Currency Areas, Labor Markets, and Regional Cyclical Sensitivity

Katheryn Russ, Jay Shambaugh and Sanjay Singh

No 31519, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: In his papers during the lead up to the birth of the European Monetary Union, Obstfeld considered whether the countries forming the EMU were sufficiently similar to survive a single monetary policy—and more importantly, whether they had the capacity to adjust to asymmetric shocks given a single monetary and exchange rate policy. The convention at the time was to take the United States as the baseline for a smoothly functioning currency union. We document the evolution of the literature on regional labor market adjustment within the United States, expanding on stylized facts illustrating how stratification in local labor market outcomes appears far more persistent today than 30 years ago in the context of what Obstfeld and Peri (1998) call non-adjustment in unemployment rates. We then extend the currency union literature by adding an additional consideration: differences in regional cyclical sensitivity. Using measures of cyclicality and Obstfeld-Peri-type non-adjustment, we explore the characteristics of places that can get left behind when local labor markets respond differently to national shocks and discuss implications for policy.

JEL-codes: F15 F16 F45 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab, nep-mon, nep-opm and nep-ure
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published as Katheryn N. Russ & Jay C. Shambaugh & Sanjay R. Singh, 2024. "Currency Areas, Labor Markets, and Regional Cyclical Sensitivity," IMF Economic Review, vol 72(1), pages 152-195.

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Journal Article: Currency Areas, Labor Markets, and Regional Cyclical Sensitivity (2024)
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