Labor Markets During and After the Pandemic Labor Markets During and After the Pandemic

66th Economic Conference 66th Economic Conference

November 18, 2022
8:30 A.M. – 5:30 P.M.
November 19, 2022
8:30 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
600 Atlantic Avenue
Boston, MA 02210
 

COVID-19 has changed the US labor market in many ways. This conference will ask whether some of these changes are likely to endure. Has the pandemic sped up the automation of jobs or shifted workplaces from offices to homes? Did it unleash a surge of entrepreneurship and economic dynamism that will pay dividends in the future? Why was the recovery in labor force participation so slow, given the surge in job vacancies? Will worker shortages drive employment and compensation levels going forward? Conference presenters will address these questions using some of the new sources of data that have emerged during the pandemic. They will also relate their findings to long-standing questions involving productivity growth, inequality, and appropriate labor market policy.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Economic Research Conference Series fosters discussion and critical engagement among academics, central bankers, policymakers, and other experts on important economic policy topics.

Agenda

Friday, November 18, 2022

7:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m.

Breakfast

8:30 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.

Welcoming Remarks

Daniel H. Cooper
Vice President and Economist
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Susan M. Collins
President and Chief Executive Officer
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

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8:50 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.

Has the Coronavirus Transformed the Labor Force?

Authors:
Ayşegül Şahin
Richard J. Gonzalez Regents Chair in Economics
University of Texas at Austin

Bart Hobijn
Senior Economist and Economic Advisor
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

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Discussant:
Robert E. Hall
Robert and Carole McNeil Joint Hoover Institution Senior Fellow and Professor of Economics
Stanford University

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Moderator:
Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes
Professor of Economics
University of California, Merced

9:55 a.m. – 10:25 a.m.

Break

10:25 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.

Panel Discussion: Is Remote Work Here To Stay?



Panelists:
Peter Cappelli
George W. Taylor Professor of Management
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania

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Steven J. Davis
William H. Abbott Distinguished Service Professor of International Business and Economics
University of Chicago Booth School of Business

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Matthew E. Kahn
Provost Professor of Economics and Spatial Sciences
University of Southern California

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Moderator:
Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes
Professor of Economics
University of California, Merced

11:55 a.m. – 1:05 p.m.

Luncheon

1:05 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

Keynote Address: The Pandemic and Workplace Automation

Daron Acemoglu
Institute Professor
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Moderator:
Christopher L. Foote
Senior Economist and Policy Advisor
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

1:45 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.

COVID-19 and Worker Retirements

Author:
Courtney C. Coile
William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Economics
Wellesley College

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Discussant:
Damon Jones
Associate Professor
Harris School of Public Policy, University of Chicago

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Moderator:
Patricia Cortes
Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law
Boston University

2:50 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Break

3:15 p.m. – 4:20 p.m.

International Migration and COVID-19

Author:
Giovanni Peri
Professor of Economics
University of California, Davis

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Discussant:
Katharine M. Donato
Donald G. Herzberg Professor of International Migration
Georgetown University

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Moderator:
Patricia Cortes
Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law
Boston University

4:20 p.m. – 5:25 p.m.

Short-Term Compensation as a Labor Market Stabilizer

Author:
Till Marco von Wachter
Professor of Economics
University of California, Los Angeles

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Discussant:
Katharine G. Abraham
Distinguished University Professor
University of Maryland

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Moderator:
Patricia Cortes
Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy, and Law
Boston University

5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Reception

Saturday, November 19, 2022

8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.

Breakfast

9:30 a.m. – 10:35 a.m.

Surging Business Formation in the Pandemic: Causes and Consequences

Authors:
Ryan A. Decker
Principal Economist
Federal Reserve Board of Governors

John C. Haltiwanger
Dudley and Louisa Dillard Professor of Economics
University of Maryland

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Discussant:
Scott Stern
David Sarnoff Professor of Management
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management



Moderator:
Alfonso Flores-Lagunes
Professor of Economics
Syracuse University

10:35 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Break

11:00 a.m. – 12:05 p.m.

Labor Demand and Wage Growth During and After the Pandemic

Author:
Lisa B. Kahn
Professor of Economics
University of Rochester

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Discussant:
Lawrence H. Summers
Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus
Harvard University



Moderator:
Alfonso Flores-Lagunes
Professor of Economics
Syracuse University

12:05 p.m. – 12:15 p.m.

Concluding Remarks

Christopher L. Foote
Senior Economist and Policy Advisor
Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

12:15 p.m.

Luncheon begins

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