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Does Job-Search Assistance Affect Search Effort and Outcomes? A Microeconometric Analysis of Public versus Private Search Methods

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Author Info
Denis Fougère () (CREST-INSEE, CNRS, CEPR and IZA Bonn)
Jacqueline Pradel () (EUREQua, University of Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne)
Muriel Roger () (INRA-LEA, Paris)

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Abstract

In this paper, we examine the disincentive effects of the public employment service on the search effort of unemployed workers and on their exit rate from unemployment. For that purpose, we specify a structural search model with fixed and variable costs of search in which unemployed workers select their optimal search intensity given the exogenous arrival rate of job offers coming from the public employment agency. Because the theoretical effect of an increase in this exogenous job offer arrival rate on the structural exit rate from unemployment is ambiguous, we estimate this model using individual unemployment duration data. Our results show that the exit rate from unemployment increases with the arrival rate of job contacts obtained by the public employment service, especially for low-educated and lowskilled workers. They also show that the search effort is more costly for low-educated women and low-skilled adult unemployed workers. This last result suggests that a public employment agency that matches searchers and employers is beneficial, in the sense that it saves searchers in terms of search costs they would otherwise bear.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 1825.

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Length: 54 pages
Date of creation: Oct 2005
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp1825

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Related research
Keywords: job search; search intensity; public employment agency; simulated maximum likelihood;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis
J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, and Vacancies - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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    Other versions:
  3. Morgan, Peter B, 1983. "Search and Optimal Sample Sizes," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 50(4), pages 659-75, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  5. Holzer, Harry J, 1988. "Search Method Use by Unemployed Youth," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 6(1), pages 1-20, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  6. van den Berg, Gerard J, 1994. "The Effects of Changes of the Job Offer Arrival Rate on the Duration of Unemployment," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(3), pages 478-98, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  18. Gregg, Paul & Wadsworth, Jonathan, 1996. "How Effective Are State Employment Agencies? Jobcentre Use and Job Matching in Britain," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 58(3), pages 443-67, August.
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  19. van der Klaauw, Bas & van Vuuren, Aico & Berkhout, Peter, 2004. "Labor Market Prospects, Search Intensity and the Transition from College to Work," IZA Discussion Papers 1176, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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  20. John T. Addison & Pedro Portugal, 2002. "Job search methods and outcomes," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 54(3), pages 505-533, July.
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Fougère, Denis & Pradel, Jacqueline & Roger, Muriel, 2008. "Does the Public Employment Service Affect Search Effort and Outcomes?," CEPR Discussion Papers 7095, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Annette Bergemann & Gerard J. van den Berg, 2006. "Active Labor Market Policy Effects for Women in Europe: A Survey," IZA Discussion Papers 2365, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Jochen Kluve, 2006. "The Effectiveness of European Active Labor Market Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 2018, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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