'Nobody Wants to Work Anymore': Lifetime Labor Market Experiences and the Decline of Male LFP in the United States

Male labor force participation has declined steadily for 50 years in the United States. We show that one cause has been changes in men's beliefs about the returns to work, shaped by lifetime experiences of the aggregate male labor market. We find that experience effects on participation persist for men who move across state lines, are stronger for same-race male experiences, and are driven by formative childhood years. We also document effects of experiences on direct measures of labor market expectations. Our findings suggest that experience effects can turn short-run declines in labor demand into long-run declines in labor supply.