Q. Explain the difference between joblessness and unemployment, technically. A. I'd like we'll get back into this issue of meaning in life. N employment's really low. So maybe those who are not in the labor force have a higher reservation wage,. Maybe they'd require a larger wage to get them out of jobless ness. But all this group is fundamentally lacking employment.
Why are fewer men working over the last few decades? Is a universal basic income a good policy for coping with the loss of employment? Economist Edward Glaeser of Harvard University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about what Glaeser calls the war on work--the policy changes that have reduced employment among prime-aged men. Glaeser does not see the universal basic income as a viable solution to the decrease in work especially if technology ends up reducing employment opportunities more dramatically in the future. The conversation also includes a discussion of the role of cities and the reduction in geographic mobility in the United States.