'Cyclical Variation in Real Wages'

More than 75 years ago, the EJ – under Keynes’ editorship - published a series of papers on the behavior of real wages that have had a lasting impact on the discipline – this special anniversary session discusses debates then and now about real wage dynamics, unemployment fluctuations and wage flexibility.

Presentations:

• Keynesian Controversies on Compensation; Presented by John Pencavel (Stanford University)
• Unemployment and Business Cycles; Presented by Lawrence Christiano (Northwestern University)
• Unemployment Fluctuations, Match Quality and Wage Cyclicality of New Hires: Presented by Christopher Huckfeldt (Cornell University) and Antonella Trigari (Bocconi University)
• Does the New Keynesian Model have a Uniqueness Problem? Presented by Benjamin Johannsen (Federal Reserve Board)

I really enjoyed this session, particularly the history of "Keynesian controversies" over wages by John Pencavel at the beginning of the session.