Discussion paper

DP76 Long-Term Unemployment in Britain in the 1930s

Long-term unemployment was regarded by contemporaries in the 1930's as a major problem but analysis of it has been neglected in modern economists' research. This paper presents data on durations of unemployment and a measure of the welfare costs associated with long-term unemployment. It is argued that only a small minority of the long-term unemployed had high replacement ratios and that re-employment probabilities were duration dependent. Particular attention is given to the notion of 'voluntary' unemployment and it is found that, in general, the long-term unemployed should not be regarded as 'workshy' or engaged in 'search'.

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Citation

Crafts, N (1985), ‘DP76 Long-Term Unemployment in Britain in the 1930s‘, CEPR Discussion Paper No. 76. CEPR Press, Paris & London. https://cepr.org/publications/dp76