This paper reconsiders fiscal policy effectiveness in light of the recent economic crisis. It examines the fiscal policy approach advocated by the economics profession today and the specific policy actions undertaken by the Bush and Obama administrations. An examination of the labor market...

Over the business cycle, labor's share of output is negatively but weakly correlated with output, and it lags output by about four quarters. Profit's share is strongly procyclical. It neither leads nor lags output, and its volatility is about four times that of output. Despite the importance of...

We develop a theoretical model with labor market frictions, incomplete financial markets and with households which have two members. Households face unemployment risks but their members adjust their labor supplies to insure against unemployment. We use the model to explain the cyclical...

The present paper offers a fundamental critique of fiscal policy as it is understood in theory and exercised in practice. Two specific demand-side stabilization methods are examined here: conventional pump priming and the new designation of fiscal policy effectiveness found in the New Consensus...

This paper examines the effects of expansionary technology shocks (shocks that increase labor productivity and factor inputs) as opposed to contractionary technology shocks (shocks that increase labor productivity, but decrease factor inputs). We estimate these two shocks jointly based on a...

This paper reconsiders fiscal policy effectiveness in light of the recent economic crisis. It examines the fiscal policy approach advocated by the economics profession today and the specific policy actions undertaken by the Bush and Obama administrations. An examination of the labor market...

This paper documents the uneven impacts of technological change and trade on labor markets in advanced economies. Over the past 20 years, these trends have lifted living standards in emerging markets and developing economies and everywhere. In advanced economies, technological innovation and the...

Over the business cycle, labor's share of output is negatively but weakly correlated with output, and it lags output by about four quarters. Profit's share is strongly procyclical. It neither leads nor lags output, and its volatility is about four times that of output. Despite the importance of...

The U.S. today experiences an expanding financial economy. Investors benefit as common stock prices rise. Moreover, the finance industry grows relative to other industries (called “financialization”). But at the same time, the real economy lags. Workers' pay and job opportunities stagnate as...

This paper examines the effects of labor-replacing capital, which we call robots, on business cycle dynamics using a New Keynesian model with a role for both traditional and robot capital. We find that shocks to the price of robots have effects on output, employment, wages, and labor's share of...