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THREE‐AND‐A‐HALF MILLION WORKERS NEVER WERE LOST
Author(s) -
KESSELMAN JONATHAN A.,
SAVIN N. E.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1111/j.1465-7295.1978.tb00282.x
Subject(s) - economics , unemployment , wage , great depression , labour economics , work (physics) , unemployment rate , full employment , displacement (psychology) , macroeconomics , political science , law , mechanical engineering , psychology , psychotherapist , engineering
The proper measurement of unemployment during the 1930's with respect to the classification of relief workers has recently been questioned. This study explores that issue, leading to a number of substantive issues about the operation of the U.S. economy in the Great Depression. Both historical and econometric evidence are utilized. The notion of full displacement of private‐sector and other public employment by relief work is rejected. The conditions of excess demand for jobs, numerous “look‐alike” unemployed, sticky wage adjustment, and sales‐constrained firms are found to undermine the validity of the anticipations‐search model and the natural‐rate hypothesis for this period .