Publications
Publications
- January 2016
- Journal of Labor Economics
Making Do with Less: Working Harder During Recessions
By: Edward P. Lazear, Kathryn L. Shaw and Christopher Stanton
Abstract
Why did productivity rise during recent recessions? One possibility is that average worker quality increased. A second is that each incumbent worker produced more. The second effect is termed "making do with less." Using data from 2006 to 2010 on individual worker productivity from a large firm, these effects can be measured and separated. For this firm, most of the gain in productivity during the recession was a result of increased effort. Additionally, the increase in effort is correlated with the increase in the local unemployment rate, presumably reflecting the costs of losing a job.
Keywords
Citation
Lazear, Edward P., Kathryn L. Shaw, and Christopher Stanton. "Making Do with Less: Working Harder During Recessions." Journal of Labor Economics 34, no. S1 (January 2016): S333–S360.