My research lies at the intersection of economic history and labor economics. I use novel archival data, econometrics, and machine learning methods to address fundamental questions about historical labor market dynamics, inequality, and policy responses to economic crises. One strand of my work focuses on mass unemployment and labor market inequality, exploring how recessions shape economic disparities, how structural and technological change interact with cyclical downturns through labor reallocation across industries, and how policy responses mediate these effects. Another strand focuses on labor market structures and wages, analyzing how labor market organization and worker power have changed over time, how factors beyond day wages such as job quality and career trajectories shape workers’ experiences, and how we can better measure wages to understand historical living standards.
Website: www.meredithpaker.com
