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The use of informal networks in Italy: Efficiency or favoritism?

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  • Ponzo, Michela
  • Scoppa, Vincenzo

Abstract

A large body of literature considers the advantages of using informal networks to match workers to jobs. However, family ties may interfere with a genuine process of worker selection, favoring people with connections over more talented workers. We offer a simple model of favoritism to explain these risks and show firms' trade-off in using informal channels. We then investigate empirically the determinants and consequences of using informal networks in Italy by using the Bank of Italy Survey. We find that informal networks tend to be used by low-educated individuals, in small firms, in low-productivity jobs and in less developed regions. Finally, we show that informal networks have a negative impact on wages, controlling for individual and firm characteristics.

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  • Ponzo, Michela & Scoppa, Vincenzo, 2010. "The use of informal networks in Italy: Efficiency or favoritism?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 89-99, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:39:y:2010:i:1:p:89-99
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    3. Baruffaldi, Stefano H. & Di Maio, Giorgio & Landoni, Paolo, 2017. "Determinants of PhD holders’ use of social networking sites: An analysis based on LinkedIn," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 740-750.
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    7. Z. Bilgen Susanli, 2016. "Understanding the NEET in Turkey," Eurasian Journal of Economics and Finance, Eurasian Publications, vol. 4(2), pages 42-57.
    8. Duran Miguel A. & Morales Antonio J., 2014. "The Rise and Spread of Favoritism Practices," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 1-18, January.
    9. Damiano Fiorillo & Nunzia Nappo, 2014. "Job satisfaction in Italy: individual characteristics and social relations," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 41(8), pages 683-704, August.
    10. Manuela Deidda & Adriana Di Liberto & Marta Foddi & Giovanni Sulis, 2015. "Employment subsidies, informal economy and women’s transition into work in a depressed area: evidence from a matching approach," IZA Journal of Labor Policy, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-25, December.
    11. Horváth, Gergely, 2014. "Occupational mismatch and social networks," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 442-468.
    12. Kaijing Xue & Dingde Xu & Shaoquan Liu, 2019. "Social Network Influences on Non-Agricultural Employment Quality for Part-Time Peasants: A Case Study of Sichuan Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-22, July.
    13. de Blasio, Guido & Nuzzo, Giorgio, 2010. "Individual determinants of social behavior," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 466-473, August.
    14. Stupnytska, Yuliia & Zaharieva, Anna, 2015. "Explaining U-shape of the referral hiring pattern in a search model with heterogeneous workers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 211-233.
    15. Kaijing Xue & Shili Guo & Yi Liu & Shaoquan Liu & Dingde Xu, 2021. "Social Networks, Trust, and Disaster-Risk Perceptions of Rural Residents in a Multi-Disaster Environment: Evidence from Sichuan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-25, February.
    16. Chiara Mussida & Luca Zanin, 2020. "Determinants of the Choice of Job Search Channels by the Unemployed Using a Multivariate Probit Model," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 152(1), pages 369-420, November.
    17. Marco Bertoni & Giorgio Brunello & Lorenzo Cappellari & Maria De Paola, 2023. "The long-run earnings effects of winning a mayoral election," LISER Working Paper Series 2023-02, Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER).
    18. Miguel A. Duran & Antonio J. Morales, 2014. "A Moral Hazard Approach to Wage Discounts under Informal Hiring," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 61(2), pages 119-128, May.
    19. Martin Chegere & Paolo Falco & Andreas Menzel, 2023. "Social Ties at Work and Effort Choice: Experimental Evidence from Tanzania," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp763, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    20. Emanuela Ghignoni, 2017. "Who do you know or what do you know? Informal recruitment channels, family background and university enrolments," Working Papers in Public Economics 179, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.
    21. Bartosz Slawecki, 2011. "Anthropology of the peripheral labour market. The role of culture in explaining the process of hiring employees in microenterprises (Antropologia peryferyjnego rynku pracy - rola kultury w wyjasnianiu," Problemy Zarzadzania, University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management, vol. 9(32), pages 129-153.
    22. Nicoletti, Cheti & Aina, Carmen, 2014. "The intergenerational mobility of liberal professions: nepotism versus abilities," ISER Working Paper Series 2014-39, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    23. Stupnytska, Yuliia & Zaharieva, Anna, 2015. "Explaining the U-Shape of the Referral Hiring Pattern in a Search Model with Heterogeneous Workers," Center for Mathematical Economics Working Papers 511, Center for Mathematical Economics, Bielefeld University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Informal networks Favoritism Nepotism Earnings functions;

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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