A European-type wage equation from an American-style labor market: Evidence from a panel of Norwegian manufacturing industries in the 1930s

Using a newly constructed panel of manufacturing industry data for interwar Norway, we estimate a long-run wage curve for the 1930s that has all the modern features of being homogeneous in prices, proportional to productivity, and having an unemployment elasticity of -0.1. This result is more typical of contemporary European than U.S. wage equations, even if the labour market in interwar Norway possessed distinctively more ‘American’ features than those associated with present-day European welfare states. We also present some new Monte Carlo evidence on the properties of the estimators used.wages, depression, panel data, dynamics

Challenges for the construction of historical price indices : the case of Norway, 1777-1920

This paper reviews some methodological and practical problems encountered in the construction of historical price indices. The underlying data sets in such studies are often characterized by heterogenous and incomplete price series. It is shown that by using the repeat sales method for constructing the subindices for individual commodity groups some of the main problems can be overcome. The procedures are illustrated by material from the construction of monthly price indices for Norway from the year 1777 to 1920. The price indices shed new light on two great wartime in ationary episodes in Norway: 1807-1817 and 1913-1920. In spite of a 61-fold increase in the price level in the rst period and a 4-fold increase in the second, it is found that, after in ation had been brought under control, prices reverted to a level consistent with the purchasing power parity principle

A European-type wage equation from an American-style labor market: Evidence from a panel of Norwegian manufacturing industries in the 1930s

Using a newly constructed panel of manufacturing industry data for interwar Norway, we estimate a long-run wage curve for the 1930s that has all the modern features of being homogeneous in prices, proportional to productivity, and having an unemployment elasticity of -0.1. This result is more typical of contemporary European than U.S. wage equations, even if the labour market in interwar Norway possessed distinctively more ‘American’ features than those associated with present-day European welfare states. We also present some new Monte Carlo evidence on the properties of the estimators used.wages, depression, panel data, dynamics

A Wage Curve for the Interwar Labour Market: Evidence from a Panel of Norwegian Manufacturing Industries

We present an econometric analysis of wage behaviour in Norway during the interwar years. Applying GMM estimation methods to a newly constructed panel of manufacturing industry data, we find that the interwar years do not seem to be such an anomalous time period as has been suggested with respect to wage behaviour. We estimate a long-run wage curve that has all the modern features of being homogeneous in prices, proportional to productivity, and having an unemployment elasticity of -0.1. We also present some new Monte Carlo evidence on the properties of the estimators used.

The Size and Growth of the Hidden Economy in Norway

The present size of the hidden economy in Norway is between 4 and 6 percent of GDP, of which hidden labor income constitutes about half. A survey approach reveals that 415 of the population is of the opinion that people in general accept income from moonlighting that is not reported, and 213 believes that this share of acceptance is on the increase. Furthermore, surveys clearly show that hidden labor services are of satisfactory quality, that they mainly are paid for in cash, but with checks being increasingly used, and that buyers find it easier to obtain services from the hidden labor market than from the regular one. A shortening of the work week in order to alleviate unemployment may result in an increased supply of hidden labor

Greasing the wheels of rural transformation? Margarine and the competition for the British butter market

This article considers an example of the impact of a new good on producers of close substitutes: the invention of margarine and its rapid introduction into the British market from the mid-1870s. This presented a challenge to the traditional suppliers of that market, butter producers from different European countries. We argue that the capacity to react quickly to the appearance of this cheap substitute by improving quality and establishing product differentiation was critical for the fortunes of butter producers. This is illustrated by a discussion of the different reactions to margarine and quality upgrading in Ireland, Denmark, and the Netherlands. A statistical analysis using monthly data for Britain from 1881&-7 confirms that margarine had a greater impact on the price of poor quality butter than that of high quality butter, presumably because it was a stronger substitute