The Labor Market Four Years Into the Crisis: Assessing Structural Explanations
Four years after the beginning of the Great Recession, the labor market remains historically weak. Many observers have concluded that "structural" impediments to recovery bear some of the blame. This paper reviews such structural explanations. I find that there is little evidence supporting these hypotheses, and that the bulk of the evidence is more consistent with the hypothesis that continued poor performance is primarily attributable to shortfalls in the aggregate demand for labor.
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Copy CitationJesse Rothstein, "The Labor Market Four Years Into the Crisis: Assessing Structural Explanations," NBER Working Paper 17966 (2012), https://doi.org/10.3386/w17966.Download Citation
Published Versions
Jesse Rothstein, 2012. "The Labor Market Four Years into the Crisis: Assessing Structural Explanations," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 65(3), pages 437-500, July. citation courtesy of 
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