The Role of Unemployment in the Rise in Alternative Work Arrangements
American Economic Review
vol. 107,
no. 5, May 2017
(pp. 388-92)
Abstract
The share of U.S. workers in alternative work arrangements has increased substantially in recent decades. Micro longitudinal analyses show that unemployed workers are much more likely to transition into alternative work arrangements than other workers. Macro time-series evidence shows that weak labor market conditions lead to an increase in non-traditional work. But the estimated magnitudes imply that the Great Recession and high unemployment in the 2000s can account for only a modest part of the rise in alternative work. Secular factors associated with rising inequality and technological changes making it easier to contract out work appear to be the driving forces.Citation
Katz, Lawrence F., and Alan B. Krueger. 2017. "The Role of Unemployment in the Rise in Alternative Work Arrangements." American Economic Review, 107 (5): 388-92. DOI: 10.1257/aer.p20171092Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
- E32 Business Fluctuations; Cycles
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
- J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
- O33 Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes