Blundell, Richard, Crawford, Claire and Jin, Wenchao (2014) What can wages and employment tell us about the UK's productivity puzzle? The Economic Journal, 124 (576). pp. 377-407. doi:10.1111/ecoj.12138

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Abstract

As in many European countries, labour productivity in the UK has been stagnant since the start of the Great Recession. This article uses individual data on employment and wages to try to understand whether real wage flexibility can help shed light on the UK's productivity puzzle. It finds, perhaps unsurprisingly, that workforce composition cannot explain the reduction in wages and hence productivity that we observe, even compared to previous recessions; instead, real wages have fallen significantly within jobs this time round. Why? One possibility we investigate is that the labour supply in the UK is higher compared to previous recessions.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Labor productivity -- Great Britain, Labor supply -- Great Britain, Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009 -- Great Britain, Recessions -- Great Britain
Journal or Publication Title:	The Economic Journal
Publisher:	Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
ISSN:	0013-0133
Official Date:	23 May 2014
Dates:	Date Event 23 May 2014 Available 26 October 2013 Accepted 29 April 2013 Submitted
Volume:	124
Number:	576
Page Range:	pp. 377-407
DOI:	10.1111/ecoj.12138
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Funder:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)
Grant number:	ES-544-28-0001

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