Planning on the Potomac: A Review Essay on Jason E. Taylor's Deconstructing the Monolith: The Microeconomics of the National Industrial Recovery Act

Joshua Hausman

Journal of Economic Literature, 2021, vol. 59, issue 1, 244-64

Abstract: Taylor (2019) details heterogeneity in the effects of the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) across industries and across time. Through first the President's Reemployment Act (PRA) and then industry-specific "codes of fair competition," the NIRA raised wages and restricted working hours. In some—but far from all—cases industries also used a NIRA code to collude, raising prices and restricting output. The effect of the NIRA peaked in fall 1933 and winter 1934; thereafter, compliance declined. I review the intellectual history of the NIRA, the implementation of the PRA and the NIRA codes, and Taylor's econometric evidence on their effects. I end with a discussion of the implications of Taylor's book for understanding the effect of the NIRA on US recovery from the Great Depression.

JEL-codes: D72 G01 H50 N32 N42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1257/jel.20191568

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