Hannes Schwandt (GPEFM ’12) is Assistant Professor of Economics at Northwestern University’s School of Education and Social Policy, currently visiting Stanford University’s Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). His paper, “Unlucky Cohorts: Estimating the Long-term Effects of Entering the Labor Market in a Recession in Large Cross-sectional Data Sets” (with Till von Wachter) has just been published in the January 2019 issue of the Journal of Labor Economics. The paper has garnered attention from major media outlets including The Economist and The Financial Times.
Abstract
This paper studies the differential persistent effects of initial economic conditions for labor market entrants in the United States from 1976 to 2015 by education, gender, and race using labor force survey data. We find persistent earnings and wage reductions, especially for less advantaged entrants, that increases in government support only partly offset. We confirm that the results are unaffected by selective migration and labor market entry by also using a double-weighted average unemployment rate at labor market entry for each birth cohort and state-of-birth cell based on average state migration rates and average cohort education rates from census data.
Media attention
See how media outlets covered this paper (subscription may be required):
- The Economist: “Temporary economic downturns have long-lasting consequences” (Oct 2018)
- Financial Times: “The untold career value of a little bit of luck at the outset” (Nov 2018)