The Decline In Male Employment: Look to Large Trade Deficits and Small Budget Deficits

The NYT had an interesting piece on the decline in employment rates among prime age male workers. While it discusses many of the causes of this decline, it missed the most obvious: policy decisions that have depressed demand in the economy. Many readers of the piece may wrongly believe that the current low employment rate is primarily the result of a long-term trend. This is not true.

From 1979 to 2000 the employment to population ratio (EPOP) fell by 2.1 percentage points. If it had continue...