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Frictional Labour Mobility

Author

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  • Benoît Schmutz
  • Modibo Sidibé

Abstract

We build a dynamic model of migration where, in addition to standard relocation costs, workers face spatial frictions that decrease their ability to compete for distant job opportunities. We estimate the model on a matched employer–employee panel dataset describing labour market transitions within and between the 100 largest French cities. Our identification strategy is based on the premise that frictions affect the frequency of job transitions, while mobility costs impact the distribution of accepted wages. We find that: (1) controlling for spatial frictions reduces mobility cost estimates by one order of magnitude; (2) the urban wage premium is driven by better opportunities for local job-to-job transitions in larger cities; (3) migration reduces lifetime inequalities by providing insurance against unsatisfactory initial location draws; (4) labour mobility policies based on relocation subsidies are inefficient, unlike switching from nationwide to local minimum wages.

Suggested Citation

  • Benoît Schmutz & Modibo Sidibé, 2019. "Frictional Labour Mobility," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(4), pages 1779-1826.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:restud:v:86:y:2019:i:4:p:1779-1826.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/restud/rdy056
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population

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