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Education, Job Search and Re-employment Outcomes among the Unemployed

Author

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  • Riddell, W. Craig

    (University of British Columbia, Vancouver)

  • Song, Xueda

    (York University, Canada)

Abstract

This study assesses the effects of education on both job search intensity and re-employment success for unemployed workers. Given that the positive correlation between education and job search intensity or re-employment success is likely to be confounded by the endogeneity of education, we make use of data on compulsory schooling laws to create instrumental variables to assess the causal effects of education. Based on data from the Labour Force Survey and the Canadian Census, we find that education both significantly increases job search intensity and significantly improves re-employment success for the unemployed. The evidence on job search intensity provides insights into one potential mechanism through which education may increase the probability of re-employment following unemployment.

Suggested Citation

  • Riddell, W. Craig & Song, Xueda, 2011. "Education, Job Search and Re-employment Outcomes among the Unemployed," IZA Discussion Papers 6134, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6134
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. W. Craig Riddell, 2005. "Why Is Canada's Unemployment Rate Persistently Higher than in the United States?," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 31(1), pages 93-100, March.
    2. Stephen R. G. Jones & W. Craig Riddell, 1999. "The Measurement of Unemployment: An Empirical Approach," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 67(1), pages 147-162, January.
    3. Claudia Goldin & Lawrence F. Katz, 2008. "Mass Secondary Schooling and the State: The Role of State Compulsion in the High School Movement," NBER Chapters, in: Understanding Long-Run Economic Growth: Geography, Institutions, and the Knowledge Economy, pages 275-310, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Lance Lochner & Enrico Moretti, 2004. "The Effect of Education on Crime: Evidence from Prison Inmates, Arrests, and Self-Reports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(1), pages 155-189, March.
    5. Riddell, W. Craig & Song, Xueda, 2011. "The impact of education on unemployment incidence and re-employment success: Evidence from the U.S. labour market," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 453-463, August.
    6. Jacob Mincer, 1991. "Education and Unemployment," NBER Working Papers 3838, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Costa, Dora L. & Lamoreaux, Naomi R. (ed.), 2011. "Understanding Long-Run Economic Growth," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226116341, December.
    8. Stock, James H & Wright, Jonathan H & Yogo, Motohiro, 2002. "A Survey of Weak Instruments and Weak Identification in Generalized Method of Moments," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 20(4), pages 518-529, October.
    9. Philip Oreopoulos, 2006. "The compelling effects of compulsory schooling: evidence from Canada," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 39(1), pages 22-52, February.
    10. Dora L. Costa & Naomi R. Lamoreaux, 2011. "Understanding Long-Run Economic Growth: Geography, Institutions, and the Knowledge Economy," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number cost10-1, March.
    11. Kevin Milligan & Enrico Moretti & Philip Oreopoulos, 2003. "Does Education Improve Citizenship? Evidence from the U.S. and the U.K," NBER Working Papers 9584, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Henry S. Farber, 2005. "What do we know about Job Loss in the United States? Evidence from the Displaced Workers Survey, 1984-2004," Working Papers 877, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    13. Yoon, Bong Joon, 1981. "A Model of Unemployment Duration with Variable Search Intensity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 63(4), pages 599-609, November.
    14. Henry S. Farber, 2005. "What do we know about Job Loss in the United States? Evidence from the Displaced Workers Survey, 1984-2004," Working Papers 877, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    15. Stephen R. G. Jones & W. Craig Riddell, 2006. "Unemployment and Nonemployment: Heterogeneities in Labor Market States," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(2), pages 314-323, May.
    16. Lleras-Muney, Adriana, 2002. "Were Compulsory Attendance and Child Labor Laws Effective? An Analysis from 1915 to 1939," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 45(2), pages 401-435, October.
    17. Card, David, 2001. "Estimating the Return to Schooling: Progress on Some Persistent Econometric Problems," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 69(5), pages 1127-1160, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander Mosthaf, 2014. "Do Scarring Effects of Low-Wage Employment and Non-Employment Differ BETWEEN Levels of Qualification?," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 61(2), pages 154-177, May.
    2. Ronald Bachmann & Daniel Baumgarten, 2013. "How do the unemployed search for a job? – Evidence from the EU Labour Force Survey," IZA Journal of European Labor Studies, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-25, December.
    3. Xueda Song, 2013. "The effects of technological change on schooling and training human capital," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(1), pages 23-45, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    education; adaptability; unemployment; job search; causal effects; compulsory schooling laws;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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