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A Behavioral Explanation for Nominal Wage Rigidity During the Great Depression

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  • Anthony Patrick O'Brien

Abstract

Nominal wages in manufacturing were left unchanged by the large decline in nominal demand that marked the first two years of the Great Depression. This rigidity in nominal wages is explained using the tools of the behavioral theory of the firm. The emphasis is on the reasons firms changed their decision rules linking fluctuations in final sales to changes in nominal wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony Patrick O'Brien, 1989. "A Behavioral Explanation for Nominal Wage Rigidity During the Great Depression," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 104(4), pages 719-735.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:qjecon:v:104:y:1989:i:4:p:719-735.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.2307/2937864
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    1. repec:hal:wpspec:info:hdl:2441/f4rshpf3v1umfa09lat1n0o44 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Gregor W. Smith, 2006. "The spectre of deflation: a review of empirical evidence," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 39(4), pages 1041-1072, November.
    3. Randall E. Parker & Philip Rothman, 2004. "An Examination of the Asymmetric Effects of Money Supply Shocks in the Pre--World War I and Interwar Periods," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(1), pages 88-100, January.
    4. Christopher J. Erceg & Michael D. Bordo & Charles L. Evans, 2000. "Money, Sticky Wages, and the Great Depression," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1447-1463, December.
    5. Robert A. Margo, 1993. "Employment and Unemployment in the 1930s," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 41-59, Spring.
    6. Michaillat, Pascal, 2011. "Fiscal Multipliers Over the Business Cycle," CEPR Discussion Papers 8610, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Christopher Hanes, 2000. "Nominal Wage Rigidity and Industry Characteristics in the Downturns of 1893, 1929, and 1981," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1432-1446, December.
    8. Ben Bemanke & Harold James, 1991. "The Gold Standard, Deflation, and Financial Crisis in the Great Depression: An International Comparison," NBER Chapters, in: Financial Markets and Financial Crises, pages 33-68, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Holt, Andrew Chase, 2024. "Monopsony power in the United States: Evidence from the great depression," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    10. Janet L. Yellen & George A. Akerlof, 2006. "Stabilization Policy: A Reconsideration," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 44(1), pages 1-22, January.
    11. Harold L. Cole & Lee E. Ohanian, 2001. "Re-Examining the Contributions of Money and Banking Shocks to the US Great Depression," NBER Chapters, in: NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2000, Volume 15, pages 183-260, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Ohanian, Lee E., 2009. "What - or who - started the great depression?," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 144(6), pages 2310-2335, November.
    13. George A. Akerlof, 2007. "The Missing Motivation in Macroeconomics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(1), pages 5-36, March.
    14. Julia Darby & Robert A. Hart, 2008. "Wages, Productivity, and Work Intensity in the Great Depression," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 75(1), pages 91-103, July.
    15. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/f4rshpf3v1umfa09lat1n0o44 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/f4rshpf3v1umfa09lat1n0o44 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Taylor, Jason E. & Neumann, Todd C., 2013. "The effect of institutional regime change within the new deal on industrial output and labor markets," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 582-598.
    18. Lundborg, Per, 2000. "Taxes, Risk Aversion and Unemployment Insurance as Causes of Wage Rigidity," Working Paper Series 160, Trade Union Institute for Economic Research.
    19. repec:spo:wpecon:info:hdl:2441/f4rshpf3v1umfa09lat1n0o44 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Christina D. Romer, 1993. "The Nation in Depression," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 7(2), pages 19-39, Spring.

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