The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta hosted the inaugural conference of its Center for Human Capital Studies (CHCS). The theme of the conference, which took place November 11–12, 2010, at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, was "Employment and the Business Cycle," with a focus on the employment effects of the 2007–09 recession.
This recession has been especially problematic for employment not just because of the depth of jobs loss but also because of the duration of jobs loss. Although overall economic activity has begun to recover, the high level of joblessness persists. This conference detailed the labor market experiences of individual workers and the factors that may account for the overall decline in employment. It also explored what the coming months and years may bring to the employment picture.
Agenda and Papers
| Thursday, November 11, 2010 |
| Welcome Dave Altig, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Melinda Pitts, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta |
| Session 1 Moderator Melinda Pitts, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta |
| "Why Is Unemployment Still So High Two Years after the Financial Crisis?" Robert E. Hall, Stanford University Discussant Richard Rogerson, Arizona State University |
| "Job Loss and Unemployment in the 21st Century: The Great Recession in Labor Market Perspective" Henry S. Farber, Princeton University Discussant Bruce Fallick, Federal Reserve Board |
| "Job Search and Job Finding in a Period of Mass Unemployment: Evidence from High Frequency Longitudinal Data" Alan Krueger, Princeton University and former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Treasury Discussant Barry Hirsch, Georgia State University |
"The Effects of Extended Unemployment Insurance Over the Business Cycle: Evidence from Regression Discontinuity Estimates over Twenty Years"  Till M. Von Wachter, Columbia University Discussant Erica Groshen, Federal Reserve Bank of New York |
| Dinner Keynote Speaker Business Feedback on Today's Labor Market Dennis Lockhart, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta |
| Friday, November 12, 2010 |
| Session 2 Moderator Julie Hotchkiss, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta |
| "Aggregate Labor Supply" Edward C. Prescott, Arizona State University Johanna Wallenius, Stockholm School of Economics Discussant Gary Hansen, UCLA |
| "Wage Rigidities and Jobless Recoveries" Robert Shimer, University of Chicago Discussant David Andolfatto, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis |
| "Skills, Tasks and Technologies: Implications for Employment and
Earnings" David Autor, MIT Discussant Rob Valletta, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco |
| "Labor Market Flows in the Cross Section and Over Time" Steve Davis, University of Chicago Discussant Aysegul Sahin, Federal Reserve Bank of New York |
| Session 3
Current Labor Market Issues John Robertson, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta |
| Round Table Discussion Moderator John Robertson, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta David Autor, Steve Davis, Henry S. Farber, Alan Krueger, Edward C. Prescott, Robert Shimer, Till M. von Wachter |
| Closing Comments |