The Shift to Remote Work Lessens Wage-Growth Pressures

20 Pages Posted: 4 Jul 2022 Last revised: 6 Jul 2023

See all articles by Jose Barrero

Jose Barrero

Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM)

Nicholas Bloom

Stanford University - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Steven J. Davis

University of Chicago; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Hoover Institution

Brent Meyer

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

Emil Mihaylov

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

Date Written: July 2022

Abstract

The recent shift to remote work raised the amenity value of employment. As compensation adjusts to share the amenity-value gains with employers, wage-growth pressures moderate. We find empirical support for this mechanism in the wage-setting behavior of U.S. employers, and we develop novel survey data to quantify its force. Our data imply a cumulative wage-growth moderation of 2.0 percentage points over two years. This moderation offsets more than half the real-wage catchup effect that Blanchard (2022) highlights in his analysis of near-term inflation pressures. The amenity-values gains associated with the recent rise of remote work also lower labor’s share of national income by 1.1 percentage points. In addition, the “unexpected compression” of wages since early 2020 (Autor and Dube, 2022) is partly explained by the same amenity-value effect, which operates differentially across the earnings distribution.

Suggested Citation

Barrero, Jose and Bloom, Nicholas and Davis, Steven J. and Meyer, Brent and Mihaylov, Emil, The Shift to Remote Work Lessens Wage-Growth Pressures (July 2022). NBER Working Paper No. w30197, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4153090

Jose Barrero (Contact Author)

Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) ( email )

Av. Camino a Sta. Teresa 930
Col. Héroes de Padierna
Mexico City, D.F. 01000, Federal District 01080
Mexico

Nicholas Bloom

Stanford University - Department of Economics ( email )

Landau Economics Building, Room 231
579 Serra Mall
Stanford, CA 94305-6072
United States
650-725-7836 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://economics.stanford.edu/faculty/bloom

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Steven J. Davis

University of Chicago ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States
773-702-7312 (Phone)
773-702-0458 (Fax)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Hoover Institution

434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6010
United States
773 251 1795 (Phone)

Brent Meyer

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta ( email )

1000 Peachtree Street N.E.
Atlanta, GA 30309-4470
United States

Emil Mihaylov

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas

2200 North Pearl Street
PO Box 655906
Dallas, TX 75265-5906
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
36
Abstract Views
178
PlumX Metrics