Unemployment in Indian villages was exacerbated when laborers resisted pay cuts during bad times.

Researchers have long noticed that wages hardly drop during recessions. But showing that this causes unemployment has proven tricky, according to economist Supreet Kaur. Kaur analyzed the wage, employment, and weather data of over 600 districts across India from 1956 to 2009. Like previous studies, she confirmed that nominal wages are sticky but real wages aren’t. Read more