Labor Markets, Financial Crises, and Inflation: Jobless and Wageless Recoveries

Guillermo Calvo, Emilio Colombi, Fabrizio Coricelli and Pablo Ottonello

Staff Working Papers from Bank of Canada

Abstract: We document the macroeconomic patterns that characterize labor market recovery from financial crises. Using a sample of postwar recession episodes from around the world, we show that financial crises are typically followed by jobless recoveries, with a sluggish recovery in employment relative to output. A departure from this empirical regularity occurs in emerging-market crises with high inflation, which feature strong employment recoveries but persistent declines in real wages and result in “wageless recoveries.” Our findings highlight the central role of financial components in labor input costs and nominal wage rigidities in shaping labor market dynamics following economic crises.

Keywords: Monetary policy; Inflation dynamics and pressures; Real economy and forecasting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E E2 E3 E31 E4 E44 F F3 F32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 44
Date: 2026-09
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Related works:
Working Paper: Labor Markets, Financial Crises, and Inflation: Jobless and Wageless Recoveries (2025)
Working Paper: Labor Market, Financial Crises and Inflation: Jobless and Wageless Recoveries (2012)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bca:bocawp:26-31

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