluding chapter summarizes the main results, discusses the implications of these results for the literature on comparative political economy, and shows how governments in Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden responded to the deep economic crisis in 2008–2009.Less
The concluding chapter summarizes the main results, discusses the implications of these results for the literature on comparative political economy, and shows how governments in Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Sweden responded to the deep economic crisis in 2008–2009.
Ruth Milkman
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252040320
- eISBN:
- 9780252098581
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252040320.003.0011
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Gender Studies
This chapter compares the gender dynamics of the Great Depression of the 1930s with those of the Great Recession associated with the 2008 financial crisis. It begins with a discussion of the ...
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This chapter compares the gender dynamics of the Great Depression of the 1930s with those of the Great Recession associated with the 2008 financial crisis. It begins with a discussion of the relationship between gender and unemployment, and between gender and family dynamics during the economic crises. It then examines the family wage and married women's employment in the 1930s as well as inequality among women during the Great Recession. Despite the many changes in gender relations that unfolded in the intervening decades, the chapter shows that the structural effects of the two economic downturns were similar. In both cases, female unemployment increased less, and later, than male unemployment, and birth, marriage, and divorce rates declined as well. The Great Depression spurred a political transformation that led to a sharp reduction in economic inequality, accompanied by a dramatic upsurge in union organizing. Neither of these developments took place after the 2008 crisis. Instead, inequalities between the haves and have-nots have continued to widen, and especially class inequality among women.Less
This chapter compares the gender dynamics of the Great Depression of the 1930s with those of the Great Recession associated with the 2008 financial crisis. It begins with a discussion of the relationship between gender and unemployment, and between gender and family dynamics during the economic crises. It then examines the family wage and married women's employment in the 1930s as well as inequality among women during the Great Recession. Despite the many changes in gender relations that unfolded in the intervening decades, the chapter shows that the structural effects of the two economic downturns were similar. In both cases, female unemployment increased less, and later, than male unemployment, and birth, marriage, and divorce rates declined as well. The Great Depression spurred a political transformation that led to a sharp reduction in economic inequality, accompanied by a dramatic upsurge in union organizing. Neither of these developments took place after the 2008 crisis. Instead, inequalities between the haves and have-nots have continued to widen, and especially class inequality among women.
Morgan Ricks
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226330327
- eISBN:
- 9780226330464
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226330464.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Company and Commercial Law
This chapter argues that panics—widespread redemptions of short-term debt—should be viewed as the central problem for financial stability policy. This is not a novel argument, but it is a ...
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This chapter argues that panics—widespread redemptions of short-term debt—should be viewed as the central problem for financial stability policy. This is not a novel argument, but it is a surprisingly controversial one. It is common today to see panics as mere symptoms or manifestations of other, purportedly more “fundamental” problems: “debt-fueled bubbles,” “overleverage,” “excessive risk-taking,” and so on. The chapter makes the case that these other phenomena are unlikely to pose a grave threat to the broader economy in the absence of a panic. The chapter adduces evidence from the recent financial crisis and the Great Recession, and from previous historical episodes, in support of this position. The chapter focuses on a particular mechanism through which panics damage the broader economy—the “panic-induced financing crunch”—and it suggests that financial market anomalies during the recent crisis provide dramatic evidence that this mechanism was at work. The chapter concludes that panic-proofing, as opposed to, say, debt-fueled bubble prevention or “systemic risk” mitigation, should be the main objective of financial stability policy.Less
This chapter argues that panics—widespread redemptions of short-term debt—should be viewed as the central problem for financial stability policy. This is not a novel argument, but it is a surprisingly controversial one. It is common today to see panics as mere symptoms or manifestations of other, purportedly more “fundamental” problems: “debt-fueled bubbles,” “overleverage,” “excessive risk-taking,” and so on. The chapter makes the case that these other phenomena are unlikely to pose a grave threat to the broader economy in the absence of a panic. The chapter adduces evidence from the recent financial crisis and the Great Recession, and from previous historical episodes, in support of this position. The chapter focuses on a particular mechanism through which panics damage the broader economy—the “panic-induced financing crunch”—and it suggests that financial market anomalies during the recent crisis provide dramatic evidence that this mechanism was at work. The chapter concludes that panic-proofing, as opposed to, say, debt-fueled bubble prevention or “systemic risk” mitigation, should be the main objective of financial stability policy.
Morgan Ricks
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226330327
- eISBN:
- 9780226330464
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226330464.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Company and Commercial Law
This chapter argues that panics—widespread redemptions of short-term debt—should be viewed as the central problem for financial stability policy. This is not a novel argument, but it is a ...
More
This chapter argues that panics—widespread redemptions of short-term debt—should be viewed as the central problem for financial stability policy. This is not a novel argument, but it is a surprisingly controversial one. It is common today to see panics as mere symptoms or manifestations of other, purportedly more “fundamental” problems: “debt-fueled bubbles,” “overleverage,” “excessive risk-taking,” and so on. The chapter makes the case that these other phenomena are unlikely to pose a grave threat to the broader economy in the absence of a panic. The chapter adduces evidence from the recent financial crisis and the Great Recession, and from previous historical episodes, in support of this position. The chapter focuses on a particular mechanism through which panics damage the broader economy—the “panic-induced financing crunch”—and it suggests that financial market anomalies during the recent crisis provide dramatic evidence that this mechanism was at work. The chapter concludes that panic-proofing, as opposed to, say, debt-fueled bubble prevention or “systemic risk” mitigation, should be the main objective of financial stability policy.
Less
This chapter argues that panics—widespread redemptions of short-term debt—should be viewed as the central problem for financial stability policy. This is not a novel argument, but it is a surprisingly controversial one. It is common today to see panics as mere symptoms or manifestations of other, purportedly more “fundamental” problems: “debt-fueled bubbles,” “overleverage,” “excessive risk-taking,” and so on. The chapter makes the case that these other phenomena are unlikely to pose a grave threat to the broader economy in the absence of a panic. The chapter adduces evidence from the recent financial crisis and the Great Recession, and from previous historical episodes, in support of this position. The chapter focuses on a particular mechanism through which panics damage the broader economy—the “panic-induced financing crunch”—and it suggests that financial market anomalies during the recent crisis provide dramatic evidence that this mechanism was at work. The chapter concludes that panic-proofing, as opposed to, say, debt-fueled bubble prevention or “systemic risk” mitigation, should be the main objective of financial stability policy.
Rebecca Zarutskie and Tiantian Yang
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226454078
- eISBN:
- 9780226454108
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226454108.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Econometrics
We examine the evolution of several key firm-level economic and financial variables in the years surrounding and during the Great Recession using the Kauffman Firm Survey, a large panel of young ...
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We examine the evolution of several key firm-level economic and financial variables in the years surrounding and during the Great Recession using the Kauffman Firm Survey, a large panel of young firms founded in 2004 and surveyed for eight consecutive years. We find that these young firms experienced slower growth in revenues, employment, and assets and faced tighter financing conditions during the recessionary years. While we find some evidence that firm growth picked up following the recession, it is not clear that it returned to the levels it would have been absent the recessionary shock. We find little evidence that financing conditions for young firms loosened following the recession and show that financing constraints, in addition to diminished demand, may have contributed to these firms’ slower growth. We discuss the strengths and the limitations of the Kauffman Firm Survey in measuring the impact of the Great Recession on young firms and consider features of future data collection and measurement efforts that would be useful in studying entrepreneurial activity over the business cycle.Less
We examine the evolution of several key firm-level economic and financial variables in the years surrounding and during the Great Recession using the Kauffman Firm Survey, a large panel of young firms founded in 2004 and surveyed for eight consecutive years. We find that these young firms experienced slower growth in revenues, employment, and assets and faced tighter financing conditions during the recessionary years. While we find some evidence that firm growth picked up following the recession, it is not clear that it returned to the levels it would have been absent the recessionary shock. We find little evidence that financing conditions for young firms loosened following the recession and show that financing constraints, in addition to diminished demand, may have contributed to these firms’ slower growth. We discuss the strengths and the limitations of the Kauffman Firm Survey in measuring the impact of the Great Recession on young firms and consider features of future data collection and measurement efforts that would be useful in studying entrepreneurial activity over the business cycle.
Michael D. Hurd
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780804785853
- eISBN:
- 9780804786430
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804785853.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
This chapter provides an overview of the section of the text that examines job loss. The main theme of the chapter is that since the Great Recession is more severe than the periods covered by some of ...
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This chapter provides an overview of the section of the text that examines job loss. The main theme of the chapter is that since the Great Recession is more severe than the periods covered by some of the data used in the individual analyses, they may understate the likely impacts of recent job losses. One particular area the discussion points towards as being different in the Great Recession is the depressed housing market. While prior recessions have resulted in both job loss and temporary declines in the equity markets, the extent of the negative impact of the Great Recession on housing equity is unusual. Housing is a major component of wealth for many families so a sharp decline implies fewer resources to react and adapt to job loss. Also, job loss itself often precedes home foreclosure.Less
This chapter provides an overview of the section of the text that examines job loss. The main theme of the chapter is that since the Great Recession is more severe than the periods covered by some of the data used in the individual analyses, they may understate the likely impacts of recent job losses. One particular area the discussion points towards as being different in the Great Recession is the depressed housing market. While prior recessions have resulted in both job loss and temporary declines in the equity markets, the extent of the negative impact of the Great Recession on housing equity is unusual. Housing is a major component of wealth for many families so a sharp decline implies fewer resources to react and adapt to job loss. Also, job loss itself often precedes home foreclosure.
Jeffrey R. Brown (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780226201832
- eISBN:
- 9780226201979
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226201979.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
How the Financial Crisis and Great Recession Affected Higher Education analyzes how universities manage their endowments and how they responded to the financial crisis and ensuing Great Recession. ...
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How the Financial Crisis and Great Recession Affected Higher Education analyzes how universities manage their endowments and how they responded to the financial crisis and ensuing Great Recession. The authors were selected deliberately to include experts on finance (especially those who had experience with endowments) and experts on the economics of higher education. From the outset, the book was intended to foster a conversation with university leaders, and the chapters benefitted greatly from the meaningful discussions with them that occurred at the associated conference. Key questions included (i) whether universities’ methods of endowment management were optimal, rational, and/or likely to create budget crises during financial market downturns; (ii) whether donors, state governments, or the federal government exacerbate or ameliorate the effect of business cycles on universities; (iii) whether universities respond to reduced income by cutting costs (for instance, by reducing their number of faculty) or by raising tuition. Like a few previous NBER volumes-but unlike the vast majority of other work by economists-the studies analyze the economics of higher education from the institutions’ point of view, taking them seriously as organizations with incentives and constraints of their own.Less
How the Financial Crisis and Great Recession Affected Higher Education analyzes how universities manage their endowments and how they responded to the financial crisis and ensuing Great Recession. The authors were selected deliberately to include experts on finance (especially those who had experience with endowments) and experts on the economics of higher education. From the outset, the book was intended to foster a conversation with university leaders, and the chapters benefitted greatly from the meaningful discussions with them that occurred at the associated conference. Key questions included (i) whether universities’ methods of endowment management were optimal, rational, and/or likely to create budget crises during financial market downturns; (ii) whether donors, state governments, or the federal government exacerbate or ameliorate the effect of business cycles on universities; (iii) whether universities respond to reduced income by cutting costs (for instance, by reducing their number of faculty) or by raising tuition. Like a few previous NBER volumes-but unlike the vast majority of other work by economists-the studies analyze the economics of higher education from the institutions’ point of view, taking them seriously as organizations with incentives and constraints of their own.
James E. Coverdill and William Finlay
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781501702808
- eISBN:
- 9781501713996
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501702808.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Occupations, Professions, and Work
This chapter explores three issues. First, it shows why the Great Recession affected headhunting so severely: both the hiring rate and the quitting rate declined sharply. Second, it shows how this ...
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This chapter explores three issues. First, it shows why the Great Recession affected headhunting so severely: both the hiring rate and the quitting rate declined sharply. Second, it shows how this recession changed the relationship between headhunters and their clients, as the latter became increasingly difficult to please when presented with candidates, because they wanted “perfect” candidates only due to there being a supposed “buyer’s market.” Third, it explains why the recession made employees so reluctant to become candidates and why employee wounds became less effective in turning them into job-changers; candidates, especially those with secure jobs, were now far more risk averse. The Great Recession, notwithstanding the claims that it had created a buyer's market for employers, was not a bonanza for them or for headhunters.Less
This chapter explores three issues. First, it shows why the Great Recession affected headhunting so severely: both the hiring rate and the quitting rate declined sharply. Second, it shows how this recession changed the relationship between headhunters and their clients, as the latter became increasingly difficult to please when presented with candidates, because they wanted “perfect” candidates only due to there being a supposed “buyer’s market.” Third, it explains why the recession made employees so reluctant to become candidates and why employee wounds became less effective in turning them into job-changers; candidates, especially those with secure jobs, were now far more risk averse. The Great Recession, notwithstanding the claims that it had created a buyer's market for employers, was not a bonanza for them or for headhunters.
Edward Montgomery
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252038174
- eISBN:
- 9780252095979
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252038174.003.0013
- Subject:
- Sociology, Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
This chapter begins with a brief review of the evidence on the causes of the Great Depression and its impact on workers and their families. It examines some of the similarities and differences in the ...
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This chapter begins with a brief review of the evidence on the causes of the Great Depression and its impact on workers and their families. It examines some of the similarities and differences in the causes of the Great Recession and its impact on workers. It briefly summarizes some of the different policies that presidents Roosevelt and Obama enacted to shorten the crisis and ease the burden on workers. It argues that while presidents Roosevelt and Obama were both called “socialist” by critics, their similarities are limited, and both the short- and long-term impacts of the policies they enacted during these crises are quite different for workers. While the near-term impact of the Great Recession was dwarfed by the Great Depression, the Great Recession exacerbated long-term structural trends that may well leave workers facing far more uncertain futures. Workers' own relative passivity in the face of these dynamics contrasts sharply with their grandparents' generation during the Great Depression. Absent a revival of their activism, we may well see the continued erosion, or even the end, of the New Deal social contract.Less
This chapter begins with a brief review of the evidence on the causes of the Great Depression and its impact on workers and their families. It examines some of the similarities and differences in the causes of the Great Recession and its impact on workers. It briefly summarizes some of the different policies that presidents Roosevelt and Obama enacted to shorten the crisis and ease the burden on workers. It argues that while presidents Roosevelt and Obama were both called “socialist” by critics, their similarities are limited, and both the short- and long-term impacts of the policies they enacted during these crises are quite different for workers. While the near-term impact of the Great Recession was dwarfed by the Great Depression, the Great Recession exacerbated long-term structural trends that may well leave workers facing far more uncertain futures. Workers' own relative passivity in the face of these dynamics contrasts sharply with their grandparents' generation during the Great Depression. Absent a revival of their activism, we may well see the continued erosion, or even the end, of the New Deal social contract.
Matthew P. Drennan
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780300209587
- eISBN:
- 9780300216349
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300209587.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
Synopsis of book. U.S. trends in income distribution. Causes of rising income inequality. Consumers shift to massive debt. Why most economists overlooked importance of income inequality. Strong ...
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Synopsis of book. U.S. trends in income distribution. Causes of rising income inequality. Consumers shift to massive debt. Why most economists overlooked importance of income inequality. Strong parallel of run-up to Great Recession with run-up to Great Depression.Less
Synopsis of book. U.S. trends in income distribution. Causes of rising income inequality. Consumers shift to massive debt. Why most economists overlooked importance of income inequality. Strong parallel of run-up to Great Recession with run-up to Great Depression.
Susan Harkness
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9781447312741
- eISBN:
- 9781447312857
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447312741.003.0015
- Subject:
- Social Work, Social Policy
In the final chapter, the focus returns to the UK and the gender impact of the current recession. All the preceding chapters have drawn attention to gender divisions in both unemployment and ...
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In the final chapter, the focus returns to the UK and the gender impact of the current recession. All the preceding chapters have drawn attention to gender divisions in both unemployment and employment disadvantage, and, in this chapter, using a range of national data sets, Susan Harkness examines the differential gender impact of the recession in the UK in detail. In the context of three decades of change in women's employment patterns, the chapter highlights characteristics of the current recession that have significant policy implications. In general, women's employment has not been affected to the same extent at that of men – the so called ‘silver lining’ of gendered occupational segregation. However, the interpretation of greater numbers of women in low-paid, part-time, low-quality jobs as a good welfare outcome is dubious, especially given the changing importance of women's incomes within couple households.Less
In the final chapter, the focus returns to the UK and the gender impact of the current recession. All the preceding chapters have drawn attention to gender divisions in both unemployment and employment disadvantage, and, in this chapter, using a range of national data sets, Susan Harkness examines the differential gender impact of the recession in the UK in detail. In the context of three decades of change in women's employment patterns, the chapter highlights characteristics of the current recession that have significant policy implications. In general, women's employment has not been affected to the same extent at that of men – the so called ‘silver lining’ of gendered occupational segregation. However, the interpretation of greater numbers of women in low-paid, part-time, low-quality jobs as a good welfare outcome is dubious, especially given the changing importance of women's incomes within couple households.
Stephen P. Jenkins, Andrea Brandolini, John Micklewright, Brian Nolan, and Gaetano Basso
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199671021
- eISBN:
- 9780191750601
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199671021.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This chapter reviews the impact of the Great Recession (GR) on household incomes in 21 OECD countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, ...
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This chapter reviews the impact of the Great Recession (GR) on household incomes in 21 OECD countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA. It describes the nature of the macroeconomic changes that characterize the GR in these countries, and how these have worked through to household incomes, highlighting how the characteristics of the GR have varied across countries. It then reports the evidence available to date about how the GR has affected household incomes on average and in total, household income inequality, and poverty across the 21 countries. The effects through to 2009, and in some cases into 2010, are observed in the available data. The chapter finishes by considering the distributional consequences of governments’ current efforts to consolidate their finances.Less
This chapter reviews the impact of the Great Recession (GR) on household incomes in 21 OECD countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA. It describes the nature of the macroeconomic changes that characterize the GR in these countries, and how these have worked through to household incomes, highlighting how the characteristics of the GR have varied across countries. It then reports the evidence available to date about how the GR has affected household incomes on average and in total, household income inequality, and poverty across the 21 countries. The effects through to 2009, and in some cases into 2010, are observed in the available data. The chapter finishes by considering the distributional consequences of governments’ current efforts to consolidate their finances.
Alex Bryson and John Forth
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198786160
- eISBN:
- 9780191827860
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198786160.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
The Great Recession was notable in the UK for the slow rate of recovery in output, the muted unemployment response, and an unprecedented decline in real wages. This chapter reviews the literature, ...
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The Great Recession was notable in the UK for the slow rate of recovery in output, the muted unemployment response, and an unprecedented decline in real wages. This chapter reviews the literature, and finds that most of the decline in productivity is within-sector and within-firm. A new microanalysis of workplace-level behaviour between 2004 and 2011 is presented to gain insights into the underlying processes. Limited evidence is found of a ‘cleansing’ effect; there is little change in the rate of workplace innovations, and quite strong evidence suggestive of widespread labour hoarding, especially of skilled labour. Pay freezes and cuts were often initiated in direct response to the recession. Clear evidence of labour intensification is found, but employers appeared incapable of turning this effort into improved productivity.Less
The Great Recession was notable in the UK for the slow rate of recovery in output, the muted unemployment response, and an unprecedented decline in real wages. This chapter reviews the literature, and finds that most of the decline in productivity is within-sector and within-firm. A new microanalysis of workplace-level behaviour between 2004 and 2011 is presented to gain insights into the underlying processes. Limited evidence is found of a ‘cleansing’ effect; there is little change in the rate of workplace innovations, and quite strong evidence suggestive of widespread labour hoarding, especially of skilled labour. Pay freezes and cuts were often initiated in direct response to the recession. Clear evidence of labour intensification is found, but employers appeared incapable of turning this effort into improved productivity.
