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Learning and job search dynamics during the Great Recession

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  • Potter, Tristan

Abstract

Krueger and Mueller (2011) document that search effort declined with unemployment duration during the Great Recession. I show that variation in past effort explains this decline. Furthermore, job offers increase subsequent effort. These facts are inconsistent with standard models of search. I introduce a model of sequential search in which workers are uncertain about the offer arrival process and learn through search. Evolving beliefs influence search through two competing channels: the opportunity cost of leisure and the option value of unemployment. Estimation of the model indicates that learning provides a strong account of job search dynamics during the Great Recession.

Suggested Citation

  • Potter, Tristan, 2021. "Learning and job search dynamics during the Great Recession," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 706-722.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:moneco:v:117:y:2021:i:c:p:706-722
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmoneco.2020.04.006
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Robert E. Hall & Andreas I. Mueller, 2018. "Wage Dispersion and Search Behavior: The Importance of Nonwage Job Values," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(4), pages 1594-1637.
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    Cited by:

    1. Adams-Prassl, Abi & Boneva, Teodora & Golin, Marta & Rauh, Christopher, 2023. "Perceived returns to job search," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    2. Stefano Della & Jörg Heining & Johannes F Schmieder & Simon Trenkle, 2022. "Evidence on Job Search Models from a Survey of Unemployed Workers in Germany [Reference-Dependent Preferences: Evidence from Marathon Runners]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 137(2), pages 1181-1232.
    3. John J. Conlon & Laura Pilossoph & Matthew Wiswall & Basit Zafar, 2018. "Labor Market Search With Imperfect Information and Learning," NBER Working Papers 24988, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Ioannis Kospentaris, 2021. "Unobserved Heterogeneity and Skill Loss in a Structural Model of Duration Dependence," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 39, pages 280-303, January.
    5. Jake Bradley & Lukas Mann, 2023. "Learning about labour markets," Discussion Papers 2023/01, University of Nottingham, Centre for Finance, Credit and Macroeconomics (CFCM).
    6. Jorge González Chapela, 2021. "Job Searching and the Weather: Evidence from Time-Use Data," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 29-55, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Unemployment; Sequential search; Learning;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness

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