Premium
The Evolution of Earnings Volatility During and After the Great Recession
Author(s) -
Koo Kyong Hyun
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
industrial relations: a journal of economy and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.61
H-Index - 57
eISSN - 1468-232X
pISSN - 0019-8676
DOI - 10.1111/irel.12156
Subject(s) - volatility (finance) , earnings , recession , economics , unemployment , current population survey , great recession , earnings growth , labour economics , monetary economics , population , demographic economics , keynesian economics , financial economics , macroeconomics , finance , demography , sociology
This paper explores how men's and women's earnings volatility evolved during and after the Great Recession, the most severe downturn of the postwar era. Using matched March Current Population Survey data, I find that earnings volatility rose considerably after the Great Recession began and, particularly for men, the volatility increase was as large as in the severe recession of the early 1980s. These findings update the evidence on the counter‐cyclicality of earnings volatility. I show that such counter‐cyclicality is due mainly to counter‐cyclical volatility in annual hours of work. In turn, the counter‐cyclical volatility in work hours appears mainly among workers who experience unemployment.