Distortion in Unemployment Research: The Early Studies of Bakke and Their Implications for Current Research on Employment and Unemployment

Abstract

Contemporary research on unemployment has neglected the early writings of Bakke in preference to the psychological deprivation model first outlined by Jahoda, Lazarsfeld, and Zeisel (1933) and elaborated later by Jahoda (1979, 1981, 1982). Furthermore, Bakke has been inaccurately classified as a writer who maintained that unemployment led to an inevitable decline in the personal adjustment of the unemployed. A brief review of Bakke's writings indicates that he did not find that the loss of job activities decreased self-reliance. The unemployed, as a group, showed resilience in an environment marked by poverty. He also showed that many of the characteristics commonly attributed to the unemployed such as apathy, depression, and external control were often due to the combined effects of past work experiences and economic deprivation. The implications of Bakke's views for current research on employment and unemployment are discussed.