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WAR AND PESTILENCE AS LABOR MARKET SHOCKS: U.S. MANUFACTURING WAGE GROWTH 1914–1919
Author(s) -
GARRETT THOMAS A.
Publication year - 2009
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.1465-7295.2008.00137.x
Subject(s) - economics , wage , per capita , labour economics , manufacturing sector , wage growth , influenza pandemic , first world war , covid-19 , demography , medicine , philosophy , disease , pathology , humanities , infectious disease (medical specialty) , population , sociology
This paper explores the effect of mortalities from the 1918 influenza pandemic and World War I on wage growth in the manufacturing sector of U.S. states and cities from 1914–1919. The hypothesis is that both events decreased manufacturing labor supply, thereby initially increasing the marginal product of labor and wages. The results reveal that states and cities having had greater influenza mortalities experienced higher wage growth—roughly 2–3 percentage points for a 10% change in per capita mortalities. World War I combat mortalities also had a positive, but smaller, effect on wage growth. ( JEL N62, N32, N92, I12)